Hi all, from Leslie and Wiblet

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Leslie & Wiblet

Leslie & Wiblet

Member Since 2015
I'm so happy to have found this board! My sweet 15 y.o. boy Wiblet was just diagnosed 3 days ago, so we are still in the whirlwind of figuring out what to do and how to do it.

Our vet has Rx'd ProZinc, 3 units once a day with a recheck in 20 days. No mention yet from her of doing a curve, so I'm anxious to begin home testing-- just have to sort out a meter. My husband is also diabetic, and a gadget junkie, so one of his discarded meters should do the trick-- hopefully whichever one has the least expensive test strips.

Lots of challenges ahead, such as getting into a food routine that works for Wiblet as well as our 3 other non-diabetic kitties. Fancy Feast is definitely a fave in our household already; it's cutting out the free-feeding kibble that has to go, not only for Wib's particular needs but for the health of the rest of the gang. Wib also has a few other health issues: some kidney function problems (currently being treated with Renavast supplements) and moderate arthritis. Poor buddy, but he's sassy as ever.

Thank you in advance for welcoming us into the community-- I know it's going to be a huge source of support.

--Leslie and Wiblet
 
Welcome Leslie and Wiblet to the best place you never wanted to be, you are going in the right direction stopping the kibble free feed ans the home testing. I don't know anything about that brand of insulin your using as I and Magellan use lantus. If you need assistance with setting up the spreed sheet there are those that can and will help. The spreed sheet i have found is as important as the insulin, it helps me see patterns and know what Magellan might do. Welcome to the group and welcome to the sugar dance.
 
Welcome Leslie and Wiblet! So sorry your kitty has been diagnosed with diabetes, but you've come to the right place! Fancy Feast Classics are a great food choice, but a bit high in phosphorus for kidney problems. You may want to look into low carb, low phos choices such as Wellness Grain Free canned food. ProZinc is a great insulin. You can post in the ProZinc forum for guidance in using it. Ask all the questions you have. There's a wealth of feline knowledge among the people on this forum.
 
Hey Leslie and Wiblet and Welcome! Love his name! I agree that 3 units is way too much as a starting dose. Do you know what his number was at DX? Keep in mind that the number the vet got will be exaggerated as Wiblet would have been stressed out and the vet used that elevated number for Wiblet's starting dose. We recommend .5 to 1 unit as a starting dose. That way you can increase slowly and not miss the right dose. If you go to the ProZinc Forum there will be a Sticky for Prozinc Protocol which you will find helpful.

You will want to test before each shot and some additional test in between the 12 hour cycle. Another reason to home test is to keep your kitty safe. Find a place in your home where you will always perform the test and give lots of hugs before and after testing. There are many videos showing you how to test. Here is a picture of where you test on your kitty. http://s106.photobucket.com/user/chupie_2006/media/testingear/sweetspot.jpg.html

Here is another good link on Home Testing:http://www.felinediabetes.com/bg-home-test.htm

You can get Wiblet ready for the testing by conditioning him. Pick a spot in your home where you will do the test. Rub his ears for a bit, give him a low carb treat, (many of us use Stella and Chewy's freeze dried chicken or Pure Bite's or Bonita Flakes). This will condition him to when you start to do the test and rub his ears to warm them up that he will associate the experience with a treat.

As far as meters: There are many meters. There is a pet meter called the Alpha Trak2 and human meters. Some use the pet meter because it is what the vets use so the numbers will match up. The meter and strips are expensive though. Most use human meters that can be purchased at any pharmacy. It typically reads a little lower than the pet meter but we have ways of compensating it. Many use Walmart's brand, Relion Micro or Relion Prime, because it only needs a tiny drop of blood. The Prime testing strips are ½ the price of the Micro but use a bit more blood than the micro. Prime strips are $18100 just to give you an idea.

Lancets: These are used to poke the ear to get blood. There are many different sizes (gauges). It is recommended when you are first starting out to use a 26-28 gauge. Also, it would be a good idea to pick up Neosporin WITH pain reliever to apply on the edge of the ears and don't forget to alternate ears.

Hope this information helps.
 
Welcome to the message board, the best place you never wanted to be.

There are 4 things you'll need to manage your kitty's diabetes:
- You - without your commitment, the following won't work.
- Home blood glucose monitoring with an inexpensive human glucometer such as the WalMart Relion Confirm or Target Up and Up (the pet ones will break your budget!). This saves you the cost of going to the vet for curves and done regularly, removes the need for a fructosamine test. All of our insulin guidelines use human glucometer numbers for reference.
- Low carb over the counter canned or raw diet, such as many Friskies pates. See Cat Info for more info. If already on insulin, you must be home testing before changing the diet. Food changes should be gradual to avoid GI upsets - 20-25% different food each day until switched. There are 2 low carb, dry, over the counter foods in the US - Evo Cat and Kitten dry found at pet specialty stores and Young Again 0 Carb found online.
- A long-lasting insulin such as ProZinc, Lantus, BCP PZI, or Levemir. No insulin lasts 24 hours in the cat, so giving it every 12 hours is optimal for control.
 
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