Just diagnosed...

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Tony The Tiger Basil

Tony The Tiger Basil

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Our son Tony was just diagnosed today. My wife and I will be visiting the vet tomorrow to learn how to give him the insulin shots. My wife and I can't have kids so Tony has been our family for 10 years now. I must admit I am very nervous about how he is going to react to the shots. nailbite_smile
 
Hi Robert :)

I was terrified of giving shots...I imagine most of us were at the beginning. But the shots are terribly easy as they are just under the skin, and cats have lots of extra skin to grab :)

There is a lot to learn about treating FD, I won't lie to you, but after you get used it it, FD is really a relatively easy disease to treat. Tell me this back in 2002 and I'd have said you were crazy, but here it is 2010 and Squeak is fat and sassy and no longer needs insulin!

Come on back with more info, like Basil's symptoms, how he was diagnosed, if he has any complications that are keeping him at the clinic, etc.

Jen
 
Robert Welcome,
each of us arrived here nervous and upset (to say the least) with worry over how to handle this.
turns out it's not hard. turns out we've become like a family here. We all love our cats soooo much and the information we've learned over the years is huge.
you are in the right place.
i look forward to hearing:

what insulin your using?
what are you feeding your cat?
are you home testing? if not we'll get you all set up for that.
how much are you shooting?

that should be a good start.
this is a manageable disease and we will walk you thru all the stuff you need to know.
lori
and tomtom too!
 
oh, i forgot to add, my son tomtom said please welcome your son tony and hopes to get to know him better!
 
Thanks for the warm welcome everyone, I must admit I am a little overwhelmed but it's good to know we have a place to ask questions. I don't know what we would do if anything happened to our Tony-boy.

I'll have more details after we visit the vet tomorrow morning.
 
Some things to consider asking your vet.

Our protocol calls for starting low and going slow. We urge you to start at one unit twice a day. You can always increase the dose as needed but you can't get the insulin out of the cat once you shoot.

Hopefully your vet will be supportive of testing at home and teach you how.

We also advocate feeding wet lo carb food. This website by a fd vet explains why: http:www.cat info.org

Good luck at the vet. We will be here if you need us.
 
If there are any particular questions we should ask the vet tomorrow can you post them here so I can write them down and take them with me tomorrow? I'll then post the answers here after the visit

Thanks!
 
robert try not to be surprised if your vet dissagree's with the way we've learned is ideal for treating feline diabetes. you don't need the vet's 'permission' to hometest. just to prepare you as this happens more often than not.

you should come home with a diagnosis glucose #

know whether or not tony has been tested for ketone's. if not you can test at home yourself.

the name of the insulin your using.

his base dose may differ than ours, not to worry, that will be discussed when and if and explained thoroughly.

he may try to sell you on his DM formula food, dry or wet. this is more expensive and not as quality as what you can get at the grocery store. we do NOT advocate dry food as the carb count is too high. if he hard sells you can just tell him you'll think about it.

see if your cat has had a complete blood workup to check for infections...that increases the blood glucose.

then come on back and tell us what you learned.
 
I'm the CTO (head geek) of my company so of course I am now looking for something to help keep a diary of everything we need to watch. Does anyone here use any of the iPhone/iPad/Adroid apps to help them? They all seem to be for humans and there are so many options I have no idea what I need to be looking for.

If not, is there a spreadsheet online that I can download and use?
 
Most folks here use Google Spreadsheets, and you could probably copy / download the template.

We have a separate forum for tech support type topics (how to attach a picture, how to setup a google spreadsheet, etc)

For daily records, my hubby writes down the BG in a log book - pretty simply. For a while we tracked which food and eating habits, but we stopped after deciding which food was best.

so the log book we use is a basic accounting ledger - we have two diabetics right now, and they each get a column -- most days they are tested twice -- once before each injection, so one line per test / two lines per day
 
is that something we should all be able to see? i don't see an area for spread sheet on there. i hope we will be able to look at it. there will be times when you'll want another pair of eye's on what's going on. know what i mean?
 
Welcome to the family... Robert, and Basil... just heading out... it's our 27th wedding aniversary and we're going to see "I Do I Do" at a local dinner theater...

I know how you feel right now... I was where you are in March of 2004... My son, er Charlie.. my first and sweetest kitty.... was diagnosed.... But I think he said it all when he "wrote me this poem"... okay it was a Vulcan Mind Meld... and I typed it out for him... :lol:

I’m A Cat
©2004 by Carol Notermann

I’m a cat, and I have attitude, at least that’s what I’m told.
But last year, didn’t feel too well, but not because I’m old.
I was just a little tired, really hungry, thirsty all the time.
I’m not old you understand, but a little past my prime.

I used to take such great delight in chasing everything.
But for a while, I simply watched when Mommy played with string.
My Mommy took me to the vet, and really seemed quite scared.
The words he said upset her, but I’m so glad she cared.

She came home and told our family that things would have to change.
She’s moved their food to way up high. It’s past my jumping range.
And now she’s giving me, in my own dish, a different type of food
I sniffed, it didn’t smell the same, I showed my attitude.

But Mommy sat and talked to me. She explained the reasons why
So I’ll make her very happy, and I’ll eat it and not cry.
And then she went on line and looked up a bunch of things
She found a site, she likes a lot, that comfort to her brings.

It’s called FDMB, whatever that could mean.
And since she’s found those people, her smile again does beam.
I’m getting shots and blood tests, and trying to be good.
Cause when she says I’m better, she always knocks on wood.

There’s this thing that’s called a” h*n*ym**n” that she so wants to see
But prays that I can regulate, whatever that may be
She says she’ll just keep keeping on and I should not be afraid
She cuddles me and pets me lots, when in her lap I’ve laid.

I’m a cat, and I have attitude, at least that’s what I’m told.
But now I feel much better, as I told you, I’m not old.
In fact, I look so pretty now, my coat a shinny one
I think today, I owe myself, a long nap in the sun.

(The little cat lies sleeping, in his spot right in the sun
His Mommy’s on FDMB, and talks to everyone.)
 
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