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kristie alcorn

Member Since 2016
We just found out yesterday that our 10 year old cat is a diabetic. They want us to give her Vetsulin twice a day. It's 1unit every 12 hours. She has been eating wet food for about a year now but I'm not sure if it's the right food for a diabetic cat now. I want her to eat the correct food for her & she is over weight. She has lost 1 pound but they would like for her to loos a pound in a half to 2 pounds more. She is strictly an indoor cat. And is their any places to buy her insulin or syringes that is cheaper. Any help would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks in advance kristie
 
welcome to the board. people here are wonderfully supportive.
whats your kittie's name?
what food are you feeding her? glad to hear she is already on wet food, but some are high in carbs and carbs are not good for diabetic cats.
many of us here home test our cat's. i was extremely resistant to this but it has been critical in caring for my cat. i hated the idea and was very afraid, but now its just part of our daily routine. you can get a cheap meter and supplies at walmart.
i buy syringes online at adwdiabetes.com
 
Her name is Gracie. I have been feeding her friskies classic pate or the flaked. But I am up to changing her food to better if I need to.
 
kristie alcorn said:
Her name is Gracie. I have been feeding her friskies classic pate or the flaked. But I am up to changing her food to better if I need to.
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awww Gracie <3

i think those are low carb, but please lets see what others say when they chime in. it might vary between flavors. we had/have a list somewhere in the forum of carb content on many brands. i'll see if i can find it.....
 
Hi Kristie ! You have come to the exact right place to help you and Gracie!! Someone far more experienced than myself will be along shortly but my immediate advice to you is to go to catinfo.org...it is a website , by a vet, who gives wonderful info . Dr Lisa will instruct you on how lowering carb content of Gracie's food can dramatically reduce her insulin dose, often immediately. That is where I started and it gave me great questions to ask here .
 
OK...since you're in the US, you have lots of low carb options.....most of us feed Fancy Feast Classics or Friskies pates so you're doing good there!

It's also important to learn to home test....WalMart has a couple of great meters....the Relion Confirm (or Micro)....the strips are affordable ($35.88/100) and the meters take the smallest blood sample size (which is important, especially for new kitties!)

Vetsulin isn't our first choice for insulin's for cats, but some do OK on it...it's really more of a dog insulin and can cause cats to drop quickly and then wear off too soon, but by testing you'll know how Gracie is responding

If you choose to stay with the Vetsulin, you can get U40 insulin syringes cheaper at ADW....and they have half unit markings too which is important when making dose changes
 
I didn't know that about the Vetsulin. I will definitely have to ask the vet about my choices. I guess we will start with this insulin since we paid for it but I will need to monitor her. Thanks you
 
Okay so we started the shots today. And oh wow she freaks out on us. Thank goodness my husband is home this week but next week by myself is not going to be fun. And now I'm starting to think I will never be able to test her at home. She is a good cat but she is one of those cats that to pet her or anything it has to be her terms. Even after the shots today she would not let us touch her for a while. This is so frustrating.
 
kristie alcorn said:
Okay so we started the shots today. And oh wow she freaks out on us. Thank goodness my husband is home this week but next week by myself is not going to be fun. And now I'm starting to think I will never be able to test her at home. She is a good cat but she is one of those cats that to pet her or anything it has to be her terms. Even after the shots today she would not let us touch her for a while. This is so frustrating.
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Hi Kristie....at first the only way we could get Elmo to be still was to give him a treat while we did it. He loves all meat baby food so we would give him a little, sprinkle with Forti Flora and once he started to eat we would shoot. You will get better at this, I promise. Another helpful calmer is Feliway Comfort Spray...we would give a little spray to the rug we put him on and on my shirt....each time we got better and he got calmer. Now he literally comes to me when he sees me prepping for shot.....never would have dreamed he'd do that:)......hope this is useful to your situation:bighug:
 
kristie alcorn said:
We may have to try that. Hopefully she won't be difficult for long about it all.
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Kristie, you will get better and better. I know Elmo could sense our nervousness at first but as we gained confidence he got more willing to cooperate. Like you I had my sweet husband give the shots but you must remember this is all a process and you will be able to do it !! We on this board have all been where you are now so take heart in that:bighug:
 
kristie alcorn said:
I didn't know that about the Vetsulin. I will definitely have to ask the vet about my choices. I guess we will start with this insulin since we paid for it but I will need to monitor her. Thanks you
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Many cats do great on vetsulin... Don't let people scare you away from it without giving it a try. My cat successfully went into remission using vetsulin and a low carb diet and daily testing after less than 4 months.
 
