Harley's BG is 510.

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Gladioli66

Member Since 2017
I did not know where to post additional information after posting Harley's story under Post
Questions about my newly diagnosed kitty, so I edited that post as well as posting new info. here.
Harley's BG on 6/30 was 510, his fructose amine was 487. Harley is a structurally large cat, but is still overweight at 15.48 pounds. I do not know what he should weigh. He is now on an exclusively all canned diet. He no longer has any interest in dry food at all. His appetite is OK. I still have not figured out what the most nutritious choices are for Harley, but working on it. Currently using Fancy Feast Chicken and Turkey w/giblets, as well as trying Purina Pro Plan True Nature. He still refuses the DM, which is fishy. Please see other thread for more questions.
Thanks,
Gladioli
 
Hi, those numbers are high but taken at the vet, so you have to consider they may be higher than his normal ones, still I think Harley will really benefit from you testing him at home so that you can figure out how his numbers are specially since you changed him to wet food.

Regarding the diabetes as long as you give him food that is less than 10% carbs, ( I think they already gave you the link but just in case http://catinfo.org/docs/CatFoodProteinFatCarbPhosphorusChart.pdf) that would be ok, it doesn't have to be a prescription (DM) and after all what is most is important is that he eats.

You haven't mentioned why are you concerned on the amount of phosphorus in the food does Harley has some kidney issues?

Most varieties of Fancy Feast have reasonable amounts of phosphorus if Harley doesn't have any kind of kidney problems
 
Hi Veronica,
I am considering buying another glucometer, but no idea which one. The one I have is 15 years old and I can no longer find test strips. We had a diabetic cat long ago and unfortunately did not know how to help him properly with diet at that time. I hope to do better this time around.
I mentioned the phosphorus because Lisa mentioned in other post suggested I want to look for a food that has close to around 300. Harley is not a young kitty and I don't want any more problems. I mentioned I was trying to do my best by Harley and perhaps that is why she mentioned it. I am not knowledgeable enough to know what's what at this point. I still don't know how much to feed him though. He is a bit of a pudge, but also a big cat. How do I figure out how much he should weigh so I can make some attempt at feeding the proper amount of food? I don't want to starve the poor thing.
Also, what about the "spreadsheet" I see listed on other people's postings?
Thanks,
Gladioli
 
Yes it may be a good idea to find a glucometer that you can find strips easily and that the strips are not very expensive since you will be needing a lot of them.

It's ok to ask, as a matter of fact as as much as you want, It's true keeping a low phosphorus diet is good but if Harley's kidneys are ok I think focusing on a low carb diet that he wants to eat is the most important thing, that being said there are some varietys of Fancy Feast under 300, under 10% carbs and that are not fish related (Roasted Turkey or chicken) take a look at this list,http://www.felinediabetes.com/FDMB/threads/fdmb-spreadsheet-instructions.130337/

This is the link with the instructions for the spreadsheet we use here, it is very useful and easy to maintain, give the link a look and if you need help setting it up let us know.
 
The Purina DM (as well as several, but not all, Fancy Feast flavors) has a very high liver content, which many cats get sick of easily when fed exclusively. The Salmon content in it is actually quite low. So it might be good to try out a few flavors without a lot of liver in them (at least not as one of the top two ingredients). Sheba Pates are also a good low carb, grocery option and they're a little lower in phosphorus than Fancy Feast. How old is Harley? You want to keep an eye on phosphorus content and quality of protein if he's a senior cat (12 or older), but otherwise I wouldn't worry too much about it. Cats with loss of kidney function (and most cats over the age of 12 have loss of kidney function, even if it's not showing up in bloodwork yet) should try and stay under less than 250 mg/100kcal of phosphorus.

Liver is fine to feed moderately, but you don't want it to be the main source of protein your cat gets. Look for muscles meats the first couple ingredients on the label.

I've been experimenting with the Whole Earth Farms and Organix Pates this week (I'm trying to find something low phosphorus other than Wellness Core Pates because they've been a bit pricy to order online of late), and they've been a hit with my cats, so I'm fairly certain we'll be phasing those in next month. We tried the Whole Earth Farms Duck & Turkey Pates, and the Organix Chicken and Chicken & Liver pates.

As for the meter, is there a Walmart near you? A lot of people like the Relion meters there because the strips are inexpensive and the meter uses a small drop of blood. I personally really like my Accu-Chek Aviva--but the strips are expensive for it at the store, so I get them on ebay or amazon (usually $30-35 for 50 strips).
 
Hi Julia,
Thanks for the reply. What you say about DM makes sense based on how Harley responded. He was likely already a bit nauseous from the high BG, but was excited about the DM at first. After several meals of the DM he lost his appetite and was a lot less perky. I will try the DM from time to time since I have it, but no longer as a steady diet.
I can find just about any cat food locally. There's a specialty pet food store just down the street, as well as many others like PetsMart, Pet Supplies Plus, etc. Our local Health Food Store sells EVO and other foods. I have an abundance of places to buy from and Harley has taken to the all canned diet very well. I appreciate the info. about Whole Earth and Organix. I will look for them.

