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[nanci2589]

Hi: I have four cats, all in their teen years.

The vet called this morning, my love bug Jake is a diabetic - his sugar count was 600. Needless to say I was shocked. His sister Millie is in the early stages of renal failure and I thought Jake was heading towards that direction because he's been behaving strangely; sleeping a lot, drinking a lot, eating a lot even though he lost 1/2 pound since last visit.

I need to take him in today because she wants to show me how to administer insulin twice a day, 12 hours apart.

My immediate question is about food. Presently, I leave dry food out all day (ProPlan) because I have one cat that won't eat canned food.

The other three cats get a small can of wet food in the AM and PM and they all graze on the dry food.

I understand that diet is very important so I'm looking for suggestions for the best canned food and dry food I should use.

Thank you.

 

[MommaOfMuse]

Greetings and welcome to the best place you never wanted to be.

Before making a change in diet since you're going to be starting insulin. We need to get you home testing so your baby will be safe during the diet change. As a diet change can drop blood sugar drastically. Testing is pretty easy once you find your groove. But also highly frustrating until you find that groove but its absolutely one of the best tools in bringing your baby back to health, safely.

Unfortunately I'm on my phone atm and can't link you the testing info hopefully someone will wander in that can.

But to answer the direct question. Most commercial pate/loaf style canned food is fine for a diabetic kitty. Personally I have 3 diabetic cats (2 in remission & 1 insulin dependent) along with 13 other nondiabetic cats everyone here eats exactly what my diabetics do just good old fashion Friskies Pate.

Young again zero carbs is probably the best of the drys but its expensive and only available online. But honestly no dry food is actually good for any cat. http://www.catinfo.org has a great section on getting even the most confirmed dry food addict off dry.

Others should be stopping by with other links and tips, tricks and just plain warm welcomes.

Mel and The Fur Gang

 

[Lisa and Witn (GA)]

Hi and welcome to FDMB.

It can be very scary and overwhelming when you find out your cat has feline diabetes. However, with a proper diet, insulin and hometesting, it can be very manageable.

As Mel said, most pate canned foods are fine for diabetics. You want to avoid anything with gravy in it because it is higher in carbs. Many of us feed our cats Fancy Feast or Friskies canned food. If you are starting insulin today, you do not want to change your current diet yet until you begin hometesting. Removing dry food can significantly drop a cat's glucose levels and you have a great risk of hypoglycemia if you are not monitoring your cats levels with hometesting.

With any insulin you want to start at a low dose, 1/2 to 1 unit twice a day. Lantus, Levemir, Prozinc and PZI all work well in cats. These are long acting insulins that cats respond well to. Try to avoid short acting insulins such as Humulin, Novolin, Caninsulin and Vetsulin. They have steep drops and it is harder to maintain the blood glucose (BG) levels. If your vet prescribes either Lantus or Levemir, ask for the prescription for the pens instead of vials. With the pens you will be able to use almost every drop. With a vial, it will become ineffective long before you can use all of it and you will end up throwing a lot of it away. Also, if you are in the US, look on the Lantus or Levemir website for discounts for the pens.

Hometesting is done with a glucose meter. You can use either an animal glucose meter or human glucose meter. The advantage for the human meter is they are cheaper to buy and use. Plus most pharmacies will have the test strips. With the animal meter, they are expensive and strips are not easily available. You will test a small drop of blood from your cat's ear before every shot to make sure it is safe to give the dose. We can help you learn how to test. It sounds scarey, but once you get the hang of it, it is not very difficult to do. You just need to find the way that works best for you.

Ask any questions you may have. We have all been where you are now and are here to help you.

 

[nanci2589]

Thank you for your response. Jake is on 2 units of Lantus twice a day. The vet suggested not to do home monitoring because her experience shows that the cat will tolerate the prick a few times but then after than, they usually hide or are difficult to test. Initially she wants to see Jake a few times a week but right now, his numbers are too high that the amount of insulin won't be too much. She said I certainly can do home monitoring if I want but where Jake is on hypertension meds because he has high blood pressure, she just doesn't want any more stress introduced. After a few weeks and once she has him at a normal level, we can revisit the home monitoring.

