Diet change SUCCESS

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Shenandoah

Shenandoah

Member Since 2015
I just wanted to share that after a few frustrating days of turning up our nose at the wet food, we have had success!

We were diagnosed Tuesday and started working on our diet change. She was on all hard food (Purina One) and had to go to a wet food (Fancy Feast Classic).
My strategy was to put out the new food at each feeding, and place her near it. She would just turn and walk away. I'd wait 15 minutes to see if she' give it a try, then let her have access to the old food (picking up the new food so she didn't smell it, otherwise she wouldn't touch the old either).
Last night she actually sniffed the new food, which I thought was great. It was the first time she'd done anything other than turn and leave.
Then this morning she took a tentative lick, and suddenly gobbled it all down (just a small amount)!! I later offered her some of her old food, to try to slow the changeover, but she wanted more of the new so I let her have some.
I'm so happy right now. I thought I was going to have to practically starve her for a changeover. But she just needed to try it to realize it was good.

I needed this small success. The past few days have been rough, and I've been in tears more than a few times. I feel like a weight has been temporarily lifted (temporarily because we still have so many other challenges to get through, but we can celebrate this first victory for now). I just needed to share with some people who would understand.

My biggest problem right now is keeping the other cat away. Unlike her, he thought the wet food was the greatest thing in the world the first second I put it down. I'm working on switching him over, too (no reason they can't both eat FFC) - but I have to keep them separated because he eats faster and will just push her away.
 
Awwww thats great!!! When my boy was diagnosed over a year ago, i was so overwhelmed and scared of everything!! Luckily, he liked canned food so switching it wasnt a problem...but i used to free feed, so that was a big hurdle. My boy thought inwas starving him! Right now i have been switching Sonnys food from vet perscribed perscription food, to store bought lower carb food and he is giving me a hard time with that! All hurdles that our babies and us will overcome!! Best of luck!
 
Congratulations on making a successful transition from dry to wet! That can be a real test of wills, I know, lol. It took me a while to convince mine that they'd really prefer canned over dry. I have four kitties and they all will steal each other's food so I feed two in one room (no special diet and less likely to steal food) and two, who are both on meds and need to be watched for theft, in another room, where I can play referee; it gets exhausting!

Has Shenandoah (who is just gorgeous, btw!) started insulin yet? If she has, you'll need to be extra vigilant to make sure her BG does not drop too low because of the change of diet. Switching from higher carb foods to low carb can cause a big drop in overall BG, and may require dose reductions (my guy went from needing 7 units of insulin down to needing only 2 units, almost in the blink of an eye!). If you are not home testing yet, I encourage you to buy an inexpensive meter and strips and start as soon as you can; this is such a vital tool to treating your kitty's diabetes! Once you are comfortable with home testing, you can also do curves at home, yourself, and avoid the added cost of a trip to the vet.

Keep up the good work, you're doing great! :):)
 
Thanks Squalliesmom.
She is getting a low dose of insulin - 1 unit prescribed, but while I was having problems with her eating little I was only giving .5 unit. So hopefully we're still well above the minimum. And this means she'll also hopefully be fully transitioned to her new food when we do our first curve (in 2 weeks), so we'll have a better idea what the dosage should be.
I wish I was doing home testing, because I'm so paranoid about the drop in BG, but really I've just been so overwhelmed and emotional getting this going (plus of course it was Thanksgiving which throws everything off), I haven't been able to add that on top of everything else. My vet is going to teach me how to do it at our first curve. She said I shouldn't worry about it right now because her BG was so high and the dosage is so low to start off with.
 
If I could make a suggestion for you. If you are anything like me, where everything is so overwhelming at first so it helps to see things multiple times, and get something new each time. You might want to visit this page: http://www.felinediabetes.com/FDMB/threads/hometesting-links-and-tips.287/ *before* you go to your vet. That way it won't be so overwhelming when you see it for the first time in person on a real live cat. Read all about home testing, watch the videos, and maybe go ahead and purchase your supplies (meter, strips, lancets).

