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kokoko_kona

kokoko_kona

Member Since 2021
Hello everyone :) My sweet kitty Kona was recently diagnosed with diabetes and I found this forum while trying to better educate myself. I’d like to start with a smoll introduction!
Kona is estimated 8-9 years old, declawed bengal mix, brought to her furrrever home Sept 29/19
Kona enjoys the simple things in life, like chin scritches and playing with things that are not toys. She likes to scream at mum when she’s hungry and she likes to snuggle with Dad at night.
She was surrendered twice for frequent vomiting and urinating on furniture. We adopted her and About 5 visits later we discovered she’s diabetic.

Prior to her diagnosis, our vet switched her to prescription hills I/d diet, combo dry and wet, thinking the vomiting was maybe a digestive issue

January 08th we got the call from our most recent tests, urine sample and blood work - Diabetic

January 12th we took her in to vets so they could administer her first insulin (can insulin)/watch her. When I picked her up they mentioned a diet change was needed, showed me how to give her insulin, 2 units 2x daily, 12 hours apart. Gave me a paper to read up on and scheduled a check up the following week. Her blood sugar tested at 21 before insulin and down to 8 after.

January 20th we went in for a check up during lockdown - they tested her blood sugar and brought her back to me. Said she was at 7.1 and to keep doing what I’m doing and call if anything changes. I asked about the diet change, they said oh the vet didn’t mention it to me. I’ve called since to inquire about this diet change and I keep getting the same reply, that it wasn’t mentioned to them and to stick with the I/d, to call and schedule a check up if anything changes.

I’m still learning about all of this, but I’m just left with a lot of questions. I feel like waiting until things change could be a bad idea. I worry that if “things change” it will be dire. I worry that she’s not on a healthy diet for her condition. I worry that I’m not getting the best advice I could be from the only professional I have access to right now. I guess I’m here to introduce myself and ask for advice!

When your pet was diagnosed, how did it go? Were your vets helpful? Is this normal? Am I being a worry wart mama?
Thanks for reading and hope to hear some advice soon <3 Kona and Mama
 
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Hi Kona and Mama and welcome to you both.
It's great you have found us and want to educate yourself and help your beautiful Kona.
You may find it overwhelming at first....this is normal....as there is a lot to learn....then it becomes second nature to you. So hang in there and try and enjoy the ride.

You are quite correct that the food she has been given is far from suitable for a diabetic cat. Diabetic cats need to be on a low carb wet diet...no dry foods as they are full of carbs which are bad for diabetic cats. The low carb wet food needs to be 10% or under carbs...most feed around 4-6 %.
However do not change the food over to the low carb food until you are home testing the blood glucose levels.
This is because swapping over to a low carb diet can drop the blood glucose (BG) by (5.5) 100 points or more. So you need to be testing the BG so you can reduce the dose of insulin to keep Kona safe. I am quoting world numbers and US numbers here as we use US numbers, but I understand world numbers as I live in Australia.

So here's what I'd do if I were you
I would go out and buy a human test meter from a pharmacy. I am not sure what you have in Canada but I'll tag @Wendy&Neko as she is Canadian and can maybe suggest a good meter.
Then I would learnto home test.......it sounds scary but it isn't really and both you and Kona will
Soon get used to it
Click on this link for tips and advice about home testing
https://www.felinediabetes.com/FDMB/threads/hometesting-links-and-tips.287/

Keep feeding the current food until you are able to home test and then you can think about swapping the food over gradually with our help.
Click on this link for suitable foods
https://catinfo.org/docs/CatFoodProteinFatCarbPhosphorusChart.pdf

I am going to give you the link to caninsulin and how to use it.
Areyou feeding 1/2 hour before you give the insulin?
2 Units is also a big dose to start off with. I would reduce the dose to 1 unit twice a day until you are home testing to be safe. Cats often test higher at the vet than they do at home due to stress and if BG was 7.1 at the vet it could have been lower if tested at home.
Click on guide to caninsulin https://www.felinediabetes.com/FDMB/threads/beginners-guide-to-caninsulin-vetsulin.231587/

