New to site with a few questions and concerns..HELP!

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Tomtomsmom

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HI all! I am new to this forum as I just told by my vet that my cat (Tommy) has diabetes. My boyfriend and I are so concerned about what this going to mean for our baby how and he is going to handle having insulin injections. He hates the vet, growls, screams, yells and hisses. It is an ordeal every time. I am not sure how Tom is going to handle having an injection 2x a day. Does anyone have a "bad vet cat" who handles the injections well? If not, how do you deal?

Also, the vet gave me an prescription for Purina DM cat food..is there anything comprable out there that would not need a script and be so expensive? If this is what he needs, then that's what he will be getting.

Thanks for hearing me out. I appreciate whatever advice you can give me.

Mimi
 
Hi, Mimi, welcome!!! I think a few folks here have cats that hate the vet so hopefully one of them can assist with that. As for the food, most folks agree that DM isn't the best option and that premium canned food would be cheaper and better. I will let the more experienced folk help you with that in more detail, however. I don't want to tell you the wrong thing since I"m still new myself. :)
 
Thanks for your post. I am reading many posts here and I don't feel so alone. I also made a copy of Binky's list. OMG what a god send! It's $42 for 24 cans of Purina DM. Holy cow! What's good is that we had a clue that my cat Tom had diabetes and stopped all dry food a few weeks ago. However, his blood sugar when tested over the weekend was still over 400! UGH! :o

I appreciate your sentiments and I hopely your cat will be better soon! I know this can be reversed and I will not stop until I get my baby there!

Mimi
 
My Mikey gets VERY stressed at the vet, and he handles insulin injections just fine. I give them while he's finishing up his breakfast and dinner and he never even notices.

You do NOT need to feed the expensive DM food! The canned version is OK, but many cats don't like it very well. You want to avoid giving any dry food at all...think of it like feeding a human diabetic candy and French fries. Most of us feed low-carb canned foods-we aim for under 7% carbs in most cases. The tricky part is, you can't tell from the can what the % of calories from carbs is. Luckily we have a wonderful chart that gives this info. Fancy Feast classics are a choice that many people use, along with Friskies pates, Sophistacat pates (soon to be relabeled as Great Choice, sold at PetSmart), Special Kitty, etc. when on a budget. My cat gets Fancy Feast and Sophistacat on a regular basis and switching to a wet diet dramatically lowered his blood glucose before we started insulin. Here's a link to the chart: http://binkyspage.tripod.com/canfood.html

And that last part is key: a change to a low-carb, all-wet diet can lower BG significantly. If you have not yet started insulin (and you can probably hold off a few days to make the switch; talk to your vet), you can make the switch relatively quickly (I went cold turkey, but many cats get upset tummies at a fast change like that) and then start insulin once you have new glucose numbers for the adjusted diet. If you have already started insulin, make the change to low-carb wet food slowly, as it is likely to significantly lower the BG numbers...which would also require a reduction in insulin dose.

Now, about those BG numbers...most of us test our cats regularly at home, and it's very important to do so. You can use an inexpensive human meter (the Relion Micro from Walmart is a popular choice as it's inexpensive, easy to use, and has the least expensive test strips. You have to buy strips separately. The meter is about $9 and the strips are cheapest in bulk-100 for $36)

For cats that get stressed at the vet's, home testing is even more critical. Stress can cause BG numbers to skyrocket (or, in a small number of cats, drop). That means if you dose your cat with insulin based only on readings at the vets, it may end up being too much. Too much inslulin can lead to hypoglycemia, which is potentially fatal. Your vet will likely recommend you get insulin curves done (testing every two hours over a 12-14 hour period.) These are very important, but they don't necessarily need to be done at thee vet's. I have never had a curve done at the vet's. I do them at home and email them to my vet. It's easy to learn and far less stressful on the cat as well as usually being more accurate. You do NOT need a meter made for pets (SUPER expensive), you just have to understand the numbers are a bit different on both. 70 or so-120 is normal for a cat on a human meter, and I think it's closer to 90-150 on a pet meter. If you and the vet know that, it doesn't matter what meter you use. Some vets, for reasons we don't understand, discourage home testing. You can ask if they would ever recommend a human diabetic not testing regularly! You don't need their permission to do what you know is best for your baby!