Another note: I am guessing that the vet is going to try to get you to buy an AlphaTrak "pet" meter. And there is absolutely nothing wrong with it, except the price of the strips. The vets like it because the readings match what they use, but although the readings won't match exactly, what you are looking for is trends. We used an AlphaTrak for our first diabetic kitty, and were able to quickly get him into remission. And we started using it with our second diabetic kitty, but soon moved to a human meter instead, because the AlphaTrak strips cost about $1 a piece. The AlphaTrak meter itself is cheaper now than it used to be, but still higher than a human meter. There are many meters that the folks on this board use, but personally I use the ReliOn Confirm as my primary meter, and a ReliOn Micro as my backup (they use the same strips). I bought the Confirm at WalMart, and I buy the strips at WalMart, but you can also get them online a little cheaper and they are compatible with the ReliOn Confirm/Micro: http://www.adwdiabetes.com/product/arkray-glucocard-01-sensor-blood-glucose-test-strips_4050.htm . The meter is only $15, the strips are between 28 and 38 cents a piece, and I like knowing that I can run to any 24-hour WalMart in the middle of the night to get test strips if I have to. The AlphaTrak strips are going to have to come from your Vet, or be ordered online, so that isn't quite as convenient. Note that I am assuming that you are in the United States...If not, then the availability of meters and prices can be quite different.

Trust me, we all understand the emotions that come along with the initial diagnosis. It sounds like the paranoia about a BG drop is going to be a good motivator for you - shut down that paranoia with knowledge! It is empowering to get testing under your belt and know that you don't have to guess how your baby is doing, you can just see it for yourself :-)

I am sure that others will suggest this too -- I wouldn't wait too long to start home testing. If it were me, I would make the appointment with the vet sooner rather than later for the demonstration (if you feel you need it -- many simply watch the videos and read the articles and just learn themselves!). Then you can simply do the curve at home yourself and get more accurate results without vet stress, delivering him your results. We've had a couple kitties here just since I joined in October that have gone off insulin entirely VERY quickly...like 9 days? I don't remember who that was. But they were testing at home and were able to see that the BG was getting too low for the insulin dose, and without testing they wouldn't have known that.

Best of luck to you!
Sandi.
 
Thanks Sandi! I appreciate the tips. I will definitely do some more reading on home testing over the next few days, and appreciate your links and info. Hopefully in that time we will have this first part of the routine down and I can start to process the additional tests without feeling so overwhelmed.
The vet wanted to run the curves in 2 weeks, and I really don't want to take Shenandoah in before that because she gets very stressed at the vet -- I know, another good reason to do home testing.
I'll see where I get in the next ~week and a half, and if I'm home testing by then I'll talk with the vet about using my numbers. If not, then at least I know I have that opportunity to learn hands-on.
Thanks for the encouragement and resources. I appreciate it!
 
Here's something I wrote up for others for testing...maybe it'll help you too!...and it's something you can start now!!

It can be really helpful to establish a routine with testing. Pick one spot that you want your "testing spot" to be (I like the kitchen counter because it's got good light and it's at a good height....it also already blocked 2 escape routes due to the wall and the backsplash) It can be anywhere though...a rug on the floor, a table, a particular spot on the couch...wherever is good for you. Take him there as many times a day as you can and just give his ears a quick rub and then he gets a yummy (low carb) treat. Most cats aren't objecting so much with the poking..it's the fooling with their ears they don't like, but once they're desensitized to it and learn to associate a certain place with the treats, they usually start to come when they're called! Or even when they hear us opening the test kit!

You also have to remember...you're not poking him to hurt him...you're testing him to keep him safe and understand what's going on inside his body. There's just nothing better than truly understanding what's going on inside your kitty's body and with this disease, the more knowledge you have, the more power you have against it. The edges of the ears have very few pain receptors, so it really doesn't hurt them. Also, if you're nervous and tense, it's going to make your kitty nervous and tense too. As silly as it might seem, try singing! It forces you to use a different part of your brain!

It's also important to make sure his ear is warm. A small sock filled with a little rice and microwaved or a small pill bottle filled with warm water (check temp against your wrist like you would a baby bottle) works well

Finding the right "treat" will be a great help too! Freeze dried chicken, bonito flakes, little pieces of baked chicken...whatever low carb treat you can find that he really enjoys will help him to associate the testing with the treat! China's Achilles heel was baked chicken, so I'd bake a piece, chop it into bite sized pieces, put some in the refrigerator and freeze the rest to use as needed. It didn't take long for her to come any time I picked up the meter!
 
Thank you for the tips Chris & China!
One area that I think I will be fortunate with is that she LOVES ear rubs. Sometimes she will sit in my lap for half an hour or more of ear rubbing.
The ear rubs will be a better reward for her than any treats - which she has always refused to touch. I have never been able to get her to eat anything other than her regular diet - no treats, no bits of meat, nothing. Which is why her starting to eat the new food this morning is such a celebration :)
 
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