I guess I'm looking for opinions - I am totally overwhelmed. His sister Millie is in the early stages of renal failure so her diet is opposite what Jake needs. Then Missy, my rescue will only eat dry food and not canned. My calico Molly will eat both.

When we got home, Jake immediately went to the dry food dish so I opened a can of Purina's DM that the vet gave me and he gobbled it down. The vet said that I really need to monitor his food and deter him from the dry. I feel that I need to be here 24/7 to monitor my cats. The best solution I can come up with is to take the dry food away and only put it down when Missy is looking for it. Of course it needs to be taken away when we go to bed. Four cats meowing in my face all night is going to be a treat because I know they'll be looking for their food!

 

[dirtybirdsoaps]

I guess I'm looking for opinions - I am totally overwhelmed. His sister Millie is in the early stages of renal failure so her diet is opposite what Jake needs. Then Missy, my rescue will only eat dry food and not canned. My calico Molly will eat both.

Not necessarily, have you read Tanya's site? Theres also support group.
http://www.felinecrf.org/what_is_ckd.htm

heres her food chart
http://www.felinecrf.org/canned_food_usa.htm

I'm not too educated with renal disease, but know you want low phos. I have been reading some only because my vet thinks Hidey is showing signs of kidney disease so I'm trying to find a diet suitable for both. Key seems to be low carb, low phos, and not too high of protein although the protein issue seems to be a debate.

 

[Thebudster77]

Hello and Welcome to FDMB,

I am Kevin and have 2 kitties that are diabetic and while it has only been 34 days for me, the people here have helped me so much and I have learned so much more than I ever would have from the Vet.

First and foremost, IMHO, there is NO substitute for at home testing. Without it, I would not be any where near where I am now and my boy Jack would not have improved to the level he has. He still has a way to go and the ONLY way I feel I can get him the rest of the way, is with Home testing and asking questions here. The folks here are terrific and they all care just as much for kitties as we do. What better company could we keep?

My vet supported at home testing because other than a spot check (extremely insufficient) that they can do with a meter just like the one I have, the only other thing a vet can do is a fructosamine test which only tells the story over a period of time. Not good enough! If you read posts here and do some research you will understand why. The Vet tech had a diabetic cat and she takes the blood from the paw and showed me how. Because of possible infection, I said nope. The ear is much more accessible and really, it is easy.

I thought it would be a daunting task to test and give insulin. It is nowhere near what I thought it would be. You too can do it, if you love your kitty anywhere near what I do, then you too will be able to do it.

Jack was dx on 8/9/14, his legs were wobbly, he was drinking a lot of water and overall appearance was not what it should have been.

I got the meter that the Vet recommended. Mostly because I did not know any better. In hindsight, because the majority of the people here use Human meters and the numbers that we present to them and ask them for advice on are best analyzed by those familiar with those same numbers. Samantha now has her own Human meter. ReliOn Confirm. They are much more inexpensive than the AlphaTrak that I got, not only in initial cost but the per test cost which is where you will see the significant difference ( .40/Test vs. $1.25/Test).

I have to go test, feed and give insulin to 2 kitties right now so I will leave you with this simple advice.

Do the home testing at all costs.

I will be back in a few to let you know what I am feeding them.

 

[Critter Mom]

The vet suggested not to do home monitoring because her experience shows that the cat will tolerate the prick a few times but then after than, they usually hide or are difficult to test.

Utter piffle! :roll: (Although after seeing the palavor that the staff went through when testing Saoirse at my previous vets after she was first diagnosed I can see that if your vet is basing her view of home testing on similar experiences in a surgery setting it's not an unfounded opinion.)

When you get your pusscat into a familiar routine in a home setting with lots of fusses, praise and protein treats, home testing can be very straightforward and causes no - or minimal - distress to your furry baby.

