Introducing Marie & Simon

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martimar

Member Since 2013
Hello~ Two weeks ago, a very sweet stray kitty (maybe a barn cat?) showed up on my doorstep cold and hungry. No one claimed him & we already have six cats, so it was my intention to get him vetted & neutered and try to find him a forever home through a local animal welfare league. I had noticed him drinking a lot of water, so when I took him to be neutered they tested him & his glucose level was 481 and they would not do the surgery. I guess because he was a stray and his future uncertain, that vet did not offer much in the way of treatment advice, and steered the conversation more towards putting him down.

So...my husband and I discussed it and despite the challenges, we cannot give up on "Simon" and could not take him to the shelter. He is so absolutely calm and loving. Thankfully, I found Diabetic Cats in Need who have been VERY helpful and referred me to this message board. I am feeling a little overwhelmed with this turn of events, but so glad I found a support group and so much valuable information. I only wish I had known about this site five years ago when our dear boy Noah was diagnosed with diabetes. After reading info here I now know that because of a lack of proper education, we did not do all we could to help him and that makes me so sad. I pray that we can get Simon regulated or OTJ and that he will find a wonderful home!
~Marie & Simon
 
Hello Marie and Simon, and welcome to FDMB.

Simon is one lucky kitty to have found you! Bless you for wanting to take care of him. :smile:

The three keys to the optimal intial treatment of feline diabetes are; appropriate diet (low carb wet/canned), insulin, and hometesting. Some lucky cats go into 'remission' (ie become diet-controlled diabetics) after just a short course of insulin.

I'm guessing Simon isn't on insulin yet so this is the perfect time to make sure he's eating the right food. Dry food elevates the blood glucose levels enormously in some cats, so it's important to phase out any dry food and switch over to low carb canned/wet food. You don't need any fancy prescription food. Many ordinary canned foods are just fine. I'm in the UK and so can't suggest brands for you, but I'm sure you'll get lots of suggestions since most folks here are from the US.

(Once a cat is on insulin it's much harder to phase out the dry food because this must only be done while monitoring the effect of that on the cat's blood glucose ('BG'), and reducing the insulin dose as necessary.)

Good insulins for cats include Lantus/Glargine, Levemir, and Prozinc.

Most of us here hometest our cat's BG levels. This is done before every insulin shot, and also at other parts of the insulin cycle to determine how well the insulin is working in the cat.

Hometesting probably sounds a bit daunting, but actually it isn't as hard as it sounds. It only involves taking the teensiest weensiest drop of blood from the outer edge of the cat's ear, and then transferring that to a test strip in a glucose meter. There are very few nerve endings in the edge of the cat's ear so this shouldn't hurt Simon at all. Regarding glucose meters, most of here use meters that are made for human use. Again, I'm sure you'll get some suggestions for those that are available easily in the US.

Again, welcome! We look forward to hearing more about you and Simon.

Elizabeth
 
Welcome Marie and Simon. So glad to see you here on the FDMB!

To let others know, Simon started yesterday on Lantus insulin and will be tested using the Bayer Contour human glucometer. He has been on Fancy Feast classic canned food since at least last Saturday (2/16/13).
 
Thank you so much for the warm welcome! I am panicking a little bit. My first thoughts are...
1. Once I do a home test, what do I do with that information? Where's the quick link that tells me how the numbers effect insulin dosage?
2. I know how to manipulate documents, but everyone else's spreadsheet looks intimidating. Do I just copy & paste someone else's?
3. How do I make a profile for Simon on here?
Thanks again for the help!
 
Welcome to the board! No need to panic, we are here to help


In terms of home test, set up a spreadsheet like Denise suggested. If you have any issues please let me know and I will ask another member to help set one up for you.

For dosagem here is a sticky that explains our commonly used protocol for getting cats into remission or regulation as quick as possible .. i would read it abd once you start testing we can help advise with it http://felinediabetes.com/FDMB/viewtopic.php?f=9&t=1581

Finally here are some ear testing tips: https://docs.google.com/document/d/13c_CPZVKz27fD_6aVbsguadJKvjSrSAkD7flgPPhEag/pub

let us know how you get on!
Wendy
 
I will add that it is a steep learning curve ... all of this...
We all felt overwhelmed in the beginning... but we are here to help... you can ask any question along the way...
If you have troubles with the spreadsheet set up, there are some here who can help you set it up.

There is a lot to learn... a whole lot of reading... but it starts making sense and becoming a habit after a while...
And within a week or two, You will likely know more than your own vet about how to manage FD.
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