To start getting her prepared for ear testing, over the next few days any time you pet her, rub her ears. (Funny, my phone autocorrected the ear to war.... It did feel like a battle those first 2-3 weeks!). Get her used to having them fiddled with. And have a treat ready like some chicken. I am lucky that my diabetic cat is fairly chill, but we still have shots as a team each day. I held her still while my partner injected, then we always have a yummy treat. Same with ear tests. After a while if I gave her a treat she wouldn't eat it until I tested her. Once she was in remission I still had to pretend to test her for a while before she would eat.... It was really cute.

Friskies pate are great to feed! Avoid the flaked ones.... Many have sauce... Unless you know that particular flavors carb count.
 
Chris & China said:
The better insulins for cats are Lantus, Levemir and ProZinc....they are longer acting and more gentle
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JanetNJ said:
Many cats do great on vetsulin... Don't let people scare you away from it without giving it a try.
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@JanetNJ -

One of the key objectives at FDMB is to educate caregivers of feline diabetics. Chris is endeavouring to inform here, not to scare.

It is true that some cats do well on Caninsulin/Vetsulin (C/V) and indeed some do achieve remission (and I am glad that your kitty is one of them!).

It is also true that in many cats treated with C/V the duration of effect of that particular insulin is insufficient to maintain adequate levels of blood glucose control throughout the course of the day.

Studies have shown that chances of remission in newly-diagnosed cats treated with the longer-acting, gentler insulins Chris lists above are statistically much higher than for those treated with intermediate duration insulins like C/V - most notably in cats who commence treatment within the first six months of diagnosis using an ultralente insulin (Lantus or Levemir) eating a wet, low-carb food and following a program of tight regulation where remission rates may be as high as 80%+ (see attached published article below). Remission rates for cats who start treatment on an ultralente insulin after the initial six-month window are significantly reduced (by approximately 50%).

I think it is important for caregivers of newly-diagnosed cats to learn about different insulin types and treatment methods so that they can quickly get to the stage where they will be able to make their own well-informed treatment choices for their cats; doubly so when the statistical opportunity for the best treatment outcome for the cat is time-dependent.


Mogs
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Did any of you start your cat out with Vetsulin or another insulin then swap to Lantus or Levemir? The vet did over us the Lantus but no way could we afford to pay $300. She has been eating friskis & I looked & some of hers the carbs were like 9% or 8% the ones higher I threw out. Then I took the list from misterbeesmom & catinfo.org & bought her FF that the carbs were 8% or below. Is their anything I can give her as a mid day snack? We are still trying to help her loose some weight. So I'm hoping this is a good direction.
 
kristie alcorn said:
Did any of you start your cat out with Vetsulin or another insulin then swap to Lantus or Levemir? The vet did over us the Lantus but no way could we afford to pay $300. She has been eating friskis & I looked & some of hers the carbs were like 9% or 8% the ones higher I threw out. Then I took the list from misterbeesmom & catinfo.org & bought her FF that the carbs were 8% or below. Is their anything I can give her as a mid day snack? We are still trying to help her loose some weight. So I'm hoping this is a good direction.
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Kristie, I have ordered Lantus and will switch Elmo as soon as it gets here. Was instructed by experienced kitty parents on this board that insulin is far cheaper when ordered from Marks Marine Pharmacy in Canada. I'll tag Chris who can fill you in......
 
Critter Mom said:
@JanetNJ -

One of the key objectives at FDMB is to educate caregivers of feline diabetics. Chris is endeavouring to inform here, not to scare.

It is true that some cats do well on Caninsulin/Vetsulin (C/V) and indeed some do achieve remission (and I am glad that your kitty is one of them!).

It is also true that in many cats treated with C/V the duration of effect that particular insulin is insufficient to maintain adequate levels of blood glucose control throughout the course of the day.

Studies have shown that chances of remission in newly-diagnosed cats treated with the longer-acting, gentler insulins Chris lists above are statistically much higher than for those treated with intermediate duration insulins like C/V - most notably in cats who commence treatment within the first six months of diagnosis using an ultralente insulin (Lantus or Levemir) eating a wet, low-carb food and following a program of tight regulation where remission rates may be as high as 80%+ (see attached published article below). Remission rates for cats who start treatment on an ultralente insulin after the initial six-month window are significantly reduced (by approximately 50%).

