Introduction: George's Mom, New Member

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Amyj

Member Since 2013
(Whoops, put my intro in the wrong place initially...)
Hi, I'm Amy. My oldest cat, George, was diagnosed this weekend with Diabetes, and we started him on treatment today. Here are some details:

George is about 15, we rescued him as a feral kitten when we caught his whole litter, mom and two of the dads who lived near our old apartment. We got the other kittens adopted, but kept Georgie. He has two younger brothers, Taz and Titleist. (Sadly, Titleist is on his last weeks, he has a mast cell tumor in his jaw, and there really isn't anything that can be done for him. He is 13, so we're managing pain and saying a long, loving goodbye.)

We have started George on ProZinc, 1 unit 2X a day (Just gave him his first home shot). He is eating Purina D/M, but we'll be looking at several options to see what he likes best. We haven't started any kind of home testing, we will be relying on the vet's testing until we get dosages nailed down in the next week or two. He is eating well and still drinking and urinating a lot...I imagine that will slow down as things get stabalized... He lost a lot of weight and got the "wobbly old man walk" before we realized that this wasn't just old age and got the testing and diagnosis. He apparently responded really well to the first 2 units of insulin he got this morning at the vet's, she said his numbers went from around 700 to closer to 500 (I am SURE I will become very fluent in this data...).

We are hoping for things to go well; right now we are trying to keep it together with monitoring him and keeping an eye on his brother Titleist's pain/tumor. It's a pretty rough time for us, but I know I will find answers and support here. Wish us luck!
 
Hello and welcome to the board!

Sorry to hear about Titleist, I hope you get to enjoy as much time as possible with him!

Is the Purina D/M wet or dry?

You may want to order some zobaline for the walk - it sounds like neuropathy. Zobaline is methylcobalamin B12 for cats and helps with that issue - although it works best when their blood glucose is under control.

To keep him safe you should look into home testing as soon as possible. It will provide both you and your vet more information to work with and keep George safe.

Wendy
 
Hi, Welcome
You have come to the greatest place to help you and your Georgie cat. I am a newbie myself still after dealing with my own 16 year old love name Loki, he is also on PZI. Feel free to take a look at his SS , you will see the ups and downs we have been dealing with.
Look around the site there is awesome help here and all are willing to help and support no matter what.
I was advised to stop all dry food which I just did last month and what a difference!!!! Loki was on D/M also and after 2 weeks he would not eat it, since then with the advise I have gotten here , he is now on Fancy Feast, check the carb content and anything under 5 is good. Also there is a post of all low card over the counter foods here. I will look for it and post it for you. Here is one to get you started http://binkyspage.tripod.com/CanFoodNew.html.
Are you able to home test him? I was not sure I could but with all the help here I am now capable of doing so.
Ok won't make this a novel but there is tons of help here, and there is a PZI forum also that is great in the AM and PM, if you ever have an issue feel free to reach out to them.
Also sending a ton of prayers for your sick boy Titleist .
Mimi and Loki
 
Thank you all, George is on wet food. Poor guy lost all but his front teeth a while back so it's been wet food for a few months. So far, he isn't to terribly picky, thank goodness, but any help with OTC foods would be great!!! We do plan on home testing after the first few tests, I want to make sure the vet has a good idea of where he is since we just started treatment. I'm so new to this, I'm not even sure what to ask yet!!! :shock: I have a LOT of reading up to do!

The toughest thing right now is the emotions. Having two of our guys sick at the same time is rough. We already lost George's 2 older siblings in the last 5 years (Lucifer at 18 to kidney failure and Gabrielle at 16 to a squamous (sp?) cell tumor). Honestly, at this point I'm starting to get a complex and feel like we've done something wrong....but I also realize that by giving them such a loving, healthy home; they are living long lives that just puts them in the range for other health issues. :sad: The good news is that both George and Ty seem to be handling things like troopers, other than wanting some more "alone time" than they used to, they are going about their lives like normal.

Again, I'm glad I found this site, I'm sure it will help me immensely!
 
You haven't done anything wrong, those are good ages for cats! And you are doing your best for them. With the right treatment George will live a long happy life too.

Many people here feed fancy feast classic pâtés, friskies pâtés or wellness grain free since they are reasonably priced (cheaper than purina DM anyway) and low carb which is important to keep your kitty's blood glucose lower and under control.

How long has he been on the DM? Has he always been on it or another brand? I am concerned about the fact that DM can be lower carb than other canned foods and have already lowered his blood glucose.

Wendy
 
Thanks for the vote of confidence! That helps a lot! We just got George his first can of DM food today, but definitely want to find a cheaper option. Right now it's one day at a time!
 
