Ann Arbor

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LewK

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Have a newly diagnosed diabetic. We are complete newbies to this new world. Looking for someone near Ann Arbor to plumb for practical information.
 
You are in a great place and you can get a wealth of knowledge on this site, even if there is no one local to you.

I did not even realize a cat could get diabetes, so I and many others have been where you are now.

If you can say a little bit about your cat, how you found out your cat is diabetic, and what you were told, I am guessing by your vet.
 
Anything you want to know, someone here is sure to have an idea. Ask away.

Is your cat on insulin yet? If yes, what kind and how often?

What are you feeding your kitty?

Are you home glucose testing? Its the best way to make sure you don't give insulin when the cat is too low to receive it.
 
I'm 1.5 hours away from AA, but you can get lots of help just by posting here on the board. It's a wonderful group with loads of real-life experience. We'll want to know what insulin and dose, as well as what food you're feeding. We advocate hometesting and can help you learn how to do it. So as BJ said, ask away!
 
Hi LewK,

I live about 45 minutes from Ann Arbor (north of Novi) and work in Plymouth. My hubby is working on a Masters at EMU in Ypsi, but today was his last day until January.

Nevertheless, either of us could meet you and show you the "ropes" of dealing with Feline Diabetes.

This Saturday, I'll be in Toledo all morning, and coming home via Ann Arbor in the afternoon. If you like, we could meet.

We have been treating diabetic kitties since 2006. After our first guy, Norton, passed away from cancer, we adopted Tiggy through this board.

Let me know if you'd like to meet on Saturday afternoon. (send a PM with your contact info) I work full time during the week, and it is a hectic time of year.

Phoebe
 
Ben is an 11-year-old Applehead Siamese, 15 pounds, very fit. Good self-regulator on food. Previously, we were leaving out Science Diet Hairball Control Mature (dry), twice a day giving half a small can of Science Diet Savory Chicken (wet), and allowing him a handful of Butler Schein American Tartar Control Treats once or twice a day.

Very active all his life, then just a few days ago, I notice he was drinking much more water, urinating in much larger amounts, and seemed stiffer in his movements. Took him to vet, she extracted urine - it was very pale and had glucose in it sufficient so that she said "definitely, it's diabetes". Hadn't lost any weight, though, so we are pretty sure we caught it relatively early. Also did some blood tests - we'll get the results today.

We've given him 1 unit of ProZinc insulin twice a day since Wednesday evening. Put away all of the "old food", including the treats. Did some reading and bought new wet food: Wellness Chicken Formula, Wellness Turkey Formula, and Merrick Turducken. Vet provided several cans of Purina DM wet and a bag of Purina DM dry. We haven't given them the Purina wet as yet (using the Wellness & Merrick instead), but have put out the Purina DM dry. Both cats (the other is Bert, a 10.5-year-old Applehead) seem fine with the changes so far.

Ben was very quiet yesterday, wanting to sleep all of the time. He did get me up this morning for breakfast, however, and we'll give him another one unit of insulin in a few minutes. His water consumption appears back to normal & and the peeballs have decreased markedly in size & number. We'll have another blood test done today, just to see what's happening. We are very nervous about doing the blood testing ourselves, but we'd like to learn.
 
Since you have changed to a much lower carb food, I hope you will get a home blood glucose test kit (glucometer, just like human diabetics use) because in some cats a diet change alone can make their blood glucose drop. Science Diet Hairball Control food is very high in carbs!

We can help you learn how to home test. It is vital to help avert a hypoglycemic crisis. Until you can get a glucometer and learn to test, I even suggest giving a .5U of PZI. Yes, hypoglycemia is that dangerous.
 
Ditto what Vicky posted. You just removed a lot of carbs and even though 1 unit doesn't sound like much or look like much, it can be too much. Please, hometesting is a lifesaver. If you get just a test done at the vet, that alone may be higher from stress. We all test before ever giving a shot, no matter the years. Eight years so far with Mishka and I have never shot her without testing.
 
Want to say welcome and.....
PLEASE home test. Carbs have been removed and numbers will come down. You might be giving too much insulin. My Bean girl dropped over 100 when I took away the high carb foods. Also, vet stress ups those numbers too when the kittie is at the vet for a test. Could be why Ben is sleeping alot. You can see her spreadsheet in my signature, please take a look at what insulin and low carb foods can do for your baby Ben.
Let us know what his numbers are.
Home testing is scarry - at first and quickly becomes routine. Great for the hands on help.... Sure helped me!
Guess I am repeating what many have already said, but Bean first test was 2 hours after insulin and she was only 27! So, I panic when I hear no testing, sorry.
Good job to catch early!!! ;-)
 
I can show you how to test blood sugar levels on Saturday and with luck, Ben won't need insulin for very long.

Sometimes the food change and a short series of insulin to let the pancreas rest and recover are enough for a kitty to become "diet controlled" or OTJ "off the juice"

My diabetic cat, Tiggy, is well regulated on a tiny dose of 0.5u BID -- so yes, 1u CAN be too much when on the right diet.

Looking forward to meeting you tomorrow -- I will call you this evening after I get home from work.

phoebe
 
Thanks, everyone. Phoebe is coming on Saturday and will teach us how to home test. Question: If 1.0 unit is too much under the new diet, how would you expect a cat like Ben to react? If this is typical of hypoglycemia, would it make sense to cut the dose until Phoebe shows us how to test? What is likely to happen if we cut out his next two insulin doses entirely (tonight, tomorrow morning), which will bring us to Phoebe's visit on Saturday eve?
 
Yes, to me it would make sense to cut the dose, possibly even hold off on it.

Hypoglycemia (low glucose) kills fast.
Hyperglycemia (high glucose) kills slowly.

If you can pick up some urine testing strips, like ketodiastix, and test the urine, it will help clue you in on his status.
Ketones = not enough glucose. (Add in not eating and you can develop ketoacidosis, an expensive, potentially fatal complication.)
Glucose in urine = not enough insulin.
It isn't very precise, but it will help until you can blood test.
 
Just notified of results of tests at vets on Wednesday afternoon: glucose level was 470. Vet thought we should go up to 2.0 units - but when I told her of the dietary changes, she recommended keeping it at 1.0 until we come back in on Monday. He's mostly sleeping, eating some each time he gets up. Has indicated he would prefer the old diet, however, especially the snacks.

Also picked up an AlphaTrak Blood Glucose Monitoring System, especially designed for testing cats & dogs.
 
Being stressed by being at the vet can raise the glucose 100 points in some cats; others actually go down.

Removing the high carb dry and canned foods may also drop the glucose 100 points in some cats, especially those that are carb sensitive.

So, optimistically, if starting from 470 at the vets office, it is possible that an unstressed test would have been 370. and that by changing the diet the upper glucose levels could be around 270. Once you're home testing, you'll have a better idea.

Sometimes, you can perk the appetitie a bit by playing first, to initiate the "hunt, catch, kill, eat" reflex. Other things which may perk appetite include warming the food to a 'just killed' temp, sprinkiling Parmesan cheese on it, or FortiFlora.
 
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