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claylady

Member Since 2014
Good Morning,
I am a new member with my handsome Tux boy Jesse James.
My vet places Jesse James on Purina DM Dry food. He HATES it. He won't eat it. I had been giving Jesse and all the other fur kids BLUE BUFFALO WIlderness Weight Management. It's a high Protein and NO GRAINs formula.
I have been giving Jesse James Fancy Feast (canned varsities suggested). He has an appt this afternoon.I bought a small bag of the Blue Buffalo so the vet can compare the one she recommended and mine.
Jesse James is currently getting 2 units of injectable LANTUS 2x day.
ANy advice before the vet appt would be most appreciated.

Deb... Clay Lady.
 
Hi Deb...welcome to the forum, I am very new to this as well, we were just diagnosed on New Years eve. The people on here are wonderful and will help you a lot!! I will tell you that my Jack is on Fancy Feast wet ONLY, I have eliminated all dry cat foods because they are high carb value, no matter how you look at it. Most research you look at will tell you that cats should be on moist food only for good health. I didn't know this, but now I have all of my cats on moist only. My sugar baby, Jack is on Fancy Feast, chicken feast or turkey and giblets and my others are on Friskies Classic Pates. Try to stay away from anything that has gravy listed in the title, they are high carb. I would recommend buy a meter and test at home, so you know what your readings are. I personally use a Relion Confirm meter from Walmart, it was about $15 and 50 test strips was about $20 I think. The people here can help you with dosing and give you advice, they are very knowledgeable.

Good luck with Jesse James!!!
 
Hi Deb,

Take the Purina back to the vet and tell them Jesse James will not eat it, they should give you your money back. Its best to feed diabetic cats the wet food only, like Fancy Feast pate styles or Friskies pate varieties, it had lower carbs in them which is best for the cat.
I think you are doing well if Jesse is taking his shots and are you monitoring BG levels at home? Bless you for taking in other special needs kitties and giving them a home. I just read your other post.

Terri
 
Hi Deb
You may want to look at Dr. Lisa Pierson's cat food chart, current as of September 2012. It lists the carbohydrate values of many different types of cat foods. Ideally, you want to feed Jesse James something that is low in carbs (less then 10% carbs).

According to the chart, despite being grain free, all of the Blue Buffalo canned foods are high in carbohydrates, including the Wilderness Wild Delights.

If you do feed him Fancy Feast, stay with the Fancy Feast Classics, most of them are low in carbs. The marinated morsels and grilled are not.
 
Thank you all for your help and advice!
The Blue Buffalo WILDERNESS I have all of my fur kids on the dry food weight management. Is that still high in carbs?
What is the normal range for cats when doing the home readings?

When feeding the wet food.. do you give an entire can at a time or 1/2? Do you leave it out for your fur child to nibble on?

WHat is it about the Purina DM that they seem to hate? Jesse James sniffs it and walks away.

I do feed the canned Fancy Feast to all my fur kids and have some of the Friskies for our strays.I am sure my vet will freak out if I bring the DM back....But I have to do what is best for Jesse James. :-) and if my boy wants wet then wet pates it is.

His appt is at 3:30. I'llpost as soon as I get back.

Deb
 
Hi Deb,

You can leave wet food out for your cat to nibble on for 12 hours. Just add a bit of water so that it doesn't get crusty and dried out. I would suggest feeding twice a day. Smaller, more frequent meals are easier on the pancreas, which will (hopefully!) allow it to heal.

With Fancy Feast, be sure to get the 'classics', as these are the low carb varieties. The varieties with gravy are much higher in carbs and are not suited for diabetic cats!

If Jesse James won't eat Purina, then you can bring it back to the vet. The Purina DM wet food has a large amount of liver. If Jesse James likes liver, then he will have raptures over Purina DM wet, but if he is more of a poultry/fish-lover, then he will probably turn up his nose at it. I would suggest returning the uneaten portions and use the returned money to buy a few other low carb canned food varieties to see what your cat will eat.

Liz
 
Liz,
You and everyone are my new best friends!
I will take the dry Purina DM food back....maybe my vet practice can give me a credit on my account.I have printed out the Nutritional Composition CHart, and will give this as well to my vet to read.

