Abby

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Shana Martin

Shana Martin

Member Since 2017
Hello! My name is Shana and I am here with my 9 year old Siamese, Princess Abby.

I had a full panel done on her July 2016 and the glucose levels were a little high but nothing to worry about (per the vet.) Well fast forward to today, Abby has been losing weight the past month or so (-4 pounds since July vet visit) and has had a huge increase of appetite and water consumption... After some research I thought the dreadful word, diabetes.

So I took Abby to the vet on Friday and she was diagnosed with Diabetes, the levels showed 484.The vet wasn't very sympathetic and didn't go into much detail with me, just pretty much came in the room and told me my cat had diabetes.. They didn't even read her chart beforehand and were just not organized. They told me that I needed to give her Insulin for the rest of her life!!! (Now I am reading a lot of cats can go into remission.) The vet prescribed Novolin 1u every 12 hours. They also said that she had a bacterial infection so they took her in the back, gave her fluids, and sent me home with Amoxicillin (dosage of 2ml 2x a day) and the vet tech showed me how to give an injection and also gave me a prescription for a new food. But there was no information on how to monitor levels!! They want me to come back in 7 days to do a full day hospitalization to test her levels.

I started the antibiotics but I have not started any Insulin injections because after so much research, I read that Novolin is not the best choice for kitties (yes it's cheap but I want the best for my Abby!) and I am scared her levels will drop and I won't know or what to do! Anyway, I scheduled an appointment with her previous vet for Monday morning because she is so great and has seen her a few times previously. So I guess I am just here to voice my stressed out mind and say how scared I am because I have this insulin in my fridge to give to her but I am just scared this vet isn't giving me the right info. Ugh, lol!

OH, and I also have 2 other cats.. One is 6 and the other is 3. I have stopped free-feeding and plan to only give them all wet food 2x a day. I have them separated at feeding time from Abby so she can eat her prescription diet. Will this change drastically affect Abby without the insulin?

Has anyone else felt this way? Are there any specific questions I should ask the vet? I read that Lantus is the best for cats. Sorry for all the ramble and 131820 questions, thanks in advance to everyone! :)
 
HI Shana, welcome to you and beautiful Abby! Yes, we've all felt just like you do now. Overwhelmed and scared, but you've come to the right place for all your answers.
Which food did the vet prescribe? There's no need for the expensive prescription diets. Most of us feed a low carb over the counter wet food, such as Fancy Feast Classic or even Friskies Pate. It's not only cheaper, but it's usually lower in carbs than most prescription foods and you can feed it to everyone and that makes mealtimes a bit easier.
The best thing you can do for Abby is learn to home test her blood glucose. It's easy to do and we'll be glad to help you learn how. You can use any human meter, just be sure it uses the smallest amount of blood and that the test strips are affordable. If you're in the US, the Relion Confirm from Walmart is a popular one. You definitely want to be testing her when you start insulin.
You're correct, Novolin is not the best insulin because it drops the glucose fast and doesn't last long. The best insulins are Lantus, Levemir or Prozinc. Hopefully the new vet will be open to one of these.
 
Hi Sharon! Thank you so much for the response!

The vet prescribed Glucose/Weight Management from Hills Prescription Diet! I have always free-fed with Nutro kibble and then gave them a can of the same brand for wet food at night. I will definitely check out those two that you suggested once I finish these cans up! I bought the Kibble of the new recommended food too, but the more I read, I don't think I will really be needing it. Do you think it is good to just have on hand for her in case she drops too low when I begin the insulin?

With the testing at home, I have the AlphaTRAK 2 in my Amazon cart, I think I read that somewhere on this site- is that a good one as well?
 
Is that the w/d? It is high in carbs, so is the m/d. You may find that with a switch to low carb food Abby's glucose will go down, so it would be a good idea to go ahead with the switch now, before you start insulin so you won't start with too high a dose. Hills will take back the food, just bring it to the vet and tell them she won't eat it. Here's a list of foods with the carb contents
http://catinfo.org/docs/CatFoodProteinFatCarbPhosphorusChart.pdf
Look for foods under 10 carbs. And yes you want to have some high carb food, honey or karo around once insulin is started, in case of hypo. Most of us use Fancy Feast Gravy lovers for that
Alpha trak is a good meter. It is specifically for pets and will read more accurately than a human meter. The only problem is the strips are expensive and you have to order them, so if you run out and kitty is having a problem you can't get strips. Many use the AT and have a human meter as a backup or use the human meter for everyday and the AT for curves only. (Curves are testing every two hours in a twelve hour period and many vets want you to do that every few weeks)
 
Yep, it's the m/d. I will take it back to Petsmart tomorrow and get one of those that you just sent over that is under 10g of carbs.. Probably Fancy Feast and the honey!
Oh my gosh though, you are right, Hills has so many carbs in a can!!! Idk why they would recommend that. Thanks for that food chart!

