Hi, new to the group

[Arnoldsmama]

Hi. Just wanted to post an intro as I'm new to the group. My 10 YO boy Arnold was diagnosed with Diabetes a couple weeks ago and I've spent quite a bit of time researching. I figured I'd give a quick intro. I must say I'm extremely overwhelmed at this point. The vet bills alone were enough to cause me to fall over since he spent some time at the vet getting stabilized since he was also suffering pancreatitis and kidney levels were high. Now he's home but I'm questioning everything. He doesn't much care for the wet food, which sounds normal. Not that he isn't hungry because he seems to be he just doesn't like the texture or something. I've read a few suggestions here and we'll have to try. I'm sure with any chronic illness in pet or human it's overwhelming but becomes normal after some time. Right now the food is my biggest stress especially since he's lost weight over the last week when he was real sick. I'll be nosing around in the forums I'm sure. ;-)

 

[Sue and Oliver (GA)]

This is a steep learning curve at first, but once you learn the basics, it is pretty straightforward. There are links on the site for pancreatitis and kidney issues; they do make the diabetics treatment more complex but many people here are dealing with all three. Here is one for pancreatitis: http://www.marvistavet.com/html/body_pancreatitis__feline_.html



Keep reading. Ask questions.

The initial info that is vital for us to answer questions
What insulin? What dose?

As you have probably read, cats sometimes resist the wet food. Since it is vital that he eat, you might make a "dressing" of his favorite dry on top. Other ideas are to heat it up till nice and stinky, add tuna juice or parmesan cheese. Another thing that works for many cats is FortiFlora. It is a probiotic that is made from the digestive enzymes that are used to make dry food so appealing. You can get it online or from the vet. Other ideas are here: www.catinfo.org

 

[BJM]

If you're feeding the prescription diabetic food, many cats don't like it.

You can feed over the counter, low carb, canned food, with low phosphorus (you mentioned renal issues)

Here is a post with some links on that

 

[Doug N Libby]

WELCOME, Arnold and his mom,

I see you've already met Sue and BJ, they're SUPER and helped me a lot when I first joined. My kitty was diagnosed Nov, 2011 and started ProZinc in Jan, 2012, so in some ways I still fairly new to this dance. (Always have had two left feet!!) It is overwhelming to most of us at first, but with time and a little help from our friends, plus arming ourselves with knowledge - it does get easier!

Thankfully, Hershey doesn't have any other medical issues besides FD, so I'm no help in that area. My non-diabetic cat, Oreo, used to woof down the dry garbage, but has been more finicky since switching to all wet. We transitioned him (only because we didn't want to throw away the last of the dry), giving him wet some meals and dry others. He started skipping the dry meals and waiting until he got the Wellness. When we put him on all Wellness, he stopped eating. (Go figure!) He now eats Friskies Pate and some days it's still a challenge to figure out how he wants it...water added...or not...heated a little...heated a lot...or not...mixed flavors...or not...on a spoon...on a plate...in a bowl...elevated...or not...I have even been known to let him smell a treat, then drop in it where he can see it just to get him started eating. So, in that area, I understand.

I would advise you to spend as much time as you can, reading on the forum. I found other newbie threads helpful to me as well as looking at Spread Sheets...and asking questions...ask lots and lots of questions! I did...still do ;-)

Again, WELCOME!

Libby (and Hershey, too!)