I think it is important for caregivers of newly-diagnosed cats to learn about different insulin types and treatment methods so that they can quickly get to the stage where they will be able to make their own well-informed treatment choices for their cats; doubly so when the statistical opportunity for the best treatment outcome for the cat is time-dependent.


Mogs
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Ok then... Guess I'll just keep my opinion to myself and back out of this thread.
 
@Beth 73 -

I thought you'd find the link handy, Beth. There is so much useful/educational information here at FDMB but it can take a while to find where everything lives. The more that we all can find things, the more we can help each other. :)

:bighug:


Mogs
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@JanetNJ
JanetNJ said:
Ok then... Guess I'll just keep my opinion to myself and back out of this thread.
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Please don't keep your opinions to yourself and back out of the thread... this thread or any other. Your hands-on and successful experience with vetsulin is sorely needed on the FDMB! It seems Vetsulin users are coming to the FDMB more than ever before... and they're using Vetsulin for a multitude of valid reasons. We need and count on members like you to help, reassure, and teach how Vetsulin does work... how to use it to kitty's best advantage.

Hope you reconsider...



Edited to add:
Maybe we need to reconsider Vetsulin?
 
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So update on Gracie. She had to go this morning & stayed all day at the vet for them to check her levels. The poor girl they said poked her so much that her back legs are bruised. So lots of loving to be done. Anyways when we took her in on December the 27 her levels was at 500 & possibly higher(their machine only measures to 500) but today she was at 316. Still high but they are not sure if it's still high because she was so stressed out because she was their all day or if she is just high & we need to up her insulin. The vet wants us to wait a month & monitor her eating, water intake, & urine. I'm not sure what to think about it all.
 
The only way to know for sure is to test at home. It's simple and painless. If you are willing to do that we can walk you through tha.
 
kristie alcorn said:
So update on Gracie. She had to go this morning & stayed all day at the vet for them to check her levels. The poor girl they said poked her so much that her back legs are bruised. So lots of loving to be done. Anyways when we took her in on December the 27 her levels was at 500 & possibly higher(their machine only measures to 500) but today she was at 316. Still high but they are not sure if it's still high because she was so stressed out because she was their all day or if she is just high & we need to up her insulin. The vet wants us to wait a month & monitor her eating, water intake, & urine. I'm not sure what to think about it all.
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When my Radar was diagnosed almost 2 years ago we started out with Vetsulin. Our vet encouraged us to test at home but only to get bi-weekly curve information to him so he could make dose adjustments. Once we found this Board and started educating ourselves about FD, we increased our testing frequency and we are so glad for that because on more than a few occasions it was the regular testing at home in a non stressed environment that gave us the information we needed to help our little guy feel better. In fact within a relatively short time and with a careful switch to wet food with help from experienced people here so we did it safely, Radar even went into a remission. I know it's a lot to absorb all the information about FD and what a person like me wanted was to learn what I could do to help the kittty feel better because he felt simply lousy. My answer to that question is learn to test at home and you'll be amazed at what you will learn about what the insulin is doing inside the cat. Then you can really make informed choices. Let us know what we can do to help you. :bighug::bighug:
 
I think I do need to learn more about testing from home. She gets so worked up just to get into the crate just to go to the vet. And it just killed me when they said how much they pricked her back legs to test her. I don't know if she will let me test her because still to give shots takes two of us to hold her down for them. But I would love to know if the numbers would be lower if we tested from home. And also to take her every time they want to test her is expensive. Yes please I would like to learn how to test at home. Or I would at least like to give it a try.
 
A yummy low calorie and carb free snack is baby food. I use beechnut beef & broth and chicken & broth. Check the label to see if it has cornstarch in it... You want one that doesn't. I weigh everything I fed my cat so I give him a certain amount then add some warm water to make it "more"... (My cat reacts to anything he eats if it's enough of it) You can also bake a skinless boneless chicken breast and dice it up for snacks. They thaw quick if small enough so you can keep them in the freezer if you don't go through them quick.
These chicken snacks can be useful in home testing too. I poke his ear but some people use the paw pads. It saved my cat's life more than once. If you use the spreadsheet here your vet might agree to look at it and decide from there that you are indeed capable to do a home curve. Vet stress is very real and can increase BG numbers. My vet only does in office testing for the people who request it or can't do home testing. I'm happy and lucky she's so awesome.
Like others have said, you are in the right place for the best support and advice!
 