Here's a link for the forum guide to home testing for you:

http://www.felinediabetes.com/FDMB/viewtopic.php?f=14&t=287

Home testing is the best tool for keeping your kitty safe. Also, because you will be able to do glucose curves at home, the BG numbers won't be elevated due to vet stress and hence will provide more reliable data for determination of insulin dosage.

 

[Thebudster77]

Hi again,

Here is a link that I just found by doing a search on Fructosamine Test in cats. http://www.vcahospitals.com/main/pe.../diabetes-in-cats-testing-and-monitoring/1082.

I think it gives a good explanation on the differences between at home testing and Fructosamine testing as well as other tests performed by a vet with a diabetic kitty.

I feed both kitties, Purina DM wet. I have seen hear that Fancy Feast Classic Pate's and Friskies are ok too. Under 10% carbs is the rule here and no dry.

Jack is still having some DM chows but ONLY as a treat. He has snubbed his nose at the Freeze dried, shrimp, salmon and turkey. I have the chicken left but I doubt he will go for that either.
On the other hand, Samantha now has enough treats for 6 months. I will still search for a treat that Jack will eat, but if I have to give him the DM chows as ONLY a treat, then that is what I will have to do. It is just not fair for Samantha to have some and not him. He deserves it more than her, he is a class A Trooper and she whines. She was only in the mid 300's and I knew before I took her to the vet that she had diabetes. How did I know? I used Jack's meter.

As far as a Vet's advice goes, this is my experience. While my vet supported at home testing (a blessing), she wanted to do a urinalysis with culture $250. A regular urine test along with blood work tells the tale of Diabetes. I was told the culture would tell if he had a urinary infection that would not respond to regular antibiotics. His urine was do diluted that they ended up not doing a urinalysis. Although he presented no symptoms (urinating outside the box, straining, or blood in the urine), I did opt for the Antibiotics. IMO a needless $54.51 but I was panicked as it was with the DX.

So as you will learn, Each Cat is Different (ECID), so are vets. Some have more experience with Diabetes than others. In their defense, each of us are different too, and they do not know how much we can handle and how far we will go with treatment. My vets's goal was 175-250. Mine is 80-100.

As Shelly put it (I do hope you meet her, she is "Da Bomb"), A vet has to be a generalist just by nature of dealing with Cats, Dogs and what ever other furry creatures we humans have. But that aside, if you have heart problem, you most likely would not want a generalist handling that. You go to a Cardiologist who eats, sleeps and drinks heart issues. Does that make sense?

Since I am not aware of Diabetes specific Vets (I am sure there are ones who are), this forum is one of the ways that you can connect with the people who have ate, slept and drank kitties with diabetes.

You wrote

Initially she wants to see Jake a few times a week but right now, his numbers are too high that the amount of insulin won't be too much

Home testing will tell you that and more at a substantially reduced cost and stress on both you and kitty.

You also wrote

she just doesn't want any more stress introduced

. Is that for you, your kitty or her paying her staff and overhead ? Either way, if you are like me, I stress out when I have to take them to the vet for ANY reason. It is known that a visit to the vets induces stress and causes their BG level to be raised. So what better way to provide less stress, than to do at home testing?

My Jack was 634 at the vets office upon DX. I am thoroughly convinced that, I had not opted for at home testing, that he would have been at a higher level and for longer than he had to. The key is to get his numbers down to 200, where Glucose is no longer spilling into the urine. From there it is a fine tuning process to lower the numbers to a better range for a healthier for kitty. That takes patience and persistence and without home testing, I feel it would not be possible.

All the best to you and yours.
Kevin

 

[BJM]

We use pet-specific reference numbers with human glucometers to evaluate the readings. See my signature link Glucometer Notes for reference.

 

[javasfambam]

Hey!

Just wanted to pop by and offer my two cents, along with all the fabulous info you've already been given.

