New to board and diabetes

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Tuxedo Mom

Tuxedo Mom

Member Since 2014
I hope I am doing this correctly. I posted earlier and it looks like I posted on someone else's introduction thread. I am so tired and stressed from zillions of hours of reading that I may not have the proper protocol down for this forum. If I am doing it incorrectly please forgive me and tell me where to post.





I am Mom to a newly diagnosed diabetic (2 weeks ago) 14 year old male Tuxedo or Tuxie as I usually call him.

Increased drinking and urination, less activity and having trouble jumping were the main symptoms I saw. The vet did full blood work, urinalysis and T4. All were within normal ranges except glucose 22 (Canada) 400 (US) and glucose in the urine. No ketones were detected.

He is on Lantus 1 unit twice a day. The vet will be doing a glucose curve tomorrow. I bought an AlphaTracker but I am still having some trouble doing the test without stressing him. He stresses very easily!!! I just bought ketodiastix to check his ketones and urine glucose.

Both his sister and him on a good home-made diet for the last almost 8 years. The vet said to stick with the food I make since it is totally good for a diabetic cat ( or normal cat). Tuxie tended to be slightly overweight, but not anywhere near obese. He currently weighs 12 lbs and it looks good on him.

I came across this forum in my relentless search for information on diabetes. I look forward to reading all the information and having a support group to help me in this new road Tuxie and I am travelling.

Thank you!!
 
This is the exact right place. Welcome to the forum and the sugar dance.

If you want to create a signature (User Control Panel at top left of your screen) then you can add some info about you and your kitty. And the link below will show you how to set up a spreadsheet that we tend to use here. Its a great resource for recording your data and we can all click on the link to see how you are getting on. It helps when you need advice on dosing to see what his numbers are.

viewtopic.php?f=6&t=18207

Looking forward to finding out more about you.

Juliet and Silver
 
Thanks for the welcome.

I will try to figure out the profile set up and spreadsheet in a few day. My mind is on overload with diabetes readings at this time, so trying to wade through the setup is beyond my ability right now.

Tomorrow is Tuxie's first glucose curve test and I suspect there will need to be an adjustment made to his insulin, since his starting doses haven't brought much of a change in his symptoms after 2 weeks of treatment. I really need to learn how to use my glucometer without stressing him out so much.
 
Welcome! This is an incredible site with all kinds of useful info & helpful, caring people.

I never can get links added (probably need a tutorial!) but if you go to the Health Links section and select Hometesting Links and Tips you'll find very valuable info for testing your kitty.
 
Hi and welcome to FDMB.

So far you are off to a great start for caring for Tuxie's diabetes. Lantus is a very good insulin for cats and 1 unit is a good starting dose. You are also planning to hometest.

I am not sure what your homemade diet consists of, but a low carb/high protein diet is best for cats. With it being homemade, you can make adjustments to your recipe if you need to lower the carbs.

As you read over the info on this site, ask any questions you may have. You have a lot of experience on this board and we are here to help you.
 
Thanks for making me feel so welcome.

Tuxie's homemade diet is high protein (good quality muscle meats and organs...bought locally no hormones, antibiotics...etc) and very low carbs. I have been using the formula for almost 8 years for Tuxie and his sister. I had a nutritional vet go over it and "tweak" it when I first started making it. So as far as the food, even the vet agrees that it is more than adequate for a diabetic cat. Tuxie has never eaten dry food...he doesn't care for it either..which is good.

I guess I am still in a bit of shock. Considering that he has never been really overweight and has been on a decent diet for 8 years it was the last thing I was expecting. I always thought diabetes showed up younger if it was genetic or developed because of overweight and/or poor diet. So all of a sudden at age 14 to get the diagnosis was right out of left field. His sister Maxie, same age and from the same litter, is a healthy bouncing bundle of energy and poor Tuxie is diabetic.
 
You're where we all have been re the shock. I joined here about a month after diagnosis and it's only her. Two months for me. Thx more info you can take in from here the more confident you'll be and you'll be dosing as testing like a pro before you know it!

Juliet and Silver
 
Thanks kittymom777

I will get over the shock..but the more information I have the better. Not that I don't trust my vet, but she is newer. The vet I really like is on maternity leave until March. I will not just take directions from any doctor..human or vet without being well armed with lots of information. Once my brain stops reeling from all the reading I have done the last 2 weeks I should be able to digest the information better. And having this forum may be able to save my sanity as I go along :-D
 
Welcome aboard! Good for you that you don't let yourself be led around by the nose by vets or doctors,without researching on your own.Neither do I.Lots of mixed information out there,and hard to know what to do sometimes.One thing we can all agree on ,is that this forum is a great place to be in our situation with our sugar kitties.iI am a newbie myself and leave most of the advise giving to more experienced people,but will pop in now and then and see how you are doing,and keep you encouraged. I make some of my own cat food also,using Dr.Lisa Piersons recipes,from catinfo.org.My bunch doesn't always want to eat it though,so I have to mix it with canned.Do you do raw or cooked?
 
Tuxedo Mom said:
Thanks kittymom777

I will not just take directions from any doctor..human or vet without being well armed with lots of information. :-D
Click to expand...

Definitely a good plan......I am quite convinced the forum here has saved my cat's life. My vet just emailed me today saying how well Silver was doing - and that was by IGNORING her advice.

Juliet and Silver
 
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