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helpforhunter

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I went to the vet today. He made me feel stupid and I am not stupid! I was not really understanding giving the injection of insulin and he was upset. I have been going to him for years with all my animals so I was upset then too. I did manage to do it with a couple tries of water. He told me I can use the needle for 4 or five times before I have to discard. That seemed odd to me. I don't think I will do that. I did get the insulin. I am afraid I was a little intimidated by the whole thing. He did not bring up home testing. I know I can call him and get more info. The only thing he told me was to test the urine and keep a chart of that. I don't think I want to do this that way. I have some really (Dumb) questions. I am going to go out and get a home testing product. I have read all about the ones that are for sale. There is a walmart so I will go there. My dumb question is what level is normal? I just read one link about food and the fact that I need to get him on a canned food. So I am worried about the level dropping too much when I switch him to canned and then don't know what the level is. Weill the urine strip tell me this? Also I did watch the video on how to get blood. This looks so hard. I have not attempted yet. I guess with that all I can do it keep doing it until I get it down. Oh and please what food is a good one. I see the Binky chart? Do I just pick one that is good in the low carbs? I want him off science diet w/d as of today! Any help is greatly appreciated!! And I apologize for not knowing more......
 
One more question. My Hunter is 12 pounds. How much canned food does he need? I have always free fed dry food. I have three other cats. I think I am going to get them all off dry.
 
first. calm down :-) i know, easier said than done at this stage in the game.

first step, go to walmart and get a relion confirm or relion micro glucose meter. pick up a box of lancets and a box of test strips to go with it.

also, while you're there, and if kitty doesn't have any other health problems like kidney issues or something, grab some Friskies Turkey & Giblets, Friskies Mixed Grill, Friskies Liver & Chicken, Friskies Poultry Platter, Friskies Country Style Dinner, Friskies Supreme Supper, and maybe a can or two of Friskies Ocean Whitefish & Tuna Dinner. You can also get a couple of flavors of that in the walmart brand Special Kitty. That should be enough to get you started on switching to a wet diet.

then, when you get back home, tell us what insulin you will be using and what dose the vet told you to give because with switching to all wet food, you might need to start at a lower dose.

also, you could tell us what big city you are close to and we can see if someone is close enough to help you with learning to do the testing and/or feel comfortable giving the injections.

and then start asking your questions and we'll all help you learn this stuff. you can't get it all in a few hours so one step at a time k :-)
 
First, you are not stupid.

second, your vet doesn't sound very nice at all

Third, do not reuse needles as they get rough after one use, and they are cheap

Four, WD is crap so I'm glad you want to get rid of it.

Five, have you read the faq yet? If not, stop and do so.

Six, food isn't a totally simple choice but for now, look for foods that contain fewer than 10% of the calories from carbs as per Janet and Binky's charts. Try not to feed all fish as it isn't the best protein source. Avoid grains. Look for what you can afford and what your cat will eat. The amounts aren't exact, same as with people. If feeding small cans like fancy feast you may feed approximately 4 cans a day, perhaps less.

Seven, many vets do not know that hometesting is valid, so look to us for help instead of this vet.

Eight, testing blood glucose levels provides a bit of info. Example, do not give insulin if you test prior to shot and get under 200. Example, values under 40 ish may be considered too low. Again, see the faq for starters.

Question for you...what insulin? What dose?

Again, don't apologize. If you haven't treated feline diabetes before, why should you be expected to know anything?


Jen
 
You have great insticts, Hunter is such a lucky little man.

Go to Walmart, get the Relion meter, it's very reliable and the test strips are a good price. I used it for years and liked it a lot.

You are 100% correct to not want to reuse the needles. You could contaminate your insulin and hurt your cat, the needles get degraded with every use and the protective coating wears off and it will hurt. Fresh needles each time.

Food, what price range are you looking at. Fancy Feast, the Classic varieties such as Gourmet Beef Feast, Gourmet Chicken Feast, if they say Gourmet and Feast you're getting one that is lower in carbs. There are Friskies varieties, the loaf kinds, not the chunky or gravy kinds. You could also go with Wellness canned, it really depends on what you can afford. Even a mix of Wellness with some Friskies at each feeding.


I see that Cindy and Jen have also answered you so I wont change what I wrote, but will add that while at Walmart go to the pharmacy and pick up Ketone strips, the pharmacist can show you where they are, they might be called ketodiastix, they are good to have on hand also.
 
That's too bad your vet made you feel dumb. You're not! There is a definite learning curve with feline diabetes, but once you learn, as others have said, the treatment becomes old habit and not hard. Although I really like my vet, I found that, with respect to feline diabetes, he was kind of "old school" and not really up on the latest research. This site has been invaluable in helping me turn my cat's health around. As a newbie (I'm still a newbie too), you will have lots of questions, ask away. Also, read all you can. This site has a lot of really great info. Over a period of about a week, I tried to read everything I could for beginners and still read to keep learning.

I'm kind of squeamish and was worried if I could give the shots and do the testing, but I learned. I was definitely shaky at first nailbite_smile but am much better now. I watched the "how to" videos multiple times and was still a little like "you don't know my cat...he's never going to let me do this," but, with practice, we are both doing it. :smile: Once you start trying, post with any questions if you're having a hard time with something. Everyone has different tricks of what works for them and their cat. I use the Walmart ReliOn Micro meter because it takes the least amount of blood and is readily available.

I was overwhelmed at first too, but it does get better. When people said that, I kind of didn't believe them, but it does get better.
 
Dear Hunter's parent, and, of course, you too, sweet Hunter,

The only thing I could possibly add to the informed and caring responses you've already received is to breathe. Just breathe.

Please let us know how your trip to Wal-Mart went, okay?

Much love and countless calming and encouraging hugs for you both,
Deb and Nikki -- and, Giz, forever dancing in my heart...

PS: Don't sell yourself short, okay? It takes a bright, loving, and intelligent person to immediately start researching feline diabetes once they hear their precious furry is extra sweet...
 
Everyone else had really good advice, so I'm just gonna chime in on the "How much should I feed?" question.

If you're feeding Friskies or Special Kitty, to maintain 12 lbs is about 1 1/2 cans a day. If you get Fancy Feast, the cans are about half the size, so you would be feeding about 3 cans a day. Bandit is about 11.5 lbs and he eats 2 3/4 cans of Fancy Feast "Classic" varieties. But it's ok to feed a little extra in the beginning if he really wants it, since Hunter has probably lost a little weight from his diabetes.
 
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