Just diagnosed - what should I ask Vet at appt. tomorrow?

[akolleck]

Hi everyone,

I'm brand new to this board and new to the diagnosis of diabetes for one of our cats. We have four cats and noticed one was starting to have trouble making it to the litter box, was throwing up bile more than a hairball and had lost weight. We took her to the vet and she is diabetic. She's a small cat. Used to weigh 10 pounds and is now down to 8 pounds. She's 10 years old.

My family thinks we will be fairly comfortable dealing with the diagnosis. My husband is a physician and I used to work at a school where I was responsible for diabetes management of a student. We understand the increased commitment in time and attention that we will need to provide and are ready for the challenge. Our 15 year old daughter is the primary cat caregiver (and this is her favorite cat) and she seems OK with giving injections.

So, my question for all of you is what do I need to know that I don't know? Tomorrow we drop her at the vet in the morning and then pick her up at 5pm and get our "training session" at that time. What types of things should I make sure to ask the vet during the appointment. I know that we will now need to feed her separately from the other cats and pay attention to what they eat. They currently are all fed 1/3 cup dry food twice a day. I'm assuming we will have to change to a different type of food? Anything else I should ask while there?

Thanks! I am excited to be here and look forward to reading through posts tonight to learn all I can!

Amy

 

[BJM]

Re: Just diagnosed - what should I ask Vet at appt. tomorrow

Check my signature link Vet Interview Topics and let us know what other questions you have.

Lantus, ProZinc, Levemir, and BCP PZI are all good insulins to use and last about 12 hours per shot.

Diet is very important and prescription food is not required. There are numerous low carb options available over the counter. A terrific list for US/North America is available at Cat Info by vet Dr Lisa Pierson, as well as information on feline nutrition. Hint: ditch any dry food as most of it is more than 10% calories from carbohydrates except for Evo Cat & Kitten, Young Again 0 Carb (internet only and 5% calories from carbohydrates as we calculate it.

 

[Deb & Wink]

Re: Just diagnosed - what should I ask Vet at appt. tomorrow

Hi and welcome to the message board. Would you share your first name and your kitties name with us please?

Sorry no one got back to you before your vet appointment. Here is some info for you.

1. Get a good insulin like Lantus, Levimir, or Prozinc and start at a low dose and go slow with the dose increases.
2. Low carb diet <10% carbs is best. See food chart here on Catinfo.org.
3. Home testing. Human meters work just great and the test strips on the Relion Confirm/Micro are inexpensive.

AAHA Diabetes Management Guidelines for Dogs and Cats, vet journal published in 2010, pulls together some of the more current treatment recommendations.