Hi I'm new and from the UK!

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siouxsie246

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Hi there. My 16 year old cat Bear has just been newly diagnosed with diabetes. His brother Dweezil who sadly died six or so months ago had suffered with diabetes for six years They were from the same litter and both/were gorgeous long haired black neutered toms, Dweezil was a huge well built cat whereas Bear is much smaller and has lost quite a bit of weight.I live in Yorkshire in the UK. I was devastated to find out the news about Bear as I am well aware of the financial implications of this after having treated Dweezil for so long. Unfortunately my own situation has changed in the last year. I have had to retire from my job through ill health and my husband has left. leaving me with our daughter. Financially things are a struggle and i have to admit that I am finding it difficult to cope. Obviously I want to do my best for Bear but resources are limited and my vets fees are getting beyond me. The vet has put him on a diet Royal Cannin Sensitivity Control. This is £10 for a box of twelve sachets and he is getting through four or five a day, this is not something I am able to do in the long term as you can imagine. I wondered if anyone knew of a none vetinary diet that would be just as suitable but less expensive that I can buy in the UK? The vet says that in his case his test results show that it is pretty likely that there is more to it than him being diabetic and that he may have problems with his kidney or liver as well and therefore needs a diet with a low amount of salt in it which also needs to be taken into account.
With Dweezil though I feel I have gained a reasonable amount of experience, I didn't get as far as testing his blood at home. Does this lower the cost significantly? I have to say the idea does make me rather nervous as I would be scared of hurting him.
He at the moment needs three cat litter trays which i am constantly emptying as he is still drinking lots even though his last fructosamine test was quite good. The test was done in the morning at around 9am. I am filling two dustbins with cat litter every week and again this is all expense that i can't afford. Anyone any suggestions? i am supposed to be going away for a week soon to help get over my divorce but feel reluctant to leave him with my neighbours to look after even though they looked after Dweezil successfully, because I don't want to stress him out and i dread to think what sort of state the house will be in with the current litter situation. I would be grateful for any advice or suggestions from anyone. Thank you, Helen
 
Re: Hi I'm new!

Hi helen,
I'm very sorry that you lost Dweezil after caring for him for so long. We can help you find more manageable ways to care for Bear.

There is most likely better and cheaper food available in the UK than the veterinary diet. Many canned foods are fine for diabetic cats, in fact, a lot have less carbohydrates than dry food. Look on the list of ingredients of the Royal Canin - if there is any type of corn listed, it is not good for diabetic cats. So you want to look for canned food without any grains in it. There is a pretty simple formula for determining the carb amount in a particular food, although I'm not sure how the protein, fat, fiber & moisture percentages are listed on pet food in the UK. If you see the words "guaranteed analysis" it's probably the same type of listing.

Add up the "guaranteed analysis" percentages on the label for protein,
fat, fiber and moisture. Subtract that number from 100 to get the
percent of carbs on a wet matter basis. Divide that by .25 to get the
kcal % or dry matter basis of carbs. That number should be less than 10, meaning less than 10% of the calories in the food comes from carbohydrates.

Cats are carnivores, pure and simple. They would not eat grains, other than what is in the gut of small mammals or birds they catch. One of the reasons more and more cats are becoming diabetic is because of all the grains manufacturers put in pet food because it's cheaper than meat!

If you can give us more detail about what type of insulin (Caninsulin by chance?) and what dose we can help you with Bear. More than likely his blood sugar is not well controlled, which is why he is still peeing a lot yet the fructosamine level seems good. Fructosamine is only an average over an extended period of time. If the blood sugar is going from low to high that is still going to average out to a good fructosamine level! Therefore fructosamine is not a good way to monitor a cat's response to insulin. The blood glucose levels should not range so much. There is a possibility his insulin dose is too high. We see that a lot on the board. Insulin is a hormone and should not be dosed by the cat's weight like some medications.

The only thing which works to find the best dose of insulin is home testing. Yes, it will help you immensely! I will see if I can alert some UK members to help you with the particulars about that and they would be able to help with the food too.

Once you get these things situated, you should be able to go on holiday with more peace of mind if your neighbors are willing to help.

Hang in there.
 
Re: Hi I'm new!

Oh, Helen, it sounds like you have gotten hit with a lot at once. The good news we have is that you can reduce the costs and treat his diabetes. First, food. We suggest a wet lo carb diet (www.catinfo.org) and feel regular cat food is as good or better than prescription. We do have several UK members who may be along with specific food suggestions, but, in general, the pate style foods are best. (You might want to add UK to your topic title so they will notice.).

The testing does make a huge difference for your wallet and his safety. We test before each shot to be sure it is safe to give the dose we are planning on, and we test during the cycle to see how the insulin is working. We have taught hundreds of people how to do it over the Internet and would be glad to teach you. Or you can post your city and maybe we have a member who lives near you and they could come and help the first time.

Most UK vets are using Canninsulin. Is that your insulin? What dose and how often?

We really can be a support group for you and help you help your kitty.
 
Re: Hi I'm new! UK!

Thanks for your replies.Yes Bear is on Caninsulin and only one unit twice a day at the moment. Some help from people in the UK would be great. Is it possible for people in the uk to get the Newbies kits? i tried the link but had no success with finding how to get hold of one. Also do you know how to check the salt content in the cat food? I found the info about the grain content causing an increase in diabetes interesting. My parents also have a diabetic dog and I was only saying last week that i suspected it must be something to do with the manufacturers. Also I wonder if Dweezil had the giantism problem i saw on another post as he was a huge cat! Consequently he left a large space in our lives and he is very sadly missed. Bear however enjoys having the sole attention I think.
 
