Booh's been diagnosed with diabetes

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DanF.

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What a great site. I just got the call that Booh's blood test revealed he was diabetic (423) and, of course, I first turn to the internet. This site was the first site on the Google search and what a help and comfort it is!
He goes in tomorrow morning to be given his first insulin shot. They wanted to watch him during the day to see how he reacts to the first shot. After reading through the 'getting started' section I'm feeling better prepared for our visit tomorrow, but as I read more I'm alternating between feeling positive to feeling overwhelmed.

I guess it might be best to stick to the 'beginners' section so not to overwhelm!?
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Welcome Dan and Booh.

We here were all beginners at one point, and after 6 years I still consider myself a beginner, because there is always tons of new questions and information.


Find out what insulin type your vet will start him at, and also how much the dosage will be.

One thing you should also do is buy a blood glucose meter and start measuring Booh's numbers by yourself at home. The Americans here on the site, says Relion at Walmart only cost $9 and with inexpensive strips. Many here use that meter.


What food is Booh eating? Wet food? Dry food?

He should start eating low carb wet food, that will bring the diabetic numbers down. Others here will help you with what food is good.


Good luck on the vet visit. The first time I had to give the needle shot, I was about to faint a couple of times. In fact that lasted well over a year, because I thought I was hurting my Simba. You will get tips on insulin syringes with a short and thin needle. I can't give you the American specifics on those syringes, but the Americans here can.


Well, again, welcome and good luck tomorrow.
 
DanF. said:
What a great site. I just got the call that Booh's blood test revealed he was diabetic (423) and, of course, I first turn to the internet. This site was the first site on the Google search and what a help and comfort it is!
He goes in tomorrow morning to be given his first insulin shot. They wanted to watch him during the day to see how he reacts to the first shot. After reading through the 'getting started' section I'm feeling better prepared for our visit tomorrow, but as I read more I'm alternating between feeling positive to feeling overwhelmed.

I guess it might be best to stick to the 'beginners' section so not to overwhelm!?
D
Click to expand...

Welcome to the site Dan. You and Booh are in the best place to get the best diabetic advice for your Booh.

Ann is right.... where you guys are now - we were all there before, and I think overwhelmed is how we all felt; I also felt dumbstruck!

I think food is a pretty good place to start with my questions because there have been many cats who are DIET CONTROLLED, needing no insulin once their diet is adjusted to be low carb wet food.
So if you are feeding any dry food or even dry snacks... out the window they can go. I am not sure if Binky's list is included in the get started thing, so here it is.... pick some foods under 10% carbs and you will be good to go.
Binky’s Food Lists
Feeding Your Cat: Know The Basics of Feline Nutrition

The next is home testing because it's safer to know where Booh's number is before you give any shot. Also testing at home and recording in a google spreadsheet will save you alot of money from taking Booh to the vet office for curves, and I bet Booh would prefer NOT to go for any vet visits!
Relion's a good meter and has inexpensive test strips, if you are in the US. If you are outside the US, let us know where and we can give other recommendations..

I don't know what insulin your vet will have you using, so just post again after your vet visit ... I hope the visit goes well.

You are now on the road to a healthier Booh.
 
Thanks for the welcome and the encouragement.
Booh's a 15 year old male who was loosing weight. He was a big guy, 17lbs, so we've been trying to keep to a low carb diet, so when he started loosing weight I thought that was good. But 2 lbs in 18 months seemed a lot for a cat. He's been eating a low carb Wellness dry food in the mornings and "By Nature" in the evenings which says it's 95% chicken. I'll donate the rest of their dry food!
I will check out your reading list!

Thanks again for the tips and encouragement.
SInce Booh seems like his good ole self right now, I'm hoping I've caught this early and we can control this.
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Hi Dan!

Ruby and I have only been here for a little over 2 months. I'm still overwhelmed on a regular basis, but its getting a little easier. I think home testing is the best possible thing to do. If I wasn't doing it, Ruby would have hit a hypo pretty quickly. Luckily I had found this site and started testing. Everyone is really wonderful and they will go to great lengths to walk you thru the rough patches. Ruby started on PZI and we switched to Lantus recently. Both groups are so amazing and have carried me thru some ugly times.
 
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