New to all of this

[KariKry]

Hello I’m Kari and Kowie Calico kitty are new to all Of this yet have been at it for about a month . She is 11, indoor only, loves raw foods but I gave in-and started giving her gravy can foods and watched her go down hill with throwing up and diarrhea . Diagnosis - Diabetes ! I have for the last year gone through Hell with having Colorectal cancer - and mixed science with my natural cures to put me in a newly cancer free state. Having said that, I can be sick but not my babies. I cannot do blood tests -so I had someone come To the house which tormented my cat and she’d hide - my friend would try to get blood 3-4 times before actually being able to get a drop Of blood . So I stopped it- Kowie is on prozinc- two units twice a day and has been doing fine - but the last two night she seemed irritated- couldn’t get comfortable- big pupils- and this was after she snacked at 1:00 am - and had water . Then she settled down and slept . Please don’t hate me - but we are NOT a run to the vet for every little thing -nor do we get all and next to none of all
Of the vaccines - and that has done me
And all Of my pets well for almost 70 years . So I just need a friend that can guide me on what’s the best canned food - although she doesn’t have any kind of off symptoms when I offer her my raw or home cooked food. She did well on tiki cat rabbit the other day - so if someone has any info on other high protein, low carb canned foods ( she hates friskies Turkey) I’d appreciate it . Also is there a urine strip that I can test her with instead of a blood test ?
Thank you for your help with this life altering happening - like I said - I can kick cancers butt, however now that my fur baby has this I’m extremely sad and need her better by also going into remission !
KariK

 

[CORKY]

Welcome to FDMB
We all have been overwhelmed when we find out that our loved fur baby is diagnosed with Feline Diabetes, but the good news that FD is managable.
I am glad to hear your health situation is better, I am sure is a relief

ProZinc and Lantus are a great insulin for cats it is a 12-hour insulin and gentle for the cat.
A diabetic cat needs to have a diet od wet can or raw foods between 0-10% carbs, most members feed up to 5%, also most members use Fancy Feast Pates, it is US made, regulated so it has no waste, Food chart link below, the third column contains the carb%s. we are looking for DRY MATTER CARBS. A feeding schedule is important, feeding 3-4 small meals or snacks during the day, plus the two main meals before shot, so grazing is not an option, the protocol for ProZinc is FEED-TEST-SHOOT, the shot can be stalled up to two hours if the glucose level is not safe to shoot. you will have to give the next shot at the same time you shot the first, it takes about 2 cycles (2days for ProZinc to begin to take effect in the system, Lantus is a Depot insulin so it will about 6 weeks to build up the depot to begin to see results in the BG , so keeping the same dose and not missing a dose, unless is necessary to reduce or increase is necessary.
You cannot get a glucose level with urine, since you have difficulty home testing, it would be a good idea to use the CGM link below, is a sensor located on the cat, using any phone to read the levels, there are some flaws to the sensors, they tend to read low numbers lower than reality, so is always good to manually test when you have 2-digit numbers, the sensor can fall off or malfunction, so is always good to have extra sensors handy, the sensor lasts 14 days. a non-diabetic cats' glucose levels is between 50-120, please keep posting any concerns you may have, I also agree with you, if FD is all he has, you can do this at home, we can assist you, cats are very sensitive to stress, and vet visits is a major factor, causing high glucose levels and perhaps an increase in doses. what dose/insulin are you giving? we recommend to start with a low dose of 1.0 unit, and increases should be in 0.25 units at a time. for reference you can look at Corky's spreadsheet, he uses ProZinc, scroll to the left, you can see what, when, how much I feed to get an idea, Corky is tightly regulated and I shoot on low numbers, it takes a while to achieve, it is not recommended as a newbie, we are very numbers oriented, so we can all be on the same page and advice you properly, we would like you to create your signature and Kowie's spreadsheet, links below, if you have difficulty creating the spreadsheet, we can create it for you. I know there's a lot of information, but it gets better once you get the hang of it, you're going to do great!
0-10% low carbs
11-15% medium carbs
16-24% high carbs (mostly gravies)

Sticky - New? How You Can Help Us Help You!
https://felinediabetes.com/FDMB/forums/spreadsheets-tech-support-testing-area.6/
Getting Started With Continuous Glucose Monitors (CGMs) for Diabetic Cats
Info - Dr. Pierson - new Food Chart