We have a tale of two vets. The vet who treated Java when he was in clinic after being diagnosed as diabetic and ketoacidotic said no no, there is not point home testing. The next day when we went back to learn how to give insulin we saw the senior vet who said yes yes! By all means home test! We started that very day. To be honest, it was harder on us that it was on Java. He stood there, got a slight prick and then got treats! Yes, the first couple of times are a bit of a handful, but you both will get used it to, Java knows test time and now goes to his spot and waits for us(well waits for a treat most likely!). Our vet also keeps an eye on Java's spreadsheet which is nice too

We now know exactly what his BG is doing, and how to help him bring the numbers down, hopefully sending into remission - fingers crossed.

Sorry I'm rambling - but - the biggest thing I have had to realise is Java is our responsibility. The vet can give advice, and it's up to us to take it or not. Luckily, the 2nd vet at the same practice we saw is amazing and supportive of our choices. She gives us her advise and we chat, and we then make the decision we thing is best for Java.

So, it's your choice - home test? heck yes! Feed wet food under 10%, find some treats to reward and off you go. Set up a spreadsheet and check in here for the most amazing support a diabetic cat mum/dad could ever want.

It's a journey and a learning curve for you both. There a couple of things i know for sure.....Java is better off because we test and we are less stressed because we test!

The people on this site will teach you everything you hoped you'd never have to know.

C

 

[nanci2589]

Wow, you are all wonderful and so knowledgeable. These responses made my blood pressure go back to normal. So perhaps I didn't give you enough information. Let me talk about my cats; Molly is the oldest, she's 15; Millie and Jake are 13 years old and Missy is probably around 10 years old. I had another cat, Ben who was my 26 pound Maine Coon and my baby. He died suddenly of saddle thrombosis at 10 years old. So I've had cats in my life for a long time. And they are treated and loved better than any human and I'm sure you all feel the same about your babies.

Millie, Jake's sister has early stages renal failure so she can't have high protein food - I was actually able to stabilize her numbers giving her more canned food than dry - dry I leave out all day because Missy won't eat anything else. So there's Molly, Millie and Missy, my females and Jake, the token male!

When the vet diagnosed Jake last week, she was overly concerned. I've been seeing this vet for 6 years now. She knows and cares for my cats although she's not crazy about Molly who hisses and spits at her! I totally get it that it's a money making business for vets and I've come up across this in the past. Unnecessary testing, too many visits, etc. I'm not naïve about that. With four cats, it becomes expensive. I spend $50 a week on litter alone.

Anyway, Jakes numbers were over 600 so there was no doubt he had diabetes. He also had all the other signs that go along with it. I thought he had renal issues like his sister so I was taken back. Her take is initially, home testing isn't necessary because his numbers are so high that I can't be overdoing it with insulin. I've read enough about this to know that too much insulin is as bad as no insulin. Because Jake has hypertension and is on meds for that, she doesn't want me to introduce any stress into his life right now. Her experience shows that pricking a cat's ear will work a few times until the cat decides he doesn't like it and starts to hide or run away. She doesn't want me to deal with that right now.

Initially she wants to see Jake often and I won't be charged. I wasn't charged on Friday when I took him in and for in and out visits and a quick test, she won't charge me and get this, it's not her clinic but she is the senior person and has flexibility. She also gave me her home phone and email to let her know how Jake is doing over the weekend. So maybe I wasn't clear on that part. I am sure I will do home testing with or without her blessing because my son is a diabetic and he said the same thing, I need to home test Jake.

The 12 hours apart is a challenge. I usually get up between 7-8AM most mornings. So if I give Jake his AM shot at that time, then the next insulin shot should be 7-8pm in the evening. She told me that I have some flexibility meaning if I give him the AM injection at 7AM, I can give him the PM injection as early as 6PM but not more than a two hour delay either way. I have to be as close to 12 hours as possible.

This morning I had to wake my husband because I couldn't get the plunger on the syringe to work - DUH, I didn't take the stopper off! I fumbled with the insulin and almost dropped the bottle. I drop the bottle and it breaks, I'm out $300. That's what it costs! First thing I did was prick my finger! Trying to find the right spot with a squirming cat was hard. My husband just watched because he wants me to do it as he's traveling on Wednesday and won't be back until Monday so it's me alone!

