BRAND NEW KITTY DIABETES MOM

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Erinmc

Erinmc

Member Since 2022
HELP!!! On day 2 of tests/insulin injections with my 14 year old and I’m sooo confused. The vet went through everything so quickly.
So many questions….
Will my cat ever like me again after treating her like a pin cushion?
How to I test her if she’s always hiding from me? Can I use dry food at all or only wet$$$?? What is the goal? Do I get her levels down and when could remission happen? I’m so lost. And PS…my vet sucks which is why I’m here
 
Hi and welcome to you Erin and your kittty.
It qcan be very confusing and overwhelming in the beginning but you have come to the best possible please to get help.
Before we can help you a lot, there are some things you can do for us so we can help you.
We need to know all about your kitty. Name, age, when diagnosed, type and dose of insulin, are you home testing…if so what type of meter….we recommend a human meter. Also what you are feeding him, and other illnesses or medications.
HELP US HELP YOU has links to the spreadsheet and signature which we would like you to set up please so we can help you move forward.

I will also give you another link to hometesting. .your kitty won’t hate you for doing the hometesting. If you give a treat each time, you will find he will look forward to it. Read this link to further links.
HOMETESTING LINKS AND HINTS

It is much better for your kitty if you can use canned low carb food as the majority of dry food is high carb and low in moisture.
tell us what you are feeding at the moment and we can help you sort something out.

The goal is to get your kitty back into normal numbers so that his health will improve. And then regulation. If you are lucky he might go into remission. The sooner you get him onto a good low carb diet and start hometesting, the sooner you will achieve that’s things.

Here is a Food chart https://catinfo.org/docs/CatFoodProteinFatCarbPhosphorusChart.pdf
for you to look at. Look for foods that are 10% or less carbs to feed. Around 4-6% is best.
Also look for some foods that are around 11-15% ( medium carb) and 16-23% (high carb) to put in your hypo box. You will need to get that set up as soon as possible in case you need it. You will find the link to that in 5(3 link above Help Us Help You
I would recommend the ReliOn Premier human meter from Walmart for $9 and 100 test strips for $17.88
You will also need a box of 100 lancets to prick the ear…get size 26or 28 and some cotton rounds to hold behind the ear when testing and to hold the ear afterwards for a minute.
Keep asking questions
Bron
 
WOW! That’s a ton of information. Now I’m more overwhelmed . I’ll try to post answers when I’m not exhausted. Thanks. BTW, my vet said no feeding between 2 meals a day (or treats)‍♀️
 
Erinmc said:
WOW! That’s a ton of information. Now I’m more overwhelmed . I’ll try to post answers when I’m not exhausted. Thanks. BTW, my vet said no feeding between 2 meals a day (or treats)‍♀️
Click to expand...
We feed our cats multiple tines a day to both cycles
Withhold food 2 hours before the AMPS/and PMPS
 
Welcome to FDMB!

Feeling overwhelmed is how most of us felt when first starting out on this journey. In other words, overwhelmed is exactly where you can expect to be. We're here to help.

Unless you want your diabetic cat to threaten to eat your ankle, you may want to consider providing several small meals. An unregulated diabetic is hungry ALL the time since when food is being metabolized, it's not getting into the cells. Rather, the result of food being metabolized, glucose, is floating around in the blood stream. It's also the reason that many diabetics lose weight. Most of us provide small meals over the course of several hours. Low carbohydrate treats (e.g., a freeze dried protein) are also fine. You definitely don't want to feed within the 2 hours prior to shot time. Some members will hold off on feeding past nadir (the lowest point in the cycle) since this is when the effect of insulin begins to wear off.

Once you catch your breath, please let us know if you have questions. The members here are very generous with their knowledge and time.
 
Erinmc said:
WOW! That’s a ton of information. Now I’m more overwhelmed . I’ll try to post answers when I’m not exhausted. Thanks. BTW, my vet said no feeding between 2 meals a day (or treats)‍♀️
Click to expand...
Welcome Erin! Its a lot to take in. I felt scared and overwhelmed as well in the beginning. If you can read as much as you can here it will help your stress level ( ultimately) as well as helping your kitty. Its going to be ok!
 
Still waiting for the vet to get back to me after I sent in Zoey’s glucose curve last week!!!. I still don’t understand what the goal is. Is it to keep her levels in a certain range all day? What is the range? When will she stop peeing outside the litter box? I’m no better off then before
 
Hi Erinmc,

The experts here can help you a lot better if you can provide some basic information about your situation. As Bron stated above, please consider providing the following information:

Bron and Sheba (GA) said:
We need to know all about your kitty. Name, age, when diagnosed, type and dose of insulin, are you home testing…if so what type of meter….we recommend a human meter. Also what you are feeding him, and other illnesses or medications.
HELP US HELP YOU has links to the spreadsheet and signature which we would like you to set up please so we can help you move forward.
Click to expand...
 
