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Kitties Momma

Kitties Momma

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Hello All
My kitty Julius (4 yrs old) was diagnosed with Diabetes last week, his fructosmaine test was 360. I took him in today for his first curve and he was 304, then 275 I think and then at 4pm was down to 169. (my vet gave him glargine but I am not sure what dose yet) We are going to keep him there overnite and pick him up tomorrow afternoon. I am feeding him a raw diet now which he loves and is also good for one of my other kitties that has allergies. Canned tuna and salmon (in water) raw chicken, sardines....What other raw foods are good for diabetic cats? I am totally over prescription food ( he was eating Science Diet before this happened and I refuse to go down that route again) I am thankful for this forum and have learned so much in the last week. I was hoping to get some input from you all about testing (how often?) I have read about tight regulation which seems like a good idea in the beginning, however my husband and I work (as I am sure many of you do too!) and so it would be every 8hrs or so, is this ok? Also I am hoping that eventually he will not need insulin, have any of you used pills? do they work? I am totally willing to do whatever is necessary to monitor his levels and keep him healthy. Where do you inject the insulin? in his tummy? any tricks on that? Do you give 1/2 food then inject then the other 1/2 (testing first of course)?? Any advice would be greatly appreciated!~ I am encouraged that he has reacted well to his new diet and the one shot of insulin at the vet, my hope is this is a good sign for the future and we can get him under control and we can love and enjoy him for many years to come!
 
Hello and Welcome!

We have been very successful treating our diabetic cats with mild long lasting insulin (Glargine is a great one), wet lo carb and testing at home. We test because we want to be sure before every test that it is safe to give the dose we plan and mid cycle to see how it is working. Stress raises bg levels so numbers taken at the vet with all the strange noises, people and animals tend to be artifically high and doses based on those numbers can be too high. Video for hometesting

Raw is great for kitties but you do need to add supplements. This vet has all the information on her website: http://www.catinfo.org

Here is a site about injecting: How to give a shot

Learning how to care for Julius will be a steep learning curve but it is very doable. We would love to help.
 
Hi and welcome to the FDMB Family,

Good for you that you want to home test, as far as how often, at the very least before every shot. As well as trying to sneak in a few spot checks at around +6 ( 6 hours after insulin is given) as that is usually about where the lowest point is. But as for running a full blown curve (which is testing every 2 hours for one 12 hour cycle) those you can a lot of times fit in on a weekend when you are home.

Julius numbers really aren't that bad for being newly dxed, especially if you consider that they were probably raised due to vet stress as well. Even my most laid back boy (non-diabetic) who loves his vet to pieces will throw high numbers at the vet's just due to the stress of the car ride and all the strange smells and noises.

As far as the raw diet goes, those are great foods as long as you are adding supplements. Raw meat and fish in and of itself isn't a complete diet for a kitty. There is an excellent source on information about raw diets for cats here. catinfo.org

Here I personally feed just good old fashioned pate flavors of Friskes canned cat food, but then again I am feeding 11 of which only one is diabetic. There isn't one of my cats that will touch the prescription stuff, but on just regular Friskies pate flavors, my civies (non-diabetics) are doing fantastic, we had a couple with food allegies as well that just a switch to canned food completely cleared up, and my diabetic Max went off insulin in just a few weeks, and he was 485 when dxed.

When it comes to testing, any human meter will do just fine as long as it takes a very small blood sample. I personally use the Relion Micro from Walmart and have loved it so far.

I'm sure others will be chiming in shortly with a ton of links for you.

Mel, Max & The Fur Gang
 
Hello and welcome!
Just saw you mentioned pills. Are you talking about Glipizide? If so than no, that is a bandaide and not a very good choice. Those pills just make the already tired pancreas work harder to produce insulin. The injectable insulin gives the pancreas a rest so it can possibly recover enough to take over.
Check out the 'newbie kits' site on the bottom of my post.
You may choose to use it.
Lori
and tomtom too!
 
Hello all! Thank you for the input thus far!~ My mother in law asked me about full nutrition aka supplements. I have just been trying to digest this whole new regimen (my 13 yr old kitty Cheesecake has terminal cancer, diagnosed Jan 9, 2011.) so I have a lot on my plate. I successfully tested Julius twice today and his glucose at 1pm was 248 and at 415pm was 250! he is getting .01 glargine once per day so far. I have poured over this forum and have gotten so much helpful info so far! Thank you so much!! I feel so much less alone! I am going to ask my vet when I take Julius in again (probably within the week) about supplements to augment his raw diet. one of the benefits of this diet is it has totally stabilized my third kitty Cairo's allergies. He was on Science Diet Z/D and D/D for over a year (Julius ate it too) and he had problems with excessive licking (to the point of bleeding) and when I started with the raw diet plus some skin calming stuff from my vet he totally stopped! I bought a freestyle light meter today and used it on myself first (mine was 95) to get the hang of it. I feel really empowered being able to test at home. My vet looked very surprised and happy when I said last nite when I picked Julius up, "well don't you think should be testing at home?" and he said "you would DO THAT?" that would be great!" apparently a lot of his customers must be too scared or unwilling to take that step. I feel that if it is worth doing it is worth doing right. I have had cats my entire life (I am 31) and I feel that I have learned so much in the last 2 months I can hardly believe it! But it is all good for me and my kitties in the long run! I will keep you all posted! keep the feedback coming!~ Thanks again
Julius' mom
p.s. How Do I post a picture of him?
 
Fantastic that you are testing! Welcome to the Vampire Club! :RAHCAT :RAHCAT And how wonderful that your vet is supportive.

