Hello, I am overwhelmed...

[Eric York]

Hello, one of my 6 cats, Tigger (male grey tabby 1o years old neutered, indoor cat) was starting to have trouble jumping up on the table a couple of months ago, then last month starting drinking and peeing more. He was diagnosed 4 days ago with diabetes. He has no other health conditions, although he had a dry cough when purring for a few seconds yesterday morning and this morning and he had red eyes, possibly from allergies which have been at a 20 year high in Vegas.

Like I said a 6 cat household which diet has carbs abound Nutro Chicken Rise adult & Senior dry food left our for free feeding, plus Whiskas temptations treats left in small piles here and there as I'm gone 10-11 hrs a day working, plus fancy feast (not the top of line fancy feast) (Tigger licks the gravy of the Chicken Cheese w gravy or just chicken and gravy) Pro plan urinary tract chicken also for two of my cats. I do try other wet foods (tiki etc) to mixed reviews.

Unbeknownst to me, sometime back Tigger must have stopped eating the Nutro and just ate Temptations..so that with his fancy feast gravy licking is bad nutrition and carbs.....hes had this habit engrained for years now...he is not obese, never has been, he is losing muscle mass I feel in his back due I guess to the diabetes.

I didnt find this forum until now.....Tigger was given his first dose 1 unit of ProZinc on Satuday...Dr said his blood test the day before showed 450, although you guys say I think it can be elevated by stress.

When I got Tigger home from vet Saturday (vet said since 1st shot was 2:30pm not to give him any insulin that night, wait till next morning) I went out on the hunt for better, high protein low card food for all my babies...I found some good Nutro Wild Frontier chicken/gravy with no carbs ( I go by catfooddb.com) and also Tiki is extremely highly rated with no carbs. Well Tigger was seeming much better after his vet visit...(from one shot??) and was acting like his old self, and he ate (well licked) the Frontier and also (licked) the Tiki Tuna/Chicken. He has NEVER EVER bitten into the food of wet foods....as well as most my other cats...they just lick...although Midnight likes pate which gives him everything..but the rest...well rams eats some too....anyway.

The next morning to start my 1st 1 unit injection, ( I DID NOT put any treats out for overnight) Tigger refused the Tiki and Frontier and any other good thing I put in front of him....I finally had to acquiesce and open the fancy feast chicken gravy and raised up all the gravy with my fork three times until he lapped as much as he wanted, then gave him the shot. I had to do this last night and in trying to mix in some good pate with the gravy this morning he balked and barely lapped up any, so I had to resort to a few temptations to get something in him so I could give his shot

My vet said he doesnt do the curve as its too stressful on the cats at his practice with dogs barking all day and such, and told me my testing him at home would be too difficult also. He said to bring tigger in in a week ( which will be Saturday) 4 hours after his insulin dose for a blood test.

This vet was actually recommended by NURSES at me previous vet who said they take their own fur babies there and I have been please with him to this point, but him saying testing is too hard has put me off somewhat, and he also told me about Purina DM food but I read the formula changed and its junk now?

SO I am at the beginning of this journey and feel TERRIBLE I did not find you before his first dose. (second dose I went through the scruff and poked myself luckily no insulin came out and I then changed needles) I am terrible with medical things and also have depression/anxiety ( Ive been on 4 meds with bad side effects and trying low doseage of paxil now)

PLEASE help me.....please take me in and guide me because I have a suspect vet as far as nutrition/testing, I have 6 cats I'm going to have to change their diets/lives forever, and a sick 10 year old boy who needs me to help get his sugar right and SOMEHOW help him eat better food so MAYBE just MAYBE remission will be possible

Thank you everyone. I'm heartbroken, scared and worried.....

 

[Olive & Paula]

Hello Eric, I'm not familiar with Prozinc those "experts" will be along soon . One thing your vet said is right, Tigger would be stressed at the vets.

Home testing is not difficult once you learn and establish a routine. Most people here use fancy feast late or friskies pate. Food with gravy is used for low meter readings. I

If you go out to the home page, scroll down you will find a section for people using prozinc. People will walk you through every step.

 

[Esi]

Thank you everyone. I'm heartbroken, scared and worried.....

Hello Eric. I'm very new to this too so I completely understand how you're feeling. What I can tell you, is after only about 1 week, I feel MUCH better and much more confident in helping my boy, thanks to the wonderful people here, than I could have imagined when I first found out he had diabetes.

