Found out my boy has diabetes...

[bjg]

After 6 weeks of denial, I took my cat to the vet yesterday. He was losing weight and drinking water obsessively. He's a big guy naturally, but he likes to eat and that's meant he's had a weight problem since he was over 1 year old. I know I haven't been a very good mom, because it's taken me 9 years and this last visit to the vet to get me to do something about it. I gave him his first injection yesterday. Today he'll be starting his new diet. I've grown up around diabetes (my Mom's been diabetic since just before she became pregnant with me), but this world of cat diabetes feels very foreign. I'm confused and anxious. I want my boy to be ok and I don't want to do anything else wrong. I know I'm headed in the right direction, finally, but there are still so many variables and options and things that can go horribly wrong.

I got Caninsulin from the vet (just a small 2.5mL vial to start), but now I'm reading it's not the best choice. Can I switch to something else when he goes back to the vet at the end of the week? Even with the help my Mom and sister, I didn't do the needle quite right before his fur was wet from the insulin after I was done injecting him. I don't know if any of the insulin actually stayed inside him. I know I put the needle in all the way, but it wasn't really at any angle like it should've been.

I'm supposed to go back weekly to have his blood checked, but after browsing online, I think I could save some money by doing this at home. Unfortunately, I'm more scared to do this than I am giving him the injections. I could never handle (and still can't) my Mom testing me every few months just to make sure everything was ok. That prick makes me jump, so I can only imagine how my boy might react (though he didn't even notice the needle). If the vet wanted me to take him in weekly, does that mean I should test him at home weekly? Or would daily be best?

What I'm most confused about is food. As I understand it, regulating how much food he's eating and when is the most important aspect of changing his diet. I've always let him eat as much as he wants of the dry cat food he likes the most - Whiskas. I knew it wasn't a good idea, but it made him happy, so I went with it. I think I've been good about restricting how much table scraps he gets, though he won't be any more from this point on. Treats don't come out too often. Will he never be able to have them again? I don't know exactly how to start him on his new diet without it being too much of a shock. He gets wet food occasionally, but 95%+ of what he eats is dry. Should I start giving him more wet? Can I do a combination of wet and dry? I've done a fair job (considering it's been less than a day) of researching which brands and specific flavours are better, but I feel like I'm gambling because the internet is full of many points of view on what percents of carbs and proteins are best. Less than 10% carbs seems to be good. Some say highest protein percents are the best, but my family has convinced me that 30-40% is best, especially for a senior cat. I'm going to buy a few cans of the different foods I've chosen and a couple small or sample bags of dry food to see what he'll like. But, I'm lost in regards to just how much he should be eating per day, how many meals he should eat, and how much should be wet vs. dry.

I'm sure I have a million more questions to ask that aren't coming to mind at the moment. I'll certainly be frequenting this forum for a long time to come! Thanks in advance for any help!

 

[Ry & Scooter]

Hi and welcome!

I know it's scary in the beginning. We've all been there, even me. But you have to remember to take a deep breath every once in a while and RELAX! It does seem daunting but I promise it will be like second nature to you in a few weeks. Coming to FDMB is one of the bet things you could have done for your cat (what's his name by the way?)

I'm going to touch on a few of your questions:

I got Caninsulin from the vet (just a small 2.5mL vial to start), but now I'm reading it's not the best choice. Can I switch to something else when he goes back to the vet at the end of the week?

Caninsulin is better than nothing for the time being, but you will want to try and get him on Lantus or Levemir (or Prozinc but there is a shortage right now). The L's are human insulins and you want a prescription for the pen cartridges, not the vials (pens last longer).

I could never handle (and still can't) my Mom testing me every few months just to make sure everything was ok. That prick makes me jump, so I can only imagine how my boy might react (though he didn't even notice the needle). If the vet wanted me to take him in weekly, does that mean I should test him at home weekly? Or would daily be best?

Home testing is really the best (and IMHO the only safe way) to keep his diabetes under control. There are a lot of people here who were previous needle/blood phobics and maybe they could help you with some tips. You want to test at least 3 or 4 times a day - once right before each insulin shot and at least once some time in between. I know it sounds like a lot but once you get the routine down it only takes a few minutes and you'll be able to make sure your kitty is safe.