To find out how to put the picture in, check out the Tech Support forum. We would also like you to keep a spreadsheet. It's color coded and makes it very easy to see trends and patterns. And when you want dose advice, it is easy for us to see your numbers and dosing history. viewtopic.php?f=6&t=18207
 
Sue and Oliver said:
Raw is great for kitties but you do need to add supplements.
Click to expand...

Depends on what kind of raw diet you are feeding :smile: If you are using a recipie, like the one on Dr. Lisa's web site, you do need to add supplements. If you are following the so-called Frankenprey model, then you don't need to add supplements because you are feeding raw meat, bones, and organs in a ratio that is similar to that of a mouse. I think the ratio is 80% muscle meat, 10% bone, 5% liver, 5% other secreting organ.
 
Julius' Mom said:
he is getting .01 glargine once per day so far.
Click to expand...

I assume you mean 1 unit. Do you have INSULIN syringes....or did the vet give you something
else (hope not).

Insulin is measured in units. Lantus/glargine is a U-100 insulin, meaning there are
100 units of insulin per ml of liquid volume. So .01 ml(cc) would be 1 unit.

By the way...smart vet. 1 unit 2x/day is a good starting dose. Low dose to start with.

You can get insulin syringes in most states at any pharmacy with no prescription. You
can get them at WalMart, CVS, Walgreens, RiteAid, etc.

The ones we recommend are 3/10cc capacity, 31ga, 5/16" needle length ('shorts') WITH
1/2-UNIT MARKS.

Some pharmacists will insist no such thing exists (1/2-unit marks) and will try to sell
you 1/2cc capacity instead. INSIST on seeing the words "1/2-unit marks' or something like
that on the box of syringes you buy. Less than $20 for a box of 100 syringes.
 
Are you only giving one shot per day? Lantus/Glargine only lasts for about 12 hours and should be given twice daily. The insulin usually takes their levels down for about 6 hours, then it begins to slowly climb back up until the next shot. Hopefully someone more knowledgeable will chime in, but everything I've read has said that it needs to be given every 12 hours to be effective.
 
Hello all! Thank you so much for all the input! We are probably going to do a twice a day regimen. My vet wanted to monitor him for a week and then adjust. And yes it is 1unit per day... I am new to all this lingo!! Julius has been doing really well! I have been testing him twice a day, his reading was 240 this morning before breakfast and his shot, The glargine is a long lasting insulin about 12hrs. So like others have said will probably need to go to a twice a day dose. He has really brightened up since we started him on the insulin and isn't flooding the box like he was (what a relief!) My vet was pleasantly surprised I wanted to home test. All the support on here gave me the courage to do it! I have been successful each time! The syringes u-100 3/10cc I called CVS and they carry them so that is really convenient~ I appreciate the approach of sourcing syringes/food not at the vet. I switched vets in January, my 13yr old marmalade kitty Cheesecake jumped off the counter and injured his leg, so we take him in to our old vet shelled out $500 for a bandage and a blood test. She was supposed to call us when the surgeon could look at him, 48hrs later nothing, I panicked and called my dad who put us in connection with his vet, a holistic vet about 13 miles from us. I took him and he was seen that afternoon by a surgeon, operated on on Friday and diagnosed with cancer on Monday. So in the mean time my husband tells me that our old vet said she didn't think it was that serious..... you can only imagine how that made me feel, here my baby is suffering with cancer and she thinks its not that serious. I hung her out to dry right then. However she had us on this prescription diet that I think contributed to Julius' diabetes. He came to us from SPCA in June of 2009 with Giardia and tapeworms. I have no idea what his history was before us but I think he may have always had illness'. Plus his Giardia was the highest it could be and I have no idea how long he had it or how that may have affected his other organs (does anyone know?) he was at the SPCA for 3 months... so I am sure he had it at least that long as they get it from drinking contaminated water. Our new vet is very supportive with raw diet and home testing, which is a nice change from a vet trying to force prescription food down your throat at $50+ for 8.5lbs, plus $2.50/can for wet food! :dizcat
 
Hi Julius's mom, and, of course, you too, sweet Julius,

And, how can you not love a cat named Cheesecake?!


Welcome to the sugar dance. I have a great feeling about you!




And, welcome to the place you never, ever wanted to be; but, will be blessed for having found...

Love and countless encouraging hugs,
Deb and Nikki -- and, Giz, forever dancing in my heart...
 
Thank you all! Julius was 153 this morning ( we added .5 in the evening) but was up to 255 when I got home from work.... I give him his .5 in just a few minutes... He loves his raw diet! speaking of that.. I got a powder supplement from my vet (because it was easy) but I wonder what are you all doing out there?? I have turned my mother in law to the raw diet because of all this and she bought them seperate... I need something relatively easy (and good!) because of all I have going on right now.... what about livers? what kind? is that a good thing to add in? I put any raw meat in front of them and the gobble it up! I would like to eventually feed the balanced raw diet and not have to do supplements or very few.... I have read up a little on the raw diet someone posted, but as of yet don't have a meat grinder, and it may be a little while till I can get one..... just wondering what you all do? thanks again for all the love and support! it means a lot, people don't understand how hard it is.... and I am grateful Julius has us! :razz:
 
In addition to muscle meat, cats need calcium from bones and taurine from organ meat (liver, heart, etc)

In the wild, cats would generally eat birds much smaller than chickens -- so the bones from chicken need to be ground fine.

Sardines are pretty good food since they are whole with the tiny bones
 
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