If you could set up the spreadsheet and add data we can help you with dosing.
Instructions for the spreadsheet are in the link above in post 2 Help Us Help You
If you are having trouble setting it up just let us know.
 
Erinmc said:
Still waiting for the vet to get back to me after I sent in Zoey’s glucose curve last week!!!. I still don’t understand what the goal is. Is it to keep her levels in a certain range all day? What is the range? When will she stop peeing outside the litter box? I’m no better off then before
Click to expand...
Sorry you are feeling frustrated Erinmc,
I know how that feels. I promise, once you tackle the basics ( spreadsheet and signature) then the members can help you and some of the anxiety goes away.
Post a lot with your questions. There is a lot to learn and knowledge is the only way to help your cat.
Sending encouragement your way

BTW we arent being coy not answering the “what is the range” question. It is multi faceted based on the individual cat
 
Hello, Erin + Zoey!

I’m just over a month in but lurking here has been invaluable! I also have an uninvolved/uninformed vet who hasn’t checked in on my kitty since calling in the insulin prescription but have learned so much reading these threads. Following the SLGS procedures has my cats energy/weight/attitude nearly back to normal and I’m seeing hopeful numbers each week I get closer to a correct dose.

In the first reply to this thread from @Bron and Sheba (GA) are links to important things to get started… I’ve had to read them a few times along the way to get the ‘goals’ and next steps. Looking at other peoples spreadsheets has been helpful to me, too.

My first suggestion is to get the tools and learn how to test Zoeys Blood Glucose (BG) levels and start a spreadsheet. This will be very important in being able to make informed decisions and get advice here.
 
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Hi Erin
We just joined here in March. We are still on the journey to figuring out how insulin and carefully metered out food work with each other to get your kitty’s blood sugar into a healthy range. It requires a lot of testing by ear pricking (it used to be scary for us just three months ago, but now it’s so easy!). In the beginning, it requires losing sleep, because the evening doses need as much attention as the day doses. It requires keeping a consistent spreadsheet on the forum, filling in your blood test results, and making a note of what foods you feed each cycle and when. You will get lots of help with this, if you just ask. The first few weeks or months are the most challenging. Your kitty will take a while to get used to the insulin. You and the good people here will figure out what dose to give for how long and what carb food to meter out, often in teaspoonfuls, at what times, to help the insulin work properly. Its a whole lotta work for a few months, but eventually you will see progress and get more on an even keel. I am still in the process of figuring it all out myself, and I hope we will soon get the the point where we are on a schedule that is manageable. We have been here since March. I have been through three vets who were quite clueless, but I feel fully supported by the people on this forum, and, to me, where it concerns diabetes, vets are for diagnosing, prescribing insulin, health concerns related to diabetes, and backup emergencies. Of course, there are wonderful knowledgeable vets out there. I hope you find one! The people on this forum are helping from their own experience with their own diabetic cat journeys. They are patient and kind and really smart. Keep posting your questions here, get your “signature” and your spreadsheet started, and start your journey. It is emotional and difficult, but hang in there. It will be ok, it really will.
 
Hi Erin,
Welcome to FDMB. I know everything is overwhelming, but I promise it does get easier. I am glad you reached out to us for help.

Can you tell us what insulin you are using and the dose? Also, what are you feeding Zoey?

Yes, your cat will get over being treated as a pin cushion. One trick is to make sure you reward her with a low carb treat every time you test. A great treat is freeze dried chicken. A lot of us buy ours from the dog treat section of the pet store. You get a bigger bag and end up spending less than if you buy the small bag in the cat section. Give her a treat every time you test, even if you are not successful. She will soon associate testing with getting the treat. My cat Charlie automatically will go to his testing spot now and wait to get tested and his treat. If I am not fast enough, he meows at me reminding me that he is waiting. :cat:

There is a lot of info on this site. You are already off to a great start by testing and doing your own curve. For food, we recommend either a low carb canned or raw food diet. There are a couple brands of low carb dry food that work well also. Many of us feed our cats either Fancy Feast or Friskies canned food. Pate flavors are usually the lower carb choices.

If you can set up your spreadsheet, that will help us give you dosing advice. If you have any questions, please reach out and ask them. We welcome all questions and will do our best to answer them quickly. You have a lot of experienced people on this board and we want to help you learn to give the best care to Zoey that you can. The reason this board was created is to help others learn how to care for their cats.
 
Lando demando said:
Sorry you are feeling frustrated Erinmc,
I know how that feels. I promise, once you tackle the basics ( spreadsheet and signature) then the members can help you and some of the anxiety goes away.
Post a lot with your questions. There is a lot to learn and knowledge is the only way to help your cat.
Sending encouragement your way

BTW we arent being coy not answering the “what is the range” question. It is multi faceted based on the individual cat
Click to expand...
I have no idea (OR TIME) to do a spreadsheet, and I'm not sure what is meant by signature...
Lisa and Witn (GA) said:
Hi Erin,
Welcome to FDMB. I know everything is overwhelming, but I promise it does get easier. I am glad you reached out to us for help.
after 2
Can you tell us what insulin you are using and the dose? Also, what are you feeding Zoey?

