newbie concerns

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beccalecca

beccalecca

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I guess I will go ahead and introduce me and my cat. My name is Becca and my cat is Star. Star came to us from a friend, who rescued a litter of kittens and their momma from underneath a porch. She got these feral kitties used to being around people, and then found homes for them one by one. The two that took the longest to get comfortable with people, she grew quite attached to. She kept one and gave us the other. We called her Star. She's been with us for 6 and a half of her approximate 7 years of life. She has moved with us across the country twice. This week our vet informed us that she has diabetes. And we aren't sure what to think of that.

Our concerns? The expense and the time commitment are highest on the list. We worry that we will never be able to travel again, which makes it hard because we have two young children who like to see their grandparents and cousins in other states (we could hardly expect our friends to fulfill her needs and I expect a kennel would make expensive travel that much more out of our reach). We worry that my husband has been drastically underemployed since he graduated two years ago and I only work part-time. In a much too expensive area of the US. A vet bill of almost $300 just to get her diagnosed? And the vets we've seen so far have all been sort of like car mechanics -- whatever they estimate before we come in is a far cry from what they bill us when all is said and done.

In the meantime we bought some cans of food. Up until now we have been feeding her dry food. She weighs 14 pounds (her daddy was a huge tomcat, she's got a large frame)--we used to give her 3/4-1 cup of dry food, always given to her around our dinnertime in one serving. She would graze on it until she finished the next day. How much wet food does that mean she needs? And how do we get her to leave us alone in the night when she wants more food? Seriously, our 18-month old isn't sleeping through the night, and now the cat is waking me up too! I guess we'll have to go see our vet's insulin demo, but I'm not sure how much $$$ that will run. He wants to see a lot of her over the next 8 weeks. Again, more $$$. And quotes aren't really that helpful.

And so we waffle. Can we really commit to helping Star now? What choice do we have? How long can we do this? Finding a home more capable of helping her seems unlikely. We have a hard time not doing anything. But how can we justify going into debt for our cat (much as we love her)? What choice do we have?
 
becca, i just want you to know i am here and reading your post so you won't go off line. i'm reading again and will repost in a minute ok?
 
ok dearest becca, now that i have fully read your post i completely understand your feelings and dilemma.
the first thing i want to absolutly assure you of is that treating diabetes can be very inexpensive....seriously. and the folks here can help with even that. as a matter of fact i would like to send you a bunch of stuff today! the newbie kit...along with a whole big bunch of syringes etc.
next, the time thing. many many many of us here deal with that issue differently. do you fly to see your family? or drive? could kitty come with you? i know mine would hate to travel. the actual treatment at home..if you were to have a sitter or something is realllllly not hard at all. specially if you get your cat regulated.
and guess what....cathcing it early? your cat could very conceivably become diet regulated with proper insulin treatment for a month or so....it happens here quite often.
we have much to discuss.
are you game to try it?
and yes, for now...not forever, but for now...star gets to eat all day long if she wants. i'll explain later. just leave a bunch of wet food, gravy it up with water and leave it out all night.
lori
 
Welcome Becca and Star,

Okay first step, breathe, we can help you help Star and not break the bank. Yes, the upfront cost can be a little much in the beginning. But over the long run its not bad and we have ways to make it even cheaper.

First and foremost, we can teach you to test her blood sugar at home. We even have a newbie kit program through here that we all donate to so newbies like yourself get off to a running start. Lori and Tom handle that and all she asks is that you pay the postage which I think last time I checked runs about $6. There should be a link to it at the top of the board, Look for Kits of Cats. That will get you a meter, test strips and even a special gift for Star. Not only will testing Star at home give you truer numbers, and keep her safe when on insulin you can also run your own curves and take those instead of the cat to the vet, or like some of us, just email them or phone them in...this keeps money in your wallet.

Secondly, don't buy into the vet's prescription catfood, there is plenty out there on the commerical market that is better in quality and just as good if not better than the prescription stuff. Personally I have 11 cats, and only one diabetic and everyone here eats what the diabetic does. Friskies pate style canned food. Take a look at these lists anything that is under 10% carbs will work just fine. http://binkyspage.tripod.com/canfood.html. My own diabetic is 15lbs and a large cat (very tall and long) he eats a can and a half (5.5oz) of food a day, now in his case he is in remission, so he is eating like a normal cat again. Star right now is literally starving because her body can't process what she is eating correctly. So she is going to need to eat more until her blood sugar gets regulated. Many either free feed canned food, serve small meals several times a day, use timed feeders, or even freeze food so kitty can eat as it thaws...all of them work, just depends on what works for you and Star.

Travel, well a lot of us just travel with our cats, if she travels well or you can get her use to traveling that is one option, some of us trade cat-sitting, and others hire a pe sitter or board, which yes, can be expensive.

