New Sugarcat on the block

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David & Kitty

David & Kitty

Member Since 2014
Introducing Kitty (adorable camera shy image)! She is an 11 year old indoor spayed female. She was born a farm cat, and gifted to me by my roommate at the time. We couldn't come up with a name that fit her, and she unfortunately started to answer to Kitty, so it just ended up sticking. She now shares the house with one civillian and one drooler. Kitty has always been afraid of other cats, and the civvy is extremely aggressive towards other cats, so they take turns having free run of the house with the drooler, who is afraid of them both :lol:.

About a month ago I returned home from a medical procedure at the hospital and discovered small puddles and trails of bloody urine in our room with Kitty standing in the litter box. Our vet was closed at the time, so I promptly took her to the nearest emergency clinic. The prices for tests at the ER were outrageous, and there was no blockage and in no immediate danger, so we came home with a bottle of antibiotics for an assumed UTI and kept a close eye on her until I could get her to the vet for proper tests. At her vet appointment she was diagnosed with type-2 diabetes. The vet sent us home with a strict diet of Purina DM cat food to see if food alone would be enough to stabilize her. Five days later we returned and sadly, food alone wasn't enough. She was prescribed Lantus, as supposedly it is the least likely to send her Hypo. I wanted to take a week to do some research and shop around for the cheapest pharmacy. Next week Friday we go back to learn how to test and give the shots.

I stumbled upon this forum while researching, and glad that I did. After a fair bit of reading on FDMB it's quite obvious this is a very knowledgeable and supportive community I hope to become a part of as I try to keep my shiny new Sugarcat as safe and comfortable as possible. I hope you all don't mind me following up in this thread with any questions I have in the next week prior to her first injection. I guess my first question would be: is there any questions or concerns I may not be aware of that I should be asking the vet when we return?
 
Hi David and Kitty. Welcome to FDMB.

Lantus is a good insulin. When you vet prescribes it, ask for the script for the pens instead of a vial. With the vial, you will not be able to use all of it because it will become ineffective long before you will use all of it. The pens are packaged in smaller containers and you will receive 5 in a package. Because they are smaller containers, you should be able to use almost every drop. One package of pens should be enough insulin to last 9 months or more depending on your dose. Also, if you look on the Lantus website, there may still be a coupon for the pens.

With insulin, you want to start low and go slow. This means start at 1/2 to 1 unit twice a day and waiting at least one week before determining if you need to increase it. If an increase is needed, only increase by 1/2 unit. Hometesting will help you determine if a dose increase is needed. Tests at the vets can increase the BG levels because of stress. With hometesting, you will test every time you give insulin. You want to test, feed then shoot. For newbies, we recommend not giving insulin if the BG reading is less than 200. As you learn how Kitty responds to the dose, you will be able to lower the "don't shoot" number.

You can use any human glucose meter for testing. They are less expensive than the "pet" meters and just as accurate. Plus you can get the strips at your local pharmacy. Many of us use the Walmart Relion Confirm or Micro meters, but almost any brand will work.

For food, most cats do not like prescription food. Many of us feed our cats either Friskies or Fancy Feast. You want to feed the pate flavors and avoid anything with gravy. They are high in carbs. Also, if you have been feeding dry food, you want to eliminate it, especially if Kitty has not started insulin. If you have started, make sure you are home testing before you remove the dry food. Dry food can significantly raise the glucose levels. You can feed both cats the same diet. It will be healthier for your civie too.

Managing FD is not difficult and will make the bond between you and Kitty stronger.
 
Saying hi from another relatively new Sugarcat and her bean. Tasha was diagnosed just over a week ago and we've been treating her since Monday. I don't have a whole lot to offer except that:

1. We switched to wet food from dry before we started injections and I swear it's made an amazing difference. If your vet thought just going to prescription dry might make the difference, definitely get on the wet foods (there's a list in the sticky threads, also another thread floating around of foods under 8%) and see how that goes for Kitty.