Yes, your cat will get over being treated as a pin cushion. One trick is to make sure you reward her with a low carb treat every time you test. A great treat is freeze dried chicken. A lot of us buy ours from the dog treat section of the pet store. You get a bigger bag and end up spending less than if you buy the small bag in the cat section. Give her a treat every time you test, even if you are not successful. She will soon associate testing with getting the treat. My cat Charlie automatically will go to his testing spot now and wait to get tested and his treat. If I am not fast enough, he meows at me reminding me that he is waiting. :cat:

There is a lot of info on this site. You are already off to a great start by testing and doing your own curve. For food, we recommend either a low carb canned or raw food diet. There are a couple brands of low carb dry food that work well also. Many of us feed our cats either Fancy Feast or Friskies canned food. Pate flavors are usually the lower carb choices.

If you can set up your spreadsheet, that will help us give you dosing advice. If you have any questions, please reach out and ask them. We welcome all questions and will do our best to answer them quickly. You have a lot of experienced people on this board and we want to help you learn to give the best care to Zoey that you can. The reason this board was created is to help others learn how to care for their cats.
Click to expand...
I have no idea how to set up a spreadsheet but Zoey is on ProZinc. The "vet" started her on 1 units 2x a day last month!!! I have had very little guidance since then (except for the head vet suggesting i rehome her if the costs are too much)---I made a comment to her about my frustration that I ran out of test strips after 1 week because I mistakenly thought I was supposed to test her every two hours EVERY DAY FOREVER!!!! Needless to say I'm not on good terms with my vet office but im waiting to find a new one until i have to. i was recently sent a text that I should increase her dose to 2 units 2x/day and I was supposed to get a phone call today, but she never called me.
 
Hi Erin, perhaps @Bandit's Mom can help you set up your spreadsheet. She has been able to help other new members in the past with that.

Your signature appears under every post you make and can be set up with some information about Zoey so that the helpful experts do not have to keep bugging you with the same questions over and over. If you look under my post, you can see my signature

Read more here on how to put info into your signature:
https://felinediabetes.com/FDMB/threads/editing-your-signature-profile-and-preferences.130340/
 
Bron and Sheba (GA) said:
I’ll tag @FrostD for you mad she uses prozinc.
I would not go up from 1 to 2 units.I would wait until Frostd comes along to help you with the dosing
Click to expand...
I agree. Hold off on increasing the dose. We know it does not seem like much of an increase, but it can have a big effect on your cat's glucose levels and drop them too low. That can be dangerous for your cat.

What meter are you using to test? If you are in the US many of us use the Walmart Relion brand glucose meter. It is not expensive to use and the strips are available at any Walmart. You can use any human glucose meter. The reason we recommend human meters is that the strips are usually less expensive and available at your pharmacy.

Everything is overwhelming right now and it may seem we are asking a lot from you. The spreadsheet we use will help you keep track of the test results. This info is important so you can see how well the dose is working and if it needs to be adjusted. By having this information available to us it will help us advise you whenever you have questions.

It does get easier. I promise it does. Once you find the routine that works best for you you will become less stressed. After that you may wonder why it was so hard at the beginning and soon start encouraging our new members.

You have a lot of experienced people on this board and we want to help you. We understand the frustration you are feeling with your vet. Unfortunately many of us have been through the same thing. Unfortunately many vets have little training in feline diabetes and very few feline diabetic patients. We know what works because we take care of diabetic cats daily. In fact many of us have even adopted other diabetic cats because we know we can provide the proper care they need.
 
In addition to/confirming what others have said. 1 to 2 units is too large an increase, we typically increase by 0.25-0.5U at a time depending on BG and some other factors. Unfortunately without any BG data at all I can't advise whether current dose is too high, good, or needs an increase.
 
Erinmc said:
I have no idea (OR TIME) to do a spreadsheet, and I'm not sure what is meant by signature...

I have no idea how to set up a spreadsheet but Zoey is on ProZinc. The "vet" started her on 1 units 2x a day last month!!! I have had very little guidance since then (except for the head vet suggesting i rehome her if the costs are too much)---I made a comment to her about my frustration that I ran out of test strips after 1 week because I mistakenly thought I was supposed to test her every two hours EVERY DAY FOREVER!!!! Needless to say I'm not on good terms with my vet office but im waiting to find a new one until i have to. i was recently sent a text that I should increase her dose to 2 units 2x/day and I was supposed to get a phone call today, but she never called me.
Click to expand...
I hope the folks like @Bandit's Mom and everyone who has chimed in will be able to help you get on a path to making this process easier for you. I know that is one of the main goals. If we can help you, you can help your kitty
 
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