Hey everyone! First of all, I'm so glad I found this site. I've been scrolling through the forum already and finding all sorts of information, as well as new questions. Thank you all in advance for your help.
Stripes just got diagnosed about a week ago with diabetes. He and his brother are 10 years old and have always been massive cats (24 lbs, had a few vets say they would bet they're part Bengal), but the poor tubby's down to 17 lbs. I know it still sounds big, but it's super small for his frame and we can feel his spine for the first time in his life. He lost weight super quickly, we took him into the vet, and they kept him for 3 days to run tests and get him on the right dose of insulin. Tests came back negative for keto, so yay there, and they sent us home with instructions to change his diet, give him insulin twice a day, and come back every Friday for glucose monitoring. Here's where things get tricky.
After the initial bs of them giving us the wrong needles and no one there knowing what they're doing, here's the progress:
Initially he was testing at like 470-something. They thought they had him balanced at 2 units of vetsulin twice a day, but apparently when we took him in Friday he was high again, so when we got him back Friday night they said to start him Saturday on 3 units twice a day. Since then he's had loose stools, not diarrhea, but definitely loose. They want us to regulate his food so they can replicate it when they have him for the day, but these freaking people, who knows when they're dosing him (they didn't take him back till 10, and he gets it between 9 and 10, so who knows when they gave it to him and if the delay had anything to do with his levels) and if they even know what they're doing (oh yeah, give him insulin in the back of his neck, here's u100 needles for u40 medicine, we're not sending you home with insulin, oh wait no one else sells this so here). Also, we have three cats, and prior to all this they were getting friskies dry food (always down, and so they eat when they want and demand more if the bottom of the bowl is visible) and a sixth of a can of wet food (also friskies) each a day. Vet said to put them on iVet weight control, but said nothing about the wet food.
Anywho, that should be enough background I think, now for my questions:
1. What dry food is both an acceptable replacement for iVet (or just in general for the little diabetic tubster and his bubbas) AND doesn't cost $12 for a teeny bag? The three of them go through about 3 cups of dry food a day (including the wasted bits they leave in the bowl), so affordable is key.
2. We've stopped all treats and the wet food. The natives are restless. Should we continue with the wet food? Is there a specific kind they should have? The vet wants to be able to recreate home while he's at the vets, but never said anything about wet food, and tried telling us to make a feeding schedule with the dry food. And monitor how much he eats drinks and pees. Which I feel is ridiculous with multiple cats that have been fed this way for forever with no problems. Ace, stripes' brother, has had the exact same diet as stripes minus treats and the occasional table scraps, and he has no issues.
3. I've read a few things on here about home testing. I'm for it, it makes complete sense, but I'd like some recommendations, tips, tricks, anything really, about it. I know nothing about this stuff so it worries me.
4. Should stripes react every time he's poked? I check every time for wetness to make sure he got his dose, but he wasn't reacting every time. Is there a possibility that I wasn't sticking the needle in far enough? Or is he just being mellow?
5. Should I be worried about the loose stools that have developed since he's started getting 3 units? He was acting normal again on 2, but obviously that wasn't working or his levels wouldn't have been high again.
6. Any tips as far as giving him his shots? He's a domestic short hair, so fur's not a huge issue, but now that he's so small I worry about pushing the needle in too far or not far enough or hurting him or etc. Right now I usually have help giving him his shot, but I have to get comfortable enough to do it myself (and get Mom to get comfortable doing it too. Between the diabetic cat, arthritic dog, and 15 month old non-sleeping nightmare, I NEED some extra help so that I can breathe again).
I THINK that's it? I've attached a picture of the brothers getting some love in when stripes got home. Total apologies for the length of this, but this is just all so new to me, and I'm not the type to deal well with the unknown. If there's something I missed, or a question you have, or a related comment, PLEASE feel free to post. Any and all information is super appreciated. Thanks again, everyone!!!
Stripes just got diagnosed about a week ago with diabetes. He and his brother are 10 years old and have always been massive cats (24 lbs, had a few vets say they would bet they're part Bengal), but the poor tubby's down to 17 lbs. I know it still sounds big, but it's super small for his frame and we can feel his spine for the first time in his life. He lost weight super quickly, we took him into the vet, and they kept him for 3 days to run tests and get him on the right dose of insulin. Tests came back negative for keto, so yay there, and they sent us home with instructions to change his diet, give him insulin twice a day, and come back every Friday for glucose monitoring. Here's where things get tricky.
After the initial bs of them giving us the wrong needles and no one there knowing what they're doing, here's the progress:
Initially he was testing at like 470-something. They thought they had him balanced at 2 units of vetsulin twice a day, but apparently when we took him in Friday he was high again, so when we got him back Friday night they said to start him Saturday on 3 units twice a day. Since then he's had loose stools, not diarrhea, but definitely loose. They want us to regulate his food so they can replicate it when they have him for the day, but these freaking people, who knows when they're dosing him (they didn't take him back till 10, and he gets it between 9 and 10, so who knows when they gave it to him and if the delay had anything to do with his levels) and if they even know what they're doing (oh yeah, give him insulin in the back of his neck, here's u100 needles for u40 medicine, we're not sending you home with insulin, oh wait no one else sells this so here). Also, we have three cats, and prior to all this they were getting friskies dry food (always down, and so they eat when they want and demand more if the bottom of the bowl is visible) and a sixth of a can of wet food (also friskies) each a day. Vet said to put them on iVet weight control, but said nothing about the wet food.
Anywho, that should be enough background I think, now for my questions:
1. What dry food is both an acceptable replacement for iVet (or just in general for the little diabetic tubster and his bubbas) AND doesn't cost $12 for a teeny bag? The three of them go through about 3 cups of dry food a day (including the wasted bits they leave in the bowl), so affordable is key.
2. We've stopped all treats and the wet food. The natives are restless. Should we continue with the wet food? Is there a specific kind they should have? The vet wants to be able to recreate home while he's at the vets, but never said anything about wet food, and tried telling us to make a feeding schedule with the dry food. And monitor how much he eats drinks and pees. Which I feel is ridiculous with multiple cats that have been fed this way for forever with no problems. Ace, stripes' brother, has had the exact same diet as stripes minus treats and the occasional table scraps, and he has no issues.
3. I've read a few things on here about home testing. I'm for it, it makes complete sense, but I'd like some recommendations, tips, tricks, anything really, about it. I know nothing about this stuff so it worries me.
4. Should stripes react every time he's poked? I check every time for wetness to make sure he got his dose, but he wasn't reacting every time. Is there a possibility that I wasn't sticking the needle in far enough? Or is he just being mellow?
5. Should I be worried about the loose stools that have developed since he's started getting 3 units? He was acting normal again on 2, but obviously that wasn't working or his levels wouldn't have been high again.
6. Any tips as far as giving him his shots? He's a domestic short hair, so fur's not a huge issue, but now that he's so small I worry about pushing the needle in too far or not far enough or hurting him or etc. Right now I usually have help giving him his shot, but I have to get comfortable enough to do it myself (and get Mom to get comfortable doing it too. Between the diabetic cat, arthritic dog, and 15 month old non-sleeping nightmare, I NEED some extra help so that I can breathe again).
I THINK that's it? I've attached a picture of the brothers getting some love in when stripes got home. Total apologies for the length of this, but this is just all so new to me, and I'm not the type to deal well with the unknown. If there's something I missed, or a question you have, or a related comment, PLEASE feel free to post. Any and all information is super appreciated. Thanks again, everyone!!!
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