Hello from Scotland

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Scottish_Bella

Member Since 2017
Hi
Our 11 year old female cat has had her first injection of Prozinc 1mg today. She has been drinking and eating excessively for the last few weeks and after getting a urine sample (which stressed her a lot) and an unsuccessful vets visit for a blood sample, she was back at the vets today for sedation for the blood test and to be dematted. When we picked her up at the vets tonight we (the family 4of us) practiced injecting her with water and finally with her first dose of insulin.
No mention of testing blood at home and we return to the vets in about 10 days for another blood test, hopefully she will be feeling better and no sedation will be required.
The vet said not to change anything so she would not get stressed. We give her 2 pouches of wet food a day and she always has dry food available, from what I have read this is not ideal for a diabetic cat. We will inject her at 7am & 7pm.
Is it a good idea to remove her dry food at night so that when we give her a pouch in the morning she will be hungry and after she has eaten we can give her the insulin?
We are still getting used to the idea of having to inject her and going forward I will be changing her diet to one that is appropriate to her, but at the minute she has been sedated and shaved and I don't want to stress her too much, but At the moment I am still trying to come to terms with having to inject her twice a day.
Any advice would be gratefully appreciated.
The cost today was nearly £400, but insurance will pay for 80% of the cost. I'm worried that any hypo will happen when we are not at work and also if she doesn't eat should we not inject? How much should she eat before it's safe to inject?
Sorry for all the questions, but we have had her since she was 7 weeks old and she is part of the family.
We are all worried about the future, once we are confident of the injections would you recommend that we blood test at home? Rather than going to the vets every week or so?
Thanks for reading xxx
 
Welcome! I am sorry your baby has had such a rough time. Mia's belly had to be shaved not long after she was diagnosed, and it looked so pitiful, but her hair is growing back in and is so much softer and silkier now. So, you have that to look forward to. Testing at home is definitely the way to go. Not only will it help you keep her safer, it will mean less of those stressful and expensive visits to the vet. It is best for cats to have a diet of low-carb wet food. Feeding four times a day (using an auto-feeder, if needed) is ideal, but free-feeding is fine if your cat is underweight. You just want to be sure to take up any food two hours before shot time so that you can do a glucose test prior to feeding and giving the shot and get a test result that is not impacted by food. With feeding four times, I find that my girls are plenty hungry at their feeding times, so I never have to worry about Mia eating enough at shot time.

A word of caution, if you are starting insulin first, then changing her to a low-carb diet, you will want to monitor her glucose carefully. The diet change may bring her numbers down quite a bit.

There is a lot to learn in the beginning, and it can all be overwhelming, but it will get better. This is a great place to get advice and support. It would be best if you post your questions on the Main Health Forum rather than here in the introduction forum. They will get more attention there.

(Is your baby's name Bella? Do you have a photo to share?)
 
Hi, It is all manageable. This isn't the end, but some work will be required.

As for home testing... to me, that is the safest way to keep your kitty safe. It saves time and kitty stress to do the work at home. Would you inject a baby without testing first? Once you get the hang of it, it becomes easier. There are several you-tube videos as well as information in the stickies found at the top of the forums.

Keep reading and coming to terms with what Bella will need going forward. See you over in the main health forum.
 
Thanks for the advice, here is a photo xxx
 

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Just s quick hello and Welcome, Bella and Bella's mom!

It is sad when they have to be shaved, cuz obviously that usually means they are ill, but oh I love their little velvet bellies when it starts to grow back in! I love to kiss it and rub my face on it. :oops:
 
She is all lovely and soft, but still well enough to bite you if you touch her tummy, she just bit me cause I touched her tummy with one finger
 
She is all lovely and soft, but still well enough to bite you if you touch her tummy, she just bit me cause I touched her tummy with one finger
Ha! Yeah for some of my kids I would lose my face if I tried that.

But you are right, if she is well enough to be feisty, I've always considered that a good sign.

Hugs to you both on your diabetes journey!

Sandi&Whisper.
 
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