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RachelandConner

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Hi. My name is Rachel. My kitty's name is Conner. He is either 13 or 14. I don't know. I rescued him 8 years ago from an elderly gentleman who had been caring for Conner for a year prior to that. He was just diagnosed with diabetes this past Monday. Fortunately that is the only problem Conner has at this time, other than his companion cat, Owen, growling at him. To this point I have given him two shots, but he is also a little dehydrated, so my husband and I get to give him IV fluids for the first time tonight. This is all a bit nerve-wracking for me and trying to figure all of this out (diet, insulin, all the misinformation out there) in such a short period of time is also a little frustrating. My husband, being a diabetic himself, isn't worried and thinks that we should follow some holistic remedies that are out there and once the insulin is gone, go that route. My thought are, this was traumatic enough for him and myself, I don't know that I want to do that. Anyway, just wanted to introduce myself.
 
Hi and welcome to the group.

Can you tell us:

what insulin you are using?
how much you are shooting?
how often?

Are you home testing? Do you know about home testing?
what kind of food are you feeding?

Here is my generic welcome message that will you will hopefully find helpful that gives you some basic information and links to get started:


This forum is a great place to gain knowledge and really learn how to manage feline diabetes. By doing just a few things each day (that really won't take up much of your time at all), you won't need to worry about losing your precious cat, not where feline diabetes is concerned.

There are three key factors to managing diabetes: food/nutrition, home testing and insulin

1) Feline Nutrition: Now, as far as diet - definitely dump the dry food (if you are feeding any) and if the vet recommends purchasing prescription food like DM just say "no thank you". ALL cats, and especially those with diabetes, do best on a species appropriate diet that is high in protein and low in carbs. Dry food DOES NOT fit that bill and DM food, even canned, just really isn't that great as far as quality. Most here on FDMB feed low carb/high protein canned, raw bought from a pet store or they make there own.

Here great links, one is to a food chart put together by one of our board members that breaks down the carb % and protein % of most of the commercial brand foods. You want to keep the carb % below 10% and around 7% is great. The other link is to a site by a vet "Dr. Lisa DVM" ... who also posts on this board from time to time ... there is in-depth info. there about many things, including nutrition and how to make raw food.
Nutrition/food info

The good thing with feeding your diabetic cat this way, is that it is ALSO good for any non-diabetic cat too. All your cats can safely eat the same food without worry and it may save you some costs and headaches of having to do separate feedings and keeping track of what they are eating.


2. Home testing: It is impossible to convey the value of testing your cat's BG (blood glucose) level at home. Some vets will "suggest" this, but most won't even mention it. They will send you home with insulin and an amount to shoot and maybe some instructions about hypoglycemia (blood sugar dropping to a dangerously low level).

Well, the thing is, human diabetics don't EVER give themselves insulin without checking there BG to make sure it is safe to do so, so why shouldn't it be the same for our kitties. Here on FDMB it is. You will notice that the vast majority of people here test their cat's BG at least 2x/day (before giving each shot to make sure the level is safe enough) and periodically at other times to see how the cat is responding to the current dose. We use a human glucometer, test strips and lancets - which are all very readily available and easy to use.

Our kitties get lots of love and treats for "putting up" with this and most of them actually come out to be tested on their own 'cause they want those treats . Here is a collection of great links that "Carolyn and Spot" pulled together about hometesting. See what you think ... it truly is the best way to not only keep Your cat safe but also really get a handle on this disease and help him to live a healthy life with FD (feline diabetes).

Home testing Links

3. Insulin: There are several types of insulin available. Many people, myself included use Lantus or Levimer both of which are great insulins. They are gentle insulin and given twice (BID) per day in 12 hour increments. Or you could also choose PZI or the new version called Prozinc.

Please read up on the insulins available, here is a link to the Insulin Support Groups:

Insulin Support Groups

However, one caveat and again this shows how these three things are inter-related:

If you are feeding dry food or even a high carb food, BEFORE removing these foods, please make sure of your insulin dose as it will most likely need to be reduced, so as to avoid a possible hypoglycemic situation due to the removal of the dry/high carb foods that will lower the BG’s and reduce the amount of insulin required. Again, another reason why home testing is important.

I know this all seems like a lot, and that's because it is ... there is a learning curve here. But as long as you are determined and keep at it, you will have it down before you know it and you'll be seeing the results in Your cat' overall health and happiness. Ask all the questions you can think of - that's why we are here!

Also, if you haven't done it yet, take the time and fill out your profile. It will help when others come on and read this. Also, let us know where you live - city/state as there are probably people in your area who can provide on the ground support and help you to learn home testing, etc.
 
Hi, Rachel, welcome to you and Conner.

What insulin was Conner started on and what dose? What are you feeding him?

The very best thing you can do is learn to home test him. That will tell you what his blood glucose is (BG) and if it is safe to give the insulin shot. Then you can get spot checks and see how low the dose is taking him. I hope this will be easy for you since your DH has a meter, I am assuming, and you can learn together. Hopefully someone will post links to the hometesting info. It take a little practice, but becomes easy.

Second is addressing diet. The vet Rx diets are not very good, even the canned ones. The dry ones are terrible for any cat. I feed my cats, including the two diabetics, Friskies and Fancy Feast low carb varieties. Both my cats were diet controlled for a while, but one is needing insulin again. Quite often a short course of insulin and a proper diet can put them into remission.
 
