New member in Minnesota

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megandenman

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Hello
We just found out today that not only is the cat (Teddy, because he's snuggly like a teddy bear!) we adopted a few months ago 7 years older than we were told (he's 10, not 3), but also that he has diabetes. :( I'm a little nervous about giving him insulin shots. He's a super awesome cat and we'll do whatever it takes to help him be healthier!!! Does anyone have any advice for us?
~Megan
 
His age and illness didn't change Teddy; he's still your snuggly bear! And while you can't do much about the age, you sure can about the diabetes.

Someone will be along to give some good advice, but I wanted to throw up a note and say "hi" and let you know you're so much farther ahead then when my girl got dx'd...you've already found this place, and the support and information are immense and glorious.

Hang in there...it'll come right.

Best-
Michele
 
We all felt just like you do - overwhelmed and scared. It is a steep learning curve, but this disease is very manageable and many kitties go off insulin - as Oliver did.

The three basics are food, insulin and hometesting.

Wet lo carb food is best - as it is for human diabetics. It just makes sense for all cats - no cat would eat grains by choice. This website by a vet explains why dry is not the best choice: http://www.catinfo.org BUT DON'T CHANGE OVER TO ALL WET UNTIL YOU ARE HOMETESTING. Oliver's bg levels went down 100 points over night when we switched. If we hadn't been hometesting, we would have overdose him.

What kind of insulin? What dosage/how often? Treatment with the various insulins can be different although we always urge you to start low (.5 or one unit twice a day) and go slow. We have Insulin support groups where you can "talk" to people who use your insulin; they also have stickies at the top of the page with lots of good info on how your insulin works: viewforum.php?f=5 Your vet will probably have you practice on an orange and then with water in the syringe on Teddy. We always gave Oliver his shot while he had his head face down in his food and he never noticed.

Hometesting is vital. We figure we won't just give insulin blindly to our child, and take him/her in biweekly for checkups. We use human glucometers. This site explains a lot about the process and the video shows how it is done: http://www.sugarcats.net/sites/harry/bgtest.htm http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_zE12-4fVn8

The best thing you can do is read and read some more. Ask questions when you don't understand. This is an international board and there is someone here day or night. We were all newbies once and are paying it forward by trying to help others.

Welcome!
 
Welcome!
Sorry it's because Teddy is sick, but this is the best place to be to learn how to make him feel better.

Has your vet told you anything else yet, like what kind of treatment Teddy will be on?

It's overwhelming and scary at first, but within a few weeks, it becomes routine and you'll be comfortable with the whole thing. Once you get over the learning curve, it's relatively simple to do.

As was already mentioned, learning to test Teddy's blood sugar levels at home is very important. I hope your vet suggests it, but even if not, people here can teach you how. It'll give you a much better idea of what's going on in Teddy's body daily and without the stress of being at the vet's office.

Odiesmom
 
Well it sounds like Teddy must have a lot of spunk if he acts like a 3 year old :-D I think we were all where you are, scared because we don't know enough, scared because our kitty is sick and we aren't sure if they'll get better. This site and its people are amazing at helping learn and get past that stage.

Read, read, read. I think I read for a week before I posted. I also think the site saved my Smokey from very dangerous hypo situation. We knew enough to know we were uncomfortable with the situation, we just didn't know what to do about it. This site's guidance on dietary changes and home testing made a world of difference and my Smokey has been diet controlled since her last shot of insulin on March 29th.
 
And welcome to you, Megan and Teddy! We're sorry that you had to come find us, but we're delighted that you did!

You've already taken the most important step in keeping Teddy healthy, by seeking out more information so you can make the best decisions for him. And other folks have mentioned the other two most important things you can do for him: home-testing and changing to a low-carb food, so I'll leave that alone.


May I ask how Teddy was diagnosed? Was he acting differently, or did something happen and he ended up at the vet's? Does he have any other health issues that you know of (even minor stuff like tartar on the teeth can increase blood sugar levels). And I know that Teddy was just diagnosed today, but what has the vet suggested that you do? Have you discussed what type of insulin you'll be giving, how much and how often? And have they talked with you about testing for ketones? I'm not trying to be nosy, just trying to figure out which bits of information to point you toward, 'cause it's going to be a moderately steep (though short) learning curve!

This *is* going to seem overwhelming at first, so my advice is: when that happens, step outside for a few minutes, look at the birds / sidewalk / clouds / smog / whatever, and just breathe. When you're feeling better, head back inside, find Teddy and remind him just how very much you love him. My second piece of advice is to ask questions -- ask lots and *lots* of questions, both here and from your vet. The more information you have on how best to treat Teddy, the better decisions you can make on his behalf, so *please* ask questions! And if you can tell us a bit more about Teddy, what symptoms you saw, and what the vet has suggested, we may be able to give you some more specific advice.

