New & very overwhelmed!

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KattyT

KattyT

Member Since 2014
My Oliver was diagnosed today, he took it well but his mom (me) not so much. It is very overwhelming. He is 12yrs old and now weighs 14lbs, which is down from 20lbs (and the reason we went to the vet) Our vet has us on the Pro Zinc twice a day with 2 units. She was very calm explaining everything and showing me how to give shots, I thought I was doing well until I started reading up. Now I am more nervous than ever, any advice would be welcomed and appreciated!

Thanks,
Ollie's Mom
 
Welcome, Oliver and his mom!

It is very overwhelming at first. The best suggestion is that instead of trying to do and learn everything all at once, tackle one problem at a time. Try to look at feline diabetes management as having only 3 aspects: insulin, home-testing, and food.

First, you've been prescribed a great insulin, so you got one aspect already down. :thumbup I don't use ProZinc so I'm not as familiar with it, but it's generally recommended to start with 1u and work your way up from there. Do you happen to know if your vet mentioned Oliver's blood glucose numbers (BGs)? If so, do you remember what they were?

Second, home-testing. We strongly recommend home-testing your cat just as a human would test their own blood sugar levels. Many cats are able to go into remission with a good insulin and a diet change (step 3), so you want to be testing in order to see if your kitty is one of the lucky ones who becomes diet-controlled and no longer needs insulin. You don't have to buy an expensive pet meter and most of us here use human meters, which are just fine for this task. We also have tips and tricks for testing to help you along the way. Whereabouts are you located? Depending on your location, we even have recommendations for inexpensive meters, too. :-D

Finally, a low carb, wet food diet. This vet explains why it's important for our obligate carnivores to have a species appropriate diet. Since you're already giving insulin, you will want to hold off on this last step till you start home-testing since changing the diet can decrease BGs significantly, causing a corresponding reduction in insulin dose or even an elimination of insulin altogether.

Your cat didn't become diabetic overnight, so give yourself some time to read and learn and ask questions. And don't hesitate to tell us to slow down or clarify something. We all started where you're at and now we're paying forward the help we once received. :YMHUG: Around here, the only bad question is the one that goes unasked. ;-)
 
Hi and welcome aboard!!
It is very scary at first!! When I was first shown how to shoot (almost 3 years ago) the first thing I told my vet was that I could never do this! My kitty was a feral cat when I found her and took her in and she is now almost 17 years old. She did not like to be touched and I had a nightmare of a time just getting her in a carrier. Still do! Well to make a long story short - we are now the best of friends! She allows me to pick her up and give her her injections. She will now allow me to brush her and from time to time she will even come sit next to me on the couch. She still don't really like me to hold her but she allows it long enough for me to test and shoot twice a day! It did not happen overnight!! It was a slow process and I had so much help from so many people on this board. I could not have done it without them. You will find so much knowledge and experience here! You found the right place!
Terriy & CL
 
Hello Ollie's Mom, and welcome to FDMB :smile:

I think most of us here probably felt overwhelmed at first. We do understand how you feel.
Just take things at your own pace, and remember to breathe...

KattyT said:
...I thought I was doing well until I started reading up. Now I am more nervous than ever...
Click to expand...
Sweetie, you are doing well. You've started treating your cat's diabetes. Excellent stuff!
And now you reading up to find out more about it.

OK, I expect you've found out that - for optimal management of feline diabetes - there is a wee bit more to it than just giving the insulin shots (please correct me if I've got that wrong).
There are probably zillions of folks out there who just give their kitty insulin shots twice a day and never think any more about it. But the truth is that there is more that can be done - if the caregiver wishes to do that.
Kpassa has outlined the three key aspects above: Insulin, hometesting and diet.

Most of us here test our cat's blood glucose at home. This probably sounds a bit scary, but is actually not that difficult to learn.
'Hometesting' basically involves pricking the outer edge of the kitty's ear to get a teensy droplet of blood; transferring that droplet to a test strip in a glucose meter; waiting for meter to count down and give a result; and rewarding said kitty with a treat or a cuddle.

Hometesting shouldn't hurt the kitty and brings a lot of benefits. It would give you a detailed understanding of how the insulin is working in your kitty; it will give you a sense of control over the situation; it will help you protect your kitty from hypoglycemia; and it should save you money in vet's bills as all blood glucose testing can be done at home.
Here is a link to a page of pics and info about hometesting:
http://www.sugarpet.net/bloodtst.html

Do ask any and all questions you want to. We're here to help.
And here's a big reassuring (((HUG))) for you. :smile:

Eliz
 
To see what the glucose numbers can mean, take a look at my signature link Glucose Notes.

See Secondary Monitoring Tools signature for some supplemental methods of assessing your cat's health, incuding urine ketone/glucose testing (ketones may indicate a complication), dehydration checks, and so on.
 
Thank you for all of the info! Oliver's BG was 472 when they first tested him, after we had been there a while and the vet was trying to show me how to do the ear test it went up in the 600's. We are in Kansas, so any recommendations for places for supplies would be appreciated. I think the vet was trying to steer me towards a pet testing kit not a human one, but with all of the questions I have I will be calling them on Monday about a lot!! Oliver has never been much of a dry food eater (only as a last resort cause he was starving) so he has mainly been eating wet food anyway. I just need to get rid of the not so good ones, I was happy to see much of what he already was eating was on the list of approved foods I found on here! I was wondering about why sweet kids are prone to UTI's?

Thanks again!
Ollie's Mom
(Tami) :smile:
 
Here's a shopping list. I am thinking if you already have a human glucometer when the vet suggests a pet one, you can politely decline. (it is not only the initial cost that is higher but the strips are much higher also and hard to get in an emergency if you need extras.)

First, a human glucometer. Any one that sips and takes a tiny sample is fine. Some members stay away from any meter with True in the name and the Freestyle meters. Some people think they are unreliable and read lower than other meters. The meters are often free at drug stores; it’s the strips that are expensive. You can, however, buy them on ebay at less than half the price of stores. Lots of people here also like the ReliOn from Walmart. It is an inexpensive meter and its strips are the cheapest around. Try the meter out on yourself or someone else before you try it on your cat. You want to be familiar with it before you poke the cat.

Lancets and a lancet device. Usually, until the ears “learn” to bleed, a 26-28 gauge is good. Any brand will work as long as the lancets match your device.

Ketone strips. (Ketostix) Just like human diabetics use. You will sometimes need to test urine if the numbers are high.

Rice sack. Make this out of thinnish sock, filled with raw rice or oatmeal and then knotted. You heat this in the microwave until very warm but not hot. Then heat the ears before poking. You can also use a prescription bottle filled with very warm water. It provides a good surface to poke against.

Also nice to have. Flashlight: so you can look at the ears and find the little capillaries that come off the vein running down the ear. Vaseline: Put a tiny smear where you want to poke. It will help the blood bead up.

And some lo carb treats to give your kitty, successful test or not Lo carb treats

How to get the cat ready for home testing:
First pick a place where you want to test. Some people use the kitchen counter, a blanket on the floor, between your legs while sitting – whatever works for you. Take the kitty there and give him/her lots of praise while you play with his/her ears. Give a treat and release. Next time, add the rice sack (thin sock filled with raw rice, heated in the microwave until very warm but not hot) or a prescription pill bottle filled with very warm water. Lots of praise, treat and release. Finally add the lancet so he/she will get used to the noise. The hope is that when you finally poke, they will be used to the process and know a treat is coming!

I am sure someone will have a good scientific explanation, but I am thinking sugar is a good breeding place for bacteria, so the extra sweet kitty is a good candidate for UTIs.
 
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