Treats don't come out too often. Will he never be able to have them again?

Treats are fine, as long as they're low carb. Purebites are a popular one, they are just dehydrated meats so they are no carb and they are crunchy so good for kibble addicts. Bonito (dried tuna) flakes are another. Halo Liv a Littles are another freeze dried meat treat. You can also give him chunks of raw or cooked chicken breast or other plain meat or even shrimp if he likes that.

He gets wet food occasionally, but 95%+ of what he eats is dry. Should I start giving him more wet? Can I do a combination of wet and dry?

To make a long story short, no dry food is good food. Dry food is usually loaded with carbs (that Whiskas dry food you're feeding is probably 40%+ carbs - it's meat flavored cereal). Even "grain free" dry foods have some kind of starch (usually potato) to bind it together - thus it still has a good amount of carbs. He really should go on a 100% canned food diet. You want the diet to be less than 10% calories from carbs, but the lower the better. 3-5% works best for most cats.

I'm going to buy a few cans of the different foods I've chosen and a couple small or sample bags of dry food to see what he'll like. But, I'm lost in regards to just how much he should be eating per day, how many meals he should eat, and how much should be wet vs. dry.

Unregulated diabetics are very hungry because they cannot process the food they're eating. You will need to feed him more than usual but don't let him gorge himself. Most food charts also have the calories per can listed. The average cat needs 20-30 calories per pound of IDEAL weight (you mentioned he was overweight) per day, more or less depending on activity level. So for a 12 pound cat you'd want between 240 and 360 calories. That's about 2.5 - 3.5 cans of Fancy Feast Classics per day. If he seems hungry in between meals you can give him a small snack or some low carb treats to hold him over.

 

[Elizabeth and Bertie]

Hello and welcome to FDMB!

We all know how overwhelming it can seem at first. But you're already doing a great job! You've given the first shots (those are the hardest!) and you're reading up about what sort of insulin and diet might be best for your cat. You're going to do just fine! :smile:

It's true that Caninsulin has a bit of a reputation for not being the easiest insulin to use, but quite a few folks have had success with it, with some of those cats even going into remission (becoming diet-controlled and not needing insulin).

And yes, low carb wet food is best for diabetics. However, please, now that your cat is on insulin, DO NOT REMOVE THE DRY FOOD UNTIL YOU ARE HOME-TESTING!

Removing dry food can reduce the blood glucose levels of some cats significantly and so a reduction in insulin may be needed. But if you're not testing then you won't know how the removal of dry food is affecting your cat. But there's no hurry. You don't need to do everthing all at once. Treating feline diabetes is a marathon and not a sprint. ;-)

Edited to add: By the way, the injections and the blood tests won't hurt your cat like they would hurt us. There are very few nerve endings in the scruff of the neck and around the outer edge of the cat's ears (where we get the blood droplet from), so please don't worry about that.

 

[bjg]

Thank you so much for the replies!
My cat's name is Taliesen.
I showed your responses to my Mom. She knows of Lantus and she thinks the pen cartridges would be easier and cheaper than the vials. Hopefully the vet will be open to switching him to that.
Testing 3 or 4 times a day sounds really expensive. I'm trying really hard to do what's right and not be too concerned about money (in any other situation, money would be my top concern), but I need to try to keep costs down if I can. When I eventually sort out amounts of food, type of food, and amounts of insulin, will I be able to test him less often?
I'm not sure just how much he's been eating up until now, unfortunately, because he shares his food with our family's 4 other cats. I do know that he eats far more than he should, so I was surprised to read that I should be feeding him more. I understand the reasoning, now, in feeding him more while he's getting used to the insulin, but when can I start feeding him less? I should say that he was 27 lb before developing diabetes and is 22 lb now. I have no idea what his ideal weight is, but he is naturally "big-boned" so his ideal weight won't be the same as most other cats'. I just want his weight to be healthy. And I don't think I should be able to feel his spine like I can now Now... once I get a plan sorted out, food won't be out for all the kitties to eat and I'll feed him separately from the others cats. They'd be upset if they saw him getting wet food every day and they couldn't have any. However, I don't think I'll be cutting out all of his dry food for quite a while, if ever. Should he be eating only wet for one meal and only dry for another or can it be mixed? Is wet more important for him to have just before he gets his insulin?
I'm overjoyed that I gave him his second injection successfully. This time, all of the insulin stay inside him and I did it on more of an angle. Oh, I should ask: What pattern do most people use when changing the place to inject? The vet said to do 12 spots total, 6 on each side of his spine, in a zig-zag pattern. I can't imagine how anyone could remember precisely where each 12 spots are. I think 6 is about all I can manage to do, without accidentally going too close to the second last day's spot. Is that ok?
Before he visited the vet, I had heard that cats could recover completely from diabetes in some cases, but after visiting the vet, it sounds like that probably won't happen for Taliesen. I can only guess why that is (age, weight?). But, as long as I can keep him relatively healthy and happy, that's ok.

