My cat Fluffy was just diagnosed

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katrawson

Member Since 2014
Of course I am in shock and I immediately thought it was a death sentence and started doing research. My husband is scared about the money but I don't want to lose my cat. I am sure you all understand that. How long will it be before she doesn't think I am going to give her medicine or take her to the vet? I used to be the only one she trusted and now I think she is going to hate me forever.

How in the world do you test a cat's urine? That one boggles my mind. Its not like I can say, "Hey Fluffy, can pee in this bottle for me?" She would give me the stink eye and turn away.
 
Welcome to FDMB.

There are a lot of things you can do to help your cat live a long, healthy life with diabetes, just like in humans.

It sounds like your vet wants you to test the urine for glucose and/or ketones. That will only tell you what has happened since the previous void. See my signature link Secondary Monitoring Tools for tips on urine testing.

Home testing with an inexpensive human glucometer is much more accurate and will help keep your kitty safe.

Are you giving insulin, and if yes, which one and at what dose?

Oral meds for diabetes do not work very well in cats and do not let the pancreas recover.
 
Hello, and welcome to FDMB!

First off, your cat will soon forgive you! Really. In fact many of us find that treating our cat's diabetes actually strengthens the bond between cat and carer. cat_pet_icon

A diagnosis of feline diabetes can feel overwhelming at first. But everyone here has been where you are now and understands how you feel.
The good news is that, with care, a diabetic cat can live a completely normal lifespan in good health.

Is Fluffy on insulin yet? And if so, on what type and what dose?
And what are you feeding Fluffy at the moment?

With regard to urine testing, if the kitty uses a litter tray you can get non-absorbent granules for the kitty to pee in so you can collect the pee afterwards. And some folks crumple a little plastic film in the tray to catch a sample. (And we used to have someone here who caught her cat's pee in a ladle!)
Here is a link to a page of pics and info about urine testing.
http://www.sugarpet.net/urine.html

Welcome aboard!

Eliz
 
Welcome extra sweet Fluffy and scared MamaBean! No need to be scared anymore - you've found the best place you never wanted to be!

Nope, she's not going to hate you forever - this will be a bigger thing for you than for her. We can't answer your 'how long' question, every cat is different (ECID). KT became diabetic while I had him so we began this dance together, we adopted Dakota already diabetic. I tested him within 3 hours of him arriving here, he didn't hate me... :-D Both of them come when they hear their meter zippers or beeps. One of my 'civies' (non-diabetics) even comes too - I test him every couple of months.

Catching cat's urine - there are several methods, look at BJ's signature above for secondary monitoring tools! I just tell my boyz to 'pee on the stick' because they've been doing this dance for 3 years, they raise their tails so I never have to 'catch'.

Vet costs - best savings is to start testing Fluffy's bg at home. It's no big deal, just a quick poke and sip....then TREATS! Best treat is one of the freeze dried meat products such as chicken or shrimp.

BIG HUGS! Welcome again!
 
Welcome to the FDMB! I am new too and just recently found this fantastic place about a month ago. There is so much information and things to learn here with plenty of help and support. It is very overwhelming at first but just take a deep breath, relax and know that you found the best place to be for all the information that you will need.

As far as testing your kitty for ketones, I just follow my Merlin to the litter box and while he is peeing, I hold on to the stick and just place it under his tail. He pees a lot in one setting, so I have time to check it by looking at the side of stick to see if it is wet. Then I wait a few seconds and then compare the test strip to the bottle. So no need for me to collect I usually can get a test almost on a daily basis if I wanted to.
 
Today, I am going to the vet to check her urine to see if she has a bladder infection and to confirm the diagnoses. They will also teach how to do insulin. I am changing her over to diabetic accepted Fancy Feast Classics slowly. Right now its Purina's hairball formula. Pure carbs. No wonder her sugar was 400.

Right now she is purring and letting me brush her which is great. Not sure how she will feel after the vet appt.