There is a lot more I can tell you but we'll start with that. Let me know if I haven't covered everything you wanted to know and keep asking questions. We are very happy to help you.
Bron
 
kokoko_kona said:
When your pet was diagnosed, how did it go? Were your vets helpful? Is this normal? Am I being a worry wart mama?
Thanks for reading and hope to hear some advice soon <3 Kona and Mama
Click to expand...

a couple things I’ve read on the canninsulin forum that have me concerned:


Your cat should be monitored closely the first three days when starting insulin. Initially, BG levels should be checked at pre-shot, +3, +6, and +9. More monitoring may be needed if your kitty has a strong early response.


She was held at vets office for.... maybe 6 hours after first insulin. Went back 8 days later for BG check up. That sounds like she should have been much more closely monitored at the start...I’m on a wait list for a new vet. I have concerns about how this has been going....


Starting Dose

  • Usually it’s best to start with a low dose of not more than one unit (1.0u), twice a day

Her starting dose is 2.0 units, twice a day....
 
kokoko_kona said:
a couple things I’ve read on the canninsulin forum that have me concerned:


Your cat should be monitored closely the first three days when starting insulin. Initially, BG levels should be checked at pre-shot, +3, +6, and +9. More monitoring may be needed if your kitty has a strong early response.


She was held at vets office for.... maybe 6 hours after first insulin. Went back 8 days later for BG check up. That sounds like she should have been much more closely monitored at the start...I’m on a wait list for a new vet. I have concerns about how this has been going....


Starting Dose

  • Usually it’s best to start with a low dose of not more than one unit (1.0u), twice a day
Her starting dose is 2.0 units, twice a day....
Click to expand...

I have mentioned hometesting the BGs in above post which I think is the single most importamt thing you can do to help Kona. That way you will know exactly what the insulin is doing each day and if you need to increase or decrease the dose. BGs change every day and several times a day so a snapshot taken at the vet for a few hours on one day does not give anything like the full picture.

Caninsulin is a fairly fast acting insulin so you need to make sure you have food aboard before the insulin onset starts.
We recommend feeding several smaller snacks during both the cycles. Eg at +2 and +4 or +2 and +5 and maybe another snack in the first half of the cycle when the insulin is strongest. You will learn when is best for Kona after you start testing and when she needs the extra food. You also need to do the same with the pm cycle.

Yes I would reduce the dose to 1 unit twice a day as I mentioned above for the moment until you are hometesting and can see what her numbers are.
 
Bron and Sheba (GA) said:
There is a lot more I can tell you but we'll start with that. Let me know if I haven't covered everything you wanted to know and keep asking questions. We are very happy to help you.
Click to expand...

‘Thank you so much for the quick and detailed response! It is very much appreciated. I’m so grateful to have found this forum as you re right, certainly a lot to learn and I feel like I have been left in the dark a little by my current vet.

I was already thinking of getting a test meter, I would love to hear @Wendy&Neko suggestion if they have any! I will Certainly learn how to home test before switching diets as I don’t want to risk anything. To answer your question on when she is being fed, it is usually about 20 minutes before insulin, a relief to hear that that’s about right. I’m upset to hear that she is in fact on a high starting dose and I will certainly take your advice and get the test meter, lower insulin dosage until I can test myself.

I’m going to go click those links now :) I’m feeling more confident already. Thank you <3
 
kokoko_kona said:
‘Thank you so much for the quick and detailed response! It is very much appreciated. I’m so grateful to have found this forum as you re right, certainly a lot to learn and I feel like I have been left in the dark a little by my current vet.