 

[Sue and Oliver (GA)]

If you get the ReliOn meter and strips, it is not so expensive. You can get a free testing kit from us with meter and some strips to get started. Click on the picture at the top of this page. At least you are doing the testing, not the vet - much cheaper! It really is important that you test before each shot to be sure if it is safe to get the amount you are planning on. With Lantus, dose changes are based on the nadir (the lowest time in the 12 hour cycle) so that 3rd time is necessary also.

Unregulated diabetics don't utilize their food well, so it is better to feed more than usual at first. Once he is regulated, he will probably not be as interested in eating so much.

Truthfully, if you want to have remission as your goal (and yes, it is possible) he shouldn't eat any dry food. Often people will get their cats off insulin and into remission and then give them a tiny bit of dry food, and their numbers are back up in diabetic ranges. If you want the best outcome for him, he needs to eat wet low carb exclusively. Giving wet low carb to all your cats could keep any of the rest of them from becoming diabetic also. A vet explains why dry is so bad for cats here: www.catinfo.org

Great job with the shot! Every time becomes easier as you get more confident. I have never heard of going up and down the spine with the shots. We always gave them in the nape of Oliver's neck. You can alternate the sides if you want, but every shot seems like too much work.

 

[hmjohnston]

Thank you so much for the replies!
My cat's name is Taliesen.
I showed your responses to my Mom. She knows of Lantus and she thinks the pen cartridges would be easier and cheaper than the vials. Hopefully the vet will be open to switching him to that.

Yes- the pens are cheaper on the whole and they last longer but the up front cost is more expensive. There are coupon stickies in the lantus forum that can take $50 or $25 off. I would check into that immediately.

Testing 3 or 4 times a day sounds really expensive. I'm trying really hard to do what's right and not be too concerned about money (in any other situation, money would be my top concern), but I need to try to keep costs down if I can. When I eventually sort out amounts of food, type of food, and amounts of insulin, will I be able to test him less often?

The best way to keep costs down is testing. The best way to keep testing costs down is getting a meter with the cheapest strips you can afford. :lol: . Relion Micro or Confirm (both $15 at Wal-Mart) are some of the cheapest strips that have a reliable meter- in the store they cost $32/100 and if you order on-line through ADW they are $72 for 250- you get 50 free when you buy 200- it comes out to $.29 cents per strip. There is also the Relion Prime ($17) which have strips $9/50 that is pretty new and people like. you need to test AT LEAST 3 times a day (AMPS, PMPS, and one mid-day test to see how low it goes), most of us test far more than that.

I'm not sure just how much he's been eating up until now, unfortunately, because he shares his food with our family's 4 other cats. I do know that he eats far more than he should, so I was surprised to read that I should be feeding him more. I understand the reasoning, now, in feeding him more while he's getting used to the insulin, but when can I start feeding him less? I should say that he was 27 lb before developing diabetes and is 22 lb now. I have no idea what his ideal weight is, but he is naturally "big-boned" so his ideal weight won't be the same as most other cats'. I just want his weight to be healthy. And I don't think I should be able to feel his spine like I can now

He will eat more right now as he cannot get the nutrients his body needs out of his food so it literally starving to death while eating anything he can. Once the insulin starts working he will and will lessen the amount he needs. My can went from 18-20 oz/day down to 8-10/day right now.

