New Member! 09/03/22 Just got the diagnosis. Wondering about results with Purina Grain Free Dry?

[Sparrow]

Hi everyone, my name is Sparrow and my 10 year old cat was diagnosed with diabetes three days ago.

I'm in a very bad financial position. I was actually diagnosed myself with Lupus only last month... I informed my work because I required a couple accommodations and was laid off due to "shortage of work" a week later.

This diagnosis for my little man has been a relief for both of us in some ways (we know what's wrong now) but so stressful and heartbreaking in others. My other female cat has FIC (feline idiopathic cystitis) and has special dietary needs as well.

My cats mainly eat wet food, however my female cat (Her name is Bunny) requires free feeding throughout the day to maintain her weight. I feed them both wet food each day, about 12 hours apart, that's when I give them their respective medications as well.

I've been reading the forums and picked up some Special Kitty Gourmet wet food as it was a recommended "affordable" option. I made sure to get the kind that did not have wheat gluten as an ingredient.

The dry food is where I'm struggling. Bunny requires either a urinary specific food (we had her on Iams urinary) or a food lower in starchy carbs. The vet has said that I can either purchase a diabetic dry food from them (I simply can't afford it) or a grain free option from the store. The options they mentioned clients using with relative success are Purina Grain Free (I bought the salmon recipe) or Crave.

They only get a cup of dry food in an automatic feeder every 24 hours as the majority of their diet is wet, it just isn't feasible financially and health wise for me to completely switch over. The vet even said I could keep him on standard commercial dry food if I HAVE to but I just can't do that to my little guy if this is at least a better alternative.

So to recap, each day my cats are currently set to recieve:

2 servings each of Special Kitty/ Fancy Feast cat food (specifically the kind that doesn't include wheat, grain etc), morning and night

1 cup combined Purina Simply Grain Free Salmon Dry Food.

Disco is on 2IU Caninsulin every 12 hours to start. Trying to find the best affordable glucose testing kit but proving difficult as I live in Canada.

Sorry for the novel and thanks to anyone who takes the time to read it or offer advice.

 

[Ale & Bobo & Minnie (GA)]

Tagging a few more folks and some who I believe are from Canada here. I don’t know that much about caninsulin dosage but starting off at 2 units seems high. Normally you’d start at 1unit and increase as needed. Caninsulin is not the best insulin for cats because it’s not long lasting and it doesn’t cover the full 12 hours but that said, it’s harsh and works fast so it’s very important that your cat has food onboard at least 30 minutes before each shot.
@Diane Tyler's Mom @Bron and Sheba (GA) @Chris & China (GA) @Larry and Kitties

 

[Sparrow]

Tagging a few more folks and some who I believe are from Canada here. I don’t know that much about caninsulin dosage but starting off at 2 units seems high. Normally you’d start at 1unit and increase as needed. Caninsulin is not the best insulin for cats because it’s not long lasting and it doesn’t cover the full 12 hours but that said, it’s harsh and works fast so it’s very important that your cat has food onboard at least 30 minutes before each shot.
@Diane Tyler's Mom @Bron and Sheba (GA) @Chris & China (GA) @Larry and Kitties

Thanks so much for responding!

I believe (and I could be wrong) that they started Disco on 2 units because he'd lost over half his body weight in just over a month and they wanted to quickly improve his levels. The vet mentioned she wanted him in for a glucose curve in 2 weeks, and I'd like to purchase a home test kit so that I can check his levels daily. Finances have just been a struggle and there have been many tears shed over the lack of access to resources in my town.

Is there another recommended type of insulin that works better? Does it differ in affordability? I want the best for my pets, I'm just barely able to feed myself so this whole thing is killing me.

 

[Sienne and Gabby (GA)]

Welcome to FDMB.

You are correct -- test materials are not as affordable as in the US. Many people here use the Walmart house brand of meter and strips. (It's the strips that are the expensive part!) Unfortunately, none of the people that that were tagged are Canadian. @Wendy&Neko is from Canada and there are quite a few members here who are from various parts of Canada. I'm sure Wendy will know more.

This is a link to a food chart for brands available in Canada. I'd also suggest taking a look at this website on feline nutrition. The author is a vet with a particular interest in the topic. There is information (look at the links on the right side) on urinary track issues. It is unlikely that dry food is a good option for any cat and especially not for a diabetic cat. I suspect if you add water to the canned food you'll be doing good things for Bunny's urinary track.

@Chris & China (GA) is one of our resources for Diabetic Cats in Need (DCIN). The organization may be able to help you with supplies. I have no idea what the cost is for Caninsulin. However, it is not a great insulin for diabetic cats -- if you notice from the name, it was developed for dogs. It doesn't provide the duration that needed for cats given their faster metabolism. I'd also suggest checking in the Supply Closet forum here. Members will often donate or sell supplies at a low cost.

It will be very helpful to us if you can take a look at this post on helping us to help you. There are instructions included on how to set up your signature and a spreadsheet. The signature helps so we don't keep asking you the same questions over and over again. We are very numbers driven so having a spreadsheet is a place to keep track of your blood glucose (BG) test results so we can follow Bunny's progress and offer any help or suggestions. There's also additional basic information in the post.

