New Member - Braveheart

[llg4animals]

Hi - new and confused member here. I had pets all my life and this is the first time one of my furbabies has been diagnosed with a disease. Braveheart was vomiting on Saturday so we took a ride to the vet, his temp was at 97 and sugar 356. Vet put him on insulan 1 unit right away. didn't say anything about home testing which I will try when I get home. Gave me 3 cans of purina D/M and said absolutely no dry. My cats are fed Wellness Wet/dry mixture. They each get a slice of wet and less than an 1/8 of a cup of dry 2x's a day. After reading some articles I see that Wellness wet food is acceptable. I am in the process of weaning all my cats off of the dry food. His follow-up appointment is this Thursday and I am also taking his brother to be checked. Braveheart and Smokey I have had since they were born to their feral mom. Any advice/suggestions will be appreciated. I have not given him the shots yet, my husband who also happens to be type 1 but on the pump, has had the privilege. I am still pretty freaked out about it and worry about him crashing....since I have seen it first hand with my husband. Thanks

 

[BJM]

Breathe! As you know, diabetes can be managed. This is do-able, too.

Well ... the vet got the "no dry" correct. The Wellness canned was fine, as you found; you don't need an Rx food in most cases. You can return it for a refund. Change the food about 20-25% per day to avoid GI upsets like diarrhea.

Good for you to try home testing - the WalMart ReliOn Prime or Confirm are inexpensive meters with small blood drop sizes. Or you might pick up the Arkray Glucocard 01 from our shopping partner ADW (link at top of page) its the same thing as the Walmart ReliOn Confirm.

Infection may raise glucose.
Vet stress may raise glucose 100-180 mg/dL and keep it elevated a few hours.
So ... you might not have a diabetic, or maybe one that can be controlled with low carb diet.

The 1 unit is a low starting dose, but just to check, how much does the cat weigh and how much should he weigh ?
And what insulin was prescribed? I hope it was Lantus, Levemir, or ProZinc as these last about 12 hours in the cat. Humulin only lasts 6-8 hours in the cat (longer in the dog) and Caninsulin/Vetsulin was developed for dogs, not cats, so it doesn't work well for them.

 

[KPassa]

Hi and welcome!

BJM has already given you some great advice regarding food. You can also check out the catinfo.org website for more information on feline nutrition and she has even created an extensive food chart of the nutritional values of most commercial cat food (you want to make sure the carbs are less than 10%, the lower the better).

I am still pretty freaked out about it and worry about him crashing....since I have seen it first hand with my husband. Thanks

That's why we're such huge advocates of home-testing. Cats are "easier" to manage than humans because we control their food (for the most part) so that variable is taken out of the dosing equation. Here is a link to help you get an idea of what home-testing entails. Please, ask any questions you need. You've found the best place you never wanted to be, as we say around here. ;-)

 

[Deb & Wink]

Hi and welcome to Braveheart and his beans (human beings). What is your first name and your husbands first name?

I'm Deb and that tuxie to the right is my sugardude Wink. He's been a diet controlled diabetic kitty for 5 months now.

I always like to suggest that people read this first A message from your cat.

Second, deep breathing exercises can help with the stress. Deep breath in, hold, slowly release, deep breath in, hold, slowly release, deep breath in, hold, slowly release. Repeat as needed.

It's heartbreaking and scary to have a beloved family member diagnosed with diabetes, doesn't matter if they are furry or smooth skinned. We've all been there. We'll help you all we can to get you through this tough time. Hang in there, it gets better and diabetic kitties can live long healthy lives.

Sending you {{{{{BIG HUGS}}}}} and calming vines.