Welcome to FDMB!!
I haven't a clue why your vet would have you delay home testing let alone be annoyed with you for testing. To put this in context, do really think that if your vet had a diabetic child that the child's pediatrician would give the same advice? No MD would give anyone that advice! So, good for you for having instincts that will keep Kinzington safe. Also, there is no need for an AlphaTrak meter. It's fine to use but it's pricey. The cost for strips are at least 4 - 5 times more than what you would spend on strips for a human meter. Many people here use the Walmart Relion brand meter because the strips are the least expensive around.
You do not need to use a prescription diabetic food. Most of the diabetic foods are composed of poor quality ingredients. The dry foods are very high in carbohydrates. Some of the canned diabetic foods are also high in carbs. The Tiki brand is a good quality food and most of the flavors are low in carbs. This is a
food chart that breaks down the nutritional elements, including carbs, of most of the canned foods that are available in the US. We consider low carb as under 10%. However, most of the members here use foods that are in the 5% range. You gave lots of options.
Part of the reason you're not yet seeing much movement in Kinz's blood glucose (BG) numbers is that it's the nature of the insulin you're using. Lantus is a great insulin for cats so kudos to your vet for recommending Lantus! However, Lantus needs to build up in your cat's system. It takes a week for Lantus to build up and stabilize. We refer to that "build up" as the insulin depot. The technical side is that when you give a shot of Lantus, it forms microcrystals that deposit in the fat tissue. Almost all of those crystals slowly dissolve over the 12-hour cycle. However, not all of the crystals dissolve -- a bit is kept in "storage." This allows Lantus to have a long duration and to overlap between cycles. Every time you change a dose, the depot needs to adjust which can take up to 3 days. If you want to learn more about Lantus, take a look at the sticky notes at the top of the
Lantus forum.
With the switch in foods, please monitor your cat's BG carefully. You've moved from a very high carb food to low carb. Kinz's BG numbers could drop sharply. Please make sure you have something like corn syrup, maple syrup, honey -- anything that is a simple sugar -- on hand should numbers drop low.
You may also want to take a look at this post on
helping us to help you. There's information on how to set up a signature that contains basic information on Kinz so we don't keep asking you the same questions over and over again. There are also instructions on how to set up a spreadsheet so you can track Kinz's progress. Linking the spreadsheet in your signature also allows us to follow along and offer suggestions or help.
Please let us know how we can help!
you will get amazing advice here! Welcome. Its a steep learning curve, but youll be a pro in no time!
