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Neuink02

Member Since 2012
Good evening,
I write this as my healthy cat paws at me for attention. He hates the computer.
I just came from the vet after being told that my 12 year old "Kitty" has diabetes. I am very sad for her. She is over weight and I have tried everything I can think of to help her lose it. Even so much as tying strings to my three kids and getting her to chase them. She will, but still doesn't lose the weight.

My vet is a wonderful woman. She is very helpful and kind. But I am still scared for Kitty. She is a precious member of our family, no matter how many mice (actually balled up socks she thinks are her kills) she brings to me at 3 am.

Any suggestions on my first steps. I have called around to area pharmacies, WOW insulin is expensive. I am headed out tomorrow to see what I can find. Any suggestions on where I can get it for reasonable?

Really lost here. I deal with my kids illnesses all the time, they can talk. I feel bad that Kitty is feeling so yucky and couldn't tell me.

Thanks for any help/direction.

Denise
 
Hello Denise, and welcome to FDMB!

We've all been where you are right now. It can be a pretty steep learning curve at first but don't worry, you don't need to do everything all at once. And you will find a lot of help and support here, including tips for managing feline diabetes on a budget. :smile:

First off, a couple of questions for you;
What food is your kitty eating?
If she is eating dry food then her blood glucose may drop quite a bit with a switch to wet food (we advocate low carb wet food). Because of the drop in blood glucose (BG) that can occur it's easiest - time permitting -if the switchover is done before going onto insulin. Once the cat is on insulin the switchover to wet food from dry should only be done if you are able to test your cat's BG at home. That is because the cat may need a lower insulin dose.

What insulin has your vet prescribed?
Good insulins for cats include Lantus, Levemir and Protamine Zinc insulins such as 'Prozinc'.

Are you willing to try to test your cat's blood glucose at home?
This might sound a little scary at first, but it really isn't difficult. Most of us here use glucose meters made for humans. In essence, testing only involves taking the teensiest spot of blood from the outer edge of your cat's ear. In the same way that a human diabetic might take a drop of blood from a finger tip (although there are very few nerve endings in the cat's ears so it won't sting like pricking a fingertip might). As well as helping you to manage your cat's diabetes 'hometesting' will also save you a lot of money in vet's bills, because you will be able to do things your vet would normally do (such as 'glucose curves' - a series of BG readings thoughout a given day) at home.

Eliz in UK
 
What insulin did the vet prescribe that you have to buy at the pharmacy? There are ways to cut the cost of Lantus and Levemir :smile: Humulin N is not a recommended insulin to use for cats.

Here are suggsetions:
http://felinediabetes.com/FDMB/viewtopic.php?f=9&t=82294
http://felinediabetes.com/FDMB/viewtopic.php?f=28&t=82467

Julia and Bandit posted a great explanation why it's worth paying for Lantus insulin: http://felinediabetes.com/FDMB/viewtopic.php?f=28&t=83241&p=895713&view=show#p895713

It would help if your diabetic cat can lose some weight. Extra weight is never healthy. Here are tips on how to help your cat lose weight: http://www.catinfo.org/?link=felineobesity Canned foods are best because they are muchl ower in calories than dry food. A can of food may have 80 calories while a cup of dry food may have well over 400 :shock: Many housecats are pretty inactive. It's like a Human eating thousands of greasy calories per day but not doing any excericse to burn off those calories. The result is usually weight gain.

For a diabetic cat, low carb canned foods are best. Pate style foods like Fancy Feast, Nature's Variety, and Merrick are good. There are many many other commerical brands of foods you can feed. We can help you find a suitable food for your diabetic :smile: There are food charts that can be used. Here's the low carb gluten frfee list of Fancy Feast: http://www.felinediabetes.com/glutenfree.htm I'm sure someone will post the links to Binky's chart and Dr. Lisa's chart soon for you.
 
Hi Denise, Pepe and I are new here too. Pepe just got diagnosed last week. This site is a great, great help. I ordered a meter from the Home Testing Kit at the top of the screen. Just got it Thurs and am learning to use it.
Welcome!
Sharon
 
WOW! Thank you all for your wonderful posts!

Kitty is overweight, I am headed to the store in a few minutes to get her the wet food. I will let that pass over a few days before starting the insulin. I am hoping this will help her a bit.

My vet prescribed Lantus. I have called around to the pharmacies and am shocked at the price. But thanks to a few coupons I found here, I should get a good deal. We'll see how they work once I get to the pharmacy. My vet is unable to give the prescriptions because it is a human medicine, there are weird laws around it. So off I go!

I am also headed to Petsmart, Petco and Walmart to price around food. Since fancy feast is so well recommended, I will look for that first. Do you have serving recommendations? They are small cans, one a day? 1/2 in the AM and 1/2 in the PM? I have another cat too, he may not be to thrilled about the change, but he'll adjust. :)

Thanks again for all the information, it really helps. I am still really skiddish about poking the cat, but ordered a test kit from here, THANKS FOR THAT TOO!, so I can get started.

Keep the advice coming, it really helps me sleep.