He was eating dry Iams, and more recently (after losing the teeth), wet Iams and Naturals Instincts (I think that's the name).
 
Ok so up to yesterday he was eating a high carb food. Then today you start feeding him low carb and giving insulin. I don't want to scare you but a change from high carb to low carb food usually results in a drop in blood glucose levels. And you are giving insulin based on higher blood glucose levels when he was still eating high carb.

As such you could be giving him too much insulin. That is why it is so important to home test.. So you can see how low he drops and adjust insulin dose if need be, or prevent a hypo. Here are things to watch for...http://www.felinediabetes.com/FDMB/viewtopic.php?f=28&t=15887

I strongly advise you to pick up a meter etc. it doesn't do any harm to home test and there is no real reason to wait.

Wendy
 
One unit is a good dose to begin with, but when you add wet low carb food, it complicates the picture. One of the other new members started with one unit, but the diet and ProZinc started working together so well that the kitty, within a week, is needing less than .25 units. If she hadn't been hometesting and had just continued to give one unit twice a day, her kitty would have hypoed days ago. Because she is testing, she was able to catch a hypo today, even with a dose reduction.

(see her thread here:

http://felinediabetes.com/FDMB/viewtopic.php?f=28&t=90672. Look at her spreadsheet to see how fast things have changed for her kitty.

We figure we wouldn't give insulin to our 2 legged children without testing, so we do the same for our 4 legged ones. We'd be happy to teach you how.

Let us know how we can help.
 
I spoke with our vet this morning and she isn't too concerned with the food change since his numbers were SO high initially. We will have her check tomorrow too. I do want to start testing at home...do I NEED a meter for animals or will a human one work???? I'm hoping for an economical and easy to use option.
Thanks!
 
Good morning!

A human one is fine - thats what most of us use here. You can get reasonably priced meters in walmart and/or use the shopping links above. Many people here use the Walmart Relion Prime which is like $16 and the strips $9 for 50.


Getting started shopping list
1. Meter ie Walmart Relion Prime, Confirm or Micro. Or Arkray.
2. Matching strips
3. Lancets - little sticks to poke the ear to get blood . new members usually start with a larger gauge lancet such as 28g or 29g until the ear learns to bleed. Optional - lancing tool.
4. Cotton balls to stem the blood
5. Neosporin ointment to heal the wound
6. Ketone urine test strips ie Ketostix or ketodiastix - Important to check ketones when blood is high
7. Treats for the cat - like freeze dried chicken
8. karo syrup/corn syrup or honey if you dont have it at home - for hypo emergencies to bring blood sugar up fast
9. A couple of cans of fancy feast gravy lovers - for hypo emergencies to bring blood sugar up fast

Wendy
 
The vast majority of us use human meters. They read about 30 points differently than animal ones and we just take that into consideration. Our problem with animal meters is that the initial cost is so high and the strips are also very expensive and usually available through a vet (not good in an emergency on a weekend). We are looking for trends and patterns, so we think human meters work fine.

Here is a shopping list for home testing:


A human glucometer. Any one that sips and takes a tiny sample is fine. Some members stay away from any meter with True in the name and the Freestyle meters. Some people think they are unreliable and read lower than other meters. The meters are often free at drug stores; it’s the strips that are expensive. You can, however, buy them on ebay at less than half the price of stores. Lots of people here also like the ReliOn from Walmart. It is an inexpensive meter and its strips are the cheapest around. Try the meter out on yourself or someone else before you try it on your cat. You want to be familiar with it before you poke the cat.

Lancets and a lancet device. Usually, until the ears “learn” to bleed, a 26-28 gauge is good. Any brand will work as long as the lancets match your device.

Ketone strips. (Ketostix) Just like human diabetics use. You will sometimes need to test urine if the numbers are high.

Rice sack. Make this out of thinnish sock, filled with raw rice or oatmeal and then knotted. You heat this in the microwave until very warm but not hot. Then heat the ears before poking. You can also use a prescription bottle filled with very warm water. It provides a good surface to poke against.

Also nice to have. Flashlight: so you can look at the ears and find the little capillaries that come off the vein running down the ear. Vaseline: Put a tiny smear where you want to poke. It will help the blood bead up.

And some lo carb treats to give your kitty, successful test or not Lo carb treats

How to get the cat ready for home testing

While you wait, you can get your kitty ready for testing.
First pick a place where you want to test. Some people use the kitchen counter, a blanket on the floor, between your legs while sitting – whatever works for you. Take the kitty there and give him/her lots of praise while you play with his/her ears. Give a treat and release. Next time, add the rice sack (thin sock filled with raw rice, heated in the microwave until very warm but not hot) or a prescription pill bottle filled with very warm water. Lots of praise, treat and release. Finally add the lancet so he/she will get used to the noise. The hope is that when you finally poke, they will be used to the process and know a treat is coming!

