just diagnosed

[Sonny's Mom]

After noticing a big increase in my kitty's urination and drinking and figuring out that it wasn't just the litter not absorbing I took Sonny to the vet. Based on initials reading he told me he was diabetic. At first I thought ok no big deal, but now looking through theninformation on this sight I'm really scared. My vet said he would call me in the morning to confirm the final results but my guess is were going tonhave to make some decisions. My kitty, Sonny, is only 5 years old, a tad overweight. He is acting fine except the increased urination thing. I'm hoping we caught things early. Do we have to do the curve test? Is it possible changing his diet to a wet low carb food would be enough? Please give me some words of wisdom.
Susanne

 

[BJM]

Welcome to FDMB.

First, breathe. This is manageable and you can do it.

Changing to low carb food before starting insulin is easier than after starting insulin. And it can be over the counter, low carb food. Read Cat Info by Dr Pierson for a vet's take on feline nutrition. I feed my cats Friskies pates.

The recommended insulins for cats are Lantus, ProZinc, Levemir, or BCP PZI. They all last about 12 hours in the cat. Other insulins may be less expensive (Vetsulin/Caninsulin developed for dogs; Humulin/Novolin N), but may require giving them every 8 hours. If your schedule is quite erratic, you might prefer ProZinc or BCP PZI (BCP can send your vet a sample vial for free).

Home glucose testing helps keep your cat safe and is more accurate than testing at the vet. Vet stress may raise the glucose 100-180 mg/dL. You can use a human glucometer with feline specific reference numbers. See my signature link Glucometer Notes for more info.

 

[phlika29]

Hi and welcome.

It can seem very overwhelming at first but just take it one step at a time.

I think the first step is to change food over to a low carb wet food and then test the blood glucose again to see where you are. BJM linked the website that has great info on foods with a chart of them all.

Even if sonny does have to go on insulin it doesn't mean he will have to be on it forever. With the right food, a good insulin and a bit of luck sonny may get better enough to come off it again.

Please don't feel alone. We are all hear to help you. I would first go ahead and look at that list. Many US members use friskies. Just be careful switching. Do it about 25% per day to minimise the risk of upset tummys.