But there is also a good chance with a diet chance and a short course of insulin Star may go into remission and not need insulin. Not every cat does, but we have seen an aweful lot of them that do. Then it would be just like a having a normal cat again, except she will always need to be on a low carb diet, no more dry food ever.

Now the questions we are all going to ask...What insulin did the vet give you and what is the starting dose? What are you feeding her? And are you willing to let us teach you to test her at home?

Oh yeah, Welcome to the FDMB family, you are now in the best place you never wanted to be, but are so blessed to have found.

Mel, Maxwell & the Fur Gang.
 
Welcome :-D

Has your cat started insulin yet? If yes, what is the name of the insulin and dose?

beccalecca said:
Our concerns? The expense and the time commitment are highest on the list. We worry that we will never be able to travel again, which makes it hard because we have two young children who like to see their grandparents and cousins in other states (we could hardly expect our friends to fulfill her needs and I expect a kennel would make expensive travel that much more out of our reach). We worry that my husband has been drastically underemployed since he graduated two years ago and I only work part-time. In a much too expensive area of the US. A vet bill of almost $300 just to get her diagnosed? And the vets we've seen so far have all been sort of like car mechanics -- whatever they estimate before we come in is a far cry from what they bill us when all is said and done.
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Lots of people here travel. They leave their diabetic cat in the care of a vet tech, a pet sitter, a fellow board member, or a kennel. Some even take their cat on the trip (easiest if you're going to be driving somewhere).

Ask the vet techs at the vet office you go to if they do pet sitting on the side for extra money. A big plus is that they are familiar with giving injections and about diabetes. Some pet sitters will give medicines. You'll have to call around and ask. A pet sitter or vet tech will come to your home twice a day, more if requested, to give the insulin and feed and play with the cat and keep the litter box clean.

Some kennels will give medicine but you'll have to give explicit written instructions on the medicine and how much to give and how to give it. Some vet hopsitals offer medical boarding.

Where do you live (general area)? There are members all over the world on this board. There might be someone who lives in your area and can pet sit for you.


In the meantime we bought some cans of food. Up until now we have been feeding her dry food. She weighs 14 pounds (her daddy was a huge tomcat, she's got a large frame)--we used to give her 3/4-1 cup of dry food, always given to her around our dinnertime in one serving. She would graze on it until she finished the next day. How much wet food does that mean she needs? And how do we get her to leave us alone in the night when she wants more food?
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Unregulated diabetics are always hungry so feed as much as your cat wants but without causing a huge weight gain. Try splitting a 5 ounce can throughout the day and adjust as needed.

Use a programmable timed feeder to give your cat small meals. Many people like the PetSafe 5 compartment feeder Canned food won't spoil if left out all day but do throw away uneaten food after 12 hours. You can freeze canned food into chunks and put those into the feeder if you want. They'll slowly thaw out.

What brand of food did you buy? Many commerical brands of food are good to feed and don't cost an arm and a leg. You do not need the prescription stuff. Not all commerical foods are low enough in carbs for a diabetic. Use the helpful food charts: http://binkyspage.tripod.com/canfood.html Feed any food that has a number 10 or less in the carbs column.

[quote! I guess we'll have to go see our vet's insulin demo, but I'm not sure how much $$$ that will run. He wants to see a lot of her over the next 8 weeks. Again, more $$$. And quotes aren't really that helpful.

And so we waffle. Can we really commit to helping Star now? What choice do we have? How long can we do this? Finding a home more capable of helping her seems unlikely. We have a hard time not doing anything. But how can we justify going into debt for our cat (much as we love her)? What choice do we have?[/quote]


The initial cost for the diabetes diagnosis and getting all the necessary supplies is pretty high. But you can keep costs down. Here's the Frugal Feline Diabetes page: http://binkyspage.tripod.com/frugal.html.

You do not need to take your cat to the vet every few weeks for a check up or blood glucose curve. You can do your own blood glucose curves at home by using a Human blood glucose meter. Keep a log of the blood glucose numbers and share them with the vet. You'll save $$ right there.

If your vet prescribed Lantus or Levemir insulins, buy the pack of 5 insulin pens instead of the 10 ml bottle. The pack of 5 pens will last you at least 5 months while the 10 ml bottle may last a little over a month or so. The pack costs more (I think around $200 now?) but lasts you several months vs the 10 ml bottle which is $115 or so which you need to buy every month or so.
 
Oh yeah, forgot to add, once we know what insulin you are on, we have all kinds of tips on making that reasonable cheap as well.

Mel, Maxwell, and The Fur Gang
 
Thanks for the reply, Lori. I actually did order a newbie kit like in your signature line last night, thinking that would help us avoid the vet more often. I felt like placing that order was a kind of decision. A let's-give-this-a-try-for-a-bit-and-see-how-bad-it-is decision. And then this morning I questioned myself again and thought I better post here.

