New Diagnosis/ life change questions

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SamuraiFox

SamuraiFox

Member Since 2019
Hi! Zoey and I (and the rest of our family- 1.5 other cats & a dude) are going through all the changes that come with a new diagnosis & I feel like I have a million questions. These are just the first few, but they seem to be the most pressing at the moment. The following is reposted from my intro info:

The schedule is the hard part for us. I work 12+ hour overnights, so it's not possible to be on an exact 12 hour schedule. On my days off, I flip over to daywalking, so there's no consistent routine around here. I currently have vetsulin since that's what the vet sold me at the time of diagnosis, and someone said that's an 8-10 hour insulin so we will have some flexibility there on when to give it again.

Also, none of the cats are eating their full amount during their new mealtimes, so I'm worried about this adjustment as well- I think they'll catch on, but for now they just bother me all the time asking for more snacks. I'd love to know how y'all with weird schedules and sugarcats are able to keep things on the steady.

I'm also looking for suggestions on low-carb treats. I didn't think Zo even liked treats until we tried the Temptations- then I was able to teach him all sorts of tricks, like shake and high five. Now that those are probably on the no-no list, I need to find something new that he'll beg for. Any and all suggestions are welcome.
 
Welcome! Diabetes can definitely be a stressful diagnosis, but it's manageable (: And I saw in your intro post that you've already started home testing, so you're off to a great start!

The first thing I would recommend doing if you have not already is reading this sticky about Vetsulin. There's lots of great info to help you understand how it works.
http://www.felinediabetes.com/FDMB/threads/beginners-guide-to-caninsulin-vetsulin.186099/

Vetsulin is not usually the best insulin for cats because it has a short duration and tends to drop the BG hard and fast, but that being said some cats do fine on it, including mine. And the shorter duration does make it a bit more flexible for your schedule. Testing will help you know how it's working for Zoey.

Are you only feeding two meals per day or are you feeding more? With Vetsulin, it's very important that Zoey has a decent sized meal before his injections, but it can also be helpful to feed more than only two meals. It's sometimes recommended to feed again at +2 (two hours after the shot) to help slow down the drop that Vetsulin typically has, and this might also help your cats eat more if they're not liking only two large meals. As far as treats, freeze dried treats are great for diabetic cats. If you are in the US, Purebites is a popular brand and my cat looooves the salmon ones in particular, but there's lot of different kinds! Plain boiled chicken also works great
 
I have work constraints, too, and I just do my best and hope that the cat is OK. Shot time was 6:30 am and 8:30 pm (prozinc, although now Gypsy is mostly in remission, no shot in 13 days). I still test at the same times. I think having two consistent times is just as important as aiming for 12 hour cycles. I noted at the top of my spreadsheet the times that kitty got her testing/shots.

I was lucky that I changed from free feed to two fixed meals a couple of years ago because two of the young cats needed to go on a diet. Gypsy has not adapted all that well to that schedule and she is a dry food addict. By accident, she likes the Hill's m/d and that change put her on the path to remission. She's not eating it as quickly as she did at first, so I have to pick up the wet food so the other cats won't attack it and offer her more later. It's a total PITA. The two that are on the diet? They wake me up at 6 am begging for food and are dancing around when I arrive home in the evening.

My cats LOVE the shaved dried bonito flakes you can get at a larger Asian market or Amazon (100g, a large bag is ~$8). It's all protein with a very small amount of sodium and it's stinky so you don't have to give them very much.

You might consider trying the SureFeed microchip controlled feeder (it can allow up to 32 different cats) for your free feeders. My old skinny girl would only graze and ate only Whisker Licken's treats for the last couple of years. She was smart and learned to use it immediately. When she passed, I tried to get Gypsy to use it to free feed, but she's such a stupid cat it failed and she got her two meals a day and had to learn to eat more. In hindsight, the two meals made it easier to deal with diabetes requirements.

What kind of food are you giving Zoey? There's a sticky at the top of the main health forum that has a spreadsheet with protein/fat/carbs/phosphorous percentages. It's quite extensive! There's also good guidelines about Dr. Pierson's recommended percentages. Her http://catinfo.org web site is also a wealth of information on food.
 
SamuraiFox said:
Hi! Zoey and I (and the rest of our family- 1.5 other cats & a dude) are going through all the changes that come with a new diagnosis & I feel like I have a million questions. These are just the first few, but they seem to be the most pressing at the moment. The following is reposted from my intro info:

The schedule is the hard part for us. I work 12+ hour overnights, so it's not possible to be on an exact 12 hour schedule. On my days off, I flip over to daywalking, so there's no consistent routine around here. I currently have vetsulin since that's what the vet sold me at the time of diagnosis, and someone said that's an 8-10 hour insulin so we will have some flexibility there on when to give it again.

Also, none of the cats are eating their full amount during their new mealtimes, so I'm worried about this adjustment as well- I think they'll catch on, but for now they just bother me all the time asking for more snacks. I'd love to know how y'all with weird schedules and sugarcats are able to keep things on the steady.

I'm also looking for suggestions on low-carb treats. I didn't think Zo even liked treats until we tried the Temptations- then I was able to teach him all sorts of tricks, like shake and high five. Now that those are probably on the no-no list, I need to find something new that he'll beg for. Any and all suggestions are welcome.
Click to expand...
Pure bites freeze dried chicken is our go to treat and topper. I have some mackerel flakes from tiki cat too. 100% protein. The dog pure bites are cheaper for more product. It’s the same thing.
 
Glad to see you posted here already. You have the signature and the spreadsheet set up, woo hoo! One thing I suggest you do, enter the dosage of the Vetsulin "1" in the "U" column, if you ever have to skip a shot you just put "NS" for no shot, or with any increases or decreases we can see that too. You can look at Sarah's ss or Gypsy's Parent spreadsheets to see how that looks.

Now, GP suggested a microchip feeder for your cat and that might work. Alternatives are the PetSafe and CatMate brands. We have a two portion CatMateC20, but Idjit is an only child, so that works for us. Both brands have models with five portion dishes. Some of the models come with little ice packs that fit under the dishes to keep wet food chilled.

You are feeding Hill's DM canned food and if you look at the food chart GP recommended you will see that the carb % is 13%. It is expensive and actually not the most nutritious, but your vet may have recommended it because the clinic sells it, they make a profit. Most vets rely on what the rep tells them and they pass on the recommendation.

Many of use feed Fancy Feast classics and Friskies pates..all below 10% carbs. Dr. Lisa Pierson, who compiled that food chart and authored the information at www.catinfo.com recommends " start with protein minimum of 40, fat maximum of 50, carb max of 10, and for cats with kidney issues....phos less than 300."
Other members use the Weruva and the Tiki Cat brands, Tiki Cat After Dark is not on that list, it came out after the last update, but you can also explore that. There are other brands of canned food that members use and hopefully they will chime in and offer more information. Many members order canned food from Amazon and Chewy.com. Chewy also is a resource for Vetsulin insulin and syringes.

You can buy the PureBites freeze dried treats at Amazon, get the big bag of the chicken flavor for dogs. It's cheaper per ounce and you just have to break it up a bit. Also available at pet stores.

I am sorry I don't have suggestions on injection scheduling, I am retired and mostly available to our furry monarch, and Idjit is fortunately in remission so we don't do injections. Do read the information in the Beginner's Guide to Vetsulin in that insulin support group forum. And you can also post questions there about dosing and perhaps get more responses about your difficulties with the injection schedule.
 
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