Hi April and Welcome to the FDMB!! The best place you never wanted to be!!
You've already gotten a lot of advice from the Facebook group on diet ....the sooner you get Smokey off of all the dry food, the better and doing it before starting insulin is the safest time to do it! Some cats can drop 100 points or more just by getting the dry out of their diet.
Next is insulin....Lantus, Levemir and ProZinc are the 3 most common insulins that work well in cats. If your vet wants you to use something else, its probably a good idea to find a new vet. Vetsulin/caninsulin seem to be favorites among vets, but they don't work well in cats! They are harsh insulins that can drop the blood glucose quickly and then wear off too soon, so they're really hard to get good results with.
Home testing is very important too. The more knowledge you have against this disease, the better results you get, and testing gives you that knowledge. It lets you know exactly how your kitty is responding to treatment. Tests done at the vets office aren't very reliable because of the stress involved in vet visits. It raises the blood glucose and then your cat comes home, his blood glucose comes back down and if your vet told you to increase insulin based on the artificially inflated number at the office, you end up with a kitty in trouble at home.
Here's a "Getting Started Shopping List":
1. Blood glucose meter. The Walmart Relion Confirm or Micro. (about $15) These are the best choice until the ears "learn to bleed"...then the Relion Prime is the cheapest one for replacement strips. The Confirm and Micro take the smallest sample size...the Prime take a little bigger sample.
If you are in Canada, and can get to a WalMart regularly (or have friends/family that can ship you supplies if you need them), the Relion meters are great. I think the Bayer Contour or One Touch are other favorites of the Canadians in the group
2. Matching strips (about $19 for 50, $36 for 100) Prime strips are $9 for 50. Will vary depending on what meter you end up using. Using the Contour or One Touch, check Amazon/Ebay for better prices
3. Lancets - little sticks to poke the ear to get blood . new members usually start with a larger gauge lancet such as 28g or 29g until the ear learns to bleed. Optional - lancing tool. (about $8 for lancets, $5 for lancing tool ...not required if you can freehand poke)
4. Cotton balls/cosmetic pads to stem the blood
5. Neosporin or Polysporin ointment with pain relief to heal the wound (ointment ONLY...no cream)
6. Mini flashlight (optional) - useful to help see the ear veins in dark cats, and to press against
7. Ketone urine test strips..ketostix (urine only) or ketodiastix (test urine and blood but more expensive and unnecessary if you're already testing BG) - Important to check ketones when blood is high
8. Sharps container - to dispose of wasted syringes and lancets. (or needle clipper)
9. Treats for the cat - like freeze dried chicken
10. Karo syrup/corn syrup or honey if you dont have it at home - for hypo emergencies to bring blood sugar up fast
11. A couple of cans of fancy feast gravy lovers or other high carb gravy food- for hypo emergencies to bring blood sugar up fast
12. Syringes (If using a U100 insulin like Lantus or Levemir or willing to use a conversion chart with U40 insulin like ProZinc or Vetsulin)
IMPORTANT that you get syringes with half unit markings! 30 or 31 gauge, 3/10cc insulin syringes....All the WalMart Relion 3/10cc syringes have half unit markings
Don't want to overwhelm you with too much info, but feel free to ask any questions you have! The people here are great about helping new sugarcat moms and dads learn everything they need to know!
