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Betsy Longo

Member Since 2020
My big orange boy Felix (20lbs) recently diagnosed with diabetes.
Giving insulin twice a day.
Per vets recommended food. Purina DM savory selects canned food. Tried the other kind, he wouldn't eat it.
Also keep a bowl full of the DM dry food.
Although I'm reading here that's not a good thing. But he's used to having dry food available all day.
I'm so confused as to what to do.
 
WELCOME TO FDMB Betsy and Felix. Here is where your confusion gets meaning. We are SO glad you found us.
Everyone here is dedicated to helping any and all that find us. You have now become part of that "us" ;)

You may just want to start here:
New? How You Can Help Us Help You!

I know you have questions they will ALL get answered. We strive to make this as easy as possible but as you know, there not much "easy" about this disease. We CAN help with that too. You may get overwhelmed with the amount of information here so take your time and get acquainted with how this board runs. We'll be here when you are ready.

Theres a ton of information here with good folks to help you and navigate it all.

WELCOME TO OUR FAMILY :bighug:
jeanne
 
Betsy Longo said:
My big orange boy Felix (20lbs) recently diagnosed with diabetes.
Giving insulin twice a day.
Per vets recommended food. Purina DM savory selects canned food. Tried the other kind, he wouldn't eat it.
Also keep a bowl full of the DM dry food.
Although I'm reading here that's not a good thing. But he's used to having dry food available all day.
I'm so confused as to what to do.
Click to expand...

Hi Betsy
Well done on finding the best support group ever - I can't offer expert advice (too new to this) but plenty of others on here will
What I can say no matter how small or large a question you have please do raise them, no-one on here will ever make you feel silly for asking (believe me I've asked loads !!).
They will help you to help your Felix
Gill
 
Jeanne is right-- that is a whopping dose of insulin to start, even for a 20lb cat! It is probably very lucky that you are still feeding the dry food, and that he has it available at all times (most cats will seek out food when their BG starts going low).

Here's a link on some "dosing methods" used on this board, which recommends starting doses about halfway down: PROZINC DOSING METHODS , and here's a link to some general info about prozinc and the prozinc sub-forum NEW TO THE GROUP: THE PROZINC BASICS. PLEASE START HERE.

I'm also going to tag a couple people who are more familiar with this insulin than I am, @Panic and @Deb & Wink .

So glad you found us!
 
Betsy Longo said:
Its ProZinc and we started out at 3 units. After his first glucose check, we upped it 4 units.
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Wow. Yikes that's a dangerous dose and way too high to start at. The recommended starting dose is 1 unit twice a day. If it's not enough you raise it by 0.25 to 0.5 units at a time. Most cats wind up needing 2-3 u. Cats are not dosed based on weight like dogs are. Be very careful, read up on hyperglycemia, have honey or syrup in case he needs it, and please start home testing to keep him safe. I have a video in my signature showing how I test my cat CC at home.
 
Welcome and I’m afraid I have to agree with everyone. No matter what insulin, the starting dose should always be 1 unit or you have no where to go up to. It’s a big jump to go from 0 to 3 and he may not need as much. This could also be dangerous if the dry food is removed. It would be very wise for you to consider home testing and please don’t change the food until you are testing at home as it could significantly drop his bg especially on such high dose. I’d suggest calling your vet and reducing it to 1 unit twice a day. Dosage is not based on the cat’s weight
 
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jt and trouble (GA) said:
Ummmmm I have to say probably that dry kibble is whats keeping your cat alive. 4 units is a massive dose on a newly diagnosed cat.

Your vet may have jumped the ideal dose Did they do a frutosamine test?

Are you home testing his blood sugars?

I'm not trying to scare you. But this is important.
Click to expand...
I'm not knowledgeable about the glucose levels. Relying on my vet to know what's best.
Not sure exactly what tests they do.
 
Betsy Longo said:
I'm not knowledgeable about the glucose levels. Relying on my vet to know what's best.
Not sure exactly what tests they do.
Click to expand...
Diabetes is BETTER managed on a daily basis. To do this we all learn to home test blood sugar in our cats just like humans do. Humans prick the end of their finger and use a glucose strip to collect the blood and add it to a meter. It sounds complicated and at first challenging but ALL our kitties get use to it.
When you allow your doctor to manage your cats diabetes he doesnt get the whole picture. You do on an hourly basis.
Are you interested in trying? We can help you learn.
 
Betsy Longo said:
I'm not knowledgeable about the glucose levels. Relying on my vet to know what's best.
Not sure exactly what tests they do.
Click to expand...
I understand that feeling that your vet is the expert. I relied on my vet too and it cost Minnie almost a year of being unregulated and having severe neuropathy as a result of the diabetes. We sadly see many people here who make the same assumption, but vets only spent a few hours in vet school learning about diabetes and it’s not even specifically feline diabetes. Members here have been focused on that alone for years. Just this week we had someone who upped the dose per her vet and her cat ended up at the ER with multiple seizures because it was too much insulin for him. A hypo can happen if you’re not monitoring daily, I’d strongly suggest that at least you go down to 1 unit only for you cat’s safety. Think of it this way, do you know any diabetics who would inject themselves with insulin without testing their blood first? And they can actually feel the hypo coming and drink OJ or eat something to fight it off. Cats can’t, they can’t tell us they don’t feel well and need some food ASAP. I’d also suggest you at least read the info in all the links we supplied and google the hell out of insulin dosage and feline diabetes and see for yourself. Knowledge is power. Just like doctors don’t know it all, vets don’t either and you have to advocate for your cat like you would a human child.
 