Your Accu-Chek Aviva sounds good. Is that the brand most here use? For health reasons of my own I must limit my shopping to a bare minimum, so the more shopping online I do the better. Did you buy the meter online as well.

Thanks,
Gladioli
 
Gladioli66 said:
I will try the DM from time to time since I have it, but no longer as a steady diet.
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You should be able to return it to the vet for a refund! Purina prescription diets are guaranteed, so just tell your vet that he won't eat it. Then you can use that money to get a better quality, commercial food.

I usually start out picking out a few cans here or there at my local pet food stores to try and make sure they like it, and then order cases through Amazon or Chewy's if they do. PetCo carries the Organix and Whole Earth Farms (we don't have a PetCo in my city but I was able to stop at one over the holiday while visiting a friend). Wellness Core Pates (Turkey & Duck, Beef & Vension, and Chicken, Turkey & Chicken Liver) are still low phosphorus and low carb despite the recent formula change, and they're at most pet food stores. If he likes shredded type foods, many Weruva foods are also low phosphorus and Low carb. If he needs a kidney friendly diet, just look for anything under 10% carbs and 250 mg/100 kcals on Dr. Lisa's list: http://catinfo.org/docs/CatFoodProteinFatCarbPhosphorusChart.pdf, preferably without byproducts and a muscle meat as the main ingredient(s).

Gladioli66 said:
Your Accu-Chek Aviva sounds good. Is that the brand most here use? For health reasons of my own I must limit my shopping to a bare minimum, so the more shopping online I do the better. Did you buy the meter online as well.
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Most people here use the Walmart meters (Relion). You can get that same meter online under a different name through American Diabetes Wholesale if you don't want to go through Walmart, it's called the Arkray Glucocard 01: https://www.adwdiabetes.com/product/4039/arkray-glucocard-01-blood-glucose-monitoring-kit. Strips are really inexpensive online for that meter--about $20 for 50: https://www.adwdiabetes.com/product/4046/arkray-glucocard-01-sensor-blood-glucose-test-strips

If you want the AccuChek Aviva is about $30 online:https://www.adwdiabetes.com/product/190/accu-chek-aviva-diabetes-meter-kit, but honestly, it'd probably be easier to go with the other because then you don't have to scour Ebay for strips, and if you do run out of strips and need to run to the store in a pinch, the Walmart Relion Confirm strips should work with it.
 
Thank you for the great information. Harley is improving on his all canned diet. He is doing better with his grooming habits, using his scratching post again, and a bit perkier. Things are definitely not getting worse, only better even if it is slowly. Hooray!
Thanks so much,
Gladioli
 
Julia & Bandit said:
Most people here use the Walmart meters (Relion). You can get that same meter online under a different name through American Diabetes Wholesale if you don't want to go through Walmart, it's called the Arkray Glucocard 01: https://www.adwdiabetes.com/product/4039/arkray-glucocard-01-blood-glucose-monitoring-kit. Strips are really inexpensive online for that meter--about $20 for 50: https://www.adwdiabetes.com/product/4046/arkray-glucocard-01-sensor-blood-glucose-test-strips
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Sorry for butting in, but Julia, do you know if I can use the ReLiOn meter with the ADW strips?

Gladioli66 said:
I still don't know how much to feed him though. He is a bit of a pudge, but also a big cat. How do I figure out how much he should weigh so I can make some attempt at feeding the proper amount of food? I don't want to starve the poor thing.
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A cat's weight depends on breed, but the average cat weighs around 10 pounds. (That doesn't mean that's what your cat should weigh.) I have cats that weigh 8lbs, and others that weigh 18 lbs. So until the vet can assess that for you with factors like breed and age factored in, I would feed for the weight Harley is. Once diabetes gets under control the weight issue may or may not be any issue at all. Depending on what brand and size of can you are feeding Harley may change the amount. Usually on the can it will tell you how many cans or day per weight.
For example, I feed my 12 pound Fabalous, Friskies low carb patés. For her weight she needs to eat 2 of the 5.5 oz cans per day. But if I switch her to low carb Fancy Feast it's a 3oz can, and Fabby has to eat 4 of them a day.
So when you decide on which brand/can then read the can for serving amount. (If it's not listed on the can you should be able to call the manufacturer to get recommended serving sizes.)
 
AlphaCat said:
Sorry for butting in, but Julia, do you know if I can use the ReLiOn meter with the ADW strips?
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It depends on what type of Relion meter you have--the Confirm and the Micro are the same as the Arkray Glucocard 01 and Arkray Glucocard 01 Mini, so those strips are interchangable for those meters. I don't believe the other Relion meters (Prime, Ultima, etc) have interchangable strips, but I could be wrong about that.

So, yes, if you have a Confirm or a Micro! Not sure if there's equivalents out there for the others.
 
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