Chalrie newly diagnosed and feeling sad, worried and guilty :(

[charlie01]

Hi,

Just had a call back from the vets and our 14 year old deaf white cat Charlie has diabetes We've had him about 8 years and he's truly a part of our family. I'm a little worried about the commitment it is going to take to keep Charlie's diabetes under control as both me and my husband work long hours working shifts. Also the cost implication is worrying me as as I've been told he will need insulin twice a day for the rest of his life.

The thing worrying me the most is we just got married and go on honeymoon on the 1st september for 2 weeks...a friend was going to call in twice a day and feed our cats (we have 2) but now we are going to have to find someone who can stay at our house or someone that can have our cats with them so they can care for charlie with his diabetes. Its such awful timing as I feel we'll be leaving him when we should be here learning how to look after him and monitoring him. I feel so guilty and will be worrying about him while we're away.

I have an appointment with the vet on Monday and she is going to explain everything but I'm just so shocked and upset that my beautiful boy has this condition.

Any advice from experienced owners would be greatly appreciated as I feel so overwhelmed at the moment. Thank you xxx

 

[Sharon14]

Hello, and welcome. I'm new here too and it can be a little overwhelming. I don't know enough yet to give much advice, but I have learned that a lot can be accomplished with a change in diet- What your feeding as well as how much. Get Charlie on a low carb wet food diet and begin home testing his BG. These 2 simple things have helped my cat, Colin, a bunch!

 

[BJM]

Welcome to FDMB.
Pop over to Cat Info to read up on feline nutrition and get a downloadable PDF listing the percent of calories [not weight!) from protein, fat, and carbohydrate. By switching to that (no kibble, unless it is Evo Cat and Kitten poultry flavor or internet-only Young Again 0 Carb) now, you may drop his glucose anywhere from 100-200 mg/dL (one cat dropped 300 mg/dL!). This will significantly reduce the amount of insulin needed and thus reduce some of the cost.
For insulin, we recommend ProZinc, BCP PZI, Levemir, and Lantus. The last 2 are most economical purchased as pens because the ivals tend to expire before you finish them. And despite what the pharmacist tells you, if refrigerated, the pens may be used for more than 1 month!. Lantus and Levemir are also less expensive purchased in Canada, if you are in the USA.

 

[Bobbie And Bubba]

Welcome and I am sorry you are so stressed by this. It must be tough to be have to deal with this right now but there are ways to deal with it. One idea is you could always board Charlie at the Vets while you are away as they can test & dose Charlie twice a day for you. If you go that route, (probably a little expensive) be sure to take your own LOW CARB food. Most vets push a RX diet that is way to high in carbs. Or another suggestion would to be ask if one of the techs would be willing to come to your house twice a day to test and dose Charlie, would probably be less expensive than the vet stay. Also, Charlie does not have to be diabetic for the rest of his life. A lot of cats go into remission and get off insulin. Good luck to you and Charlie and your upcoming honeymoon.

 

[Bojangles' Mom]

I'm pretty new too and can't offer a ton of advice on this - others are more educated than I am. The wet food only diet helped Bojangles tremendously (and I'm talking Fancy Feast & Friskies, not the prescription diet your vet will likely try to sell that is $$$). I'm away from 6:30am-5pm weekdays and we're going well on the tests & insulin. I would see if there is a pet sitter in the area who can be trusted to help (experienced in giving insulin) - sometimes vet techs will also housesit for you or drop by to check.

You've found the right place where there are many exprienced & supportive cat owners here who will offer lots of amazing and helpful advice and comfort. Bojangles and I are just about 3 weeks in and we already are doing so much better. There are sources for affordable test strips, syringes etc. http://www.adwdiabetes.com/ - others on the site recommended using this website as it was trustworthy and affordable.