Introduction

[mwest7668]

Hello everyone,

I wanted to post an introduction about myself and my diabetic furkid, Felix.

My name is Mike, and I live with my wife, Tash in Massachusetts. We have two cats, Arch (who is a 3 year old little monster, lol) and Felix who is 8 years old. I am a stay at home dad for Felix and his strict schedule. Felix is a very shy cat around other people. So having others stop in to help is out of the question. So my wife or myself have to plan to be here for a feedings and insulin shots. Sometimes its very hard when I have needed rides to medical appointments, procedures and surgeries, I have had my own medical issues lately. Most of the time it works out fine, one of us is home to take care of the cats and their needs. We are managing.

Felix is a 8 year old, male and he was diagnosed on Oct 8, 2013 with Feline Diabetes. I realized something was wrong, when I began noticing one of our two cats was drinking ALOT of water (the bowl was bone dry every morning) and the litter boxes were like mud. Long story short, I took Felix into the Vet and following a blood test they found the problem and diagnosed him with Feline Diabetes.

It was quite a lot to take in all in one day, all the information, instructions, I was afraid to make a mistake(s), give him his insulin shot too soon, too late. I think I was on overload from the news and all the information for awhile. But within weeks, it all became part of the normal daily routine in my house. Felix is currently on 3 units, twice a day. He goes back to the Vet in early July for a check up and blood work. In the beginning his levels were all over the place and the vet adjusted the insulin dose after having the Fructosamine Blood work done. I have not started home testing, I did have the discussion with my vet, but they wanted me to wait until his levels .. leveled out. But this discussion was near the beginning. It is something I am willing to try, not sure how well it will go with Felix (I do pretty well with the insulin shots, I distract him with food). I plan to have the discussion again with them at Felix next appt, which is in early July.

Since those first days, I put Felix on a strict diet, only feeding him diabetic food (dry and wet). I give both the cats the diabetic food to make it easier for when Arch or Felix wants a taste of what the other is eating. I have both cats on a strict feeding and Felix on a strict insulin schedule, which consists of a feeding & insulin at 8am. A feeding at 2pm and a feeding & insulin at 8pm. Felix no longer drinks so much water that the water dish is bone dry, the litter boxes are back to normal, Felix has lost weight (he started at 21.4 lbs in Oct and has of Jan he was 17.2 lbs). He has more energy, and plays with his brother, Archie all the time. Often it is now Felix chasing Arch, not just the other way around.

I will do my best to post, participate, etc within this board. I do not have internet access at home, so please forgive me if I do not respond right away.. Plus I find the board a tad confusing. So not sure how it all works at this stage.

Thank you for offering this group and listening to my story.

~ Mike

 

[Hillary & Maui (GA)]

Hi Mike and welcome to you and Felix.

Let me start with some basics:


There are three key factors to managing diabetes: food/nutrition, home testing and insulin

1) Feline Nutrition: Now, as far as diet - definitely dump the dry food (if you are feeding any) and if the vet recommends purchasing prescription food like DM just say "no thank you". ALL cats, and especially those with diabetes, do best on a species appropriate diet that is high in protein and low in carbs. Dry food DOES NOT fit that bill and DM food, even canned, just really isn't that great as far as quality. Most here on FDMB feed low carb/high protein canned, raw bought from a pet store or they make there own.

Here is a link to a site by a vet "Dr. Lisa DVM" ... who also posts on this board from time to time ... www.catinfo.org

If you look on the right side of her site, she has a food comparison chart to help you figure out what food you want to get based on the carb %.

You want to keep the carb % below 10% and around 7% is great. (Personally, I stay between 0-6% carbs.)

While on her site, you can read about in-depth info. on nutrition and how to make raw food, etc.

Here is another link that will give more information about food/nutrition

Nutrition/food info

The good thing with feeding your diabetic cat this way, is that it is ALSO good for any non-diabetic cat too. All your cats can safely eat the same food without worry and it may save you some costs and headaches of having to do separate feedings and keeping track of what they are eating.


2. Home testing: It is impossible to convey the value of testing your cat's BG (blood glucose) level at home. Some vets will "suggest" this, but most won't even mention it. They will send you home with insulin and an amount to shoot and maybe some instructions about hypoglycemia (blood sugar dropping to a dangerously low level).

Well, the thing is, human diabetics don't EVER give themselves insulin without checking there BG to make sure it is safe to do so, so why shouldn't it be the same for our kitties. Here on FDMB it is. You will notice that the vast majority of people here test their cat's BG at least 2x/day (before giving each shot to make sure the level is safe enough) and periodically at other times to see how the cat is responding to the current dose. We use a human glucometer, test strips and lancets - which are all very readily available and easy to use.

Our kitties get lots of love and treats for "putting up" with this and most of them actually come out to be tested on their own 'cause they want those treats . Here is a collection of great links that "Carolyn and Spot" pulled together about home testing. See what you think ... it truly is the best way to not only keep your cat safe but also really get a handle on this disease and help him to live a healthy life with FD (feline diabetes).

Home testing Links

3. Insulin: There are several types of insulin available. The top three we recommend are Lantus, Levimer or Prozinc all are great insulins. They are gentle insulin and given twice (BID) per day in 12 hour increments.

Please read up on the insulins available, here is a link to the Insulin Support Groups:

Insulin Support Groups

However, one caveat and again this shows how these three things are inter-related:

If you are feeding dry food or even a high carb food, BEFORE removing these foods, please make sure of your insulin dose as it will most likely need to be reduced, so as to avoid a possible hypoglycemic situation due to the removal of the dry/high carb foods that will lower the BG’s and reduce the amount of insulin required. Again, another reason why home testing is important.