Re: Hi I'm new!

Here is the link for canned foods with sodium content listed. http://webpages.charter.net/katkarma/canfood.htm

Also dry food list with sodium http://webpages.charter.net/katkarma/dry.htm

They are from CRF info post which is done periodically on this section of FDMB, by Melissa & Popcorn.

1U twice a day is our recommended starting dose for most insulins. We don't have many people using Caninsulin on the board now because the version in the States, Vetsulin, has been discontinued due to manufacturing issues apparently. But there is a section in our Insulin Support Groups for it, although it's not frequented now there are some helpful guides in the announcements section: http://felinediabetes.com/FDMB/viewforum.php?f=19
 
Re: Hi I'm new!

Helen, I mail out newbie kits in the U.S.
I'd be willing to mail it to you in the UK...I have no idea what it would cost but if you order it I would pay the extra..
I want to send a kit that is something you can maintain where you live. For example, a meter that is available in UK so you can get more strips when you need them.
Also, our meters read in metric(?) or whichever numerical system different than yours...Would that be a problem for you?
Let me know of the meters you may have seen in your local pharmacy...Contour, One Touch, Reli On, Free Style lite...are you familiar with any of these brands?
Lori
Newbie Kits
 
Re: Hi I'm new!

To my knowledge no current US meters allowing changing from mg/dl to mmol/l because some US users had inadvertently changed the units and had problems. About six years ago LifeScan send me a new, unadjustable One Touch Ultra meter because of that problem.

Vicky & Gandalf said:
Some US meters have the option to read in either mg/dl (our system) or mmol/l (Canadian or European system). You could also just convert mg/dl to mmol/l with this formula or print out the table: http://www.soc-bdr.org/rds/authors/..._and_genetic_dictionaries/e5184/index_en.html
Click to expand...
 
Re: Hi I'm new!

Suggestions for UK foods:

http://www.felinediabetes.com/phorum5/read.php?8,602242,602242#msg-602242
http://www.felinediabetes.com/phorum5/read.php?8,918743,918743#msg-918743
http://www.felinediabetes.com/phorum5/read.php?8,911527,911527

Felix in jelly is a popular brand.

Frugal Feline Diabetes tips: http://binkyspage.tripod.com/frugal.html

There are quite a few UK members on this board :smile: They can point you to the right places for inexpensive supplies. If edit the subject of your first post to something like "Hi I'm new from the UK", the UK members will see it and will respond. The edit button is at the bottom of your first post.
 
Re: Hi I'm new!

Larry and Kitties said:
To my knowledge no current US meters allowing changing from mg/dl to mmol/l because some US users had inadvertently changed the units and had problems. About six years ago LifeScan send me a new, unadjustable One Touch Ultra meter because of that problem.

Vicky & Gandalf said:
Some US meters have the option to read in either mg/dl (our system) or mmol/l (Canadian or European system). You could also just convert mg/dl to mmol/l with this formula or print out the table: http://www.soc-bdr.org/rds/authors/..._and_genetic_dictionaries/e5184/index_en.html
Click to expand...
Click to expand...

Ah, thanks, Larry. A different brand I used had that option. But, yes, it was a few years ago.
 
Re: Hi I'm new!

Hi Helen, welcome :-D

I'm only a 2-weeks-tomorrow newbie myself and have no other advice to offer, I just wanted to say hi and be reassured that you've come to the BESTEST place in the world. The amount of information and support in this community is awesome and it's available 24/7. My brain is still spinning from my diagnosis on 21 May and the huge learning curve since--you're ahead in the game because of your history with Dweezil.

Home testing is your first best defense and will ease your mind incredibly. I only caught the knack of the ear-prick on Saturday gone, just in time to catch Cheeky's numbers dropping from a switch to low-carbs wet diet plus her concomitant infections clearing up (I suspect), and the Lantus Support Board nursemaided me through a sleepless night doing 2 hourly checks to keep her safe. If I hadn't been testing, I would have given her too much insulin and she could have been in real trouble.

I understand and sympathise with your plight about needing to go away--I'm in exactly the same boat because I'm going to NZ to see my family in July and I only just discovered my usual housesitter is a needle-phobic :evil: and won't be able to give Cheeky her shots. Hopefully we'll both find a way out of it :smile:

Lesley, Cheekyface and Bodie xo
 
Hullo from Hastings, E.Sussex

On food
ANY tinned food in JELLY is the best UK option!
Try looking for Janet And Binkies food lists, there is a UK/EUROPE SECTION
Oh, and there is no reason why he shouldnt have meat from your plate, Avoid ham or bacon for the salt content, but chopped chicken goes down a treat

If you get a meter, Ebay is the place to get strips etc at a fraction of the shop price.

It sounds as if Bear will need an increase in insulin, when he is regulated you wont need so much litter!
On insulin
Over the last few years makers and vets have pressed people to buy new insulin every month.
If it is kept in a fridge you can get much more from it. Bushey, our last diabetic only saw the vet once a year for his jabs and a repeat prescription meant that we only had two vials a year!
Hope this help

Mary(UK)
 
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