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graftonjerry

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Hello and thank you for a wonderful site. We brought are cat to the vets 3 weeks ago, me hoping of a bladder infection , realizing that it may be renal failure or possibly diabetes. After 10 days of antibiotics and no sign of improvement the 2nd trip to the vet. This time a full blood panel confirmed diabetes. With the 3rd trip scheduled for tomorrow morning to learn how to monitor and give shots. The 2nd trip was Tuesday night, we were sold a bag of Purina DM dry and told that sometimes with a diet change cats can go into remission. Ten minutes after walking through the door I found this site and the next day, Wednesday the cat (Garfield) was on Wellness wet food. Thankfully what ever is in front of him is his choice of food so there wasn't any transition.The first couple of days on wet saw a decrease in both his water consumption and his urination. I divide his meals to 1/2 a can morning and night and use the DM as a treat. The figure on the blood panel was 384 where from what I read normal is below 200. I'm holding out that our cat (Garfield) gets extremely stressed every time we go to the vets, so much so that within a couple of blocks in the car he has diarrhea so maybe the stress is increaseing his glucose levels. And the vet is 20 miles from our house, not fun in the winter. Anyway Thanks again for all the info and if my lurking doesn't answer my questions I'll be sure to ask.

Jerry
 
Welcome Jerry and Garfield,

It is great that Garfield will eat the wet and that you have changed his diet. I would go ahead and take up the dry. We have lots of lo carb snacks you can buy: Lo carb treats

If you want to learn, we can teach you to test at home. It will save the stressful visit to the vet and the cost. Here is how it is done: Video for hometesting
 
hi Jerry & Garfield!
It sounds like you are off to a great start!! If you start hometesting, that will help keep those stress-induced high glucose levels in check, because you'll be able to see his level at a moment's notice without a stressful drive, and sitting in the waiting room with barking dogs, meowing cats, tweeting birds.... Plus it'll save your wallet, too :lol: You have found a good place with lots of people who care so deeply for these kitties. Read around and ask anything you want!

Claudia & Charlie
 
Hi Jerry & Garfield.

As you are discovering, diet change can make a significant difference in diabetic cats. That does not mean that you may not need insulin, but with the proper diet, if you do need insulin, it will help it work better. One recommendation is to completely remove the dry food. All dry foods, even those with low carbs still can significantly raise a cat's glucose levels. You should be able to take the DM back to your vet for a full refund even if the bag is open.

Please do consider learning to hometest. Especially since Garfield becomes stressed by going to the vet. By testing before every meal or shot, you will learn how well the insulin or diet is working to control his diabetes. Also, if he is prescribed insulin, you will learn when it is safe to give it.

There is a lot of information on this site. I recommend reading the posts about diet, insulin, hypoglycemia and hometesting first. Feel free to ask us any question you may have. We have all been where you are now and we are here to help you.
 
Welcome! I went to Wal-mart and bought a Relio Micro meter, then purchased the test strips at the pharmacy counter there. The meter was $9 and the strips were $20 for 50. I buy 28 gague lancets at Target since they come with caps to put on the needle after you are finished (and target is closer). I also bought a sharps container at Wal-Mart.

When Cedric was diagnosed in April I found this site right away. I changed him to a grain free, high protien & low carb diet right away. He was already eating 3 oz of canned and 1/2 cup of dry food a day. I was feeding him Wellness and Blue Buffalo Wilderness canned plus the Wilderness dry (also grain free, etc). his numbers lowered some (see spsh below) but were still in the 200s. The gang here finally convinced me to take the dry away and when I did, his numbers went down 100 points. Two days later, they were normal and he has not had any insulin since (I gave it away to a friend who now has 2 FDs).

Home testing is important. I still test Cedric about once per week, and his numbers are in the 60s. I have not been very good about updating his spsh this month due to the stray cat I have rescued, but I still keep it in a log book. With your help, your cat's diabetes can be controlled or he can go into remission. You can do it!
 
Welcome Jerry & Garfield

You have definately found the BEST place to be---HERE.

You are very fortunate to have a kitty that will transition quickly!! Lucky you. But, with that said, please purchase the meter etc and home test. After I took up all dry food and my Sugar Bean started eating only ff and friskeys, her numbers dropped from in the 400-500 to 80! Almost overnite, well within 1 week. She has been OTJ (off the juice) since 5/24ish and was dx on 4/21ish! Changing that food and her treats (petco tuna flakes now) changed her life. There was a mishap on mommys part as I shot her with 1 unit, and tested 2 hours later (we were very very new at testing), and she was only 27! This site helped me for over 4 hours and she made it. I was sooo glad and promised her to never shoot insulin again without testing first. Of course my vet discouraged me and raised her to 2 units, but I took the advice from here and still have her with me today.