Now... once I get a plan sorted out, food won't be out for all the kitties to eat and I'll feed him separately from the others cats. They'd be upset if they saw him getting wet food every day and they couldn't have any. However, I don't think I'll be cutting out all of his dry food for quite a while, if ever. Should he be eating only wet for one meal and only dry for another or can it be mixed? Is wet more important for him to have just before he gets his insulin?

You will never be able to get him off insulin as long as he eats dry cat food. There are NO choices of dry cat food that are under the 10% carbs OR LESS that he needs. If you are home testing you need to slowly cut the dry until he gets none so you can keep an eye on his BG's. Otherwise his levels will always be high and he will forever be on the juice and you run into more problems later on, not to mention he will continue to eat like a horse. It would be good to transition the others to wet and if you want tips we can point you into the direction of those who have 8, 12, and 15 cats who ALL eat wet food. There is a dry called EVO that is around 18% but is usually used on the die-hard cats who refuse the kibble.

I'm overjoyed that I gave him his second injection successfully. This time, all of the insulin stay inside him and I did it on more of an angle. Oh, I should ask: What pattern do most people use when changing the place to inject? The vet said to do 12 spots total, 6 on each side of his spine, in a zig-zag pattern. I can't imagine how anyone could remember precisely where each 12 spots are. I think 6 is about all I can manage to do, without accidentally going too close to the second last day's spot. Is that ok?

That is GREAT . It is always good to have a successful shot (even from an ol' timer like me- 10+ months). I switch from side to side each time- left on the AM and right on the PM. I move a little higher one day, a little lower the next. With caninsulin you DON'T have to worry about it sticking around- it only lasts 8-10 hours at the most and then it is out of his system so getting too 'close' really isn't a problem.

Before he visited the vet, I had heard that cats could recover completely from diabetes in some cases, but after visiting the vet, it sounds like that probably won't happen for Taliesen. I can only guess why that is (age, weight?). But, as long as I can keep him relatively healthy and happy, that's ok.

There is no recovering- they don't stop being diabetic- once they 'caught' it the have it until they cross the bridge. They can, however, go into remission. That means they don't have to have insulin on a daily basis anymore. Most cats (95%) go into remission on the right diet- low carbed, canned food (the other 5% are so random and might not have had FD in the first place :? ). They cannot ever go back to dry food. That does not mean to say they cannot leave full and happy lives- there are diabetic cats on the board who have been so for 5+ years. This is not a death sentence for cats, most that cross over are usually from non-diabetic illnesses.

Now, most vets goal is for REGULATION- that is somewhere between 150 and 275 on a consistent basis. They don't even bother with remission because cats usually only get there with constant testing (at home) and dosing off of that testing and most people rely on a vet to tell them up, down, stay. Taliesen has every chance to go into regulation and even to remission- all he needs is time. It took 7 months for me to get Sneakers regulated.

Good luck with all of this new stuff- it takes a while to learn it all.

 

[Ry & Scooter]

I just wanted to clarify that you don't want to use the pen device that comes with the Lantus pen cartridges. You want to use a syringe to draw your insulin dose from the pen cartridge - they have a rubber stopper just like the vials. There are 2 reasons for this:

1. Pen needles only measure in increments of 1u. This is OK for humans because they generally use high doses and 1u is just a drop in the bucket. Our kitties are much smaller and so need smaller doses like .25u or sometimes even just drops, so you need to use syringes with half unit markings to measure that little insulin.

2. Pen needles do not draw consistent amounts of insulin - ie. 1u with the pen device could be anywhere from .75u to 1.25u or even more. Again - OK for humans, but not OK for our kitties!

