Hello all. I'm the proud (albeit stressed out!) mom of a newly diagnosed kitty. My Teddy has always been a "roly-poly" which I had been trying to control with diet - obviously that didn't work as well as I had hoped. Today we had a fear realized. Teddy had been losing quite a bit of weight and recently had strength loss in his hind legs. He's been walking around as if he were wearing diving fins! So the vet was pretty quick to diagnose Teddy with diabetes. The poor thing had blood drawn, his bladder poked for a urine analysis, then an insulin injection. So we are on the road to a new life! I have 2 others at home: Freckles and Simon. Freckles doesn't want to have anything to do with Teddy - but that is for another time! So my question is: are the any behavioral changes that occur at the beginning of insulin treatment? I'm a little concerned with how quite Teddy has been since we got home - but I don't know if I'm over-analyzing his behavior now. He's not lethargic, just quite. Of course I've hunkered down in front of entirely TOO much info on feline diabetes for the last 3 hours and I'm getting a little loopy with all there is to take in. Sorry for the excess info - I'm a little too freaked out at the moment!
EEK! Newly diagnosed
- Thread starter paula01
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judy and squamee(GA)
Very Active Member
Hello Paula, and welcome !Anything we can help you with? There is a lot to learn and it can be overwhelming at first. Most important is home testing. Are you testing or can we help you with that? Ask lots of questions. Looking forward to more posts from you.
Edit--forgot to compliment you on your good looking kitty!
Edit--forgot to compliment you on your good looking kitty!
nancy and payne
Very Active Member
Don't freak out Paula, it will be fine and you will learn here what you need to know to help your Teddy live a long and healthy life. In the beginning everyone feels overwhelmed, it takes awhile to sink in ..... we have all been there but it get's better! What type of insulin are you using? Ask a lot of questions, there is much to learn but you will be fine.
Nancy
Nancy
Sue and Oliver (GA)
Very Active Member
Your Teddy is so handsome. When we first joined, I printed off practically everything I read. It really helped me to reread the information and then keep it in a notebook for reference.
Everyone is overwhelmed at first. Just keep reading and asking questions. This is very doable and we would love to help.
Everyone is overwhelmed at first. Just keep reading and asking questions. This is very doable and we would love to help.
Just-As-Appy
Active Member
Hi Paula,
We have all been new and overwhelmed - some of us fairly recently! There are a couple of important pieces of information that the more experienced members will want to know to help you the most.
1. What type of insulin did your vet give you? Are you doing shots 2 times a day at home? What dose of insulin did the vet prescribe?
2. Are you testing your kitty's blood glucose at home? (If not, I strongly encourage you to make this a priority.)
3. What food are you feeding your kitty? Most people feed low carb wet food.
I'm sure that others will be along soon to help.
We have all been new and overwhelmed - some of us fairly recently! There are a couple of important pieces of information that the more experienced members will want to know to help you the most.
1. What type of insulin did your vet give you? Are you doing shots 2 times a day at home? What dose of insulin did the vet prescribe?
2. Are you testing your kitty's blood glucose at home? (If not, I strongly encourage you to make this a priority.)
3. What food are you feeding your kitty? Most people feed low carb wet food.
I'm sure that others will be along soon to help.
Thanks so much Judy! I will definitely need all your expert advice! I'm scared out of my gourd that I will "miss" something that Teddy does or how he acts. I've checked the litter box twice already and am constantly staring at him. I'm sure he will retaliate once I go to bed 
I hope I can pull it together before having to give him his injection in the morning. It will be my first time doing it, and I'm so scared of doing something wrong or hurting him. I read on the boards how I was supposed to do it and I really did try to pay attention at the vet's but I was and still am a little shell-shocked.
P.S. Teddy's graciously concurs - he is quite a hansome boy!
I hope I can pull it together before having to give him his injection in the morning. It will be my first time doing it, and I'm so scared of doing something wrong or hurting him. I read on the boards how I was supposed to do it and I really did try to pay attention at the vet's but I was and still am a little shell-shocked. P.S. Teddy's graciously concurs - he is quite a hansome boy!
judy and squamee(GA)
Very Active Member
It is scarey at first. I am needle phobic--so it was really hard. But I don't think the injections hurt them at all. My cat barely seemed to notice it. In fact, in the beginning it was so easy I thought I was doing it wrong!
