Gandolf says "Nice to meet you"

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cmk77

Member Since 2010
Hi, I'm Cee. Gandolf (Gandy) is my 9 1/2 yr. old short hair male tabby just diagnosed with diabetes. Darn it!
He lived elsewhere for a long time. He was obese when I got him. This year he lost 10lbs. He's a good-looking 15 - 16 lbs. now. But, alas, too late. I almost lost him coming 2 weeks ago this Friday. (Not from losing the body weight - we took that off slowly - just regulated his eating till he lost the weight). $550 later, my buddy is alive and I'm giving him insulin everyday now, 2x a day. Who ever woulda thought?!

I've spent hours on this board. He's taking Lantus. Vet started him at 2 units. On check-up they bumped him up to 2.5 (still high sugar). He had a rough day, was eating, was throwing up and doc took him to 1 unit. That's why I came here. Hope this is the right place. Anyway, I've changed him over to canned food. I'd been cooking for him anyway before he was diagnosed, chicken, beef, fish, and doing raw, but he had the crisis and now I've got him on canned food. Sophisticat. Got that before I found this site and the canned food tables. I'm now going by the canned food labels here and am even still in the midst of getting him regulated, on the right diet and trying not to kill him in the process. He loves the canned food so much he pretty much turns his nose to the dry now (except when there's no canned food), it took all of one canned feeding. Transition. He doesn't want to transition. He's wants the canned...all the time, right now. So I"m giving it to him. How much canned food do I feed a diabetic 15.5 lb cat? I am not regular yet for his feedings, sometimes its off an hour or two, just like his injections because of my schedule. I'm trying to keep it within 12 - 14 hours. Today, I fed him 4 times, about every 3 hours (about 1/3 of a can each time) cause I was in and out of the house. He seemed hungry each time.

So how much canned food should Gandolf be eating. 1-1/2 13 oz. cans a day?

And now that's he's eating mainly canned food, I've assumed to lower his insulin from 2.5 units to 2. (he stRTED at 2, then doc pushed him up to 2.5 to bring BG level down, he was ill one day and it came down to 1- that was the last I talked with my vet. But he's eating (the canned food got him eating again real quick, as already explained - end of feeling bad) he's not regulated yet it seems. Then I found this site and have been reading and bumped it back to 2 units again cause he's eating only canned food now except for a few kibbles. Thought 2.5 high. He definitely was a high-carbohydrate cat before, for years, until JUST recently, when I started cooking for him. But I still gave him dry food. Still do. (I've been feeding him canned food this last week and leaving kibbles in a bowl, in case, for him to nibble on, hoping instinct would drive him to eat them if his BG went low . I also let him do that for the "transitioning", so he wouldn't go hypoglycemic while I'm out.(since he has virtually changed to a canned food diet). Does this sound like I'm on the right track with him. Finances is a consideration.

Thank you for listening. I'm sure you understand. I am so thankful to have found this site which has educated and helped me so much.

Thanks in advance.

Cee and Gandy
 
Welcome to Lantus Land!

It's great that you've moved Gandolf to a canned food, low carb (LC) diet. That's a great first step. As far as how much to feed, there are two issues. First, a newly diagnosed cat will have a ravenous appetite because when he eats, the food (i.e., glucose) is not getting into his cells. Insulin is what helps the metabolized food get into the cells and a cat with diabetes hasn't been producing insulin. Until Gandolf is better regulated, you may need to be feeding him a fair amount of food. His appetite will decrease as he is better regulated. That said, you don't want him bulking up. One calculation for a cat's daily caloric intake can be found on Lisa Pierson, DVM's feline nutrition site:
Required calories per day = [13.6 X optimal lean body weight in pounds] + 70​
She indicates that this may be a generous amount.

The next step is to read the starred, permanent (aka "sticky") notes at the top of the Board. They will provide you with our dosing protocol, guidelines for handling Lantus, how to do a curve, how to post, our slang, and key concepts -- like the shed. There is an overwhelming amount of information in those notes.