WHat is the normal range for cats glucose level to be? I know humans have glucose guidelines as far as ranges.. what is it for cats?

Deb
 
[Glucose reference ranges are unsubstantiated and have been removed by Moderator]


If I did my math correctly, Blue Buffalo WILDERNESS dry cat food is a high carb cat food at about 29% carbs. Ideally, you would switch them completely to low carb wet food diet.
 
Hi Deb,

Every cat is different, but normal range is 50-100. I have heard that as long as they are under 150 that that can be normal too, since it varies with each cat. Good luck at your vet appointment and don't be discouraged if she tells you stuff that disagrees with what you have been told here. As I was told previously, vet's get like 2 days training on diabetes and the people on the forums are living it. Personally, my vet doesn't know I am not following her "regime" for dosing. You don't have to tell them. I need her for the script for Lantus and then I handle the rest on my own. She wanted me to dose 1u of Lantus twice a day and she told me to NOT test him. I thought that was crazy. Would you dose a child with insulin and not test them? No you wouldn't. So you do what you feel is right for your furbaby! That is what is important!

Good luck today!!! Let us know how it goes.
 
I didn't even try DM with my cats. Told the vet that Gypsy refused to eat it. She didn't like it but agreed that I should feed her what she would eat! Don't worry about the vets food hang ups...you do what is best for your cat!
 
HI all!
Jesse James and I are back from our Vet visit. Vet told me that 200 was high for a cat (not sky high but high). We had a long talk. I knew I loved her for a reason. She is also Kelby's vet (Kelby is our blind epileptic).
ANyway.... we went over everything in detail and she did a glucose check with a ALPHA TRAK 2 glucose meter. Drum roll....... My baby boy's level went DOWN to 163! There were hugs all around! She is very proud of him. I told her that Jesse James hated the Purina DM.. she said no problem bring it back.. we'll give you a credit. YEA!!! AND!!!!!! I had printed off all 35 pages of the food composition chart and the canned food list. She knows all about diabetic forums and thinks they are WONDERFUL! She said Fancy Feast Pates etc are great. If JJ will eat them then go for it. She knows I am very active in the Feline Epileptic Forum, and figured I would be in this one too. She thinks it is great!
SO.. I'll return the dried food. Jesse James goes back in next week for another check to make sure I am on the right track then the following week for a Urine test for his UTI.
I will probably get the ALPHA TRAK 2 meter so I can test him at home. ONe of my dearest friends is also a vet tech...she adores Jesse James and my vet said that Deb (my friend is also a Deb) can come help me with Jesse James readings. "My" Deb is also my kitty sitter... and is a pet sitter. She will also go to clients homes to help with glucose testing if it is so stressful for the kitty client. :razz:

I cannot say enough about Debbie. SHe is one of my dearest friends and I trust her emphatically with all of my fur children. If we have to be out of town she gives Kelby his phenobarbital and now will give Jesse James his insulin. She loves all of our fur kids...but Jesse James (who is also a tripod) is her special boy. She just adores him.

She is leaving on vacation and I called and told her what Jesse JAmes reading was. She was overjoyed... and is so relieved. I told her to have a wonderful time and to relax.

How blest am I? Oh my goodness!

You all are also my new best friends. HOw can I thank you for your kindness.
Deb... CLay Lady.
 
That is great that Jesse James' glucose was 168 at the vet. It sounds like you have a good vet. And a good pet sitter. You are very lucky indeed. I wish I had one or the other.

You may want to skip the AlphaTrak and just buy a human glucometer. The test strips for the AlphaTrak are very expensive. You can get a human glucometer with test strips that are 1/5 the cost, and still know your kitties range and how he is doing overall.

I wish you the best of luck with your kitty.
 
I'd recommend an inexpensive human glucometer over the AlphaTrak models with test strips costing a dollar (or more) each. We have glucose reference values to use for interpretation of test results using these.

The Arkray Glucocard 01 or 01 Mini from American Diabetes Warehouse, or the branded version, the WalMart ReliOn Confirm or Confirm Micro use the smallest blood droplet, and have the 2nd least expensive test strips (about $0.18 each). The least expensive is the WalMart ReliOn Prime and it requires a slightly larger blood droplet.
 