Aleluia Grugru & Minnie said:
I understand that feeling that your vet is the expert. I relied on my vet too and it cost Minnie almost a year of being unregulated and having severe neuropathy as a result of the diabetes. We sadly see many people here who make the same assumption, but vets only spent a few hours in vet school learning about diabetes and it’s not even specifically feline diabetes. Members here have been focused on that alone for years. Just this week we had someone who upped the dose per her vet and her cat ended up at the ER with multiple seizures because it was too much insulin for him. A hypo can happen if you’re not monitoring daily, I’d strongly suggest that at least you go down to 1 unit only for you cat’s safety. Think of it this way, do you know any diabetics who would inject themselves with insulin without testing their blood first? And they can actually feel the hypo coming and drink OJ or eat something to fight it off. Cats can’t, they can’t tell us they don’t feel well and need some food ASAP. I’d also suggest you at least read the info in all the links we supplied and google the hell out of insulin dosage and feline diabetes and see for yourself. Knowledge is power. Just like doctors don’t know it all, vets don’t either and you have to advocate for your cat like you would a human child.
Click to expand...
Sadly Ale is right we see it here almost daily.
I was one of the lucky ones. My vet told me up front she wasnt up to date on feline diabetes...and her cat was diabetic! I gave her the addy to FDMB and she got SO excited and actually came here to see for herself. She is all on board with FDMB. So you see there are vets and then there are Vets.
 
jt and trouble (GA) said:
Sadly Ale is right we see it here almost daily.
I was one of the lucky ones. My vet told me up front she wasnt up to date on feline diabetes...and her cat was diabetic! I gave her the addy to FDMB and she got SO excited and actually came here to see for herself. She is all on board with FDMB. So you see there are vets and then there are Vets.
Click to expand...
I was taking Minnie to a cat clinic because I thought this vet specializes in cats she must be better than the others and it was quite the opposite :(
 
jt and trouble (GA) said:
We ARE dedicated to helping every diabetic cat that finds us.
Click to expand...
I understand it’s a big leap to say, I’m gonna go against what my vet is saying and I’m going to listen to you people. That’s why the only thing I can say is do your own research. Google all there is to know about feline diabetes then see if it matches your vet’s advice. I can almost 100% guarantee it won’t.
 
I should add that it’s thanks to this forum and the amazing experienced members that Minnie got regulated and recovered from her neuropathy. I honestly don’t know if she’d still be with me had I not found this wonderful community :bighug::bighug::bighug:

so I’m paying forward when I’m telling you all of this and hoping to spare you from a journey like mine
 
Betsy Longo said:
Per vets recommended food. Purina DM savory selects canned food. Tried the other kind, he wouldn't eat it.
Also keep a bowl full of the DM dry food.
Although I'm reading here that's not a good thing. But he's used to having dry food available all day.
Click to expand...

In all honesty, there is nothing special about the DM food.
The DM Savory Selects is too high in carbs.
Almost every cat goes off the taste of the DM pate.

You can refund any unopened cans to the vet for a full refund. Purina guarantees that.

I'm not sure where in the world you are. In the US, Dr Elsey's Clean Protein dry food is low carb. As is Young Again (if you email the company, they will send you a sample).

As the others have said, do not make any changes until you can home test (which is cheaper in the long run than going to the vet for a curve and also you get data from every day, not just a once every so often day).

Testing will give both you and your vet a better picture of what is going on with your cat. We can help you learn how to home test and give you advice about what meter to get. The pet meter takes very expensive strips. A human meter works just fine. It is what vets used before one company saw a market and made pet meters. The two meters do have different reference points. The member of this forum are used to reading both. The people here live feline diabetes every day. They've done the research and stay on top of it. We truly can help.

btw: I did not get either tag on this thread.
 
jt and trouble (GA) said:
I hope we didnt scare her off. :(
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Me too, but I have to say something regarding letting your vet call the shots about dosage. It’s a huge mistake we all make at first and I wish someone had shaken some sense into me early on for Minnie’s sake. The other issue is our advice is going to conflict with the vet’s so it feels like a waste of time if she’s not up for it :(
 
Its a fine line Ale. Until I get to "know" a new member better, I try not to give an overload of information or advice. Unless of course kitty is in dire straights. (Heck what I do give would be overload for me)
Betsy if you do come back please know we are just concerned and passionate about kitties with this disease. From the veteran poster to a brand new member we strive to help all thrive. Its done with the best intentions. I think if you give us a chance you'll understand we just want the best for you and your baby.
jeanne
 
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