Hello - I'm a new user

[Monty's Mum]

My boycat Monty is 12yrs and was diagnosed yesterday with diabetes. He had a blood glucose of 28.
He is at the vet now for his first injection of ProZinc and monitoring and I am doing his second injection tonight.
He had the standard symptoms of excessive water intake (has a water fountain so easy to spot!), asking for food more and an enormous amount of pee! He lost a little weight but he is a big boycat so i didn't notice that so much.
He had cancer in the wax gland in his ear 4 years ago so had all the inner ear removed and his outer ear sewn up and this slightly affected his eyesight in one eye - this meant the clumsyness of the back legs was a bit hard to spot too.
He has only had symptoms for 2 weeks so I'm hoping we can manage this and get him feeling better with diet changes (get rid of the dry food entirely!) and the ProZinc.
The vet said they are going to do his bloods in-house initially but then they want me to do home monitoring which I will do.
I'm so upset for my poorly boy but feeling a lot happier after doing a bit of research and finding out it is manageable.

 

[Kris & Teasel]

Welcome! You're already on the right track by changing Monty's diet to wet food and being willing to home monitor. Please let us know what dose of ProZinc your vet has recommended because there can be a tendency for some vets to want to start at too high a dose. The best way to get your posts seen is to put them up on the main health forum because many members view it.

 

[Tuxedo Mom]

Welcome to the forum. There is a wealth of information and knowledgeable members here who can help make your journey easier. I am VERY impressed with your vet that he is in favour of and actually wants you doing home testing!!! Huge Kudos to your vet

That is such an important tool in keeping your kitty safe and tracking Monty's progress. Prozinc is a good insulin and works well for many kitties. Here is a link to LOTS of information on Prozinc:

http://www.felinediabetes.com/FDMB/forums/prozinc-pzi.24/

There are yellow "stickies" at the top of the page that can give you some great information on how it works and what to expect. It is rather overwhelming at the start but you will pick it up as you go along. If you have specific questions you can pots over on the Health forum at this link:

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

Or on the Prozinc forum:

http://www.felinediabetes.com/FDMB/forums/prozinc-pzi.24/

 

[Monty's Mum]

Thankyou!
I'm lucky the vet is a feline specialist and seems very proactive.
She is starting him on 1U i think - will check when i go get him shortly.

 

[Tuxedo Mom]

Thankyou!
I'm lucky the vet is a feline specialist and seems very proactive.
She is starting him on 1U i think - will check when i go get him shortly.

What a great start for you and Monty to have a good vet on board. 1 unit is the usual starting dose. With home testing you will be able to keep a close eye on his progress!

 

[Diana&Tom]

Hello and welcome from another UKer! You have got off to a great start. It's a huge advantage having a vet who is so supportive, and good for you doing some research as you get going with this. Knowledge is power, they say - in the nicest possible way!
Let us know how you get on, and post any questions you have at any time. As well as members from all over the world we have a handful now in the UK so we will always be happy to offer suggestions on food, where to get supplies, etc.
Best of luck!
Diana

 

[MiCo]

Welcome! I am new too, and starting Cliff on Prozinc too! We will be learning together.

 

[Monty's Mum]

So Monty is on his 3rd day of ProZinc and seems to be doing ok.
He's a bit brighter and alert and back to being a fusspot over food which is not very helpful!
He is on 1.5U twice a day. He is also 7 days of antibiotics as the vet was worried about the high bacteria in his urine.
We have been switched onto diabetic dry food (Royal Canin) and introducing wet food gradually to stop him losing weight too quickly whilst we get control of his BG. This is because he has always been a mainly dry food cat and is quite fussy! I have already had the battle of wills over changing his food but luckily so far I'm winning! The main issue we have is that he was always a grazing cat rather than the big set meal cat so getting him to eat enough for the insulin injection is interesting! Fresh chicken seems to be a winner for this! Has anyone else had this problem?
I have already noticed the difference in how much he was drinking and peeing as both have reduced.
Anyway he is back into the vets on Monday for another glucose curve to see how he's doing.
I have turned into a spreadsheet geek & weighing everything that he eats and when!

 

[MiCo]

Sounds like you are doing a great job, Monty's mom!
Good luck at the vet on Monday.
I too, am turning into a spreadsheet geek!