New Member- Considering adopting a diabetic cat (senior)

Hi all!

This Friday I'm scheduled for a meet and greet to potentially adopt a diabetic cat, a beautiful Siamese senior named Setsuki. I wouldn't really have anyone else helping me with her care (maybe occasional help from a friend), but I've been talking a lot with her foster about what her care involves, and I've also gotten so much info from this forum already! However, I did still have a few concerns that I hoped I could get answers/encouragement(?) for.

Setsuki has been in remission for about a month and, if she were to come out of remission, needs very little insulin as she's super sensitive to it. She is currently on a schedule of being fed three times a day (primarily wet food and minimal dry if her BG seems low). I'm currently working from home so I can definitely adopt her current schedule, but I'm really nervous about days where I might be gone for longer than a few hours, and inevitably when I'll have to go back into an office and be away for even longer (8-10 hours). Is it irresponsible to adopt her with that in mind? Or would I feasibly be able to shift her schedule to twice a day feedings?

I've never cared for a diabetic animal before (or person for that matter!) so it just feels super nerve-wracking to leave her unattended, even for a little while, even though I know that's probably ridiculous. Usually if I didn't feel fully confident in something I'd let it go, but there's just something about her that's really calling to me. Does anyone have any tips?

As a side note--I was looking into costs associated with vets and all that and is there a pet insurance that covers cats with diabetes? My cursory searches didn't seem too promising but I figured if anyone would know, it'd be someone on here! Since her current medical costs are really only glucose strips, I'm not super worried about finances now per se, but if she were to fall out of remission I think that might be good to find if I could!

This went on longer than I intended but thank you so much for any answers!

 

Hi Mayci,

Thank you so much for wanting to give Setsuki a new, loving home.

If Setsuki is in remission then she should not currently be receiving insulin. Do I understand this correctly?

Assuming that Setsuki is currently a diet-controlled diabetic not on insulin then the ideal diet for her would be wet, low carb foods. If she's not on insulin then there's no risk of her becoming hypoglycaemic, therefore no need to give dry food to keep blood glucose numbers up.

On managing Setsuki's feeding schedule, one thing that could help in this respect is a timed feeder suitable for dispensing wet food meals. The Petsafe 5 is very popular with members here (myself included - they're a godsend!). You can set the feeder to provide meals while you're out and about and during the night if required. Timed feeders are great whether a kitty's in remission or on insulin.

As you may have already noticed, practically every member here has a link to a spreadsheet for their cat beneath their posts. The spreadsheet is used to record insulin dose info and home BG readings for their kitty. Keeping this record increases understanding of how a kitty is responding to their insulin and helps to keep them safe (and gives their Person much more peace of mind). Should Setsuki ever need to restart insulin (and hopefully she won't!) we can help you with all of that stuff.

I don't think it would be likely that you'd find a policy to cover Setsuki's diabetes because it would be a pre-existing condition. That said, we can help you with where to get insulin, test supplies, etc., at the best prices.

One of the best things to do is learn to home test, both from a safety and a cost-saving perspective because you would not need to fork out for a vet to run glucose curves (plus your readings would be more reliable - no vet stress). You would be able to provide any information the vet requires in this respect. As most members gain experience, learn to home test and track their kitties' progress, they learn how to manage the general day-to-day aspects of their kitties' diabetic care (insulin dose adjustments, food choices, feeding schedules, blood glucose and ketone monitoring, etc., etc.) with minimal need for recourse to their vets (usually just for repeat prescriptions for insulin). Infection and inflammation can tip a cat out of remission, UTIs and dental issues being very common culprits. The regular general check-ups appropriate for any senior kitty are advisable and may help to catch and treat such things early - pragmatic 'insurance' of a sort.

How long have you got?

There is such a wealth of practical experience here at FDMB for you to draw on any time you need it covering pretty much all aspects of caring for a sugar kitty - 24/7/365, year after year. We can help both you and Setsuki every step of the way to find things that work for your specific situation.

It sounds like Setsuki has her paws round your heart. I really hope that it works out for the two of you. Fingers and paws crossed...




Mogs
.

 

Hi May I and welcome to FDMB. Thank you for opening your heart and home to your new sugar baby. I have adopted two so I know how special you are.