Blessings,
Denise, Kitty and Bubba
 
Here are the other food charts/lists:

Hobo's Guide to Nutritional Values: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/ccc?key=0AmkyagqUb3nudG9sRVhTVnFEWlhaU19ZUXkxTnlhYXc#gid=0
Binkys canned food charts: http://binkyspage.tripod.com/canfood.html (info several years out of date)
New food list from Catinfo.org (Sept. 2012): http://www.catinfo.org/docs/Food Chart Public 9-22-12.pdf
Pet Food Nutritional Values list: https://docs.google.com/leaf?id=0B8...MzhkYTkxOGM4NThk&sort=name&layout=list&num=50
Dr. Lynne's Wet Food list: http://felinediabetes.com/FDMB/viewtopic.php?f=28&t=12846


Any canned food with under 10% carbs is good for diabetic cats.

Neuink02 said:
Kitty is overweight, I am headed to the store in a few minutes to get her the wet food. I will let that pass over a few days before starting the insulin. I am hoping this will help her a bit.
Click to expand...

Yes, good idea to start low carb canned food before starting insulin :smile: The low carb food on it's own may lower blood glucose levels a bit.

My vet prescribed Lantus. I have called around to the pharmacies and am shocked at the price. But thanks to a few coupons I found here, I should get a good deal. We'll see how they work once I get to the pharmacy. My vet is unable to give the prescriptions because it is a human medicine, there are weird laws around it.
Click to expand...

Lantus is great :thumbup Please be sure to read the stickies on the Lantus board to understand how the insulin works for cats: http://felinediabetes.com/FDMB/viewforum.php?f=9

Are you getting the Lantus SoloStar pens? Those are much more cost effective than the 10 ml bottle. If you're already gotten the 10 ml bottle, no worries :smile: When you need to buy more insulin, be sure to ask for the Lantus SoloStar pens. You use insulin syringes with the SoloStar pen, not pen needles like a Human diabetic would.

Are you in the US? If so I'm surprised the vet wasn't able to write you a prescription for Lantus but maybe it does have something to do with a state law. Most US members have no problem with getting their vet to write a prescription for Lantus or Levemir.

Since fancy feast is so well recommended, I will look for that first. Do you have serving recommendations? They are small cans, one a day? 1/2 in the AM and 1/2 in the PM? I have another cat too, he may not be to thrilled about the change, but he'll adjust. :)
Click to expand...

It's recommened to feed a newly diagnosed diabetic cat as much food as they want but without causinga huge weight gain. Many people here fee mulitple small meals daily using a programmable timed feeder. Fancy Feast is only available in those tiny 3 oz cans. 4 or 5 Fancy Feast cans a day for a diabetic isn't unheard of. To save money, you can try a different brand of food that is available in larger sized cans. Wellness, for example, is similar to Fancy Feast and is available in 3 oz, 5 oz, and 12 oz can sizes.

I am still really skiddish about poking the cat, but ordered a test kit from here, THANKS FOR THAT TOO!, so I can get started.
Click to expand...

Great that you're getting a test kit :smile: Here are the testing tips and videos: http://felinediabetes.com/FDMB/viewtopic.php?f=14&t=287
 
Cat Info describes how to safely approach weight management in your cat.

When I switched my household of 12 to low carb canned food, 2 overweight cats lost weight without difficulty. The moisture content provides volume without calories (the solution is dilution!)
 
I was skittish about poking Zoozey at first, but it's been about a week since I started insulin and home-testing and the more confident I am at it, the easier it is. I'm getting better at it already. He's not fond of blood testing, but it's easy enough to hold him down for a bit while I check his bg, and it doesn't hurt him. He's never like me or anyone else messing with him. And giving shots is 1000% easier than I thought it was. Zoozey doesn't even notice me doing it. You'll get the hang of it quickly!
 
Well Kitty seems to be doing ok. It took about 10 tries to get enough blood for a test, but on food alone she was down to 351. THis is a HUGE difference from the 590 she was at the vet.

I have started her on insulin. This is much easier to give then trying to get blood. Thank God for youtube. I found a couple of wonderful videos for the testing. Kitty is shying away from me today and I did find pee in my shoe this morning, so at least I know she is feeling better. Better enough to show her annoyance with me. :lol:

I split the cans of fancy feast through out the day. Both cats have to eat together and she'll eat his if there is any left over. So I split a can in the morning then every 4-5 hours. With them both getting a decent meal at night.

I found a wonderful app to help track the glucose level that is free. It is at the googlestore. I don't know if it is on apple or not. It is called " Ontrack" by GExperts. Even has charts, graphs. A place for what meal, weight etc. Very useful.

Thank you all for all your help, compassion and friendliness. It has made the last few days easier.
 
What size lancets are you using for testing? You want to start with 26 or 28 gauge lancets. Some of the human ones are too fine (30 or 31 gauge) and will go right through the ear.The ears will learn to bleed better as you go along. Also, warming the ear is a big help. Good job on a successful test!! :thumbup
 
Neuink02 said:
I found a wonderful app to help track the glucose level that is free. It is at the googlestore. I don't know if it is on apple or not. It is called " Ontrack" by GExperts. Even has charts, graphs. A place for what meal, weight etc. Very useful.
Click to expand...


Sounds interesting :smile: http://www.gexperts.com/products/ontrack/ontrack.php

Most people here track their cat's blood glucose levels using an online Google spreadsheet. The intructions on how to create one are here: http://felinediabetes.com/FDMB/viewtopic.php?f=6&t=50130
 
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