Jake seems fine this AM. He's not wobbly which is something I need to keep an eye on. My biggest problem right now is the cat food - I leave dry out all day for Missy and the other cats graze. Jakes has gone over to that bowl several times. I don't want to change the way I do things because it gets confusing for my other cats. But I want Jake to get better and I know food plays a role in this.

When I asked the vet about Jake eating dry food, she wasn't keen on that so opinions will be appreciated. And, waiting a few days before I home test - is that a wise move even though his numbers are high enough that a few days without testing won't make a difference? And is there anyone on this board that does not home test? I need to learn how to give Jake the injections seamlessly to avoid a stressed cat. So to add home testing is making me a wreck!

Sorry for the long email but my mind is in jumbles right now but I want to do the absolute best for my Jake.

 

[BJM]

Good morning from Ohio!

Low carb dry food is nearly impossible to find. There are a few exceptions, such as Young Again 0 Carb (5% calories from carbs as we calculate it; internet only), Stella and Chewey's freeze dried (meant to be rehydrated), Evo Cat and Kitten (about 12% calories from carbohydrate) and possibly one of the Orijen dry.)

But ... dry food is not good for your cats, especially not for your cat with renal disease. Vet Lisa Pierson explains why at Cat Info. She also notes that a low protein diet in early stages of renal disease may result in muscle wasting for the CRF cat. You might print out that section to discuss with your vet.

For any food changes, we suggest swapping out about 20-25% different food per day to avoid GI upsets as those can really debilitate a cat with diabetes or renal disease. Also, many of us leave wet food out for 10 hours to let our cats graze as needed. You can freeze some of it to thaw and be fresh later in the day. If there are any scarfers, a timed feeder such as the PetMate 5 may work well. (Check our shopping link above for sources; purchases there elp support this site.)

 

[Larry and Kitties]

nanci2589 wrote:
The vet suggested not to do home monitoring because her experience shows that the cat will tolerate the prick a few times but then after than, they usually hide or are difficult to test.

I guess my Patches never got that message. I have been testing her at least twice a day for over 9 1/2 years. Same for my other cats but but for lesser times since they have not been me that long.

 

[Shelly & Jersey (GA)]

Can I just give you a virtual hug? :YMHUG: You have a ton to deal with right now, and I know how overwhelming it is for you. We've all been in your position and remember what that was like. You're stressed over the diagnosis, stressed by the conflicting info being given by your vet vs. us, etc. Deep breath. You can do this!

We have several members here who have kitties who are both diabetic and have kidney disease. There's no doubt that having kidney disease makes finding acceptable foods for a diabetic kitty more difficult. They've found some acceptable options, though, so I'm hoping we'll be able to find a food that will work for both Jake and for Millie.

I have six cats and am fortunate that we didn't have any other health issues to worry about other than Jersey's diabetes. With that in mind....we fed Wellness Core (canned food) in the beginning, then switched to Fancy Feast classics, and then added in Friskies Special Diet. Right now, we're back to mainly Fancy Feast.

Oh, the home testing. I certainly know how scary that is. It sounds terrible, and when you're already struggling to get insulin shots going, it sounds even worse. Our first vet prescribed Humulin, which I later found out wasn't the ideal insulin. He told us to give 2 units twice a day and said - and I quote, "That's hardly anything for a cat." Since I previously had a diabetic cat who passed away while being boarded at the vet's office due to what I think was hypoglycemia, I was very nervous about giving 2 units. I started with 1 unit. A few days later, I started getting some tests at home. It wasn't long before I caught a low number of 58 on just .25 units of insulin. (We consider anything under 50 on a human meter to be potential hypoglycemia territory.) I shudder to think what would have happened if I would have given Jersey 2 units of Humulin consistently. We switched to Lantus not long after that. We started low just to be safe, and ended up discovering that just .25 units took Jersey's blood sugar from 429 to 33 in just 6 hours. :shock: I don't say any of this to scare you. I just know from personal experience how sensitive some cats are to even very small amounts of insulin. That's why people so strongly suggest testing at home.