kristie alcorn said:
I think I do need to learn more about testing from home. She gets so worked up just to get into the crate just to go to the vet. And it just killed me when they said how much they pricked her back legs to test her. I don't know if she will let me test her because still to give shots takes two of us to hold her down for them. But I would love to know if the numbers would be lower if we tested from home. And also to take her every time they want to test her is expensive. Yes please I would like to learn how to test at home. Or I would at least like to give it a try.
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Sending :bighug::bighug: for you and some gentle scratches for your sweet kitty to help you both recover from a traumatic day at the vet's office. There are so many things to understand and learn how to do with a newly diagnosed kitty. We also had to give shots with two people present at first. With time and practice and some patience It really does get easier. Really. Our Radar tells us it's time to test by jumping up on our testing table and he will even purr during the test or a shot. I think he "knows" that this weird human stuff we do to him helps him feel better. :cat:

My most important suggestion is that you begin getting her used to having you touch her ears. She needs to associate ear touches with love, attention, yummy low carb treats, chin rubs or whatever she really loves to get from humans. Before you actually do anything to her ear she needs to accept this behavior. We, as the human pokers, also had to become comfortable with the idea before we could do it, so loving on the kitty was therapy for us too. Pick a particular place where you will test. We chose a tabletop with nice lighting where we could have all our supplies organized and put a nice fluffy towel there for the kitty to sit on. Fill an old sock with a little bit of uncooked rice. Leave enough room to manipulate the ricesock around a kitty ear and tie it off with string. Put the rice sock in the microwave for about 15 seconds or so. Test it on your wrist to make sure it's not too hot before you put it on the kitty ear. At this time of the year especially we need to heat Radars cold little ear a little before we poke so we can get a tiny drop of blood to come out for the meter to read.

My last suggestion, to start you learning about home testing, is to take a look at my signature. You'll see that it says Radars spreadsheet. If you click there you will be taken to our google document where we've recorded all the results of Radars tests for the past couple years. The current year shows first, but you can go back to the 2015 tab and see what our numbers looked like when Radar was on Vetsulin. When I was first starting out it helped me see what other cats were doing so I had some clue about what we might be doing.

I hope some of this is useful. Hopefully I haven't overloaded you with information. :rolleyes: We love questions here so keep em coming.
 
When you start testing, these are the directions for setting up a spreadsheet.
http://www.felinediabetes.com/FDMB/threads/fdmb-spreadsheet-instructions

You vet pricked your cats LEG? I NEVER heard of that. My vet told me you have to hit the vein, which I learned also isn't true. It hurts more and bleeds a lot. We mostly use a tiny spot on the outside edge of the ear where there are very few nerve endings. (I say mostly because a few use the pads of the paws) Even if I poke all the way through she often doesn't react. If she reacts all she'll do is flick her ear for a second.

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If you don't have a meter yeThe that's the first step. I use the pet meter Alphatrak. I picked it for its small blood size and it's the same one my vet uses. The downsize is the strips are expensive at about a dollar each. Most on the board use a human meter such as the relion micro (available in Walmart) for which the strips are much cheaper and it also takes a small blood drop.) The numbers will run lower than the Alphatrak, but it will still tell you if your cat is too low or high.
 
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Larry and Kitties said:
Please tell my Patches I that is is painless. When the lancent pen even touches her ear she screams. She has been doing that the entire time I adopted her which is over two years,.
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I'll tell her. :) Do you freehand it or use the device? Maybe she doesn't like the click. Maybe neosporin with pain relief before the poke would help. I don't know... My cat doesn't even seem to notice most of the time.
 
Thank you all very much for your help. I will look into trying the hometesting. Thank you all for being very helpful. All the info has definitely been very helpful.
 
I thought home testing sounded awful..the thought of making him bleed..no way! but honestly he purrs! thinks I'm rubing his ears!
I read the vetsulin talk above. Vetsulin scares me too! Kitty is always sky high. But I guess we don't know until we try.
 
Steph&BigKitty said:
I thought home testing sounded awful..the thought of making him bleed..no way! but honestly he purrs! thinks I'm rubing his ears!
I read the vetsulin talk above. Vetsulin scares me too! Kitty is always sky high. But I guess we don't know until we try.
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My cat pours through it to.... She loves the attention. I think she misses the daily testing now that I only do it every few days.
 
I have a question I left my cats Vetsulin out in the counter last night for at least 12 hours. My house stays at 66. Should I throw it away?
 
Your insulin will probably be just fine especially how cool you keep your house. If it starts to look cloudy or has little flecks floating in it, then you should worry.
 
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