Thanks for the advise. Have checked out the urine collecting suggestions. Thanks for that.
 
katrawson said:
Today, I am going to the vet to check her urine to see if she has a bladder infection and to confirm the diagnoses. They will also teach how to do insulin. I am changing her over to diabetic accepted Fancy Feast Classics slowly. Right now its Purina's hairball formula. Pure carbs...
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Hi,

There's a couple of things you may want to be aware of: Firstly, if there is a bladder infection (or any kind of infection) that could be raising the blood glucose levels, and the blood glucose could drop somewhat when the infection clears.
And secondly (and really, really, really importantly) switching Fluffy to a lower carb diet could significantly lower her blood glucose levels. And our experience here is that switching to lower carb diet should only be done if the care-giver is able to monitor the kitty's blood glucose at home (not nearly as hard as it sounds. Really!) But if you don't feel able to try 'hometesting' at this point, then I'd strongly suggest that you don't lower the carb content of Fluffy's diet at the moment.

Keeping fingers and paws crossed that all goes well at the vets. And do please update us about you and Fluffy get on.

Eliz
 
The initial diagnosis seems to be the most expensive part of dealing with feline diabetes. After time the costs do come down.

If you decide to home test I found it helpful to start touching my cat's ears during petting and snuggle time to get her used to it before I actually started testing.

My cat will NOT use any of the non absorbent litters, she will cross her paws until her regular litter comes back. I use a 8oz plastic takeout container to catch urine samples. The containers are short and my cat doesn't mind me sneaking up on her in the litter box. Since the containers are made for holding liquids I feel better about using them to transport urine to the vet.

Good luck!
 
Hi Fluffy's caregiver and sugarkitty Fluffy. Would you share your first name with us please?

Deep breath, hold, release, deep breath, hold, release, deep breath, hold, release. Those deep breathing exercises can really help you to deal with the stress of having a newly diagnosed diabetic cat.

As you have already discovered, there is a wide range of experience and knowledge here on the board to help you. It will get easier and we'll help you along the way.

I always like to suggest that new members read this post, Newbies - a message from your cat
 
My first name is Kathy and of course my cat's name is Fluffy.

The insulin we are on is Novolin. She had her fasting blood glucose checked this morning and it was 75. My vet seemed to be against the idea of me testing at home. When you test at home, do you check weekly? I do wonder if the vets think about the money they are making off of us. My husband is certainly worried about the costs. I am just grateful that Fluffy is finally acting almost normal.

I have been giving her the fancy feast cans after insulin and dry food for a snack.

I don't think she hates me anymore. At least she will come over and interact with me again.

Kathy
 
katrawson said:
...My vet seemed to be against the idea of me testing at home. When you test at home, do you check weekly? I do wonder if the vets think about the money they are making off of us. My husband is certainly worried about the costs. ...
Click to expand...
If costs are an issue, testing at home can save you the costs of the vet trip to run a curve or to check fructosamine (don't need that if you're testing regularly).
Most importantly, it keeps your cat safe from giving insulin when the glucose is too low.

You'll need:
An inexpensive human glucometer such as the WalMart ReliOn Confirm or Prime,
Test strips for the meter (plan on testing before you give insulin, plus checks around +4 hours after a shot of Novolin whenever you can)
26-28 gauge lancets to slightly prick the upper, outer edge of the ear, between the vein and the ear's edge.
Plus cat-specific reference numbers. I'll post those in a later post.
 
Are you testing at home? We strongly recommend you test to keep her safe and to give you and the vet a better idea of whats going on... especially when many cats go into remission with a food change - and then hypos become likely if you aren't watching for it!!

If you are in the US, the Relion confirm and micro meters from walmart are cheap -especially for strips..


I usually recommend 3-4 tests a day

- always before the shot - this is mandatory as you don't want to shoot when too low. As a newbie this too low number is 200 but is reduced over time once you have the data to know if its safe.
- mid cycle - 5-7 hours after morning shot depending on your schedule. This is to see how low the cat’s blood sugar is going. The low point "nadir" is what you base dose changes on since you don't want the cat dropping too low (under 50).
- before bed (2-3hours after Pm shot) to get an idea of what the cat's overnight plans are. If this number is less than the pre shot test number you may want to set the alarm for a test a few hours later as this implies an active cycle.

Wendy
 
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