I know this all seems like a lot, and that is because it is ... there is a learning curve here. But as long as you are determined and keep at it, you will have it down before you know it and you'll be seeing the results in Your cat' overall health and happiness. Ask all the questions you can think of – that is why we are here!

Now, you can do this on a budget. Here is a shopping to get started:

1. Meter ie Walmart Relion Confirm or Micro*
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. Neosporin or Polysporin ointment with pain relief to heal the wound (can use generic brand)
5. Mini flashlight (optional) - useful to help see the ear veins in dark cats, and to press against
7. Ketone urine test strips ie ketodiastix - Important to check ketones when blood is high
8. Treats for the cat - like freeze dried chicken, even rotisserie chicken, deli chicken, canned tuna will work
9. Karo syrup/table syrup, honey or any sugar product like jam, jelly, etc. if you dont have it at home - for hypo emergencies to bring blood sugar up fast -
10. A couple of cans of fancy feast gravy lovers or other high carb gravy food- for hypo emergencies to bring blood sugar up fast


• We suggest the Relion meter and matching strips from Walmart, as they are the most economically priced meter and strips. That is assuming you have a Walmart nearby. If not, then you can purchase any human glucometer except for Freestyle with butterfly strips or any meter with TRU in the name. People have had issues in the past with these meters and best to start off with something else.


Here is a link to questions that you can ask any vet:

http://www.indulgedfurries.com/petdiabe ... stions.htm

Additionally, since you have the supplies or most of them, we can certainly help you get started, monitor and manage your cats diabetes without a vet. Of course, it's always a good idea to have a relationship with a vet too.


OK, that's enough for the moment. What questions do you have?

 

[Deb & Wink]

Hi Mike and sugardude Felix and welcome to the message board.

My name is Deb and that beautiful tuxedo pictured to the right is my sugardude Wink. We live in Massachusetts too, up on the north shore.

Would you please tell us what insulin you are using?

Also, what 'diabetic cat food' are you feeding?

 

[BJM]

Welcome to FDMB.

While you are considering home glucose testing, there are a number of Secondary Monitoring Tools in my signature which may be helpful to use, such as urine ketone/glucose testing, weight checks, and so on.

As noted above - for your cat's safety, keep the food the same until you are home testing. Some cats have dropped 100 mg/dL with food changes. My Spitzer went from needing 3 units to about 1 unit per shot when I changed food.

 

[mwest7668]

Hi Everyone. Thanks for the welcome messages and the feedback.

As I mentioned previously, I don't get online as often as I would like. So while I was at a friends house, I figured Id check the board and my emails out.

For Deb and Wink, I live in Central Massachusetts.

Felix is on ProZinc insulin.

I am currently feeding him Royal Canin Diabetic Dry and Wet Cat food. I give them canned food twice a day and dry food once. I actually add water to the canned food, they both love the "gravy" and I add water to make sure they are getting more water and to stretch out the gravy. Yes, I am sure several people will tell me to stop feeding both cats the Royal Canin, or whatever. But Felix likes it (Archie likes it), his levels dropped, he has lost weight, he has more energy and more playfulness than he has in quite some time.. and I really don't want to mess with it and the success we have had to this point. I will however change things up if I get the news in July that his levels are out of whack again, or until I start home testing.

Does everyone suggest Fancy Feast out of the canned brands to feed on a regular basis? or Just for Hypo Emergencies? I had read somewhere about Fancy Feast and I asked my Vet, she said no to the idea of using Fancy Feast vs. the Royal Canin or Hills- Prescription.

My neighbor downstairs is a Vet tech, so she helped me get things started and also suggested the Karo Syrup, she told me which insulin brands were the best, which of the Diabetic Foods were the best... etc. its good to have someone near by to ask questions. I am sure she would also gladly help me get started with home testing, even if she has to just talk me through things (since I highly doubt Felix will come anywhere near her if she was here,...he's that shy.. most of my family and friends have never seen him in person. LOL)

I will see if I can upload a photo of Felix before I sign off.

 

[BJM]

When I switched my first diabetic cat from high carb dry to low carb canned his insulin needs dropped form 3 units twice a day to 1 unit twice a day.

 

[Deb & Wink]

Does everyone suggest Fancy Feast out of the canned brands to feed on a regular basis? or Just for Hypo Emergencies? I had read somewhere about Fancy Feast and I asked my Vet, she said no to the idea of using Fancy Feast vs. the Royal Canin or Hills- Prescription.

The Fancy Feast pate style or the Friskies pate style are 2 of the low carb (<10%) options we recommend from vet Dr. Lisa Pierson's food chart. There are many other options on that food chart. We find that <10% carbs can make a big difference in the BG (blood glucose) levels in our extra sweet kitties. Also, feeding the canned food helps to keep our diabetic cats better hydrated with the increased water level in the wet food. Excess urination sure can dehydrate a diabetic cat very quickly.

It's nice to have some of the Fancy Feast gravy lovers style on hand for when your cat gets really low (<50) BG readings. Or pick one of the other food options, but try for >15% to 25% carbs from calories, 3rd column of numbers on the chart for hypo emergencies.

My sugardude Wink went OTJ (off-the-juice, insulin being the juice) after being switched from the high carb dry food, Hill's W/d) the vet insisted was good to low carb wet food, the Fancy Feast classic pates in Wink's case.

Not sure why your vet objects to the Fancy Feast pates. The AAHA Diabetes Management Guidelines for Dogs and Cats, a vet journal published article from 2010, recommends feeding your cat the lowest carb food they will eat.

It's good that Felix has lost some weight on the Royal Canin diabetic dry and wet. :RAHCAT A cat being overweight can cause Insulin resistance so it's important for an overweight diabetic cat to lose those extra pounds.