My recommendation is for you to read the yellow stickies at the top of each of the forums. For example, the following page will help you better get a handle on home testing.

"A personal note: I have been testing cats now for a long time, both diabetic and non-diabetic. You will hear people, and maybe even your own vet, say cats hate it, or they will scar for life, or that this is a painful procedure. This is simply not true. None of us have terrorized cats with scarred ears - what we have are thriving cats with perfect ears who are alive because we hometest."

http://www.felinediabetes.com/FDMB/threads/hometesting-links-and-tips.287/

 

[alexthecat]

Welcome! You can do this and Tigger is lucky to have you. I know it seems like there is a lot to learn at first, but it really does get easier. You settle into a routine and your kitty starts to figure out what's going on.

It's good that you are open to learning to test your cat's blood at home. You don't need your vet's permission to do that. Many of us use human meters, like the Relion Confirm or Relion Micro, from Walmart. You also need test strips, lancets (26 or 28 gauge), cotton balls or cosmetic rounds, and Neosporin gel with pain relief. There can be a bit of a learning curve with blood testing, but we all learned to do it and so can you! It's the best way to keep Tigger safe and feeling healthy.

If you haven't yet read the Beginners Guide to Prozinc, I would recommend that
http://www.felinediabetes.com/FDMB/...prozinc-pzi-insulin-for-diabetic-cats.164995/

 

[Idjit's mom]

Welcome Eric and Tigger. I echo those who have already responded. You can do this, you care enough about Tigger to have searched for and found this board. You can, and I have no doubt will, learn to home test. It absolutely is the best way to tell how the insulin is affecting Tigger and will help protect him from a hypo event (blood sugar too low).
Perhaps changing the diets of all the cats in the household is going to be of more benefit than you know. A low carb wet diet is the best diet for all cats. Visit the Catinfo.org website. This might help ensure that no other kitties in the home develop diabetes, and reduce the chance that Tigger can get into contraband. (Because we know they do, they are soooo clever!) Take a deep breath, you are in the right place. It is a lot to learn at first, but I think you will do fine.

 

[JanetNJ]

I have definitly been there. My cat got diabetes after a love affair with temptations as well.


The fancy feast classic or Friskies pate foods are good low carb choices. Avoid anything that says gravy. There are a small handful of lower carb dry foods you could try add he's transitioning to wet. Youngagainpetfood.com had a good called Young Again Zero. Wysong makes one called Epigen 90. Dr elsley's clean protein chicken flavor is another. All three companies will send a sample of the food if you ask.


You could try giving the pate with a little bit of dry on top to entice him.

Testing at home is cheaper and less stressful than at the vet. I have a video in my signature showing how I test my cat CC at home.

 

[Eric York]

Going home for his evening injection...this will be my 4th ....I’ve seen videos where once the needle is in they draw it back to see if there’s blood coming in, but a lot of vet videos do not??

 

[Eric York]

Also with monitoring ... if I get monitor if I take readings on wed sat sun will that be enough...I work long hours on the other days

 

[Idjit's mom]

Monitoring, ALWAYS test before giving a shot, always! This ensures it is safe to inject insulin. You said "if I get a monitor". I assure you, testing your cat's blood glucose is the best way to keep him safe. If you give insulin and the blood sugar is too low, it could be fatal. Humans do not give themselves insulin without testing, it is no different for our cats. It is also important to test at different times of day. Take a look at that Beginners Guide to Prozinc that Alexthecat gave you the link to. Start posting in the Prozinc Forum for more help.

 

[Eric York]

Ok now I'm scared. ...My vet says monitoring with cats will be too difficult I would need to bring him in periodically. My friend who works for the humane society took her cat every 3 months and thats wht my vet said to do. My problem with several times a day is not feasible with my job I work long hours 4 days a week. I could only do three days a week with different times of day.

Tigger licked up some welluma chicken tuna....not alot...then I tried the friskies chicken pate and he licked more of that....I actually tried to give him some treats and he didnt want them.....I really hope with this injection he doesnt get too low This all was thrust upon me so fast....blood test Thursday results Friday go to vet for 1st injection Saturday and just told by vet to give 1 unit a low dose to start after food...and to bring him in in a week for testing. Then periodic testing at his office.

 

[Eric York]

I have definitly been there. My cat got diabetes after a love affair with temptations as well.