What insulin are you giving? What dose? It would be really good if you could start home testing as soon as possible. That is the best way to keep your kitty safe.
What insulin are you giving? What dose? It would be really good if you could start home testing as soon as possible. That is the best way to keep your kitty safe.
Thank you all for your fantastic words of encouragement! I'll try to keep it together - as much as I can.
As to the details:
The vet gave me a 2 week supply of insulin, no prescription. I checked the bottle and there is no name on it. He wants to see us in a week.
I'm to give him 2 injections per day, 5 units (I'm sorry, I really have NO experience in this)
Based on all the posts I've read, it sounds as if I should get a blood gloucose testing kit for home. I will definitely have questions once I pick this up. Primarily how often to test, where to test, and even though I know there are a million other concerns, will this hurt him.
Currently I am feeding him Purina One Smart Blend dry food, but again, from reading the posts it sounds like wet food might be more beneficial. I've been free feeding all his life, I also have 2 other kitties and they all eat from the same bowl. I've never noticed any problem with overeating, but I may have to switch to a timed feeding instead.
Again, I would greatly appreciate your advice, opinions, etc. on anything you care to share! Thank you all again for your wonderful support. I hope to be in your shoes in the near future!
As to the details:
The vet gave me a 2 week supply of insulin, no prescription. I checked the bottle and there is no name on it. He wants to see us in a week.
I'm to give him 2 injections per day, 5 units (I'm sorry, I really have NO experience in this)
Based on all the posts I've read, it sounds as if I should get a blood gloucose testing kit for home. I will definitely have questions once I pick this up. Primarily how often to test, where to test, and even though I know there are a million other concerns, will this hurt him.
Currently I am feeding him Purina One Smart Blend dry food, but again, from reading the posts it sounds like wet food might be more beneficial. I've been free feeding all his life, I also have 2 other kitties and they all eat from the same bowl. I've never noticed any problem with overeating, but I may have to switch to a timed feeding instead.
Again, I would greatly appreciate your advice, opinions, etc. on anything you care to share! Thank you all again for your wonderful support. I hope to be in your shoes in the near future!
judy and squamee(GA)
Very Active Member
5U twice a day? Or 5U total---2.5 morning And night? 5U is a very high dose of any insulin. 2.5 is much more reasonable but still high for a starting dose. You really need to be home testing to be safe. If you are feeding dry food that will keep the blood glucose levels elevated---which is a good thing if you are giving high doses of insulin.
You can buy a human glucometer at any pharmacy. Many people here use the relion from walmart because it is the cheapest. It is not the glucometer, but the test strips thatnend up being expensive. You will need a glucometer, test strips, and lancers to prick for blood.or you can contact Lori and Tom and get a free newbie kit.
You can buy a human glucometer at any pharmacy. Many people here use the relion from walmart because it is the cheapest. It is not the glucometer, but the test strips thatnend up being expensive. You will need a glucometer, test strips, and lancers to prick for blood.or you can contact Lori and Tom and get a free newbie kit.
Sue and Oliver (GA)
Very Active Member
That is a LOT of insulin, Paula. We suggest starting low (one unit twice daily) to see how the insulin works in your kitty, testing blood sugars at home and raising the dose slowly as needed.
You can get a free newbie kit from us. It has a meter, rice sack and lancets.
viewtopic.php?f=28&t=19541
DO NOT change the food until you are hometesting and giving less insulin. The dry food may be keeping his numbers high enough to be safe. When we changed Oliver from dry to wet, his numbers dropped 100 points overnight. If we hadn't been testing, we have overdosed him.
I know it is hard to hear that your vet may be prescribing too much insulin, but we have all successfully treated diabetic cats and we know our protocol works. Start low and go slow with doses.
You can get a free newbie kit from us. It has a meter, rice sack and lancets.
viewtopic.php?f=28&t=19541
DO NOT change the food until you are hometesting and giving less insulin. The dry food may be keeping his numbers high enough to be safe. When we changed Oliver from dry to wet, his numbers dropped 100 points overnight. If we hadn't been testing, we have overdosed him.
I know it is hard to hear that your vet may be prescribing too much insulin, but we have all successfully treated diabetic cats and we know our protocol works. Start low and go slow with doses.