Many paw hugs and welcomes coming your way
 
Thanks for all the encouragement. Just returned from the vet. Six days ago Garfield's numbers were 386, this morning they were 265.The vet was hesitant on putting him on insulin and suggested I continue with the lo carb approach. Had he not forgotten to pick up the insulin ( humulin n) he would have injected him this morning. I asked that he be put on Lanthus which he wrote out a script for and gave me 20 or so syringes. I'm off to buy home testing supplies and will test both him and myself under less stressful conditions.

Thanks
Again
Jerry
 
This sounds like a plan! If you need tips on hometesting, we all have ideas that worked for us.

Mine is to make the rice sack and use it. And be sure to get some 25-27 gauge lancets. Sometimes they include 31-33 gauge and those may be too small at first to make a hole and get blood.
 
graftonjerry said:
Thanks for all the encouragement. Just returned from the vet. Six days ago Garfield's numbers were 386, this morning they were 265.The vet was hesitant on putting him on insulin and suggested I continue with the lo carb approach. Had he not forgotten to pick up the insulin ( humulin n) he would have injected him this morning. I asked that he be put on Lanthus which he wrote out a script for and gave me 20 or so syringes. I'm off to buy home testing supplies and will test both him and myself under less stressful conditions.

Thanks
Again
Jerry
Click to expand...
Jerry, that is great! Glad to hear the diet change has already helped and your vet gave you a RX for Lantus. And it's nice of your vet to give you syringes. Lantus is a U100 insulin, so double check them to make sure they are for U100 insulin before you use them, OK?
 
Hello and welcome!

You're already off to a great start, and it is wonderful that you followed your instincts... your cat will thank you!

A few questions...

1. Did the vet do a fructosamine test? It measures the average blood glucose over a 2 week period and would help you to rule out vet stress as the cause of the numbers you were seeing. In most cases, the lab can add the test on after blood work has been done, so if you don't have one, you may want to request it.

2. Glad that your cat likes the Wellness! It is a good food that many cats here use. As an FYI, it is one of the few low carb options that is available in the larger 13 oz. cans, so it can be more cost effective than other options.

3. Sooo glad you were able to convince the vet to give you Lantus instead of Humulin. Debby is right, though... please make sure your syringes are U-100 syringes and not U-40 syringes (most veterinary insulins are U40). You can pick up Relion brand syringes at Walmart for around $13 for a 100 pack. Write this down when you go to the pharmacy: U-100 syringes, 3/10ccs, 5/16" needle, either 30 or 31 gauge. You want ones with 1/2 unit markings instead of just 1 unit markings.

4. Please take the time to stop by the Lantus forum where there is a TON of valuable information in the stickies at the top of the page. I highly recommend that all new folks print them out and put them in a binder with the phone number to your vet as well as the closest 24 hr emergency vet on the cover (and the address/directions if you've never been there). If you are ever in a crisis situation, the last thing you want to do is dig for a phone number. I know when I first started 9 months ago, I could never remember where stuff was in the stickies. I'd need a piece of info and be digging around for it. Having them in a binder helped me find what I needed more quickly, and let me take notes, highlight, etc. I still use it!

5. Treats are definitely an important part of the hometesting routine! We use Purebites. They are just freeze dried chicken, so no carbs. Get the ones in the dog food aisle as you can get a larger bag and the cost per ounce is much cheaper. You should give a treat with every ear poke, whether successful or not. Before you know it, Garfield will be asking to have his ear poked!!

Please continue to ask questions as you have them. You'll find that this place is like a family, and foks are very generous with their time and their knowledge.
 
As far as I can see there was not a fructosamine test done.The syringes I got are U 100's. and I got 30 gauge lancets by mistake. From the video does everybody not use the lancet pen and just prick the ear holding the lancet ?

Thanks
Jerry
 
I use the lancet pen for testing both of my diabetics, I never could get it down free-handing it, but I do use the clear cap on the pen rather than the solid one.

Mel, Maxwell, Musette & The Fur Gang
 
If you are going to try tonight and can't exchange the lancets, you can try double poking. A quick second poke in the same spot as the first makes a bigger hole.
 
Hey Jerry and your Extra sweet baby! I'm not sure we've said Welcome!

I use the lancet pen 'cos I can't make myself poke his ear. The key for KT is getting his ear warm. Sometimes it's quick 10-15 seconds, sometimes it takes 30-45 seconds. As long as it's warm, we get a good drop.

You're sure off to a good start - good work!
 
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