1.13.22 New Member

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Stacey Barrientos

Stacey Barrientos

Member Since 2022
My daughter and I have a 9 year old Norwegian Forest cat that we rescued 2 years ago. We live in Denver,CO. Tuck was diagnosed on 1.11.22 with diabetes. I have spent the last 2 days reading as much as I can about this disease. At first we were devastated afraid that the cost would make it impossible for us to keep him but after reading we have hope that we can do this. We immediately changed his diet to fancy feast pate low carb and completely got rid of the dry food. We have already noticed a decrease in his water intake (it was an incredible amount of water) and are thrilled that we already see this a a positive result. We have an appointment with the Vet tomorrow 1.14.22 to go over options. We had an appointment last night but after getting there was told it was with a tech only and only to show us how to give insulin. After everything I have read I know I need to know what his blood sugars are before I’m giving him any insulin especially after radically changing his diet. I am asking for verification for my decision to wait and see if the change in diet has changed his numbers. They wanted to blindly give him insulin. This doesn’t sound right to me. We want to put on a Libre to see what his numbers are doing and then decide whether he needs insulin or not. Is this the right thing to do? Also where do I start with home testing? What kind of testing kit do we buy etc??? Help!!
 
Hi and welcome Stacey to the forum to you, your daughter and your kitty.
Well done swapping over to a low carb diet..

Do you know how your kitty was diagnosed? Was it with a simple blood or urine test or a fructosamine test? A fructosamine test tells what the blood glucose was for the last couple of weeks and is a good way to diagnose a feline diabetic.
You can start off with a freestyle libre if you like until you learn to hometesting yourself, or you can just start hometesting. Sounds scary but it is not hard.

HOMETESTING LINK will give you inform about how to home test.

The best insulins to use are either Lantus or Prozinc which are longer lasting more gentle insulin than some of the insulins some vets still use. Ask if you can use one of these. If they suggest Caninsulin (vetsulin) or Novolin…say no thank you, as they are fast and harsh insulin and are not suitable for cats. If the vet prescribes Lantus, there are alternatives to buying the expensive Lantus brand…..the same insulin, just another name which is cheaper. …just post here and we will help you with it.
Once you have been given the insulin, come back here and post what it is and what dose it is. The usual starting dose of insulin, if you have swapped to a low carb wet diet is 1/2 unit.

If you are not going to start insulin straight away I would suggest you go to Walmart or a pharmacy and buy a bottle of Ketostix to test the urine for ketones, which can form in cats urine and blood in untreated diabetic cats and also when they are not eating properly or not getting enough insulin. By testing, it’s like an insurance policy and if caught early can be dealt with fairly easily. It only costs around $10 for the bottle. It’s always good to have a bottle of Ketostix at home in case your kitty becomes unwell.

If you are looking for a glucose meter I would suggest looking at the ReliOn meter from Walmart. It is only $9 and a box of 100 test strips is $17.88.
You will also need a box of lancets….ask for size 26 or 28 gauge. And also some cotton rounds to hold behind the ear when you test and to dab the prick after you do it.
Also when you are given the insulin you will probably be given the syringes that go with the particular insulin. Ask if they have 1/2 unit syringes as it makes it much easier to give the smaller doses. Don’t let the vet talk you into getting a pet meter (alphatrak meter). A human meter is perfectly suitable and the strips are much cheaper to buy.

When you give insulin, you always test before every shot to see it is safe to give the dose. Then if you can test at least once during the cycles to see how low the dose is taking your kitty, that is best. It all sounds pretty overwhelming in the beginning but I can promise you that both you and your kitty will very soon settle down to a routine. If you follow the tips with hometesting you will find your kitty will very soon come to relate testing with getting a treat. My kitty Sheba used to come running from wherever she was in the house when she heard me at the testing kit. When you are home testing you are in control and know exactly what is happening with your kitty.

You might like to get set up with our spreadsheet and signature so that you will be ready for when you start insulin. You will find the instructions how to do these things in this link HELP US HELP YOU
If you have any trouble setting up the SS let me know and I will ask someone to help you.
In the above link is a link on how to set up a hypo kit. Make sure you have this set up before you start the insulin in case you need it if the BG drops low…..you dont want to be racing around looking for something …you need it available immediately.

We will be happy to help you with dosing moving forward and any other concerns you might have. We increase the dose of insulin in 1/4 unit increments so don’t let the vet incease the dose in 1 unit increments….it’s too much.
So while you are waiting to see the vet I would make sure your kitty is eating plenty of food, drinking well and I would test the urine for ketones. Tell the vet immediately if there is more than a trace of ketones in the urine as the insulin will need to be started.
Let us know how you get on at the vet. Ask as many questions as you like. Everyone here is very generous with their time.
Bron
 
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Stacey Barrientos said:
And what do you mean hypo kit?
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A hypo kit is a small box you set up with things in it to help you if your kitty’s blood glucose drops low. It contains such things as some honey or Karo, some high carbohydrate cans of food, spare test strips and the phone number of the closest ER.
Don’t be scared by this…we just like everyone to be prepared in case of low or hypoglycaemic blood glucose numbers. If you are hometesting you will be able to catch these drops before they become too low and you will learn how to feed your kitty to bring up the blood glucose and to stop it happening.
 
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Stacey Barrientos said:
Awesome. We will start getting this together. Do you think it’s crazy to hope that we might not have to start insulin?
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No, it’s not crazy, but you will have to wait and see how his blood glucose (BG) is once you start testing. If he does need insulin, the sooner you start, the better.
Changing over to a low carb diet should help reduce the BG somewhat but may not be enough and he could well need the help of some insulin to support his pancreas.
Don’t be too devastated by the diagnosis. Feline diabetes is a very treatable disease and most cats go on to lead a normal life and when they do eventually die, it is mostly from an unrelated cause.
 
I got home from work and he’s lethargic and not eating. We are at the emergency vet so we can get his BG. We don’t have supplies or anything yet. ☹️
 
We are very sad to report that Tuck was put to sleep this morning. He was very sick with ketoacidosis. It was going to be a very expensive long haul that we were not able to do it. We are devastated that we didn’t get enough time to help him. Thank you everyone for you time and information. If we just had more time.
 
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