 

[bjg]

After reading Ry & Scooter's response, I'm thinking I'll just stick with regular needles, rather than the pen. The ones I have now don't show 0.5u, so I'll get those when these are done.
Thank you, hmjohnston, for giving me some hope that Taliesen can go into remission!
If Caninsulin lasts 8-10 hours, will that mean he'll always have high blood sugar for half the day? Anyway, that won't matter by the end of the week, because he'll be switching to a human brand, hopefully something that will last a whole day. Honestly, all of that is going over my head and I feel confident leaving that decision up to my Mom.
Three of our four other cats are very healthy weights, and the fourth only has a tiny bit extra weight, nowhere near where Taliesen was/is. Since they're the family's cats, my Mom buys and chooses their food. Expensive wet food just isn't in the cards. The only way I can afford it for Taliesen is by tightening my already very tight belt in other areas.
I'm in Canada, so at least half of the meters mentioned in this forum aren't available. My Mom uses OneTouch. She's going to let me use one of her extras for a little while. "AMPS, PMPS" - what is the PS? Do their ears heal quickly from the pricks? Are there any issues that can arise from having to repeat the prick in the same areas?
I'm not injecting him at his spine, but a couple inches to the right or left of it, where there's still a fair amount of fat and skin. I can see how the bottom of the neck would work. Is this what most people do? Is it preferable?

 

[Ry & Scooter]

You still want a prescription for the Opticlik/Solostar pen cartridges. They are packs of 5 3ml (300 unit) refills. You do not want to use the needle device that comes with them though - you simply want to use the cartridges like mini vials. It ends up being more cost effective to buy the cartridges over the vials. A vial will go bad before you can use all of it (it is 10ml) so you are essentially throwing $ away if you buy vials - but you can use the entire pen cartridge up if you handle it properly.

The OneTouch meter is good but a little bit pricy on strips. You could always order a cheaper one online somewhere.

AMPS = AM Preshot
PMPS = PM Preshot

Yes, the ears heal very quickly from the pricks as long as you remember to apply pressure for a few seconds with a tissue or cloth after poking to prevent bruising. They might look bad the first few weeks but it gets better. I have never had an issue with pricking in the same area personally but sometimes there are small bruises and you want to avoid poking those.

I shoot in Scooter's side, right behind his front leg!

 

[Julia & Bandit (GA)]

Three of our four other cats are very healthy weights, and the fourth only has a tiny bit extra weight, nowhere near where Taliesen was/is. Since they're the family's cats, my Mom buys and chooses their food. Expensive wet food just isn't in the cards. The only way I can afford it for Taliesen is by tightening my already very tight belt in other areas.

Switching to canned food is not more expensive than feeding dry food--it just seems like it on the surface. Cats do not digest most of the ingredients in dry food, so they eat more if it. If you get something like low carb Friskie's pate canned food in large, 13 oz cans, it ends up being around the same price as feeding dry food because your cats will not need to eat as much of it (an average sized cat needs around 5-6 oz of canned food a day). But when you factor in the other costs of feeding dry food--litter (cats poop 2 to 3 times more on dry food because they're not digesting most of the ingredients), the insulin and test strips for your diabetic, and future vet bills from all the various diseases that dry food causes in cats, it is costing you WAY more to feed the dry food. All cats are healthy eating dry food UNTIL it eventually makes them sick in one way or another--diabetes, obesity, kidney disease, urinary tract disease. My other cat ate dry food her whole life and maintained a healthy weight, but the dry food caused kidney disease, which in my opinion is a worse ailment than diabetes because all you can do is slow that disease--there's no stopping it. If it's the convenience aspect of dry food that is bothering you, we have tons of tips here that make feeding canned just as convenient--freezing it, auto feeders, free feeding, etc.

Here's a great explanation of digestibility--the more your cats can properly digest the nutrients in their food, the less you have to feed, which means you're spending less $. http://fnae.org/food.html#digestibility

I hope someone from Canada can stop by and give you some inexpensive canned food suggestions--I believe Ry might have a few?

If you continue to feed dry food, you have practically NO chance of remission for your cat. It would be like feeding twinkies to a human diabetic for every meal. The large majority of cats on a low carb canned diet, the right insulin (Lantus or Levemir), and dose adjustments via daily home testing go into diet-controlled remission (as long as they continue to eat a low carb, canned diet). And trust me, it is FAR less expensive and more convenient to have a diet-controlled cat off insulin than it is to have a cat on insulin. I am speaking from personal experience--I had virtually no money when Bandit was diagnosed with diabetes, and I also thought the switch to canned for my cats would be more expensive, but when I factored in the savings in litter and the cost of the canned food over time compared to the dry, it was not more expensive. But what it comes down to is that it's necessary to change the diet to get your cat healthy--you wouldn't continue to feed a diabetic child ice cream and potato chips, so you really can't continue to feed your feline diabetic high carb dry food and expect him not to suffer for it.

