New Member

[Timothy Sandusky]

Hi everyone! My name is Tim, and my 5.5 year old Piper was diagnosed with diabetes last week. I realized she hadn’t eaten in about a day and was very lethargic. We moved here to NW Ohio about 10 months ago and it’s been hectic so we hadn’t been in for her annual check up. Luckily I found a vet and they got me in quickly.

I was scared to death when we got the diagnosis and they explained everything to me. We got insulin started the next day and she has slowly started coming back to herself. I’m heartened by that, but still nervous as we move forward.

Piper is my first cat on my own. My first cat, Sophia, lived to be 18.5 years old and came to me via my husband when we first met and moved in together. She was in my life for almost 10 years, but she passed away mere weeks after I lost my husband to cancer at the way-too-young age of 42. They were bonded so it didn’t surprise me that she chose to follow him to the other side, but it was still absolutely devastating. I adopted Piper 6 months later and she truly saved my life and helped heal my heart.

I’m devastated by the idea that I may have missed signs and symptoms. My vet told me that cats are excellent at hiding these things and that’s why it seemed to go zero to one hundred.

so now, we’re on this new journey together and I’m going to do everything I can to make sure she does well!

Her appetite is back and she’s ravenous, which I’ve been told will settle in a few days as the insulin does its job. Any good vibes you all can send would be greatly welcome, and thank you so much for having this site! I have scrolled through a bit and learned some great things already, and I love how dedicated everyone is to their felines!

below are some pictures of Piper

 

[Wendy&Neko]

Sending you and Piper lots of good vibes and a few hugs for the story of Sophie and your DH.

Your vet is right that a lot of us were surprised by the diabetes diagnosis. I've seen several who found out when they kitty was getting blood work for dentals or another reason. I thought my cat might have some other condition, diabetes wasn't what I would have guessed. Did your vet mention ketones or diabetic ketoacidosis when Piper was diagnosed.

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We have three things we strongly believe in here. One is a good low carb food, ideally wet or raw food. I see TBD on kibble in your signature and wondered what you have in mind. We have lots of cats who are grazers on wet food. A lot of people also use automatic feeders to dispense food if kitty is not a grazer (like my hoover). The second important thing is a good insulin for cats. The AAHA now suggests either Lantus or Prozinc which are both long lasting. Vetsulin (called Caninsulin in the rest of the world) is a good insulin for dogs, but not so long lasting for cats who have higher metabolisms. My vet started us on Caninsulin too. It does work for some cats.

And lastly but just as important, is home testing blood sugars. It is home testing that will both keep your kitty safe, and save you money otherwise spent at the vets office. Is this something you'd be interested in learning to do?

 

[Bron and Sheba (GA)]

Hi and welcome to the forum Tim and Piper. So sorry to hear about your DH and Sophia.
Piper obviously loves you as I can see in the photos.
I agree with Wendy. Hometesting, low carb wet food and a suitable insulin is how you are going to be able to look after Piper and keep her safe and well.
If you decide to hometest the blood glucose, a good and economical glucose meter is the ReliOn premier meter which you can buy from Walmart. You will also need a box of 100 test strips, a box of 100 lancets…ask for size 26 or 28 and some cotton balls to hold behind the ear when you test.
Here is a link to hometesting
And here is a link to suitable foods. Look for foods that have 10% or under carbs
FOOD CHART

 

[Timothy Sandusky]

Thank you both so much!

yes, I am looking into doing home glucose monitoring for Piper, as I want to do all that I can for her!

the reason I mention a kibble for grazing is that I am out of the home 8-9 hours a day Monday thru Friday and cannot change out the wet food every 2 hours or less so that it doesn’t gather bacteria from sitting all day. I want her to have some food available from during the day and then overnight when I’m sleeping. She was a grazer when I adopted her and continues to be to this day so it’s a hard habit to break and she seems to prefer to eat small amounts every 1.5 - 2 hours. I was lucky to be able to work from home this week (plus off Thursday and Friday for the holiday) in order to help get her stabilized and on a good path. But I’ll be back to work Monday.

 

[Bron and Sheba (GA)]

It is possible to use wet food and an automatic timed feeder to supply food. You can always freeze the food which is to be eaten later in the day.
Petsafe have good timed feeders.
The other option is to use low carb dry food only.
Here is a link to another thread where there is info about low carb dry food.
Look at post 4 HERE

 

[Wendy&Neko]

In addition to the Petsafe 5 compartment feeder, there is a similar one from Catmate. They have a compartment under the rotating feeder that can fit a gel pack to keep the food cool. They also sell the gel pack. I just bought a small sort sided one from a local hardware store and folded it to fit.

 

[Diane Tyler's Mom GA]

some info on auto feeders always add a little water to the wet food
Here is an auto feeder that hold 5 slots and comes with 2 ice packs for wet food
https://www.amazon.com/Cat-Mate-C500-Digital-Automatic/dp/B01AUYLVU8/ref=sr_1_6?gclid=EAIaIQobChMIuM_y2p79_AIVDvrICh1_xAy6EAAYASAAEgJBDfD_BwE&hvadid=178540036693&hvdev=t&hvlocphy=9003521&hvnetw=g&hvqmt=e&hvrand=6990619631848479728&hvtargid=kwd-12652445711&hydadcr=10635_9894649&keywords=petsafe 5-meal automatic pet feeder&qid=1675560889&sr=8-6

Extra ice packs so you can keep them in the freezer ready to go
https://www.amazon.com/Cat-Mate-Rep...5c-bd5c-e23f6094563c&pd_rd_i=B091HTXNHR&psc=1

This one has 3 slots with one ice pack
https://www.amazon.com/Cat-Mate-Automatic-Feeder-Digital/dp/B01MXDFB28

Extra ice pack
https://www.amazon.com/Mate-Replace...cb-974a-deec2fb8a80c&pd_rd_i=B07KFP7PRG&psc=1

You can even order the stainless steel inserts for the 5 slot if you don't like your kitty eating out of plastic, from what I have heard plastic could cause acne onsome cats
https://www.amazon.com/Cat-Mate-Sta...36-830d-6cc20f385409&pd_rd_i=B0B3MS1MWR&psc=1

 

[Bron and Sheba (GA)]

How are things going with Piper, Tim?