And a video that shows how it is done: Video for hometesting
 
Welcome!!! You have found the best place for information and help.

My Rumpelteazer was diagnosed on 2-28-13. I was sooooo confused about everything. When I found FDMB and started browsing and asking questions, I began to feel more at ease. Everyone here is helpful and will answer your questions ASAP.

You can read my posts in the Main Board and also in the PZI board (for ProZinc users)....as you will see "there is never a stupid question" to ask. :lol:

My SugarCat is on ProZinc also and I use the Relion Comfort meter to home-test her. Her Spreadsheet is linked in my signature....it is still strange-looking because I am just starting out. She eats (gobbles) Fancy Feast twice a day before her shot.

The info/video about testing in her ear is super helpful. It is not as hard to home-test as you might think.

Best of luck....you are in good hands here. :smile:
 
Whew, made if through the first day of work and being away from George now that he's on insulin. That was much harder than I expected...can't tell you how happy I was to see him come "trotting" up to the door as I walked in!!!!

Anyway, I got a home tester and Bob (my sweetie) and I will give it a whirl this evening. George will also get tested by the vet tomorrow afternoon, so we'll have an idea of how well the numbers match up. He already seems to be responding well, he seems more alert and comfortable now. That's a relief. I know Gerogie will be so miffed at me when I have to start pricking his ear to test...but I'm hoping that he is able to be miffed at me for a nice long while!!!

Personally, I'm trying to hold myself together dealing with one cat that is essentially dying (Titleist's cancer is looking pretty agressive) and another who is "sick". At least we can DO something about George's diabetes, so that helps a bit. I hope no one minds me venting every once in a while...it's nice to have a place where people will understand. Sadly, most of the people I work with aren't pet parents and don't seem to "get" why I'm stressed and upset...they can't seem to fathom spending more than the cost of spay or neuter on a pet. Ugh. For Bob and I, these furry boys are our children; and like any child, it breaks our hearts to see them anything less than perfectly healthy and not be able to make the bad go away.

I'll let you all know how things go! Thank you for all the support so far!
 
Feel free to vent all you want. Thats half the reason we are here - moral support. I myself am dealing with a very sick bunny rabbit right now as well as two diabetic cats and am barely holding it together :(

Georges BG at the vet will likely be higher due to stress but take the meter with you when they test him and you can do a comparison. They wont match up exactly but it will give you a rough idea of variance. What kind of meter did you get?

Here are some testing tips - dont forget the treat!! https://docs.google.com/document/d/13c_CPZVKz27fD_6aVbsguadJKvjSrSAkD7flgPPhEag/pub Many people have problems at first but get used to testing within a couple of weeks.. and most cats tolerate it just fine. My boys dont love it but as long as they get a treat they are happy enough.

And if you set up a spreadsheet to track your readings we can help even more.. http://www.felinediabetes.com/FDMB/viewtopic.php?f=6&t=18207
Wendy
 
You already have a ton of info to digest and you're doing great, so I just want to say Welcome!

Big hugz! :YMHUG:
 
We are using the ReliOn Prime meter. On the first test we got 286....which is great for us since he was at 700 on Sunday!!! Seems he is responding very well to the insulin! He goes in to the vet today and we'll take our meter as well so we get a better idea of the range/difference. I am encouraged with the early progress....and I have to remember this is EARLY...we won't be at ideal levels yet. Yay! :-D
 
That is great news. The 700 at the vet was before you changed the diet and can be partly stress. Don't be surprised if he is higher at the vet again today than your number at home.

I hope your vet will take into consideration the stress factor and the fact that the wet food can drop levels over time and reduce the dose. We really like to see kitties start at one unit and increase slowly. It is so much safer to get levels at home during the diet change and increase as needed. If you start higher, then you are guessing how much to decrease and chancing low unsafe levels.
 
Oh yea, the 700 was before ANYTHING was started. We are at one unit every 12day hours...and if the vet thinks we can lower it, we will. We are truly blessed with a great vet's office and some wonderful doctors, so I trust them. We'll see how things progress. We ARE only on day 3at of treatment ...can't expect everything at once! :)
 
Hi Amy. Welcome to FDMB.

See my signature link for Secondary Monitoring Tools for info on urine ketone monitoring (high ketones. may signal diabetic ketoacidosis, a potentially fatal, expensive to treat, complication of diabetes).

Sorry to hear about the mast cell tumor in your other kitty. I'm wondering if they could debulk it some using cryotherapy (freezing) and if that would make him more comfrotable.
 
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