I was already thinking of getting a test meter, I would love to hear @Wendy&Neko suggestion if they have any! I will Certainly learn how to home test before switching diets as I don’t want to risk anything. To answer your question on when she is being fed, it is usually about 20 minutes before insulin, a relief to hear that that’s about right. I’m upset to hear that she is in fact on a high starting dose and I will certainly take your advice and get the test meter, lower insulin dosage until I can test myself.

I’m going to go click those links now :) I’m feeling more confident already. Thank you <3
Click to expand...
You are very welcome.
Vets often don't know a lot about feline diabetes. They seem to know more about canine diabetes...and cat diabetes is very different to dog diabetes, and we get a lot of people here who have not been told much about what to do or expect. I guess they have many animals and lots of diseases to contend with and unless they keep up with the latest in care, they fall behind.

Let me know if there are any other things you want to know about. I just don't want to load you up with too much to start with.
Kona is gorgeous btw!
 
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Bron and Sheba (GA) said:
You are very welcome.
Vets often don't know a lot about feline diabetes. They seem to know more about canine diabetes...and cat diabetes is very different to dog diabetes, and we get a lot of people here who have not been told much about what to do or expect. I guess that have many animals and lots of diseases to contend with and u less they keep up with the latest in care, they fall behind.

Let me know if there are any other things you want to know about. I just don't want to load you up with too much to start with.
Kona is gorgeous btw!
Click to expand...

We are on a 90 person long wait list at the only cat hospital in our city, hoping seeing someone who specializes in kitties will be More helpful :)

I will certainly reach out with more questions as they come up! For now I’ll read as much as I can and get my hands on a test meter. Kona says thank you for the compliment! Your kitty is quite the cutie as well :)
 
Ouch.....90 person waiting list.
As far as the diabetes goes, we can help you with almost everything here. Most of us only go to the vet....as far as the diabetes is concerned....is when we need more insulin.
When you run out of reading material....yell! :D
 
Bron and Sheba (GA) said:
Ouch.....90 person waiting list.
As far as the diabetes goes, we can help you with almost everything here. Most of us only go to the vet....as far as the diabetes is concerned....is when we need more insulin.
When you run out of reading material....yell! :D
Click to expand...
Very true. When cc was diagnosed, once I started testing at home I didn't take her to the vet for a year. If course now almost 5 years later we are there every 3 months but it's for the ckd and hyperthyroidism. The diabetes is the least of her worries. Lol
 
If you switch to a more diabetic friendly diet, please lower the dose to just one unit. Many people here feed fancy feast classic or Friskies pate foods. I feed weruva foods. Testing at home isn't as scary as you would think. I put it off for six weeks in the beginning. Once I started I wished I had been doing it from the start. I have a video in my signature showing how I test my cat CC at home.

Here's a chart with canned food. Not sure what is available by you but you are looking for foods under 10 percent carb.

https://catinfo.org/docs/CatFoodProteinFatCarbPhosphorusChart.pdf
 
Hello from BC. i am not the best source of Canadian BG monitor info. I cross border shopped for my supplies as I live near the border. Of course, that's not a solution right now. I do know of a couple options. For price, the Bravo meter is one of the cheapest test strips prices. Of course it's online sales so not always readily available right away. Stock up if you go that way. I know some people just get a meter with a small blood drop (like the Freestyle) and shop on eBay for cheaper test strips. Worst case, you can get a package of strips at almost any pharmacy if you need them quickly.
 
Wendy&Neko said:
Hello from BC. i am not the best source of Canadian BG monitor info. I cross border shopped for my supplies as I live near the border. Of course, that's not a solution right now. I do know of a couple options. For price, the Bravo meter is one of the cheapest test strips prices. Of course it's online sales so not always readily available right away. Stock up if you go that way. I know some people just get a meter with a small blood drop (like the Freestyle) and shop on eBay for cheaper test strips. Worst case, you can get a package of strips at almost any pharmacy if you need them quickly.
Click to expand...
Thank you so much for the information! I’m going to compare them now :)
 
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