Hi Lisa,
Just wanted to add my welcome and support for you and Bently. We get it. You're speaking my language. My brother-in-law asked me why i was doing all this for my cat because there were 100 more just like him at the shelter. Well there aren't!!
We'll be glad to help you. We understand feline diabetes and do it 24/7. I would get Lantus (Glargine) or Levemir (Detemir) - they are the longest acting insulins.
You want to get pens - they are a smaller volume (300ml) instead of a vial. They are different prescriptions. Lantus' low point happens around 3-6ish hours after the shot. Lev's low point happens around 4-8 hrs after the shot. That becomes a significant difference because you'll be testing and most of the people using Lev have to get up during the night to get tests. I used Lantus with punkin.
Here is the document you want to read and provide to your vet about your choice of insulins:
Management of Diabetic Cats With Long-Lasting Insulins Cats who are newly diagnosed, who can become "tightly regulated" meaning that the blood sugar is held between 50-120, can have their pancreas heal and can go off of insulin.
What insulin is your vet using on Bently?
We're going to ask you a zillion questions, so i'll just say that it will be good if every time you have a vet encounter, you ask for copies of the labs to take home with you. We have several people good at interpreting labs who can help you with what to ask or how to understand what you get.
As far as supplies, i think the cheapest supplies are probably going to come through
http://www.americandiabeteswholesale.com.
You can preregister through
http://www.mrrebates.com and you'll get a % rebate on everything you buy at ADW after you go through mrrebates first.
I bought a Relion Confirm at Walmart for the glucometer and got the first package of test strips with it.
Then I bought the Arkray test strips through ADW. They are generic and they will work with that meter. This deal with 5 boxes of 50 strips each (250 strips) for $70.
http://www.americandiabeteswholesal...-sensor-blood-glucose-test-strips_4050_54.htm If you get a different meter, then you'll want strips to go with that meter - i just know these go together.
I used these syringes:
http://www.americandiabeteswholesale.com/product/terumo-thinpro-insulin-syringe_5891_112.htm. they are some of the most inexpensive, the needle is thin, the barrel is longer and narrow, which means that you can see the markings a little more easily than some, and the plunger moves smoothly, making it easier to give the actual shot.
Lancets are cheap - to prevent infection and pain, you'll want to use a new lancet with each test time. sometimes i see people say they'll use the same one for several tests and i've seen a pic of the lancet after it's been used multiple times. it gets blunted and you don't want to hurt Bently's ear by poking with a blunted lancet. I used a device - some people free hand, but if you have any hand tremors, i think you'll want a device. i had no preference on them, just used what came with it.
Here is a picture of where you want to poke Bentley's ear. He'll get used to it, but it will really help relieve the ouch from the poke if you buy Neosporin ointment with Pain Relief to put on every night. I tried it on myself and the stuff works great for relieving pain. I put it on punkin's ear every night. Some people put it on with each poke. The only trick is that you don't want enough on at the point that you are poking to goo up the strip.
http://www.felinediabetes.com/FDMB/download/file.php?id=4550&mode=view
Here is a video on how to hometest:
[youtube]_zE12-4fVn8[/youtube]
you'll also want to look at his food. He doesn't need special vet prescription food. Save your money and don't bother with it. Just tell them you already have appropriate food for Bently at home. He needs low-carb canned cat food from the store - many people feed Wellness, Friskies or Fancy Feast. Those are probably the most common, although there are many others. There is a great list of the carb values of canned food on
http://www.catinfo.org compiled by a veterinarian who occasionally posts to this site. You want canned (NOT DRY) that is less than 10% carbs. Most people feed around 4-5%. No carbs is not better. I gave punkin Fancy Feast chicken feast or turkey and giblets until he had the beginnings of kidney problems and then i switched to Friskies Special Diet, Turkey and Giblets.
I hope i haven't completely overwhelmed you. I want to encourage you that this is very doable. We can give you tips to help you master testing and shooting, and get Bently back to being his regular self. Ask anything and we'll do our best to help you.
