New and feeling overwhelmed

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thekatiepants

Member Since 2013
Hi everyone, I hope you all can help me. My cat hasn't (yet) been diagnosed with diabetes but I'm pretty sure it's coming.

A few weeks ago, my baby Mike Wizowski (one eyed kitty) got very sick. He stopped eating and drinking and we took him to the emergency vet, where he got fluids and an enema. He had lost 1/3 of his body weight (went down to 8 lbs from 12). We took him home and kept him in his own separate room per the vet for about a week and a half, where he ate wet cat food and drank and seemed to be getting better. We let him out and let him return to dry cat food and he went downhill fast. He has been laying in the couch (in the pouches in the back), won't come out, even pees and poos back there, is pulling out tufts of his fur, seems sad, barely moves, and walks kind of funny. I am going to the vet tomorrow so hopefully we will find out if he is diabetic. I have a bunch of questions for you all, because I have been reading and reading and it is really overwhelming me and getting me really confused during a time when I am already feeling sad about my poor kitty.

1. How much did it cost to get your cat tested for diabetes?

2. How much is it to keep a diabetic cat healthy on a monthly basis if I buy online from the most affordable sources? (including insulin, etc)

3. This is a good idea, right? Everyone I know thinks me and my husband are crazy for wanting to do whatever we can to keep Mikey Mike healthy, but I love him so much :(

Thank you so much for reading you guys :)
 
Welcome.

Diabetes can be managed. You discovered that canned food made a difference and that is the 1st change we encourage you to make - low carb, canned or raw, over the counter cat food. Don't buy the prescription food as the over the counter food is just as good, if not better. That'll save your budget right there.

Home testing will save you money too. You'll need a human glucometer (pet specific ones are very expensive and so are the strips); there are reference numbers for cats using a human glucometer. You'll need lancets and starting off, get the 26 gauge. You may be able to go with a higher gauge as you become proficient.

Stress from a vet visit often raises the glucose 100 points or more, which, if insulin is prescribed may be at too high of a dose. Starting doses of Lantus, for example, are based on the lower of the cat's ideal or current weight in kilograms, times 0.25, or are started at 0.5 to 1.0 units (not mL).
 
Most of the long term members will tell you it is worth doing, or we wouldn't be here.
So, we won't think you're nuts.
 
It might not be diabetes, thyroid issues can seem very similar. So you will need to do a blood test to see what's going on. That cost depends on your vet but its very important to do as a starting point.

Diabetes is controllable with insulin and we are here to help. Once you get them regulated they can live a long and happy life so you are doing the right thing!!

There are some networks and groups that can help with costs.. They vary depend on where you live but we can tell you the best cheapest places to go.

Your vet may want to keep him and do a curve, however we would recommend against that if you are willing to home test since it is expensive and generally inaccurate due to the impact of stress on the cats blood glucose levels.

But let's see what the results say first before you do anything. Let us know if its diabetes.

Also here are some questions to ask your vet https://docs.google.com/document/pub?id=1BqrojKe9oBVAoexL59pUWidEd7viNmxSqW5l2IBTWjY
 
One day at a time. Wendy's correct. You don't know yet. and if it diabetes...your in the right palce. We've all been where you are. The good news is you came here first. That already is going to save you money

Vet cost...depends on the vet and what they test for. Usually they want to do a complete physical...can run about 400.
There are vets that are way less.

Insulin viles run anywhere from 125 to 170 a vile depending on where you live and type of insulin. If stored correctly can last 6 months. recommend lantus. There is a lot of cases where the cat goes into remission with lantus.

Human Kits and strips are less when you go online.

It really seems overwhelming, but you will receive hidden blessings. You have to follow your heart. And you are with your kindred's here, who are following theirs. We will all get you through. You are not alone
 
:-D Mike Wizowski! Mike Wizowski! Mike Wizowski! :-D What a fantastic name for a fantastic little cyclops!

It is easy to feel overwhelmed at first and there's a steep learning curve starting out, but you're already over the first hurdle of finding good avenues of research and advice simply by coming here. :thumbup Diabetes diagnosis, if your sweet boy does have it, is not the end of the world and can in fact lead to better and healthier lives for all of your cats, even through something as simple as a change in diet (as you've already noticed).

Cost-wise, I'm not going to lie as it is expensive starting out:
  • The initial diagnostic test, for starters. I think mine ran close to $300 as well.
  • Insulin, depending on what you're using. I'm biased and also recommend Lantus because that's what I'm using, but either Levemir, PZI, or ProZinc are also acceptable insulins for cats. Just make sure it's not humulin or a variation of that. If you pick Lantus or Levemir, make sure you get the insulin PENS and not the vial as the pens will last till expiration date if not used. If used, they should last anywhere from 3-6 months refrigerated and some people have reported they can last even longer (they simply lose potency over time).
  • Blood glucose testing equipment: ketostix are fairly inexpensive. Glucometers run about $10-15 and are sometimes given out for free with purchase of test strips. Test strips is where they make their money. There are some cheap options, like the ReliOn Prime glucometer test strips which run about $9 for 50 strips. Also buying online is always cheapest. Lancets for a lancet pen are more costly than learning how to test with just a lancet. Some people feel more comfortable allowing the lancet pen to do the penetrating while other people like the control of using the lancet free-hand, so it's up to you with which you prefer to start with.
  • Syringes are fairly cheap since you only need to use two a day. (I think they run ~$30 for a box of 100 IIRC?) You do NOT want to buy the pen syringes for the insulin pens but actual regular insulin syringes, with half-unit markings is best.