I think I am going to go with the AlphaTRAK. I am going to order an extra box of strips and just make sure I always reorder before I get too low. Since I am so new to this I want to make sure I am getting the most accurate readings for her vs the human meter then maybe eventually alternate between the two like you suggested.

Thank you so much!!
 
Great! Please keep reading, posting and asking questions. It's the best thing you can do for Abby!
 
Shana we are here for you. Cats can go into remission. Sometimes the remission is temporary, and for some it's years and they never need another shot. My cat is almost 9 months without a shot after needing insulin for 4 months. You caught it early so that is in your favor.


Infections can raise bg so as the infection goes down her levels will drop.

The levels will also drop with the food change.

No need for expensive perscription food.... You just need foods under 10 % carb. Most of us feed fancy feast classic or Friskies pate. I do fancy feast classic morning and night and free feed young again zero carb dry food (1%carb) all the time because all 6 of my cats are grazers. I also have down Evo Cat and Kitten in the purple bag and an waiting on my order of Dr.elsley's food which is 4-5%.

Also not necessary to only feed twice a day. As I said I have grazers. Most people on here feed at shot time but then give other small meals in between.... Just no food 2 hours prior to the preshot test so the number is not food influenced.


I have an Alphatrak and love it, but it is really expensive. If cost is an issue than its perfectly fine to use a human meter. Expect to go through about 150 test strips per month.

If we can help with specific questions feel free to ask.... You may want to move to the main health forum so more eyes will see it.
 
Hi Janet!
Thanks for the info.. I will start to follow the health forum to get some tips! I purchased the Alphatrak last night & it should be here tomorrow which is perfect bc she will see her new vet then and I can get started hopefully on a new recommended insulin instead of the Novolin.

Just one more question, I went today and got the Fancy Feast Classic cans of wet food.
I also think it would be much better for my cats if they were still able to free feed with the Young Again, Zero Carb Dry Food with having the wet food AM and PM.
Having this food down throughout the day won't affect Abby's glucose levels?
 
Shana Martin said:
Hi Janet!
Thanks for the info.. I will start to follow the health forum to get some tips! I purchased the Alphatrak last night & it should be here tomorrow which is perfect bc she will see her new vet then and I can get started hopefully on a new recommended insulin instead of the Novolin.

Just one more question, I went today and got the Fancy Feast Classic cans of wet food.
I also think it would be much better for my cats if they were still able to free feed with the Young Again, Zero Carb Dry Food with having the wet food AM and PM.
Having this food down throughout the day won't affect Abby's glucose levels?
Click to expand...
Young again zero is only 1% carb so the effect on bg is very minimal. It causes no spikes on my cat. They will send a sample if you ask. Click on their contact link. Youngagainpetfood.com

In my signature I have a link that shows me testing my cat with an Alphatrak meter.
 
Welcome Shana and Princess Abby!
Don't worry about asking lots of questions :). It is how we learn too! I just wanted to give you some instructional links after your new Vet visit tomorrow, since you may be switching insulins.
Home testing is the best tool in our FD kitty tool belt, I see you should receive your AT2 meter Monday, here is the Spreadsheet template we use to track BG's: http://www.felinediabetes.com/FDMB/threads/fdmb-spreadsheet-instructions.130337/
Just need a Google account and if you need help setting it up, just ask ;)

Signature information is super helpful for a "glance" about Abby's info and helps those of us with bad memories: http://www.felinediabetes.com/FDMB/threads/editing-your-signature-profile-and-preferences.130340/

Lastly, I like to give this to new members, better to be prepared and hope you never need it: http://www.felinediabetes.com/FDMB/threads/how-to-treat-hypos-they-can-kill-print-this-out.15887/

See you on the Main Health Forum :cat:
 
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