Alec may have diabetes :(

[AmadeusMonroe]

Hi everyone. My poor baby Alec has had enough issues and he may have diabetes. I just spent 1000 on all my senior cats and lost McCartney last week I monitor Alec often and this is what I found. How can this be true? He is on cerenia, fluids, buprenorphine as needed, phos binder, b12, b-right, glucosamine for arthritis which is working well, beef liver pill, taurine and now epogen. Please help as I have no experience with this possible diabetes situation I have had terrible anxiety worrying about him. I'm getting home from work and have to start a new protocol. I just got.the results today when I was at the clinic on fri!!!

Thank you. Pls send healing thoughts his way if you can as well.

 

[Chris & China (GA)]

Welcome to the FDMB!! Sorry you may have to deal with the new diagnosis but there are a lot of us here that have done it so you're not alone!!

First thing to consider is food.....a low carb canned or raw diet is the most important. Don't be fooled into thinking you have to buy any fancy (as in expensive) "prescription" food! Most of us feed Fancy Feast Classics or Friskies pates, but there are lots of choices. You want foods under 10% carbs. There's a great chart here (Although it sounds like Alec has some kidney disease so Fancy Feast may not be the best....although if you're already using a phosphorus binder, that's fine too)

Next is learning to home test. You don't need an expensive pet meter. Most of us use the Relion Prime or Premier from WalMart.

It's possible (especially if Alec has been eating high carb food) that changing the diet may bring his numbers down!.....But if not, giving insulin is easy and makes them feel so much better!

The insulins we recommend are Lantus, Levemir or ProZinc….other insulins don't work as well in cats (although a lot of vets still try using them)

Don't worry! We'll be with you every step of the way!!

If you have any questions, come over to the Health Forum.....this forum is just for introductions. Once you're a little more comfortable here, we'll also invite you over to one of the Insulin Support groups that deal with whichever insulin you end up using.

 

[Julie and Honey]

Welcome to you and Alec!

Chris has given you a lot of good info to get you headed in the right direction.

There is a lot of good support and knowledge in this community and sounds like you are already knowledgable about other health issues. All the info can be overwhelming, but we are all in the same boat and we all have felt that way at times, so rest assured you are not alone. It really does get easier

After you have had time to breathe one thing that would also help is if you can set up a signature for Alec with particulars like his weight, diagnosis date, type of food, other health conditions, type of insulin, etc. this will help other members to answer your questions and not have to repeatedly ask about the basics of your cat.

Setting up your signature (light grey text under a post). Here's how:
click on your name in the upper right corner of this page
click on "signature" in the menu that drops down
type the following in the box that opens: kitty's name/age/date of diabetes diagnosis/insulin you're using and dosage amount /glucose meter you're using/what (s)he eats/any other meds or health issues (s)he has. You can add your name, and a geographic location (sometimes the time zone matters) Be sure to SAVE when you are finished.

 

[Yong & Maury GA]

Welcome Alec and his mama!

We all had the overwhelming feeling upon diagnosis but you've come to a great place . See you on the Main Health Forum.

 

[Veronica & Babu-chiri]

Welcome!!

As I mentioned before it gets easier, is a steep learning curve but once you get the hang of it it will be part of your routine.

When you get a bit of time just take a big breath and let everyone know a bit more about Alec,

How old is he?
How did the vet determined he has diabetes?
What was his blood glucose test result?
I know he has CKD what stage is he?
What are his creatinine and phoshphorus values?
What meds is he getting?
What insulin did the vet told you you were going to be using?
What is he eating right now is it dry or wet food?

 

[DebiW]

I'm so sorry to hear about Alec and the loss of McCartney. It's hard when our fur babies get old and develop issues. We;re had a couple die from cancer, abdominal masses, kidney disease, and now my Dusty was also newly diagnosed with diabetes. Needless to say they don't realize that the pills we are forced to put down their throats (Dusty had digestive issues which led to blood tests, dx diabetes, but she was on metronidazole pills which she HATED) and now I have to chase her around for shots. But we love them all the more and do what we can to make their life as best as possible. It's sad to know that some pet parents abandon them in shelters when they are no longer "perfect" and the things you're doing for Alec is commendable. Keep on loving him and give him extra hugs!