We generally fly to visit family nowadays. We have driven in the past when it was just us, and Star came along on one or two trips. But when she started hyperventilating we started leaving her home. She handled flying on our last cross-country move better than we expected, so perhaps that's a possibility. Possibly less expensive than kennels. I haven't quoted any kennels yet. I haven't quoted sitters either. Our friends generally just stop by for us every few days, so I feel like I would need to find someone who does real cat sitting to ask more of them. We are in the greater Boston area.

Our vet said that 15% of cats self regulate after a year, so we should not count on it. My husband did the talking, and after I heard his report I wondered how that breaks down if you do home monitoring and diet changes, or if he was giving us a best-case scenario.

She gets to eat all she wants? Hooray. She will not have to resort to putting teeth marks in our paper books in the night to wake us up.

Star hasn't yet started insulin. We wondered if we should try to call around other places or what. The vet wanted us to bring her in to demonstrate the insulin and we haven't called him back today yet. Is there a certain type of insulin we should try to argue for? Or is it cat dependent?

And the food -- we switched her from Purina ONE, and my husband picked up a handful of Friskies pate at the grocery store yesterday. We thought we'd price around to see if we can find bulk later. Star used to get these as "treats" before, so she's not arguing with the switch at all. Speaking of treats, are there low-carb treats on the market somewhere?

Yes, I am game for trying this. I think we have to at least see how it goes. Thanks everyone for your help!
 
beccalecca said:
We are in the greater Boston area.
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You're in luck - there are several members who live in that area :-D

This Boston-area pet sitter was recommended to me: http://www.4seasonspetcare.com/index.html The person is a former vet tech for my vet :smile:

Our vet said that 15% of cats self regulate after a year, so we should not count on it. My husband did the talking, and after I heard his report I wondered how that breaks down if you do home monitoring and diet changes, or if he was giving us a best-case scenario.
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Some cats never quite get regulated. My diabetic always had bouncy blood glucose levels despite low carb canned food and frequent blood glucose testing and small dose adjustments as needed and being tested for things like insulin antibodies :roll: Vet said my cat's diabetes was weird but he happy and healthy otherwise :smile:

If you start a low carb diet right away and use a good insulin and test blood glucose at home, your diabetic has a very good chance of going into remission :smile: Lantus insulin in particular has a very high remission rate if started right away.


]Star hasn't yet started insulin. We wondered if we should try to call around other places or what. The vet wanted us to bring her in to demonstrate the insulin and we haven't called him back today yet. Is there a certain type of insulin we should try to argue for? Or is it cat dependent?
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Ask the vet for Lantus (aka glargine) or Levemir (aka determir) insulins. Both of these work very well in cats, though some vets may not be familiar with Levemir. You buy either of these at the Human pharmacy with a prescriotion.

ProZinc is a pet insulin. Your vet sells it and you can buy from a veterinary pharmacy. I've never used it so I can't tell you how it works.

Do you feel comfortable with your vet? If not, you can call around and find another vet for a second opinion. If you live fairly close to Boston (or don't mind driving in), I highly recommend my vet :thumbup You can send me a private message for the info.

And the food -- we switched her from Purina ONE, and my husband picked up a handful of Friskies pate at the grocery store yesterday. We thought we'd price around to see if we can find bulk later.
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Friskies is fine but not all of the varieites are low in carbs. Use the food charts :smile:

Star used to get these as "treats" before, so she's not arguing with the switch at all. Speaking of treats, are there low-carb treats on the market somewhere?
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Low carb healthy treats: http://felinediabetes.com/FDMB/viewtopic.php?f=14&t=9172 :-D
 
Hi, I just wanted to stop in and welcome you! I'm so glad that you have decided to treat star .. the bond you two will develop because of feline diabetes is amazing .. we have all grown closer to our kitties!

Our girl mocha was diagnosed at just 5 1/2 years old, so a young one like your kitty .. It took just nearly two years (22 months) for us to get mocha OTJ (off the "juice") It was a long road but we couldn't have done it without the help of this board .. they are amazing!! Not every cat goes OTJ but it is possible ...

Anyways, just wanted to stop in and say Hi!
 
As it so happens we have a wonderful lady in the Boston area that I will sent a message to so she can look in on you, her name is Claudia and perhaps she can give you some pointers on vets, and boarding or sitters should you need them. Claudia (cjleo) cares for 7 diabetics so if anyone can help you out its her, and she is close by, I think. In fact she might even be able to swing by and give you an at home and in person hands on help with testing.

