Hello from Finland

[Tiina and Hugo]

Hi everyone! We just found out on Friday that our cat Hugo has diabetes. He is an 8-year-old Oriental Shorthair, very sweet and loving, clever and loud like many Orientals are. But recently he has been quiet and mostly sleeping, not wanting to jump or eat really. He only drinks a lot of water. So we took him to see a vet and his blood glucose was 22. Yesterday I measured at home and it was 23. I have now changed his diet from dry food and gravy based wet foods to a low carb wet food diet. It's very difficult...He hates pates and won't eat them. On Monday he will go back to the vet to practice giving him his Lantus insulin and measuring his glucose level. There isn't a support group in my country so I'm hoping to find answers and support here

 

[Carl & Polly & Bob (GA)]

Welcome Tina and Hugo! I'm very glad that you found us!

Some kitties, if they are used to a dry food diet, are tough to convince that canned low carb food are "good for them", so don't feel alone with that!

You will find lots of people that can help you with that and answer any questions you might have. Please post a message with any questions on the Feline Health forum:

http://www.felinediabetes.com/FDMB/forums/feline-health-the-main-forum.28/


And welcome to the FDMB!

Carl


@Robert and Echo

 

[Jill & Alex (GA)]

Welcome to the FDMB Tiina and Hugo!

I'm sorry to hear about the diagnosis, but fortunately, feline diabetes is treatable. You've come to the right place. We've been offering support and helping diabetic cats and their caregivers since 1996. Other members will drop by to say hello and welcome you to the group. Whenever you're ready, please join us on the Feline Health - (The Main Forum). It's the place to ask questions and voice your concerns.

See you on Health...
Hope to see you posting often!
~ Jill


Edited to add: Ask about food on Health. We might have some members who are familiar with low carb canned foods that are available in Finland.



@Robert and Echo

 

[Olive & Paula]

Welcome aboard Hugo and Tina. You will feel better soon when treatment begins.

Tina, you can add some warm water to the pate food. He might think it's the gravy part and start to eat it. Transitioning high carb gravy food and dry food to wet pate food is a challenge but can be done for most cats, although some take longer. I don't know what you have available in Finland, hopefully some here can help with that. Keep us updated plz.

 

[Tiina and Hugo]

Thank you everyone for the warm welcome. I'll try adding the water to the pate. I have so many questions that they are a tangled mess in my head, in addition I feel very sad about this and worry so much I barely can function myself. I have tried to absorb as much information as possible prior to the vet visit tomorrow. I only have 60 minutes there and in that time must learn to give the insulin and everything else. Right now I feel like I'm going to a war, but with no weapon...I'm not ready for this!

 

[Olive & Paula]

Thank you everyone for the warm welcome. I'll try adding the water to the pate. I have so many questions that they are a tangled mess in my head, in addition I feel very sad about this and worry so much I barely can function myself. I have tried to absorb as much information as possible prior to the vet visit tomorrow. I only have 60 minutes there and in that time must learn to give the insulin and everything else. Right now I feel like I'm going to a war, but with no weapon...I'm not ready for this!

Your ready. Just need some encouragement and confidence. Giving insulin is not hard at all. There are tips in the stickies here. Most give the shot while they are eating. You can condition Hugo to testing. A lot of cats will associate the testing with getting fed and a treat. They also figure out (and don't how) that the shot makes them feel better over time. The shot in my opinion hurts us more than them. You want them to feel better but you don't want them to 'hate' you for sticking them. He won't hate you. That's a promise.

 

[BJM]

Welcome to FDMB.

There is a European food list or two posted around here, I believe it is in Feline health section, if you do a search or post there.
By the way - I'm half Finnish on my dad's side of the family. They immigrated to the US from Jalisjarvi (not sure of the spelling). The immigration folks couldn't spell Luhtala ( umlad over the 'u') and the family name got changed.

 

[Carl & Polly & Bob (GA)]

Welcome to the FDMB Tiina and Hugo!

I'm sorry to hear about the diagnosis, but fortunately, feline diabetes is treatable. You've come to the right place. We've been offering support and helping diabetic cats and their caregivers since 1996. Other members will drop by to say hello and welcome you to the group. Whenever you're ready, please join us on the Feline Health - (The Main Forum). It's the place to ask questions and voice your concerns.

See you on Health...
Hope to see you posting often!
~ Jill


Edited to add: Ask about food on Health. We might have some members who are familiar with low carb canned foods that are available in Finland.



@Robert and Echo

 

[Tiina and Hugo]

Welcome to FDMB.

There is a European food list or two posted around here, I believe it is in Feline health section, if you do a search or post there.
By the way - I'm half Finnish on my dad's side of the family. They immigrated to the US from Jalisjarvi (not sure of the spelling). The immigration folks couldn't spell Luhtala ( umlad over the 'u') and the family name got changed.

Thank you! Or kiitos as we Finns say

 

[Jeanne & Dottie]

Hello, Tina and Hugo My, what a fine, handsome kitty he is, too! What a beautiful head!

You'll find a lot of support and good advice here, Tina. Everyone wants to help. Many members have taken care of their diabetic kitties for years and years. Pick their brains..lots of common sense knowledge here.

Now, zip over to the main forum, and get comfortable. You'll be right at home in no time.

 

[Catcrzymom]

Hello Tina and Hugo! Welcome to the group. I am new member also. My Garfield ( is 15 yrs old) was just diagnosed Feb 4, 2016.
I'm just starting to get the hang of giving the injections. Thursday of this week when intake him to the vet for a bg test they will teach us how to do home testing. I am a bit overwhelmed by all this too but everyone here has been great at helping me through this and they are all here for you too! Hang in there!

 

[BJM]

Thank you! Or kiitos as we Finns say

That is one of the very few Finnish words I know! From singing, some college courses, and various experiences, I've picked up 'Thank you" in 11 other languages besides English - French, Spanish, German, Finnish, Italian, Latin, Russian, Japanese, Chinese (not sure which dialect), Dannish, and sign language. I figured it was a useful word/phrase to learn - even if I didn't know any other word, I could try to be polite.

 

[Tiina and Hugo]

Hi @Jeanne Skadowski and @Catcrzymom Thank you for welcoming us to the forum. Hugo is a bit scared of me now, because I have had to test his BG so many times. I feel so bad, I love him and don't want to hurt him or make him feel scared of me. I'm glad there are so many people here who want to help.

 

[Maggies Mom Debby]

Hi @Jeanne Skadowski and @Catcrzymom Thank you for welcoming us to the forum. Hugo is a bit scared of me now, because I have had to test his BG so many times. I feel so bad, I love him and don't want to hurt him or make him feel scared of me. I'm glad there are so many people here who want to help.

Gosh, he's a beauty! He may be scared now, but once he starts to feel better, he will start to realize that testing and the shots are helping him. Also be sure to give a low carb treat at every test to provide positive reinforcement. See you over in the Health forum!