Jack the Cat & Katie
Member Since 2016
Hi! I have been lurking and reading some of the helpful information on this site for about a week. We learned last week that our 12 year old male cat Jack has diabetes. His blood glucose was elevated and then the vet confirmed this through a urine test. His blood sugar was 411. Between hearing that news and going back to the vet today for a consultation on next steps, the reading I did suggested that switching him to a wet food was a good first step, so I started giving him FF classic 2x daily. He's been a huge fan of that switch (we have been feeding dry Purina One for years). The vet gave me 2 cans of Purina DM and says he needs to have a higher fiber diet. She didn't tell me how much to give him, just to feed him twice daily.
The vet prescribed 1 unit of NPH (Novolin) twice daily, and wants to retest his blood glucose after 1 week. My reading suggested that some cats can go into remission after several months of treatment so I asked about that possibility, and she said that its only possible with a more costly form of insulin (Lantus?). She doesn't usually prescribe it because at the nonprofit clinic most of her patients' families cannot afford it. I'd prefer to try it even if it is more costly in hopes that he might achieve remission. She said that we can start with Lantus and switch to Novolin later if want, but that it is not effective the other way around (starting with Novolin and switching to Lantus in hopes of remission). I would love to hear your thoughts and experience on which one we should start with!
I am getting the message that most users here find that home BG monitoring is essential! The vet seemed to feel that this isn't necessary and that I should use urine test strips. I'm thinking that I wouldn't give insulin to a human without testing BG so it stands to reason that I should test the cat at home. My husband is reluctant, he sees it as an added expense that the vet didn't suggest. Thoughts on urine testing vs. blood?
I am overwhelmed and trying to learn but there is SO much information out there and some of it seems somewhat contradictory to what my vet is recommending. Any simple, first step advice would be wonderful! Thanks for reading if you made it this far!
The vet prescribed 1 unit of NPH (Novolin) twice daily, and wants to retest his blood glucose after 1 week. My reading suggested that some cats can go into remission after several months of treatment so I asked about that possibility, and she said that its only possible with a more costly form of insulin (Lantus?). She doesn't usually prescribe it because at the nonprofit clinic most of her patients' families cannot afford it. I'd prefer to try it even if it is more costly in hopes that he might achieve remission. She said that we can start with Lantus and switch to Novolin later if want, but that it is not effective the other way around (starting with Novolin and switching to Lantus in hopes of remission). I would love to hear your thoughts and experience on which one we should start with!
I am getting the message that most users here find that home BG monitoring is essential! The vet seemed to feel that this isn't necessary and that I should use urine test strips. I'm thinking that I wouldn't give insulin to a human without testing BG so it stands to reason that I should test the cat at home. My husband is reluctant, he sees it as an added expense that the vet didn't suggest. Thoughts on urine testing vs. blood?
I am overwhelmed and trying to learn but there is SO much information out there and some of it seems somewhat contradictory to what my vet is recommending. Any simple, first step advice would be wonderful! Thanks for reading if you made it this far!