Just-As-Appy
Active Member
Maybe I'm overly conservative, but a bottle with no name on it just doesn't sound right to me. Before I injected anything into my cat I would want to know exactly what it is and what strength it is. I don't want to be alarmist, but I can't help it. You really need to know because different insulins act differently in the cat. Caninsulin is short acting, and 5 u would be quite a wallop! If it is Lantus or Levemir, both are longer and more gentle acting, so maybe not quite such an issue. However, the best thing to do is to get the glucometer and begin testing. It puts you firmly in control with data to support dosing decisions and saves you $$$$.
JenElliot
Member
Welcome Paula!
You've come to the right place. I know it can feel very overwhelming at first, but you'll get the hang of it in no time. I was very scared of needles and thought "how am I going to handle giving my poor kitty 2 shots every single day?!". But he never even seemed to notice the shot, it was more traumatizing for me than him. But then it became second nature and didn't bother me at all.
I would also like to highly recommend that you begin home testing. Many of us use the Relion meter from Walmart, it only costs $9 and 20 test strips is $9 (or you can get 50 for $20). You'll also need lancets (28 gauge would be best to start with). I know you're on information overload right now so I don't want to throw too many details out, but feel free to ask any questions about testing when you're ready to start. If you test at home you'll always know how your kitty is doing and can avoid all those expensive trips to the vet for curves and fructosamines.
Switching to an all-wet low-carb diet will keep your kitty healthy and better-regulated, but do not change the diet until you start home testing (switching from dry to wet usually immediately requires a dose decrease of at least 50%). A lot of us feed our sugarbabies Fancy Feast and Friskies (pate styles).
Good luck with the morning shot, let us know how it goes!
You've come to the right place. I know it can feel very overwhelming at first, but you'll get the hang of it in no time. I was very scared of needles and thought "how am I going to handle giving my poor kitty 2 shots every single day?!". But he never even seemed to notice the shot, it was more traumatizing for me than him. But then it became second nature and didn't bother me at all.
I would also like to highly recommend that you begin home testing. Many of us use the Relion meter from Walmart, it only costs $9 and 20 test strips is $9 (or you can get 50 for $20). You'll also need lancets (28 gauge would be best to start with). I know you're on information overload right now so I don't want to throw too many details out, but feel free to ask any questions about testing when you're ready to start. If you test at home you'll always know how your kitty is doing and can avoid all those expensive trips to the vet for curves and fructosamines.
Switching to an all-wet low-carb diet will keep your kitty healthy and better-regulated, but do not change the diet until you start home testing (switching from dry to wet usually immediately requires a dose decrease of at least 50%). A lot of us feed our sugarbabies Fancy Feast and Friskies (pate styles).
Good luck with the morning shot, let us know how it goes!
Kitties Momma
Member
Hello! I am new too (my kitty was diagnosed a couple weeks ago) Julius has gotten more playful now that he is on insulin. I forgot about some of the stuff he used to do before he got sick ( I think around beginning of December) and so I feel relieved that he is improving. I use a freestyle light meter because it requires the least amount of blood, the strips cost more however needing 1/2 as much blood as the other meters is worth it to me. I try to test his left ear then his right so I don't get it too sore. I am testing twice a day and giving him 1unit glargine in the AM and .5unit in the PM, he is on an all raw diet (canned tuna, salmon, sardines, raw chicken thighs and I put a powdered supplement in once a day to balance it) I picked up the dry food as soon as I got his diagnosis and he went down from 360 on his fructosamine test to 304 in a week with diet alone. I always free fed my cats too (my oldest Cheesecake is 13 an Cairo is 12, Julius is about 4) I was worried how they would react to not having food all the time, but amazingly enough they have adjusted. I feed them about 6oz a day each I guess... I kind of guess at it, if they gobble up their food and seem to want a little more I give it to them, since that is all they get. They are not getting fat! My vet was charging $25 per glucose test so home testing is the way to go, once you get the hang of it (do you have a hubby/roommate?) to help? My hubby holds him sometimes so I can do it quickly and feed him (his treat!) The insulin shots freaked me out too.... but once your kitty gets used to it (I think they know that it helps them!) then it isn't too bad. Good luck! Welcome to the club ;-)
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