Mogs has already given you great advice, so I am not going to repeat it. If you have any questions, please ask them. You have a lot of experience one this board and we are here to help you learn how to give the best care possible to her.

 

Just wanted to say hi and welcome and say how wonderful it is you are giving a diabetic kitty a forever home. You will be rewarded with lots of love from your kitty and a special bond

 

Thank you all so so much for you wisdom and encouragement! I'm feeling much less anxious about it already.

Yes! She's been in remission for only about a month, so there is a chance moving into a new situation might cause her to have a flare up that would require me to start giving her insulin again. You can bet I'll be consulting the board if that happens, but like you said, let's hope not!!

Oh I'll definitely be investing in this! She's apparently quite the princess so I'll likely be investing in an automatic litter box if anyone has any good recommendations for that too! She's currently using a large flat storage container (think: the ones that roll under beds) because she refuses to go to the bathroom even remotely close to where she already has.

Her foster is planning on passing along a notebook he's been using to track all of that but I'll likely be moving to a spreadsheet just to make better sense of it. He's also intending to give me all of her stuff (insulin, syringes, food) but can't pass along the glucose meter because it was borrowed from another foster. He said the current one he uses is a bit expensive ($50/50 test strips). Anybody have a recommendation for a meter that has lower costing strips? I don't mind paying more upfront for the kit itself.

I've attached a pic of her too in case anyone wanted to see her

 

She's beautiful.

If you are in the US, the Relion Prime at Walmart is the best value. Here is a shopping list that one of our members put together.

ReliOn Prime glucometer - $9
ReliOn Prime test strips - $18 for 100
ReliOn Lancets 26 G (or 28 if unavailable) - $1-2 for 100
ReliOn Lancing Device (optional) - $5
Travel-size Vaseline - $1
Cotton Pads (optional) - $2


Hypo Kit Supplies:

Karo Syrup - $3
Ketone Test Strips (Ketostix) - $6
A few cans of Fancy Feast Gravy Lovers Marinated Morsels/Sliced in Gravy/Grilled in Gravy varieties - $0.60 each (these are your medium-carb cans)
A few cans of Fancy Feast Gravy Lovers/Medleys Tuscany/Medleys Gravy in Sauce varieties - $0.60 each (these are your high-carb cans)

Medium Carb is 11-15%
High Carb is 16%+


If you are not in the US, can you tell us what country you are in? (Waving from Canada.)

 

I am in the US and this list is so helpful! I did have another question (sorry I'm full of them!)

I've seen ketone test strips pop up in a few posts but I guess I'm not really sure what they're for/how they relate to diabetic cats? Is there a post that already explains that or could someone explain it for me?

Thank you all so much for the help!

 

Hi Mayci,

Yep. Here's a primer for you:

Ketones, diabetic ketoacidosis and ketone meters

Ketone monitoring is a general safety precaution. Some cats seem to be more prone to ketones and need to be monitored more closely.

Of course we want to see little Setsuki! She's gorgeous.


Mogs
.

 

Hi Mayci welcome Setsuki is gorgeous. In think you will do just fine.
How old is she
You couldn't have found a better group than this one.
What brand of wet food is she eating right now


Most of us feed Fancy Feast Classics Pates
They are either 2% or 3 % low carbs, we like to stay under 10%
Plus they are pretty cheap
Just a suggestion.

If she's doing fine on what she's eating now that's great
The Relion Prime is a good human meter
Most of us use that or the Relion Premier

Just keep asking questions , that's what we are here for
Best of luck

 

https://felinediabetes.com/FDMB/threads/dr-pierson-new-food-chart.174147/

Here is our food chart that shows the carb %, just in case you want to take a look

 

You can also buy to have in your hypo kit

Fancy Feast Gravy Lovers Gourmet Beef Feast in Gravy 20% High Carbs


Fancy Feast Gravy Lovers Gourmet Chicken Feast in Gravy. 15% Med Carbs




Fancy Feast Gravy Lovers Turkey Feast in Gravy. 15% Med Carbs


Fancy Feast Gravy Lovers Chicken and Beef Feast in Gravy 15% Med Carbs

 

For when you want to set up our spreadsheet
https://felinediabetes.com/FDMB/threads/how-to-create-a-spreadsheet.241706/


https://felinediabetes.com/FDMB/threads/how-to-use-the-spreadsheet.241653/