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arthur-kitty

arthur-kitty

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I am new. I've read the beginner posts, but please let me know if I missed a rule.

I noticed my cat urinating more than normal and drinking a lot of water, so I brought him to the vet immediately. Arthur tested at 400 mg/dL at the vet. We had the insulin demo on Friday 07-19-2024 when he was diagnosed. We've been giving him 1 unit ProZinc AM & PM.

At the insulin demo, I started crying because I knew wet food was better but I chose the dry food due to cost. I am really ashamed right now. They told me not to switch his food yet until the first in-office glucose curve.

I am concerned because they didn't mention doing any at home testing. My cat means a lot to me, and I don't want to accidentally overdose him.

Question -
- I'm emotionally overwhelmed right now. I know a human glucometer is OK, but I don't know which one to get.
- I know I'm not supposed to change his food yet, but I am worried about the Temptations treats. The whole Insulin experience is vastly improved because of the treat and he gets excited after his shot because of this. Is there a low carb treat I can give safely? Is that too big of a change right now?

Claire (Caregiver) & Arthur (Cat)
DX: 07-19-2024
Insulin Type: ProZinc
Meter: Seeking Glucometer
Diet: Cat Chow Indoor Hairball & Healthy Weight Dry Cat Food
Treat: Temptation (2x per day after insulin)
Dosing: 1 unit on U-40
Condition/Symptoms: Actively Polyuric & Polydipsic, No Other Conditions
Spreadsheet: No home-testing data (yet)
 
Hi and welcome Claire and Arthur to the forum.
It is overwhelming in the beginning as so much is happening but I promise it will get better.

I would definitely recommend you start hometesting as it is the only way to keep Arthur safe and to know what the dose of insulin is doing. Just getting a curve done at the vet every so often does not do that.
A good human meter is the ReliOn premier which you can get from Walmart. You will also need a box of 100 test strips and a box of 100 lancets size 26 or 28 to prick the ear. Also get some cotton ball to hold behind the ear when testing.
Here is a link to HOMETESTING HINTS AND LINKS.
Expect to fail a few times…we all did in the beginning. But both you and Arthur will get used to the new routine very quickly and soon be old pros with it all.
You don’t need to feed a prescription food for diabetes. A low carb wet diet is cheaper and much more suitable. Almost all dry food is very high in carbs and is really defeating the purpose. Here is a FOOD CHART.. look for canned feeds that are 10% or under carbs.
They can be bought at the supermarket or pet stores. Many of us feed fancy feast pates which are low carb.
HOWEVER…when you are swapping over to a low carb diet over several days, you need to be testing the blood glucose closely as the change can reduce the blood glucose up to 100 points and often requires a reduction in dose of insulin…we can help you with that.

Here is a link for the spreadsheet, the signature, and the hypo box. Please get the hypo box set up asap in case it is needed. With testing you will be able to see what is happening and be able to steer the blood glucose with food.
HELP US HELP YOU

Here is a link to using PROZINC
And PROZINC DOSING METHODS
For low carb treats you can always give some freeze dried low carb foods which can be bought at pet stores.
I don’t live in the US so I will ask Diane about other low carb treats in the US.

Ask lots of questions, we are happy to help you
Bron
 
Hi and welcome to the group. Overwhelming is an understatement, I remember the feeling when my boy was diagnosed. Felt like I was drowning and failing my boy.

Then I found this group and it was like a miracle. Stick with us, these people can help.
 
Hendrick Cuddleclaw said:
Hi and welcome to the group. Overwhelming is an understatement, I remember the feeling when my boy was diagnosed. Felt like I was drowning and failing my boy.

Then I found this group and it was like a miracle. Stick with us, these people can help.
Click to expand...

Hi and welcome, just like Hendrick express it is overwhelming at first, when I took my Corky to emergency, hospitalized for 8 days, his glucose was 650 he had lost over 8 lbs. in less than 2 months, constantly by the water bowl and cry over it would throw out the water with his paw, I thought he was playing I had no idea about diabetes never mind n a cat, I adopted him at 6 weeks old he is now 11, he grew up on Temptation treats and MeauMix dry food he never liked to be picked up until one day he did, I felt horrible I did not noticed, once home holding a bag full of syringes, antibiotic, disposable container and insulin, I did not know where to start, then his vet for 10 years refused to see him anymore, he did not know about cats diabetes, I was frantic, the first shot my neighbor held him I pinched him, I cried, the next day placing the bottle in the fridge it rolled out my hand and broke into pieces, so yes is overwhelming, I found this Forum 3 months later by coincidence, I had no idea what I was doing, now is a walk in the park, I have not visited a Vet since I trust this Forum blindly, and of course my Corky is very, very healthy and inside cat which it helps no illness, you are in the right place, the expert members and us not expert in several areas, will guide you help you with your concerns, make sure to read all information that Ron & Sheba send you links for, so the more we know about your fur baby the easier if to guide you and help, last thing it is important to home monitor, you need to know what his glucose (BG) is before shooting insulin and feeding with a full stomach, We are here for you, I never fed my Corky and Coco again MeauMix dry food, I switched them both to Fancy Feast Pates with 0-10 % carbs, when Temtation treats and the food are over 25% carbs, I feed them 1/2 can or 1 can on each meal I feed them 4 times a day 2 full meals with the insulin shot and small meals in between, you can buy the FF food either thru Chewy.com by the case is $0.83 a can or go to Walmart they are $0.88 you can see Corky's spreadsheet below post in blue how well he is doing, and in each line you can scroll to the end you will see remarks on how and when he eats:bighug::cat::cat:
 
I got a Relion premium BLU, 50 test strips (they were out of the 100 pk), and 50 single use lancets all for under $35!

I am going to search the forum and learn how to test. I did it on myself to try it out. The glucometer connects to an app... not sure if I will use it but it looks super cool.

I'm still going to do the in-office glucose cycle to comply with the vet while I figure this stuff out...
 
I’m replying over on the ProZinc forum. Please keep me updated on your thread over there. I will get an email to tell me if you reply on that forum where I spend most of my time on this Board. helping ProZinc users.
 
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