Hi, my name is Jean and my cat's name is Harry. Harry is a tux and is 11 years old. In the 6 weeks or so Harry started first by sitting in front of the water bowl which he had never done before. As the weeks went on he began to drink more and more water, was ALWAYS hungry, was peeing a lot and had some behavior changes. Then all of a sudden on morning he would not eat, very unusual for him. We had already made a vet appt for labs draws and had an appt. that day, as luck would have it, on March 17th. They started with abdominal x-rays to check for any obstruction. That was clear. Labs were drawn and we were called the next morning, March 18th, to let us know he was diabetic and had pancreatitis!! On the 18th he went back for an ultrasound which only showed a hx of chronic pancreatitis. He was started on Prozinc 2 units BID on the evening of March 18th and had his second dose this morning, after eating. He is on Purina DM and is eating like a horse! He is not at the water bowl as often and is kind of back to himself this morning. He will go back to the vet April 1 for a fructosamine level or sooner is problems come up. So far so good.
Harry
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Chris & China (GA)
Member Since 2013
Welcome to the FDMB Jean and Harry!
There's no reason you need to feed the expensive D/M. The pate is low enough in carbs for a diabetic but the "Selects" and kibble are too high and none of them have anything special in them that cause them to require a script (despite being called "prescription" food) and there's nothing in them that actually treats diabetes! Most of us feed our own sugarcats plain old Fancy Feast Classics, Friskies pates or 9-Lives ground. They're under 10% carbs, easier to find and affordable.
2U is a higher starting dose than we recommend, especially when there's a diet change going on. Most cats should start at 0.5 to 1.0 unit. You can always go up if needed but the risks of giving too much can be devastating.
Are you home testing?
Many vets don't even discuss this with their clients, for varying reasons, but if you had a diabetic child, you would test their blood sugar before every shot, and we should do the same for our furkids. Also, testing done at the vet's office can be unreliable due to stress, which can significantly raise the BG. By testing at home, you get more accurate results.
Most of us use a human meter from your local pharmacy because it's accurate and affordable to use. A favorite here in the US is the Relion Premier Classic from WalMart. The meter is only $9 and the strips are $17.88 for 100.
There are "pet" meters too but the strips for them run about $1 each and most of us can't afford to use them, especially when we suggest testing at least 4 times a day (more if they're dropping too low or too fast). There may be days when you could go through 10 or more strips and at $1 each, that runs into some serious money!
Testing before every shot, you make sure it's safe to give insulin at all. By testing in between shots, you learn how the blood sugars are responding to treatment.
There's no reason you need to feed the expensive D/M. The pate is low enough in carbs for a diabetic but the "Selects" and kibble are too high and none of them have anything special in them that cause them to require a script (despite being called "prescription" food) and there's nothing in them that actually treats diabetes! Most of us feed our own sugarcats plain old Fancy Feast Classics, Friskies pates or 9-Lives ground. They're under 10% carbs, easier to find and affordable.
2U is a higher starting dose than we recommend, especially when there's a diet change going on. Most cats should start at 0.5 to 1.0 unit. You can always go up if needed but the risks of giving too much can be devastating.
Are you home testing?
Many vets don't even discuss this with their clients, for varying reasons, but if you had a diabetic child, you would test their blood sugar before every shot, and we should do the same for our furkids. Also, testing done at the vet's office can be unreliable due to stress, which can significantly raise the BG. By testing at home, you get more accurate results.
Most of us use a human meter from your local pharmacy because it's accurate and affordable to use. A favorite here in the US is the Relion Premier Classic from WalMart. The meter is only $9 and the strips are $17.88 for 100.
There are "pet" meters too but the strips for them run about $1 each and most of us can't afford to use them, especially when we suggest testing at least 4 times a day (more if they're dropping too low or too fast). There may be days when you could go through 10 or more strips and at $1 each, that runs into some serious money!
Testing before every shot, you make sure it's safe to give insulin at all. By testing in between shots, you learn how the blood sugars are responding to treatment.
Chris & China (GA)
Member Since 2013
Saw on Facebook that you were going to Walmart to get a meter! Good for you!
Now we need to get a spreadsheet going for you. The spreadsheet is how you keep track of the test numbers you get and also has a section where you can enter any lab results you have. The "Upload a file" doesn't work right now but you can either enter the labs on the spreadsheet or take a picture of them, save them to your computer and then "copy" them and then come here and "paste" the picture.
I'd be happy to help you get a spreadsheet going so you don't have to try to figure out even more stuff! You can either send me a message here by clicking on my name and choosing "start a conversation" or I'll send you a message on Facebook so we can get that done for you.
Hang in there! You're doing great so far!
Now we need to get a spreadsheet going for you. The spreadsheet is how you keep track of the test numbers you get and also has a section where you can enter any lab results you have. The "Upload a file" doesn't work right now but you can either enter the labs on the spreadsheet or take a picture of them, save them to your computer and then "copy" them and then come here and "paste" the picture.
I'd be happy to help you get a spreadsheet going so you don't have to try to figure out even more stuff! You can either send me a message here by clicking on my name and choosing "start a conversation" or I'll send you a message on Facebook so we can get that done for you.
Hang in there! You're doing great so far!
In addition to what Chris already posted, this is a link to a post on helping us to help you. It has the instructions for setting up a spreadsheet for your kitty along with what to include in your signature (so we don't keep asking you the same questions over and over again) along with other information to help you get started..
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