Again, welcome! --

Jean and her Gwyn
 
Hi and welcome Megan & Teddy,

Harley and I are in Minnesota too! Western suburbs. There are a handful of us here in MN.

Yes, the learning curve is steep. Take a deep breath and relax. Ask alot of questions, the people here are awesome and are here for you.

This is very managable and doable. If you need help with anything, just ask.

My Harley boy was dx 7/9/09 and with the advise and help from this site he went off the juice 3 weeks later and became diet controlled. Unfortunately last week I had to board him to go out of town on business and because of vet stress he became diabetic again. So now I guess I'm an oldie and a newbie at the same time, learning a new insulin.

Read as much as you can in the stickeys and Facts. I know from experience that when first dx you go into hyper adreneline overdrive and it can be hard to absorb all of the information. I'm going through that again right now.

So let us know what insulin you will be getting and the dose, what he is eating, etc.

More experienced people will come along to help.

Robin
 
You have gotten a ton of good advice already, so I am just going to tell you 'hello and welcome!'
I have a Teddy Bear, too - named for the same exact reason. He is a big, hug-gable Teddy Bear of a cat :-)
My Teddy is a Maine Coon - what is yours?

~M
 
Sending out another hello and welcome to the sugar dance!

Everyone has posted some great advise so far, so once you've let all of it sink it, try answer some of the questions- insulin type, how diagnosed, etc. That'll help us point you in the right direction to get the best help!

I know it's overwhelming at first (our inlaws suggested we put her down... um, yeah right), but it totally gets easier... promise! Diabetes is a totally manageable disease, not a death sentence. Simply feeding low carb wet food can make a world of difference. Don't waste your money on prescription diet diabetes dry foods from the vet- they are NOT worth the money at all. Simple Fancy Feast cans are way better, and way cheaper! Heres's a link to Janet and Binky's Food Charts. Get your furball on a food that's at least 10% carbs or less... I shoot for 3-5% with Vesta.

Good luck and ask lots of questions!
 
Waving hi from just southwest of Mpls. Where are you and Teddy? Does your vet have experience with diabetic kitties? My Charlie's first vet said "give him 2 units of insulin 12 hours apart... he should live about two years. He was 12 at the time... I said no... can't do shots. he gave him pills but told me they wouldn't work well in my boy. I found FDMB and started listening to them (that would be us now).... They said ... switch to insulin... start at 1 unit not 2.. I did... they suggested testing his blood sugar myself.... I said OMG I can't do that... took me a week and I started testing his blood sugar level myself using a human meter. It was all down hill from there. My sweet Charlie did just great.. really fabulous.... always on insulin, but testing prior to each shot let me know that it was safe to give his insulin and only had one hypo incident after about 4 years when I didn't check that he'd eaten his food prior to shooting the insulin.... He lived to be 18 and a half... and I lost him to a blood clot to his brain. His blood sugar was in the good range when I tested it.... just prior to rushing him to ER last August.

I had already adopted another diabetic that they said was 3 years old. Sweet Stevie... Vet thought he was more like ten due to his poor teeth. He just had rotten teeth and rotten food. Switched him to low carb fancy feast and with ten days of insulin... (home testing all the while).. Sweet Stevie was off the insulin in ten days and that was three years ago.. The boy is the most loving animal in the world... I call him a little 'suck up', but only in the most loving tone.... We have another kitty Spunky who has been hyper T for about six years and is doing okay... just switched meds and trying to find the right dose again.

Glad you found the board... are you near the Twin Cities or at least close to us. I'm available also to help if needed.
 
Wow! I am overwhelmed by all the support!! Thank you all so much for the great info, Teddy actually has already quit drinking three tons of water a day - I'll be so much happier when he puts back on some weight. Can anyone tell me how long it takes for the weight to go back up?

Also! On Tuesday, the day after we found out about Teddy, I was on my way home from school when I saw someone drop their cat on the side of the road. I stopped and grabbed him before he got hit by a car, but Teddy does NOT like other cats! We got him groomed, tested for heartworm and leukemia, rabies and distemper shots, treated for earmites, and neutered. He's a multi-toed cat. If anyone in Minnesota could give him a loving home, I'd really appreciate it!!
 
What part of Minnesota are you in? I know we have a good number of The Cities area members.

Good thing you were behind that person. What kind of fool drops a cat off on the side of the road :evil:

eta: Smokey put on weight steadily once we started the insulin, some weeks gaining a full pound. She was back up to her original weight within 2 months after dropping from 13+ to 10.2.
 
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