As to daily costs, here is an example:
  • Daily insulin for two shots a day, depending on how much your kitty might need per shot and when it expires, is fairly cheap. I purchased the vial at about $120 for 10mL of Lantus (I didn't know about the pens), which equates to about $20 a month for 6 months, or about .66 cents a day or .33 cents a shot.
  • Syringes for two shots a day at about $18 a month or .60 cents a day or .30 cents a syringe
  • Low Carb, Wet food under 10% carbs: Friskies being the cheapest at ~.50 cents per 5.5oz can. Most cats will eat two cans or more a day, depending on size. So, this is about a $1 a day per cat.
  • Test strips: At minumum, you want to test before each shot and at the peak/nadir (for Lantus, it's around 6 hours after the first shot). Using the ReliOn Prime at about .18 cents a strip, this means at the very least, you'll be spending ~.72 cents a day. For me, I test a lot and still only use up about 10-15 strips a day, averaging out to about $2/day. Even if you tested every hour for 24 hours straight, you'd still end up spending only $4.32 (not counting any failed tests).

Total cost: ~$5 per day or ~$150 per month.

Of course, there are even cheaper ways of doing things, but I figured it might help to get a rough estimate of what its daily cost is vs. the up front cost.

So, to answer your last question yes! This is a good idea! And don't let anyone tell you differently. Just allow it to go in one ear and out the other. It's none of their business what you decided to do with your own time and your own money and your own cat!!
 
thekatiepants said:
Hi everyone, I hope you all can help me. My cat hasn't (yet) been diagnosed with diabetes but I'm pretty sure it's coming.

A few weeks ago, my baby Mike Wizowski (one eyed kitty) got very sick. He stopped eating and drinking and we took him to the emergency vet, where he got fluids and an enema. He had lost 1/3 of his body weight (went down to 8 lbs from 12). We took him home and kept him in his own separate room per the vet for about a week and a half, where he ate wet cat food and drank and seemed to be getting better. We let him out and let him return to dry cat food and he went downhill fast. He has been laying in the couch (in the pouches in the back), won't come out, even pees and poos back there, is pulling out tufts of his fur, seems sad, barely moves, and walks kind of funny. I am going to the vet tomorrow so hopefully we will find out if he is diabetic. I have a bunch of questions for you all, because I have been reading and reading and it is really overwhelming me and getting me really confused during a time when I am already feeling sad about my poor kitty.

1. How much did it cost to get your cat tested for diabetes?

2. How much is it to keep a diabetic cat healthy on a monthly basis if I buy online from the most affordable sources? (including insulin, etc)

3. This is a good idea, right? Everyone I know thinks me and my husband are crazy for wanting to do whatever we can to keep Mikey Mike healthy, but I love him so much :(

Thank you so much for reading you guys :)
Click to expand...

I might have missed it but I did not see anyone mention your own words about food...
We took him home and kept him in his own separate room per the vet for about a week and a half, where he ate wet cat food and drank and seemed to be getting better.
Click to expand...

Sadly, you switched back to the food that is the killer for so many cats and gets them on insulin..... dry food is just wrong. There are TONS of cats who are DIET CONTROLLED. Throw all the dry food out the window; it's no good for your cat, or any other cat.

For sure go back to the vet to look into other possible health issues but for the food, go with wet low carb food and stick with ones under the 10% carbs.
In case it's not been given already, here's the link to Dr. Lisa's Food list
http://www.catinfo.org/docs/Food%20Char ... -22-12.pdf

Rule out other health issues, do start home testing because vet curves are of little value, and get him onto a good healthy diet. Then you will be able to better tell if he needs to be on insulin or not.
 
Thank you so much for the help everyone. Unfortunately, Mikey Mike's health problems were much worse than I expected. It turns out he had cancer--his red blood cells, white blood cells, and platelets were all extremely low, which explains his lethargy. After lots of discussion with my vet, I opted for euthanasia. He'd lost 50% of his body weight and was just not himself. I am hurting really badly and I miss him so much. Thank you guys again, it is nice to see so many people who love their pets so much.
 
Oh, I am so very sorry for the loss of your beautiful boy.
You did everything you could to help him. May your memories of him bring you comfort.

(((Hugs))))
 
You were a great mom for doing everything possible and I'm so sorry for you and saddened by your loss!
 
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