If you take a look at the link in my signature that says Mikey's SS, you will see the spreadsheet that most of us use to track our cats' numbers. I'm sure someone will point you to the directions to setting one up-it's easy. Testing is important; you will need to, at minimum need to test before giving a shot and once or twice during the cycle. I tested a LOT before I fugured out how insulin affects Mikey, his curevs aren't normal and he hist his nadir early. You will want to test enough at first to know your cat's nadir. Some insulins (Lantus, Levemir) are dosed on that number, and you always want to see how low your cat is dropping on the insulin, so you can catch a too-low number fast.

This board is an amazing place for help and support!There are people here with far more experience than I have, and I'm sure some will weigh in with even more information and ideas to help you. Welcome!
 
Hi Mimi and sweet Tom. I think you will find that there is little relationship between what Tom hates about going to the vet and how he will feel about your home care. Is he already on insulin? If so, what kind and what dose? Are you home testing his blood glucose? Now that you have Binky's food list you are armed in the food war. No need to pay prescription prices. Most of us feed from that list and the kitties do fine.

Welcome to the place where your concerns will be understood, your question answered and a community of people who will stand by you every step of the way.
 
Hi Mimi (and Tommy)

My cat wasn't a vet hater, but plenty of them are, so I'll let someone who has dealt with that answer that part of your questions.

I'll talk about the food part of your post. Purina DM is not a terrible choice, but there are plenty of good alternatives.
Here are a couple links for you to look at:
http://binkyspage.tripod.com/CanFoodOld.html
http://binkyspage.tripod.com/CanFoodNew.html
http://catinfo.org/?link=felinediabetes

The first two are charts that show a whole bunch of canned food options. The last is to a really informative site that explains feline nutrition, why any dry food is not a good thing, and how nutrition and feline diabetes go hand in hand.

The key to treating diabetes and food is "carbs". A low-carb, all canned diet is the best thing for a diabetic cat. If you look at those charts, pay particular attention to the "% calories from carbohydrates" numbers. "Good" food for diabetics would be any that contains less than 10% carbs, and less than 7% is even better. Basically, the lower the better. You will see that many brands that are sold "over the counter" like Friskees, Fancy Feast, Sophisticat, Special Kitty.....all can be found at the grocery store, pet store, or walmart, and for a lot less per can that the Purina DM. If you have already gotten the DM, you can return it to the vet for a refund, just tell them that Tommy isn't a big fan and won't eat it. Many cats won't, in fact, after the first couple of days.

Plenty of others will drop by soon to help. You've found the best source of information in the world for feline diabetes!
 
Bandit HATES the vet. Which is why home testing was so imperative for us. I'm really glad my vet pushed it on me--she said that with Bandit's stress with being there there was no way office testing was going to give her accurate values, so I HAD to home test. Boy, am I a million times glad she told me to. Not only does it save a TON of money (you don't have to pay for any vet testing for glucose values if you're home testing--NONE), it's unsafe and nearly impossible to regulate a cat successfully without home testing.

Even fractious cats end up being just fine with home testing--as long as they get a low carb treat with each test. Bandit fought me tooth and claw at first, but after a couple of weeks he not only stopped fighting, he started running to me when he heard the glucose meter beep on. Many people with difficult cats will tell you similar stories. It's not the ear pricks that the cat hates--it's being restrained and doing something new to them. Once they get used to it and realize they get rewarded, they tolerate it just fine.
 
Yes. I stopped feeding Tom all dry food approximately 2 weeks ago when we noticed the changes in his drinking/urinating habits. I was just told this morning about his being diabetic and that his blood sugar was over 400 over the weekend when he was tested. We haven't started on the insulin just yet. I have to make an appointment with his vet to be taught how to give the injections and to have other testing done.