I asked my vet about a human glucometer.

SHe said that a human one requires a bit more blood drop... and the dog/cat one that I saw she use used like a nano drop. It was pretty impressive.

Jesse James glucose was 163... I Am so very proud of him. The fact that he hates the DM dry food I think is a plus! I wish there was a dry food that was low in carbs and I was hoping that the Blue WILDERNESS Weight Management would be ok for him.

Tomorrow , I'll go get him some more PATE wet foods. :-)

Deb... clay lady.
 
I used an Alphatrak 2 in the beginning with my sugarcat Wink. It needs a 0.3 microliter blood drop. The Relion Confirm needs the same size blood drop, 0.3 microliters. So as you can see, there are human meters that require the same small blood drop size as the Alphatrak.

Alphatrak test strips will cost you $1 to $2 a piece. Relion Confirm test strips will cost you $0.36 a piece. At 4 tests a day, that's $4 to $8 for the Alphatrak test strips versus $1.44 for the Relion Confirm test strips. The cost savings add up very fast, using the less expensive human
glucometer and test strips. You can see why I soon switched.

Alphatrak meter will cost you $100 - 200 depending on your vet markup. Human meter will cost you $15-17. Big price difference.

Some human glucometers need a larger blood drop. For instance, the Relion Prime, needs a 0.5 microliter blood drop.

This link has some of the meters listed, but best of all, shows the blood drop sizes needed and has a chart that shows blood drop sizes from 1.5 to 0.3 microliters.
 
Thank you Deb and Wink !!!
I have to run some errands and may swing by Wally World to see if they have the RELION.

My vet changed Jesse James from Clavamox pills for his UTI to ORBOX liquid.... Holy Moses.... I think that is worse.. he foamed and drooled then hacked that up. Ugh.

Off to run the roads as my Momma used to say.
 
If Jesse James can`t take the Orbax liquid they make a liquid Clavamox you can give him. I gave it to my cat Arthur when he had 9 teeth pulled, he had no problem taking it.

Terri
 
Afternoon all!
Hope this finds everyone well and in good spirits.
I have a question.
I ordered the ALPHA TRAK2 glucose meter for Jesse James. Got a great price for it.
When you test your felines do you test before, during or after they eat?

Deb
 
Generally, you want to test before they eat so the number isn't influenced by food. Testing while they're eating will probably be difficult as their head would be moving too much. :lol:
 
The recommended testing is always before pre-shot, mid-cycle to find the nadir (lowest glucose) as often as possible, and before bed so you are alerted if the glucose is unusually low and you need to intervene.

Sometimes, you may want to do a curve - serial blood test from pre-shot to pre-shot, every 2 hours. A mini-curve is every 3 hours from pre-shot to pre-shot. While a vet may want to do this for you, numbers at the vet may be elevated from 100 to 180 mg/dL, leading to incorrect dosing recommendations.
 
When I took Jesse James in last week my vet did a glucose test and it was 163. She was so happy! He is supposed to go back in tomorrow at 4:15 for another test. My test kit is supposed to arrive tomorrow as well. WOuld you take him back in for her to test him or would you do it yourself?
Deb
 
How much are they charging you to test him? Since you haven't started testing yet, it might take you a while to get the testing down. If it gives you piece of mind to know how he's doing and if it doesn't cost a lot, then go ahead and bring him in tomorrow. Other than that, once you start testing, you won't have to bring him in any more.

Mikey only goes into the vet once a year for his annual check-up. Other than that, I just share the link to Michelangelo's spreadsheet with my vet to view the numbers. At first, the vet checked up on it weekly. Now, he doesn't even bother looking at it because he says I've got his diabetes under better control than anything he could advise. :lol: Here's the spreadsheet we all use. Once you get started with testing, we can help you understand it and fill it in.
 
I'm curious about the UTI you mentioned. Infections can raise glucose levels. I wonder if Jesse James' glucose might go down once the UTI is treated. It's a good thing you are starting to test!
 
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