The fancy feast classic or Friskies pate foods are good low carb choices. Avoid anything that says gravy. There are a small handful of lower carb dry foods you could try add he's transitioning to wet. Youngagainpetfood.com had a good called Young Again Zero. Wysong makes one called Epigen 90. Dr elsley's clean protein chicken flavor is another. All three companies will send a sample of the food if you ask.


You could try giving the pate with a little bit of dry on top to entice him.

Testing at home is cheaper and less stressful than at the vet. I have a video in my signature showing how I test my cat CC at home.

I have clean protein cans they arrived a few days ago am working on transitioning a cat off fancy feast chicken liver pate to that...its not quite as flavorful as the fancy feast...kinda like us not salting our food I guess...I'm mixing them now and will gradually decrease the fancy feast. Clean protein dry should come tomorrow. I hope he likes it! I hope they all do!

 

[Eric York]

Monitoring, ALWAYS test before giving a shot, always! This ensures it is safe to inject insulin. You said "if I get a monitor". I assure you, testing your cat's blood glucose is the best way to keep him safe. If you give insulin and the blood sugar is too low, it could be fatal. Humans do not give themselves insulin without testing, it is no different for our cats. It is also important to test at different times of day. Take a look at that Beginners Guide to Prozinc that Alexthecat gave you the link to. Start posting in the Prozinc Forum for more help.

Ok now I'm scared. ...My vet says monitoring with cats will be too difficult I would need to bring him in periodically. My friend who works for the humane society took her cat every 3 months and thats wht my vet said to do. My problem with several times a day is not feasible with my job I work long hours 4 days a week. I could only do three days a week with different times of day.

Tigger licked up some welluma chicken tuna....not alot...then I tried the friskies chicken pate and he licked more of that....I actually tried to give him some treats and he didnt want them.....I really hope with this injection he doesnt get too low This all was thrust upon me so fast....blood test Thursday results Friday go to vet for 1st injection Saturday and just told by vet to give 1 unit a low dose to start after food...and to bring him in in a week for testing. Then periodic testing at his office.

 

[Eric York]

Also, do cats get depressed at the beginning of this? Tigger has just been laying around looking sad or sleeping....he's not having glassy eyes or stumbling or anything like low sugar, but he;s had treats lying around for most of his life and their gone now? Big shock to him and I think I should have done gradually like someone suggested, but I know how bad carbs are for diabetes. Although my dads been on insulin for 25 years and pretty much eats what he wants. He's 81.

I just worry about how Tiggers acting. Not himself at all. Big curveball being thrown at him. Also he's 10 I guess he's slowing down

 

[Eric York]

I really need to mention ....I have generalized anxiety disorder and depression. This news has sent me off not good... I can become obsessive and worry every single second if his sugar is too high or low.....it is terrible...

 

[Eric York]

I need to leave a little early for work....can I feed/do litter an hour earlier?? My Vet said one to two hours either way on the initial visit/injection.

 

[JanetNJ]

I have clean protein cans they arrived a few days ago am working on transitioning a cat off fancy feast chicken liver pate to that...its not quite as flavorful as the fancy feast...kinda like us not salting our food I guess...I'm mixing them now and will gradually decrease the fancy feast. Clean protein dry should come tomorrow. I hope he likes it! I hope they all do!

ery the chicken and liver fancy feast pate is a great food to feed a diabetic cat! No reason to switch. Here's a food list with all the carbs for canned foods. Pick ones under 10 percent carb (under 7 is even better).

 

[JanetNJ]

Also, do cats get depressed at the beginning of this? Tigger has just been laying around looking sad or sleeping....he's not having glassy eyes or stumbling or anything like low sugar, but he;s had treats lying around for most of his life and their gone now? Big shock to him and I think I should have done gradually like someone suggested, but I know how bad carbs are for diabetes. Although my dads been on insulin for 25 years and pretty much eats what he wants. He's 81.

I just worry about how Tiggers acting. Not himself at all. Big curveball being thrown at him. Also he's 10 I guess he's slowing down

Give it more time. He's still adjusting.

Here's something you can do to help us help you.... At up a signature. Click on your name at the top right corner and choose signature. Add info such as your pets name, age date diagnosed, insulin type and dose, food you're feeding, and any other health concerns. This will keep us from asking the same questions repeatedly.