2. This site and the people here are absolutely amazing. Without them, I truly believe my vet's instructions would've killed or really harmed my cat. We newbies are in good hands here and I'm so grateful.

Hope you and Kitty will do well!
 
See my signature link for some Glucometer Notes to understand more about glucometers and what the numbers may mean.
 
We took her off dry food last Friday and she has been on a strict Purina DM wet diet since. She has always had trouble eating chunky wet food, so the pate works pretty well. I've read that DM isn't the best choice, and we'll be switching once we decide on a suitable replacement.

The vet script is for a vial, and says to shoot 2 units as needed after home testing, but I definitely agree that low and slow is the way to go. I'd rather ease into this than risk hypo. Also glad the relion is a trusted brand here, I was a bit wary of a Wal-Mart brand tester.

I really appreciate all the time and effort you all have put into the resources here.
 
The ReliOn Confirm and Confirm Micro are made by Arkray USA and are available as the Glucocard 01 and 01 Mini at our shopping partner ADW (see shopping link above)
 
David & Kitty said:
We took her off dry food last Friday and she has been on a strict Purina DM wet diet since. She has always had trouble eating chunky wet food, so the pate works pretty well. I've read that DM isn't the best choice, and we'll be switching once we decide on a suitable replacement.

The vet script is for a vial, and says to shoot 2 units as needed after home testing, but I definitely agree that low and slow is the way to go. I'd rather ease into this than risk hypo. Also glad the relion is a trusted brand here, I was a bit wary of a Wal-Mart brand tester.

I really appreciate all the time and effort you all have put into the resources here.
Click to expand...

I have used the Relion meters for years and been very happy with them. I know they have also been Consumer Reports best buy. The Relion Ultima needs a little more blood than the Confirm or Micro. The strips run about $39 for 100 and there is almost always a Walmart nearby if you need strips in a hurry. I have also used the Relion syringes. When you buy syringes, look for the U100, 30 unit or .3 CC syringe with 1/2 unit markings. The 1/2 units make it easier to adjust your dose in smaller increments. Try to find the ones with the 30 - 31 guage needles (the higher the number, the smaller the needle).

The insulin the the vial should remain effective for 3 months or more. The next time you need a refill, ask for the pens instead. A pack of pens usually gave me enough insulin to last 9-10 months.
 
I've been using the Relion Prime (the cheapest at Walmart) since Tink was diagnosed in November of last year. It's been great. I HATE shopping at Walmart - and strips are the ONLY thing I buy there at this point... but I just can't justify spending 4x as much elsewhere. A bottle of 50 strips is $9. The way I go through them... it's really my only option. I tried finding another store brand elsewhere, but the cheapest strips I can find are at least $35.

Oh... and re: Lantus pens... I was able to purchase a SINGLE pen at my Costco pharmacy (and you don't have to have a Costco card to use the pharmacy) - so that was really nice - not having to buy 5 at once. It was around $75 and the savings card did not work - though I think I should have printed a new one before I went there. Will try again next time.
 
My head is spinning trying to pick a canned cat food. Does anyone have any recommendations? We're unfortunately new to canned food, and trying to go through large lists of food and comparing prices per can/oz. Would most likely order online, or purchase at walmart or grocery store as there aren't any major pet stores in my area. Trying to go as cheap as possible without sacrificing quality.

I'm not even sure how much she should be eating per day of the canned. Vet said two 5.5 oz cans of this Purina DM daily, but that seems like a lot to me? Maybe it's deceiving.

Thanks in advance, this is a lot to take in and prepare for.
 
We're just using Friskies pates. Price at Walmart and Target is about the same, more expensive at the grocery store but we can get them there in a pinch. I'm surprised to find they aren't cheaper and readily available via Amazon, haven't checked other sources. I also haven't checked other foods - she was on dry and got a Friskies pate (though an 11% carb one) as a treat so we just went with that brand, different flavors. Big difference for her already.
 
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