Finally, this forum is very numbers oriented. If you are not already home testing, I would strongly encourage you to begin doing so. It is for Gandolf's safety and your peace of mind. If you are testing, it will be very helpful if you can start a spreadsheet which you can then link to your signature. All of us use the spreadsheet (SS) that I've linked for you. Also, if you complete a Profile and link this to your signature, as well, we won't keep plaguing you with questions about Gandolf's medical history, what you're feeding, what kind of meter you're using, etc.

Please visit our condos (the thread we each create every day for our cat -- one condo, per cat, per day) and look at our SSs. And ask questions. We're here to help.
 
Welcome! I think the name Gandolf is cute name. Finding this message board has definitely been a life saver for my sugar kitty. I am sure you will find it so incredibly helpful and comforting. It sounds like you are off to a good start. I am not an expert here, but have been at this for a few months. It's amazing how much there is to learn, but you will learn fast with the stickies and advice offered here. I know sticking to strictly low carb wet food is a key factor along with consistent 12 hour shot times (not that I don't completely understand that life/work happens).
I don't know a lot about how much each cat should eat, but both my sugar kitty and civvie each eat 2 1/2 cans of Fancy Feast each day spread out between four meals plus freeze dried chicken for snacks. Both my cats weigh 12-13 lbs (a much lower weight than pre diabetes). I think a lot of other people on the board spread their food out to even more frequent mini meals, but I only have two auto-feeders and I am gone all day at work.
Well, that's my wealth of knowledge :smile: I don't know how helpful I was, but know that you are in the right place. Keep asking questions!
 
Don't have any advice to offer, but wanted to stop by and say welcome cee and gandolf! This is a great place to be, I'm glad you found it.
 
Are you hometesting yet? That is the most important part of getting Gandolf regulated and keeping him safe. The numbers your vet gets will likely be inflated due to stress and not all that accurate of a picture of how Gandolf is actually doing.

You can get meters relatively cheaply from Walmart (and if finances are tight we have 'newbie kits' http://www.felinediabetes.com/FDMB/viewtopic.php?f=9&t=19542 ) You can keep costs down by ordering your test strips from Ebay - the rest (syringes, lancets etc) can be bought relatively inexpensively from Walmart.
 
Cee and Gandolf

We are also new here but welcome to Lantus Land and a great bunch of people who can offer you lots of help!! Sienne has given
you great info and it helps the experienced ones if they can look at your spreadsheet and you can keep it updated so they know
how he's doing. Hometesting will help immensely. Good luck and don't be afraid to ask questions...I do all the time!!
 
Hi - welcome aboard! Can't really give advice, there are others her that are so much better at it than I. I did want to pop in and say welcome aboard. You've come to a great place, with alot of very knowledgeable and caring people!
 
Welcome Cee and Gandolf!!!!
I am so happy to read your post. For the best management of Feline Diabetes, home testing is your next step. I agree with Amanda on that. You will notice all the numbers in our condos (threads)
When my two were first dx I did not know how to home test and brought them back to the vet office the following week for the BG test. Shortly after, I found this forum. The importance of home testing was stressed to me and the kind people here have helped me ever since.
Here is a link with important information: http://www.felinediabetes.com/bg-test.htm

I use the Reli-On Micro available at Walmart.
I do hope you will think about home testing and give it a try. Once you do that, please come back and post. We post each and every day...so I do hope to see you and Gandolf back here soon! :razz:
 
welcome to lantus land! not an advicegiver, but i'm a member of the comic-relief crowd. also not a testimonial queen, but this board has been a lifesaver for us...you found the right place!

celi & binks
 
Hi Cee and Gandolf. I'm not an advice giver either. Just wanted to welcome you and Gandy. Don't be afraid to ask questions. Everybody here is friendly and helpful. :-D
Looking forward to tomorrow's condo. :-D
 
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