 

[Idjit's mom]

Like Janet said, Tigger is still adjusting. The diabetes probably makes him feel bad, and now he's experiencing the effects of the insulin. Please do set up the signature, and start posting in the Prozinc forum. This Welcome forum that we are in right now is essentially the welcome mat on the front porch, and not all members get the chance to look in as often as they would like. You need to be talking with other members that use Prozinc so they can advise you. Here is a link to the Prozinc Forum: http://www.felinediabetes.com/FDMB/forums/prozinc-pzi.24/

 

[Idjit's mom]

Ok now I'm scared. ...My vet says monitoring with cats will be too difficult I would need to bring him in periodically. My friend who works for the humane society took her cat every 3 months and thats wht my vet said to do. My problem with several times a day is not feasible with my job I work long hours 4 days a week. I could only do three days a week with different times of day.

Tigger licked up some welluma chicken tuna....not alot...then I tried the friskies chicken pate and he licked more of that....I actually tried to give him some treats and he didnt want them.....I really hope with this injection he doesnt get too low This all was thrust upon me so fast....blood test Thursday results Friday go to vet for 1st injection Saturday and just told by vet to giv e 1 unit a low dose to start after food...and to bring him in in a week for testing. Then periodic testing at his office.

Your vet is wrong. Unfortunately most vets are not well educated in Feline Diabetes, and give inaccurate or ill informed advice and instructions. The goal with treating FD is regulation or remission, while providing proper food and health support.
Many of us were floored with the diagnosis, many of us work, or do not have a lot of money to spend, or are disabled or other circumstances. What is important here is Tigger's well being. Every person here on the board tests their cat's BG, because it's the best way to keep them safe, also it costs a lot less than taking the poor animal to the vet, which is stressful and usually raises the BG anyway. Ultimately you are going to decide what level of care Tigger gets.

 

[Jill & Jade]

Ok now I'm scared. ...My vet says monitoring with cats will be too difficult I would need to bring him in periodically. My friend who works for the humane society took her cat every 3 months and thats wht my vet said to do. My problem with several times a day is not feasible with my job I work long hours 4 days a week. I could only do three days a week with different times of day.

Tigger licked up some welluma chicken tuna....not alot...then I tried the friskies chicken pate and he licked more of that....I actually tried to give him some treats and he didnt want them.....I really hope with this injection he doesnt get too low This all was thrust upon me so fast....blood test Thursday results Friday go to vet for 1st injection Saturday and just told by vet to give 1 unit a low dose to start after food...and to bring him in in a week for testing. Then periodic testing at his office.

Let me chime in here and reiterate that YOUR VET IS WRONG. You can do this. You have to test at home or else you'll just be guessing. It's really no different than a diabetic human. A Doctor would never give that advice to a person. I was scared that Jade was going to hate me. That she was going to run and hide and I was going to have to pull her out from under the bed twice a day. I sat here and cried and cried with that thought. Didin't happen that way, at all. After a short time she knew that was part of the routine to get food. You have to stay calm and go in with confidence as our pets feel our stress. Trust the advice on this board, they really are the experts. Best of everything to you!!

 

[Mr Ogre Buns]

How is Tigger doing now? You and I are in the same boat. One of my two cats was just diagnosed with diabetes and I feel so overwhelmed. I wish I had known more about nutrition. My cat always had food in the bowl and they were spoiled with temptations. Now my Ogre is really sick and I feel so awful. The vet had him on prescription fiber food hoping the diabetes was being caused by pancreatitis and glimeperide with no success so in a week she's going to set me up with insulin. I'm freaking out. I have depression and anxiety too and this feels like way too much. I have a fear of needles. I'm unemployed and broke. All of it.

 

[Sharon14]

@Mr Ogre Buns please start your own thread so we can help you. Most of us started this journey overwhelmed and anxious and lots of us are broke so we know where you’re coming from. We have plenty of suggestions to help you overcome your fear of needles, save money and get your kitty on the road to recovery. Hope to see you on the Main forum telling us about your cat and asking any questions you have.

 

[JanetNJ]

How is Tigger doing now? You and I are in the same boat. One of my two cats was just diagnosed with diabetes and I feel so overwhelmed. I wish I had known more about nutrition. My cat always had food in the bowl and they were spoiled with temptations. Now my Ogre is really sick and I feel so awful. The vet had him on prescription fiber food hoping the diabetes was being caused by pancreatitis and glimeperide with no success so in a week she's going to set me up with insulin. I'm freaking out. I have depression and anxiety too and this feels like way too much. I have a fear of needles. I'm unemployed and broke. All of it.

Step one get him off the high fiber food. That's the opposite of what your cat needs of she's diabetic. Wet low carb diet such as fancy feast classic or Friskies pate. Start your own thread on the main health forum for Ogre