I know you still have more questions, but I'm going to stop there to let you catch your breath. We definitely don't want you to get so overwhelmed with information that you stop posting/stop asking questions. This is an absolutely fantastic place with very knowledgeable people. If you'll stick with us, I have no doubt that we can help you. I came here in January (and started posting in February). Within just a couple of months, Jersey was in remission. She is now diet-controlled.

Shelly

 

[Rachel]

My Gypsy got to loving test time!! I'd test her at least 3 times a day and every 2 hours when I could...she came running when she heard the sound of the glucometer. I never once had to chase her down.

Home testing is truly the safest option. Using bribes...er...treats each time makes them love it!

 

[nanci2589]

Can I just give you a virtual hug

Boy Shelly, did I need that!

So what I did was copy some of your post about home testing and sent it to my vet's email. She responded immediately and this was part of her response:

Humulin n is a different type of insulin. It causes a fast drop in the blood sugar. Lantus, which is what Jake is getting, causes more gradual decrease of the blood sugar and a more predictable response

She added that where I am concerned and new at this, let's drop it down to 1 unit beginning tonight until I see her next week. She said it's conservative. She totally understands how I want the best for Jake and agrees to the home testing. She said that it was too much to dump on me all at once and where she is seeing Jake in a few days, it can wait until then. She did say that there is a difference between human and pet machines. I don't even know the proper name of these testing machines. See what a newbie I am!!!!

But I do honestly appreciate all the comments and suggestions. I'm feeding my renal cat separately from Jake because she can't have too much protein and Jake can't have too many carbs! This is a fun house! Missy won't eat anything but dry and Molly, the diva is fussy about everything. This morning she brought in a tad pole that was out in the birdcage!

I just gave Jake his PM injection and I did pretty good! No fumbling nor did I prick my finger! Jake just sat on my lap and didn't flinch so I knew I did it correctly!

I'm sure I'll have a hundred questions about home testing. I bought him Friskies and Fancy Feast Pate. I told him it's like having a Happy Meal every day. This is not my food of choice. The vet said it's okay, she's not a fan of the sugar content but cats will eat this over prescription canned food.

Again thank you and feel free to share any tips on monitors and lancets - I understand the pet lancet is not as good as the human lancet. True?

 

[BJM]

Yes, pet and human meters do read differently.

human meter / 0.65 = pet meter estimate
pet meter * 0.65 = human meter estimate

See my signature link Glucometer Notes for more info.

 

[Shelly & Jersey (GA)]

I knew you'd need that hug. ;-) Been there, done that. I needed a million of them; it is terrible starting out. So much to learn, so many different opinions, so many fears.....

I'm so glad you sent the vet the information about the test numbers. She's absolutely right; Humulin is pretty harsh with big drops. Did she happen to say anything about how the .25 units of Lantus brought down Jersey's numbers so quickly/harshly, too? I'm just curious. I'm glad that she is supportive of home testing. That's great. The lower starting dose also makes me feel a bit better. Our first goal is to keep kitty safe.

Believe me, I was a complete "newbie," too. I spent hours upon hours scouring this site for information. My advice - don't try to learn everything at once. Just take it a piece at a time. Okay - so you had a question about the machines (aka glucometers or glucose meters). We'll start there. There are basically two different types: human glucose meters and pet-specific meters like the AlphaTrak. We know that the human meters read lower on cats than the pet-specific meters do. We take that into account when we're looking at the numbers, though. For example, we say that we need to reduce the kitty's insulin dose if the kitty's glucose level falls below 50 on a human meter. If we're using the AlphaTrak, we say that we need to reduce the kitty's insulin dose if the kitty's glucose level falls below 68. So, 50 on a human meter = roughly 68 on an AlphaTrak meter.