My Mom uses OneTouch. She's going to let me use one of her extras for a little while. "AMPS, PMPS" - what is the PS? Do their ears heal quickly from the pricks? Are there any issues that can arise from having to repeat the prick in the same areas?

A OneTouch is a great meter to use. Look on Ebay and Amazon for test strips cheaper than in the store. PS means Preshot--so AMPS is AM preshot, PMPS is PM preshot. As long as you are putting pressure on the spot for 20 seconds after you poke, there should be no bruising from testing, or issues from poking in the same spot. I use the same ear every time I test Bandit, and after 4 years of testing his ears (although I've only had to test monthly for the past 3 years that he's been in remission), his ears look exactly the same. A little neosporin + Pain Relief afterwards also helps (I think it's called polysporin in Canada?).

 

[Ry & Scooter]

Oh - you're in Canada! My bad, I missed that. You don't need a prescription for insulin, just pop over to any pharmacy and ask for it. Walmart and Costco's pharms I found to be the cheapest. 5 pens should be around $105 I think.

Me personally I am a bargain hunter. I buy whatever's cheap/on sale. I'll sum it up like this:

1. Cheap economical foods, perhaps not the best quality (byproducts etc)... large 13oz cans are cheapest, usually around $1 per can:

Friskies pates and special diet (they all have rice so they are slightly higher in carbs but still OK)
Special Kitty pates (Walmart's food - read the ingredients, some flavors like turkey and giblets have corn/rice - this is a Canadian thing)
Whiskas (large purple cans - my cats wouldn't eat this, it had a weird texture)
President's Choice Finicky Cat (Sold at Superstore, etc.)
Western Family (ground style? sold at Overwaitea, etc.)
Grreat Choice (Petsmart's brand)

2. Mid priced, slightly higher quality foods - these are usually 3oz cans and range from .40 to .60 each

Fancy Feast (pates - Canada's equivalent to "classics")
Special Kitty Select (Walmart's FF equivalent)
President's Choice Finicky Cat Gourmet (FF equivalent)
Western Family Gourmet (FF Equivalent)
Whiskas recloseable trays

3. High quality, slightly more expensive foods - come in all sizes

Wellness Grain Free varieties (independent stores and also Petsmart)
Merrick's Before Grain line and Cowboy Cookout, Surf n Turf, and Southern Delight (mostly sold at independent stores)
EVO 95% (these are pretty fatty, might cause stomach upset)


Of course there are more, but these are the ones I find easiest to come by in stores. Here's a bigger food chart but keep in mind they might not all be available in Canada. Right now my cats are on Whiskas recloseable trays as they were .50 at Walmart again so I stocked up. Before they were on Mixed Grill Grreat Choice from Petsmart with a little bit of Merrick's Cowboy Cookout and Wellness Turkey every now and then when I could afford it. :lol:

 

[bjg]

My Mom and I were trying to figure out the insulin pen deal. She says normally it's more expensive, but like you said, if some of a larger vial is wasted because it goes bad, the pen insulin would end up cheaper. She said it expires after about 4 weeks. That's where I got confused. I got the smaller vial at the vet, which apparently is a quarter of the size and price of the larger vial. We worked out that it should last about a week at the very low amount he's taking right now (which will probably be raised when he goes to the vet on Friday). If he's taking that much, the regular vial won't expire... unless we worked something out wrong, which is possible. Could it make a difference that he's so much larger than other cats?