Just an FYI - I removed the "GA" from your subject line. The term, GA, refers to cats who have "gone ahead" or are "guardian angels" -- they have passed.

 

[Wendy&Neko]

Hello, waving at you from the west coast. My kitty Neko got her FD diagnosis, then the following week my other kitty got the idiopathic cystitis diagnosis. Vet originally pushed the vet food, but it was too high carb for Neko. I asked her for an alternative that would work for both, and she suggested raw food. Turns out it didn't really have to be raw (though they both loved it), but a low carb wet with lower phosphorus and added water worked for both. More details on this page on diet: https://catinfo.org/feline-urinary-tract-diseases/#Cystitis Actually the entire website is a good read. You can do home made raw (or lightly cooked) with a recipe on that page too. I found making my own raw was cheaper per day than some of the canned foods.

Onto testing systems. I kind of cheated. I live close to the border, and back in the day when it was easy to do so, I had a US post box. Before that I had a friend who visited her parents regularly below the border pick up packages for me. So I bought meter and test strips from the US. Here, it does pay to shop around. The cheapest deal online for test strips is the Bravo meter. https://diabetesexpress.ca/products/bravo-test-strips You can also get a free meter from them. The problem with on line is you have to purchase quantity in advance, which is what I had to do. I got nervous if my test strip supply went below 200.

The alternative is to get a meter you can get easily at any pharmacy (look for sales and offers with a free meter), and buy your test strips on eBay. Look for a meter with a small blood drop requirement. The Freestyle Lite is one option some people here use. The advantage of getting one at a pharmacy is being able to quickly buy more test strips if you need them quickly.

Depending where you work, what your employer did was illegal. At least in BC it is. Hopefully you kept a paper trail.

 

[Ale & Bobo & Minnie (GA)]

Most of us here buy our insulin from Canada, Marks Marina Pharmacy to be exact, because it’s over 1/3 cheaper than in the us. So at lest there’s that! I think a lot of the cats here are on Lantus which is a gentler long lasting insulin and it seems to be one of the best ones for cats along with prozync. The generic form of Lantus, I believe it’s glargine, seems to be even cheaper. I know the struggle of being unemployed and trying to do the best you can for your sugar kitties. Fingers crossed @Chris & China (GA) can help!

Welcome to FDMB.

You are correct -- test materials are not as affordable as in the US. Many people here use the Walmart house brand of meter and strips. (It's the strips that are the expensive part!) Unfortunately, none of the people that that were tagged are Canadian. @Wendy&Neko is from Canada and there are quite a few members here who are from various parts of Canada. I'm sure Wendy will know more.

This is a link to a food chart for brands available in Canada. I'd also suggest taking a look at this website on feline nutrition. The author is a vet with a particular interest in the topic. There is information (look at the links on the right side) on urinary track issues. It is unlikely that dry food is a good option for any cat and especially not for a diabetic cat. I suspect if you add water to the canned food you'll be doing good things for Bunny's urinary track.

@Chris & China (GA) is one of our resources for Diabetic Cats in Need (DCIN). The organization may be able to help you with supplies. I have no idea what the cost is for Caninsulin. However, it is not a great insulin for diabetic cats -- if you notice from the name, it was developed for dogs. It doesn't provide the duration that needed for cats given their faster metabolism. I'd also suggest checking in the Supply Closet forum here. Members will often donate or sell supplies at a low cost.

It will be very helpful to us if you can take a look at this post on helping us to help you. There are instructions included on how to set up your signature and a spreadsheet. The signature helps so we don't keep asking you the same questions over and over again. We are very numbers driven so having a spreadsheet is a place to keep track of your blood glucose (BG) test results so we can follow Bunny's progress and offer any help or suggestions. There's also additional basic information in the post.

Just an FYI - I removed the "GA" from your subject line. The term, GA, refers to cats who have "gone ahead" or are "guardian angels" -- they have passed.

sorry, it’s been a while and I was hoping someone I tagged would tag Canadians. Thank you!

 

[Ale & Bobo & Minnie (GA)]

Thanks so much for responding!

I believe (and I could be wrong) that they started Disco on 2 units because he'd lost over half his body weight in just over a month and they wanted to quickly improve his levels. The vet mentioned she wanted him in for a glucose curve in 2 weeks, and I'd like to purchase a home test kit so that I can check his levels daily. Finances have just been a struggle and there have been many tears shed over the lack of access to resources in my town.

Is there another recommended type of insulin that works better? Does it differ in affordability? I want the best for my pets, I'm just barely able to feed myself so this whole thing is killing me.

I understand but a vet should not bypass the initial dose especially with a harsh insulin like Caninsulin. Food onboard is a must so please just watch for that until you can start home testing. I commend you for wanting to do what’s best for your cat even with everything you’re dealing with. A lot of folks in your shoes would have given up on… sorry, did I miss his name above? Hang in there and we’ll try to help as much as we can