Introductions for a newly diagnosed cat and mama

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FionasMama

FionasMama

Member Since 2013
Hi Everyone!

My name is Janeen and I am Fiona's Mama. Fiona is an almost 9 year old kitty who is my first child in life. We got her when she was just under a year old and have loved her from day 1. She is the BEST cat I've ever had.

I am trying to get a photo loaded, but am having difficulties with this. Will take a break and try again later. :smile:

As for myself, I am a 30 something wife and mother of 4 (2 humans -DD - 5yrs, DS - 3yrs & Fiona - Cat and Casey - Dog).

Just today (February 7, 2013), we received the diagnosis of diabetes for Miss Fiona. I had suspected this the past few weeks and finally got her in to the vet where my suspicions were confirmed. :sad: She showed all the classic symptoms but thankfully, I paid attention and the dr said there is really nothing else wrong with her. Thank goodness!

This is my first ever experience with a "sick" cat and I'm a little overwhelmed. I really look forward to this forum to learn, communicate, and process all there is ahead of us.

Thanks in advance!

Peace and Love,

Janeen aka: FionasMama
 
Hi Janeen
Welcome to FDMB. There is a lot of great information on this site and a wealth of experience amongst the members.

Has your vet started Fiona on insulin yet? Most of us use Lantus (Glargine) - a gentle long acting insulin. It is administered at 12 hour intervals.

Did your vet mention home tsting to you? We all test our cats at home - it is easy and gives the most accurate results to monitor how your cat's body is using the insulin. We test before each shot and ideally at least once at about mid cycle. We record these as AMPS (morning, preshot), +6 (6 hours after morning shot), and PMPS.

And last question - what are you feeding Fiona? Low carb wet food is the best. You can read about cat nutrition and review the amazing spreadsheet that Dr. Lisa has compiled at www.catinfo.org. We usually suggest less than 8 - 10% carbs to start. Some cats need even fewer carbs and others are not so carb sensitive.

The final important thing that I'd like to suggest you read is about hypos. Being prepared with a couple of cans of hi carb food, syrup, and an extra stash of testing strips has saved many kitties lives. Hoping that you never need it, but this is one of the things that can save you a trip to emergency and a huge bill.

If you have questions or want some further information, others will be along to help.
 
Thank you for your reply!

I just got the call from the dr today. Ever since I suspected diabetes, I started her on wet food. No insulin yet. She goes in tomorrow for some testing to see what we're going to do. After reading other posts here, I see that a lot of you suggest doing testing at home. I am not comfortable with that right this moment. My vet is very eager to help me learn what will be best for Fiona and I am fully prepared to learn all I need to to keep her healthy and home! Of course, $$$ is a factor as well. :?

I will be doing testing at home. I already have a monitor (My Grandma had to do home testing for awhile and still has her monitor).

I looked over the AMAZING list of low-carb wet foods. I'm saddened by the fact that this information is not "common knowledge." I hate that I have always fed my cats dry food when in actuality, it's not good for them. :evil:

I followed the fantastic instructions on setting up a spreadsheet and have added that to my signature line. As soon as I speak with the vet, I will get started on that. I plan on reading more info on this forum tomorrow and watching some of the videos on hometesting examples and such.

AHH! This is overwhelming!!! :o But I'm sure I'll get the hang of it in no time.

Thanks again!
 
I don't want to sound too pushy (!), but home testing is really not that tricky. And as for saving $$$, there is nothing better. Every so often, we do a curve which involves testing every hour to get a picture of the insulin usage in the cat. Most vets charge a day hospital stay as well as for each test. That can run up to several hundred - for something that you can do yourself and get more reliable data. (Cats suffer white coat stress just like people, and stress make the bg rise. This means that you get more accurate data at home.) And after a few weeks when you have collected data at PS and a few interims, you really don't have much need for a curve.

WRT food - we all have felt that way. The pet food industry has done an exellent job of 'educating' vets and pet owners.

I don't know what glucometre you have access to from your family, but the most expensive part is the test strips. I see that you are in the US and Walmart sells the Relion and the strips are probably the least expensive of all the metres. Your vet may suggest that you get the pet specific glucometre, the Alphatrack. The problem is that the strips are only available from vets and are about $1 each. At 3 or 4 tests a day, that will quickly add up!

There may be a member near you in Washington. If you want some help with home testing, just say the word. And great job getting the ss up already. You're an ace!
 
There are some Secondary Monitoring Tools in my signature link which will aid in assessing Fiona until you are up and running on the blood glucose testing.

Ketone testing, in particular, is very important, as ketones are a by-product of fat breakdown which occurs when there is not enough insulin facilitating glucose use, so fat gets used instead. Too many ketones result in diabetic ketoacidosis, a very expensive to treat, potentially fatal, complication of diabetes.
 
Hello and Welcome!

You are a fast learner.. I am impressed. Good job on the wet food ( just double check its under 10% carbs - http://www.catinfo.org/docs/FoodChartPublic9-22-12.pdf

And great that you are going to start testing. I would start that as soon as possible to give you a baseline and see what impact the wet food is having, before you start the insulin. I see you have setup a spreadsheet, a profile would be good too - http://felinediabetes.com/FDMB/viewtopic.php?f=6&t=79123

its also a good idea , as BJM says, to check for ketones. You can get ketone test strips at any pharmacy (incl walmart) and by the shop links above.

Wendy
 
Hello Janeen, and welcome!

A diagnosis of feline diabetes can seem overwhelming at first. But it soon gets a lot easier. And don't beat yourself up about having fed dry food to your cat. An awful lot of us here did exactly the same thing...until our cats were diagnosed with diabetes... :roll:

Hometesting probably sounds a bit scary, but really it's not at all hard to learn. It will really help your cat (and won't hurt her); it will give you a sense of control over the situation; and it will save you a heap of money in vet's bills. It only involves taking the teensiest droplet of blood from the outer edge of your cat's ear. I test my cat while he's munching on a few treats.

Here is a link to some good pics and info about hometesting so you can get a sense of what we're talking about.
http://www.sugarpet.net/bloodtst.html

Elizabeth

Post edited to add link
 
Welcome! I am glad that you will be testing. A free meter is helpful but as it has been said, the costs are more in the strips :lol:

What meter have you been gifted? There are a few that do not read FD correctly at high numbers but are okay for people diabetes.

I think we have all fed the wrong food to our kitties and are very apologetic after we find out what we've done. It doesn't sound like Fiona is a dry food junkie so that is a plus :-D .

Ask all the FD questions you want and someone here should have an answer.

Heather
 
How is Fiona getting on? from your spreadsheet I see you have started testing which is great! and I think she is on insulin now too right? What kind are you giving her?

Wendy
 
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