I'm absolutely a bargain hunter (coupons, checking the flyers, all of it), as well! When I started looking for food at the beginning of the week (after looking at the same chart Ry & Scooter linked to), I was worried that I'd have to get Wellness and Merrick. Fortunately, after checking the international food list here and doing some of my own calculations, I found I won't have to pay big dollars to get Taliesen the food he needs. I was really impressed by the PC food in particular, though it seems they don't make exactly the same food now that is on the list from 2006. Their website lists ingredients, but not values, so I'll have to check those out in store. Some of the beef, chicken, and turkey from Friskies made it too my list, but I noted specifically to avoid the indoor and senior ones, based on the calculations I did. I did the math for all of the Whiskas, as well, but I'm a bit skeptical because a lot of the tins that say "in sauce" or "in gravy" apparently had really low carbs. I was under the impression gravy meant higher carbs. I did give him half of the turkey + giblets tray a couple hours ago and he *gobbled* it up. Really, he loved it. Turkey seems to do well for carbs across the board, so I'm pleased it's a flavour he really likes. Last on my list (but still on the list) is some of the Walmart brand foods. My instinct is that these will be poorer quality. Am I wrong? I have no probably eating no name food myself, but I've always stuck to brand names for cat food. Oh, except for a dry food from Costco, which our cats loved briefly. Which brings me to Costco... I don't have a membership myself, but my sister does, so I can get her to pick stuff up for me infrequently. What are the prices like for wet food there? I'm not a fan of theirs, based on their high prices for other products, but there's a chance that's not the case for pet food.

My Mom's been reading all of these replies, so now it sounds like there's a chance we'll be introducing more wet food to our other cats. They're not young anymore and hopefully it's not too late to fend off diseases, etc. And the twinkie comment put it in perspective (not to mention, grosses me out each time I think about it.).

I'm curious about freezing food. Canned food? What's the purpose? My Mom and I have been having a hard time determining exactly how much Taliesen should be eating once he's entirely on wet food (she think only part of the large can per day, I think a whole large can - both are guesses, really), but I don't think it'll have the opportunity to go bad once it's opened.

I still haven't tried testing him. Hopefully that'll happen tomorrow. Is it ok to use Polysporin on Taliesen's ear? My sister has a product like Polysporin, but that's safe if they happen to lick it. Should I try that? Or will it not be as good as Polysporin? Will he try to itch or excessively clean his ears once I start testing?

 

[Ry & Scooter]

Oh - you want to keep the Lantus pens in the fridge. Unrefridgerated and left at room temp they only last 28 days - this is OK for humans because they will use it up before it goes bad. But our kitties use much smaller doses, so we keep the insulin in the fridge to keep it longer. You can get up to 3 or 4 months out of a pen cartridge - I get 2.5 on average, so 5 pens is about a year's supply of insulin. You don't want to shake, drop, or roll the cartridge and never inject air or insulin back into the cartridges. If you need to squirt excess insulin out of the syringe, squirt it into a paper towel or something, but not back into the cartridge!

You can't use the guaranteed analysis on the back of the cans to calculate carbs since they are just minimum and maximum percentages - not accurate. You would have to contact them and ask for the "as fed" values - but looking at the ingredients label should give you a general idea. If there's things like soy flour, wheat gluten, potato starch, oats, and other high carb things pretty early in the list, chances are the food is medium or high carb. Some foods (ie. chunky varieties of FF and Friskies pates) have a bit of wheat gluten or rice later down in the list and those can affect carb sensitive kitties but are generally still considered low carb. Rule of thumb is you don't want anything in sauce, gravy, grilled, shreds, souffle, etc! Just stick to pates. If your kitty likes gravy try adding some hot water to the food - 1:1 ratio works good - the soupyness makes it seem like gravy but without the added carbs from wheat gluten/corn starch.

I don't have a Costco membership either so I can't say what foods they have there. I do all my pet food shopping between a local premium food chain, Walmart, Superstore, and Petsmart.

If you aren't home all the time to feed your kitties, you can freeze some canned food in small containers or ice cube trays and drop them into the bowl before you leave. They'll thaw out over a few hours and give the kitties something to munch on while you're gone. I do this for Scooter when I'm gone for the day

Polysporin is fine, you want to use a tiny little dab on the ear, rub it in, and then wipe it off so there is no excess but the fur is still "greasy". It helps the blood bead up and not get lost in the fur. You can use plain vaseline/petroleum jelly too, but the Poly/Neosporin helps it heal and hurt less for the first little while. I don't use anything any more. Scooter's ears bleed very well now.