I am hoping to reverse the diabetes just with the change in food alone but I know that he will need insulin shots for a bit before we can change anything. He is only 4 years old! He lost 5 lbs within the past few weeks. He was 22 lbs and now is 17. He is a very long cat and the vet says that if he goes below 15 lbs it would be too much.

Anyone out there who was able to reverse diabetes with diet alone and maintain it for a long period of time?

Thank you all for your input! My boyfriend and I are just devasted over the news and we are just heartbroken that this might be his way of life from here on.

Mimi
 
First, welcome Mimi and Extra Sweet Tommy!

Tomtomsmom said:
... My boyfriend and I are just devasted over the news and we are just heartbroken that this might be his way of life from here on.
Mimi
Click to expand...

You can put your devastation and heartbreak away now - this isn't the end of the world, just the beginning of a new experience for all of you! First thing to learn and keep in mind is that insulin is NOT a chemical medicine, it's a hormone that should be secreted by the pancreas and either isn't or it isn't producing enough. You'll be giving him something that should be in his body naturally. When I got that thru my head, it made me think totally differently.

HUGS!
 
Poopy and I welcome you to the FDMB family! cat_pet_icon

I'll address the Hates The Vet visits. My long time vet always sedated Poopy to examine him. Yea, Poopy was that bad at the vet's office. Shed, dandruff (like it was snowing), hiss, spit, bat (can't claw - long story), bite...you name it.

At home, Poopy is my baby. He let's me love on him...as long as I don't touch his belly or paws (those are his no-no areas). The vet didn't think I'd be able to give Poopy shots, and was adamantly against home testing.

I'm familiar with diabetes from growing up with two brothers having it. It just made no sense to not home test. How on earth would I know how the insulin was doing for Poopy if I didn't test? The folks here were great about helping me accomplish home testing! (Thanks all of you!)

It's been a month since Poopy was diagnosed. He has yet to squirm away from me for shots, in fact he hardly realizes I'm giving them. I think they bother me more than him! The home testing was a bit of a trial, but he now perches on my lap and purrs while I do it.

If Tommy let's you pet and love on him, he'll let you do the shots. :smile: Just be sure to give him his lovings before and after. :-D (Hint: Sometimes it's simpler to give the shot while they are busy scarfing down breakfast or dinner. ;-) )
 
Welcome welcome to the Tommy family!

An answer to your last question...yes, you can manage diabetes with food alone...... remission. Which is what My Sugar Bean is... We were only on insulin for a short time as you can see in her spreadsheet in the signature. She will always be a diabetic and fed low carb foods and treats, but we were one of the lucky ones that became OTJ (off the juice).But there are many many more doing the same.
Of course there is no guaranty, but it is possible.

I do know that without this site: full of advice, support and gently guidance toward the right way to handle this sugar dance, I would not have my Bean here today. Again, you can see by her spreadsheet, she hypoed from the first test I did. But, we were shooting without testing for about 1 month - eeeeks! Since that first test where she was only 27, I made her a promise to never ever shoot again without testing before.

With that said, we did have to get our routine down....lots of ppl here will have lots of tips and tricks to make that happen with every kitty on this forum...

Hang in there and Tommy will make it thru this and soooo will his parents!

Do you know what type of insulin the vet plans to use???
 
:YMHUG: welcome Mimi and Tomtom and dbf ( dear boy friend) to the sugar dance family :smile: we call our husbands her dear husbands ( dh) :lol: thats why the dbf ;-)

we all have felt everything you are feeling right now but trust me fd is so do-able and tom will love you all the more for making him feel better cat_pet_icon dancing_cat if you thought you loved your Tom before just wait , this brings a love and closeness like no other ;-) hang in there an take it one day and one bg number at a time we are all here to help you with this dance dancing_cat

bigs :YMHUG: from callie and marty ;-)
 
I AGREE, learning to look after my diabetic pusso has been really hard, much harder than I expected. But it can and will be done.
 
I don't know where you are but at least in the US in some larger metro areas there's often vets that operate on a house call only basis, usually out of a modified truck or van. Might be more expensive, and changing vets isn't always the best thing but for some animals who hate leaving the house (or owners who find it difficult to do so) it might be an option to look in to.
 
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