6 year old female radgoll diagnosed today, heartbroken

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RagdollMomma

Member Since 2013
I adopted Magnolia seven months ago from someone on Craigslist at a time in my life when I was so deeply sad and lost. She's turned my life around, and is my best friend. Last night she was having trouble urinating and had a little bloody discharge, and she was hiding and panting, which she never does. I noticed something was wrong around 10 p.m. and kept a close eye until 2 a.m. when she finally was able to go. She seemed fine and her content self afterwards, to my great relief, but just to be safe we took her into the vet today, who diagnosed her with feline diabetes.

She gave us a bottle of insulin, two syringes, and we bought some hard and wet Purina Diabetes Vet Formula for her with instructions to give her a small dose (I'd have to look to see exactly how much) twice a day. Maggie had also never been spayed we discovered (she's an only child- er, pet) so that will have to be done as well once she stabilizes. She has almost no teeth, which we didn't discover until after we adopted her, so food has to be fairly soft or mixed.

I'm unemployed and have no income, and this is going to be a huge financial burden. I'm totally distraught, but glad it's nothing more serious and Maggie is still able to live a fairy normal life.

Very sad right now. I want every happiness for my little darling, and it breaks my heart to think she's suffering in any way. I've been crying so much in the past 24 hours and feel so drained. I can only imagine how Maggie must feel going through this, though she seems to be okay.



Sorry for the tiny photo.
 
Hi,
Hang in there. Keep writing. I went broke taking my Kitty to the vet.
You are a wonderful human being for caring so much.
Marianne
 
First, please take off the candle, thats for cats that have passed on! Maggie will be fine now that you have diagnosed the issue. And we can help with that!

Second, the peeing /bleeding issue also sounds like she may have a urinary tract infection although it could be irritation of frequent peeing - Did the vet address this possibility?

What kind of insulin did the vet prescribe? What dose?

Instead of the prescription food, you may want to switch to a lower cost wet food like Fancy Feast classic pates or Friskies pates since they are also under 10% carbs, they are good for diabetic cats.

Did the vet discuss home testing with you? A change in food to low carb can cause the blood sugar to drop and if you still give the same amount of insulin she could have a hypo. Testing is the only way to keep her safe. He may have mentioned doing a "curve" and keeping her for a day or so, thats expensive and inaccurate and frankly un-necessary if you are home testing.

let me know. And dont worry, we are here to help!
Wendy
 
Welcome extra sweet Magnolia and Mama! WHAT A BEAUTIFUL BABY! Oh SO pretty!

First, BIG HUG! Next, grab that tissue and wipe those tears - diabetes is NOT a death sentence!!!! She may not feel well right now but that can be fixed by helping support her body with what she needs. KT has been diabetic for over 1 1/2 years, he's just fine! A 'normal' cat - healthy, eats, drinks, plays, cuddles, all those cat things.

First thing is take that DRY food right back to the vet and ask for a refund YES even if you've opened and used some of it. It's full of carbs which will KEEP her glucose numbers high. The vets get a real sales snow job from the company reps - it's NOT good for kitties. The rep will refund the vet so don't worry about that part either....and the vet knows this....

What kind of insulin? If guessing, probably Novolin or Humulin N?

Next - regardless of the vet's direction, PLEASE begin home testing before giving insulin. Humans would never inject without testing - cats shouldn't be either! Most of us use human meters, Walmart has a few good ones that aren't overly expensive and the strips are economical. Don't let the vet tell you human meters won't work, they work for all of US! The only difference is the range of numbers we use.

I know you asked other questions but I'm going to go ahead and post this so you'll start seeing answers and caring hugs!!!
 
Have you started the insulin yet?

If yes, focus on home glucose testing first. Pick up a human glucometer (ex WalMart ReliOn brands), test strips for the selected meter, and 26-27 gauge lancets.

If no, focus on diet change to a low carb, canned or raw food. Go to Cat Ingo for nutrition info and a printable list of nutrition info vor a variety of foods. Slect foods with 10% or fewer calories from carbuhydrates. Have a few cans of high carb food available for episodes of low glucose.
 
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