Most people here actually use ReliOn brand human meters from Wal-Mart. The AlphaTrak meters get expensive to use. The test strips for them are about a dollar each. Test strips for the ReliOn meters were about 20 cents each the last time I bought them. Obviously, using the human meter quickly becomes a money-saver if you're testing at home. If you want to use the pet-specific meter, that's perfectly okay. Just don't let your vet (or any vet) convince you that you have to use it. You certainly don't. (In fact, the second vet we went to uses a human meter in his office.)

Let's say that you were going to go shopping for testing supplies. Here's what we would recommend:

• 1. Glucose meter (Most people here use the ReliOn Confirm or Micro.)
  2. Test strips to be used in the meter.
  3. Lancing device - Mine came with the lancing device. If yours doesn't, you may want to pick one up. Some people use a lancing device; some people don't. It's just personal preference. The lancing device, by the way, is just the little doo-hickey that holds the lancet (the needle).
  4. Lancets – These are the needles that you will use to poke the ear (or paw) to draw the blood. A lot of new members start with a bigger gauge like a 28g or 29g. As the ear “learns” to bleed, they can then switch to a smaller gauge like a 33g. (The smaller the number, the bigger the “needle.”)
  5. Neosporin with Pain Relief – I used the Equate brand. Make sure you get the ointment with pain relief and not the cream. Dabbing some of this on the ear after testing can help keep the ear in good condition. (I actually used it prior to the poke to help the blood well up.)

Okay, I know that list sounds terrible. Please don't let it scare you away from testing at home. It is much worse than it sounds. Just to give you an idea - we tested on Jersey's paw. We heated a sock that we had filled with some rice and warmed Jersey's paw with it (we tested on the paw, not the ear). Then we put a little dab of Neosporin on her paw. We poked her with the lancet, held the test strip (which had been inserted into the meter) up to the tiny drop of blood, and the test strip drew the blood in and gave us a reading. Then we applied pressure with a cotton ball and put another tiny dab of Neosporin on it. Jersey never flinched when we did it, and she always got a treat afterwards. Getting started was hard, I admit. It definitely got easier with practice, though. In fact, I am now able to test her by myself and don't have to use the rice sock to warm her paw. People have tons of testing tips when you're ready for them.

I'm not crazy about Fancy Feast or Friskies, either. They're low in carbs, though, so that's a good thing. One thing I might mention - be careful of making any food changes if you aren't testing at home. We've had kitties here who were on insulin and high-carb food. When they switched to low-carb food, the kitty all of a sudden needed a lot less insulin - and ended up going into remission. Again, I'm not saying it to scare you. It's just something to be aware of.

Have you seen the information about how to deal with hypoglycemia? Again - I'm really not trying to scare you. I just want to make sure you know what to do in a worst-case scenario. Here's a link to more information about it: http://www.felinediabetes.com/FDMB/viewtopic.php?f=28&t=15887

Okay....so again, I'll stop there so you have a chance to absorb the info and ask questions.

Hang in there (and let me know if you need any more virtual hugs)!
Shelly

EDIT: P.S. I forgot to tell you good job on the insulin shot tonight.

 

[KPassa]

Welcome! :YMHUG:

You have been getting some fantastic information already. I just wanted to check in on you guys and see how you're doing. Have you already been back to the vet?

I bought him Friskies and Fancy Feast Pate. I told him it's like having a Happy Meal every day. This is not my food of choice. The vet said it's okay, she's not a fan of the sugar content but cats will eat this over prescription canned food.

:?: If there were a high sugar content in these foods, then they wouldn't be good for our diabetics. :roll:

Again thank you and feel free to share any tips on monitors and lancets - I understand the pet lancet is not as good as the human lancet. True?

I've never used a pet lancet or lancing device before, but I do use a human one. I've tried a ton of different lancing devices and by far, my absolute favorite is the Accu-Chek FastClix. You can buy it separately from the meter (i.e. if you're using a ReliOn meter). Not only is it incredibly easy to use, it's also pretty quiet...about the same sound as a click-pen. Whatever lancing device you use (or even if you decide to try free-hand), make sure you test it out on yourself first to figure out how it works. ;-)