Most diabetic cats need insulin - the holistic route just isn't too effective. Plus, many herbs and supplements that may be fine for people are dangerous or toxic to cats. Please be very, very careful about using such remedies!
 
Welcome! You've found the right place to educate yourself and work towards getting your kitty healthy again =)

I recently started following the advice of the lovely folks here and my boy is doing SO WELL =) I am very happy I found this place and started listening to the smart people around here, because my boy is playing for the first time in I don't even know how many months =)
 
Hi Rachel, and welcome!

The question of who do you trust is a huge one, particularly on the internet.

The person I trust most is Dr. Lisa Pierson, check out her site at www.catinfo.org and see what you think.

As for holistic treatment of diabetes, you can't get more holistic than insulin since it's merely a replacement for what the body isn't producing. The combination of a species appropriate diet and a long lasting insulin is leading to an increased number of remissions for diabetic cats. Read our FAQs and take a look at the insulin fora to get an idea of how cats here are doing.

Gia & Quirk (GA)

Guilt trips are a detour from life
 
The vet has prescribed ProZinc. 1cc two times a day. The vet was trying to get us to use the prescription diet, which I told him we had some canned cat food. I have checked some of the links on here, especially the cat food guide. That was extremely helpful and I have already purchased some of the foods that were high in protein, low in carbs. I also highlighted some of the better choices for Conner so that list will be going with me on the next shopping trip. I decided that if my husband pushes the cinnamon thing, I am going to tell him to do it first, then we will try it on Conner. That should cure that fairly quick. Right now, I am not doing any testing, I will speak with the vet about that when we go in for Conner's two week follow up. I also have a cousin who is in vet school who I have asked a million questions of in the last couple of day. Right now I think they just want him to get rehydrated and put on some weight. On the plus side, he is getting back to his very sweet self.
 
If my cats are any indication, putting him on wet food will get him pretty hydrated. I was refilling water bowls five+ times a day when we fed dry food. Once I switched to canned food, I pretty much just dump the water out three times a day because it has fur floaties or BB has washed the litter off her paws in it. I saw Tugger drinking last night and was surprised, had to look twice to see if he was eating or at the water dish :lol:

He's also putting weight on, though the weight gain started pretty much with the insulin kicking in. As did the massive clumps of fur he was leaving behind him everywhere he flopped down to rest.

Once you start getting things under control you will see big changes I think =)

I do recommend home testing your kitty, especially if he's been eating kibble and you take it away. Look at Tugger's spreadsheet and see how his numbers tanked. There were some other factors, but I really think the food change caused the huge drop. If I hadn't been home testing I would not have known he started going into scary low almost hypo numbers almost the first day of canned only food. I fed him some food with a little bit of gravy on it and the numbers came back up and since then... he's just been steadily trying to show us that he really doesn't need a whole lot of insulin now that he's eating low carb. I'm sticking to the 0-5% as much as I can but when he has low numbers I give 6-10% and I have higher carb ones for low low numbers. He's responding so well, I'm really happy :smile:

Ask you hubby if he'd been eating nothing but steak or chicken all day long with water only to drink, would he take his medicine without checking his blood sugar first?
 
Welcome.

What were you feeding before you bought the new food?

I ask simply because if you are switching to low carb/high protein from a higher carb diet, the BGs will naturally come down. This would be a main reason it's so important to hometest.

Assuming your husband tests his blood sugar before he takes insulin, it's the same with your kitty. It's important to know the BG so you know it's safe to give insulin and while his sugar may be coming down from the new food, it's even more important.

I'd also add that going to the vet is stressful, stress can raise blood sugar and the reading at the clinic may be higher than the natural reading at home. White coat syndrome, fear of the vet, that sort of thing.

You're already well on your way with all the research you've done. You have a very lucky kitty.
 
Hopefully you are really giving 1 unit NOT 1 cc twice a day. 1 cc of insulin would probably kill your cat. Prozinc is a U40 insulin (40 units of insulin per cc). Are you using U40 syringes? A lot of people use the human U100 (100 units per cc) syringes. One unit of Prozinc would be 2 1/2 unit marking on a U100 syringe. What syringes are you using?

RachelandConner said:
The vet has prescribed ProZinc. 1cc two times a day. The vet was trying to get us to use the prescription diet, which I told him we had some canned cat food. I have checked some of the links on here, especially the cat food guide. That was extremely helpful and I have already purchased some of the foods that were high in protein, low in carbs. I also highlighted some of the better choices for Conner so that list will be going with me on the next shopping trip. I decided that if my husband pushes the cinnamon thing, I am going to tell him to do it first, then we will try it on Conner. That should cure that fairly quick. Right now, I am not doing any testing, I will speak with the vet about that when we go in for Conner's two week follow up. I also have a cousin who is in vet school who I have asked a million questions of in the last couple of day. Right now I think they just want him to get rehydrated and put on some weight. On the plus side, he is getting back to his very sweet self.
Click to expand...
 
Rachel, if you ever need anything - I am in the Kansas City area as well. I have only been at this about 3 months - but I feel soooo much better than when I started. Baby is on Lantus (different insulin) but feel free to message me anytime ;-)
 
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