Im New with two cats DX at same time...Help

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nooopy

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Hi , I am looking for some advice on what direction I can go with my two diabetic cats. Pepper is 13 and I took her in about two years ago from my apartment complexes parking lot.She had been an outdoor kitty (not feral) for many years after being left behind when her owners moved.She was very mean but people fed her.She was over the years taken in by people but she would bite or attack and be thrown out again. She had bitten a couple of people in the parking lot and the complex was going to trap her and take her to the kill shelter.I stepped up and took her in. She is very food addictive and mean if over handled... We get along fine. She was losing weight so I took her to the vet she was diagnosed FD two weeks ago. They put her on Humlin N 1 unit twice a day. I asked the vet about food she suggested just leaving her on her regular food of Cat Chow Dry and Friskies wet and regulate her on that diet. From reading here and previous experience with a deceased cat that also had FD I knew to get rid of the dry. I also asked her about different insulin...She says Humlin N is what she uses. I had the cat back to vet for BG reading at her peak yesterday and she was 375...However I did not know I was NOT supposed to feed her BEFORE the test.I found this out after they the tested cat and I had paid $32.00 for the useless test.... I asked her If I can test at home and she didn't seem into that. Note this vet has offered no advice or warnings about hypo ( she was not aware of my previous experience with a diabetic cat ) So what I am asking is can a very mean type of cat be tested at home? If so how ? When should the test be performed?

Ok second cat DX FD this week is Diamond an older cat that I took in March 2011 after her family moved and left her and 3 other cats alone in their old apartment. I ended up with 3 of the cats another neighbor took one. Anyhow , this Diamond cat is a nice old sole...Doesn't like to be held but friendly enough. The same vet office diagnosed this cat too. Again they started her on Humlin N 1 unit twice a day. I have been also feeding her FF low carb and no dry food. She is scheduled to go back next week for a BG test. Again I need advice on home testing her please...

My previous FD cat was Mookie he was diagnosed at 18 years old and was on two units of Humalin N a day for 3 years and a low carb diet. He passed at twenty one of kidney failure. We never home tested him. He went for twice a month BG and every 6 months for the fruitrosime ( sorry for the spelling)

This is my second round of cats... my childhood cats have all passed within the last three years at ages of 17 to 21 years after long expensive , physically and emotionally exhaustive ( for me and them) illnesses... I basically spent my life savings caring for them which I do NOT REGRET for a moment I had kept the entire litter and their mom so I knew what I was end for .However I find myself feeling bad for being annoyed that I have sick cats again...advice please ????
 
Oh I just wanted to add the vet told me that I am to feed the cats only at insulin time....Basically every twelve hours. My other FD cat got low carb treats ( boiled chicken, grilled liver , tuna ) in between meals. These cats I have been offering wet food about every 4- 5 hours and their eating it.
 
Welcome to the board; you will find a wealth of knowledge here... it's a one stop shop.

You will do better to feed only low cab wet food, no dry, and since both are eating wet, then it should be easy to remove the dry.
I don't agree with feeding only at insulin shot times; ask any human diabetic if they would have themselves regulated if they ate only twice a day, nope, it won't work, and you will have a couple of angry kitties on your hands.
Just spread out their total intake into several smaller meals and you will have better luck at regulation.

Binky’s Food Lists
Feeding Your Cat: Know The Basics of Feline Nutrition

As for the insulin you are using, there are some that are a great deal better and you will have better chances of regulating the cats, maybe even getting them off insulin as many people have diet controlled cats.
You will get much better results with an insulin like Lantus or Levemir.

It is best if you learn to test your cats' numbers yourself.... it will save you oodles of money because the vet is going to charge a great deal for those curves and the numbers obtained at the vet's office are not worth much because your poor cats will be stressed and therefore the numbers will be stress influenced.
Just go to any pharmacy and pick up a human blood glucose meter, test strips and lancets. You just poke the edge of the cat's ear to get a drop of blood for the test.... my two pretty much sleep through their pokes so it certainly can't be painful. Also, it is important to test before you give a shot.

In the meantime here is some info on the insulin you are using
Humulin Primer Info
 
Welcome, As Gayla said, testing your cats' blood glucose is really the key. Also, N insulin only works well for a few kities. When you home test you can see if it is working OK or if a change to another insulin is in order. My Twigie did very well on N.
 
Hi and welcome to FDMB. You have already received some great advice, so I am not going to repeat it.

Once you develop your routine, you will find it is no more difficult to take care of 2 diabetic cats than 1. Several of us, including myself, have taken care of multiple sugar kitties at the same time.

Until a cat's glucose levels become regulated, they are hungry all of the time. This is because their body cannot process food normally. You may want to feed in between shots until you are able to get your cats' glucose levels regulated. There are better insulins available that will help accomplish that. Lantus, Levemir, PZI and Prozinc are better choices because they last longer in a cat's system.
 
Thank you To EVERYONE that replied. I think I am going to call around to a few new vets this week and see if I can locate one that uses a different insulin. My current vet only uses the humalin N and when I mentioned using another she was not receptive.

As far as the home testing I purchased a Relion micro meter from Walmart and lancelets,strips, and neosporian cream. I am going to make the rice sock too. After reading this board and watching videos on home BG testing I realize I gotta get it done.... I plan on taking small steps and giving lots of tasty treats to get there ...The one cat Pepper is violent and the other is a hider.
I am going to stick to feeding them between meals till this gets more under control. I can go home from work at lunch time to snack them. Overnights is a bit of trouble cause my mother is ill and many nights I have to stay at her place. So far I have been just leaving a ton of wet food out when I leave. My non diabetic cats are very hungry too since I removed all the dry food.
Anyhow thanks for the welcome and advice.

PS I read the Janet and Binky charts and it seems whiskas pates styles are ok at 10 carbs or is that too high? One of the fd cats doesnt like the pate FFs too much. Again thank you
 
Wanted to say welcome welcome to this board...the BEST place you will find for furry hugs, opinions given, troubleshooting others troubleshooting, and lots and lots of great advice. I would like to say that home testing - no matter what the vets says (as mine did not encourge it) - is the main ticket to keeping your babies safe - HATS OFF TO YOU!
Bean used PZI BCP and due to this site, low carb wet and home testing, she is in remission and was only on insulin 5 weeks or so! I am sooo happy for her and she is now doing wonderful.....
Keep us posted
 
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