My personal favorite and the one that I think we see the most remission rate on, is Lantus, although Levermir, and PZI are also great feline insulin ( well actually the two L's are human insulin used for cats). My guy was a Lantus kitty. Just try to avoid NPH or Humilin N, it is very harsh insulin with steep drops and not to great of a duration. You are also not going to want to start with more than .5 to 1u twice a day. Some vets try to base dose on weight, which may work in dogs but not so great with cats. Which ever insulin you get we have folks that know how to work with it, and once you and we know we can point you in the right direction. If you get either Lantus or Levermir, ask for the script to be written for the cartridges instead of the vials, while they cost a little more upfront you get 5 cartridges that you can open one at a time and use to the last drop, whereas the vial will lose its punch before it is used up. Also watch our supply closet, alot of the time there are coupons or insulin posted there that you can use. When we have a cat pass, go into remission, or change insulins, most of us post there our extra supplies.

Walmart I know carries the Friskies in the large 13 oz cans so that may help cut costs as well. I think last time I looked they had the big cans for under a buck. But be careful not too much fish, if you can try to keep the fishy flavors down to just once a week, as they as high in heavy metals and phosphorous, which just like for people is bad in large doses. The big cans come in Mixed Grill, Turkey and Giblets and one other that I can't remember right now, but all are fine for a diabetic. Just stay away for the gravy stuff.

Low carb treats there are lots of options, what my kids like best though is just plain boiled or raw pieces of chicken (no salt or spices). I usually wait until there is a goo sale on chicken, buy up a bunch and either boil it up for them (added bonus I never run out of chicken broth for cooking) or chunk it up raw and freeze for treats. Walmart also has a freeze dried chicken jerky for dogs that my gang goes crazy for it is called Waggin Train, 22 oz package is $10 and I use kitchen shears to cut it into cat-size bits. one bag makes a ton of kitty treats.

And honestly if this wasn't such an easy disease to manage, I wouldn't have adopted my guy as a diabetic, since I already had 9 cats when my first diabetic pass away (from cancer not diabetes). But it really becomes as easy and routine as brushing your teeth after awhile. And Lori will hook you up with an excellent start in home testing.

Mel, Maxwell and The Fur Gang.
 
Becca I am making your newbie kit right now! And I'm so glad I know who it's going to cause I can get you a little x-tra!
The lantus or levemir will likely be best...but the pzi is also acceptable.
I'm also going to send you the link to show how we test our sugar kitties :-D so stand by.
 
Comfortable with our vet? No, not really. My husband called a bit ago to schedule the "insulin demo" and tried asking what the numbers were for the tests...the question was evaded. What type of insulin? How much will it run? Also evaded. This was the first time we've been to this vet (closest to our house). We've only been here a couple of years and the vet we went to last year has moved. At least they said the demo won't cost anything. That was, frankly, unexpected. They seem hesitant to agree to home monitoring at the beginning -- sounds like they are not trusting people to call the numbers in -- but are quite happy to have it done later.

Thanks for the treats and sitter recommendations!

We're scheduled for a demo on Thursday. I guess that gives Star some time to get used to the new food, and us time to call around to other vets. ;-)
 
beccalecca said:
Our vet said that 15% of cats self regulate after a year, so we should not count on it. My husband did the talking, and after I heard his report I wondered how that breaks down if you do home monitoring and diet changes, or if he was giving us a best-case scenario.

Star hasn't yet started insulin. We wondered if we should try to call around other places or what. The vet wanted us to bring her in to demonstrate the insulin and we haven't called him back today yet. Is there a certain type of insulin we should try to argue for? Or is it cat dependent?

And the food -- we switched her from Purina ONE, and my husband picked up a handful of Friskies pate at the grocery store yesterday. We thought we'd price around to see if we can find bulk later. Star used to get these as "treats" before, so she's not arguing with the switch at all. Speaking of treats, are there low-carb treats on the market somewhere?
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I would show your vet this article: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19592286

This study showed that more than 80% of newly diagnosed cats went into remission with the combination of Lantus and Levemir and the dosing protocol we use here. The odds of your cat going into remission with Lantus, proper diet, and hometesting are extremely good. I speak from experience, as my own cat went into remission about a year ago. I would ask for Lantus because of the great remission rate. Others here also use Levemir and Prozinc, which are also good insulins. Ask for a script for the PENS for Lantus, because even though there's a greater up front cost it's far more cost effective in the long run. Some people have found pharmacies (CostCo, hospital pharmacies) that will sell a single pen out of the pack which would present a lower up front cost. Most of a vial of insulin will go bad before you can use it, so they end up being a waste of money.

I'm not sure what meter Lori is sending, but Relion meters at Walmart are the cheapest I found in term of buying strips in a store. I eventually switched to the Aviva Accuchek and bought my strips on Ebay, which was way cheaper than buying them at the store, but worked out about the same as the Relion.

Apart from diagnosis, I never had any additional vet costs. I set up a spreadsheet with the Blood Glucose numbers I collected on my home meter, shared it with my vet online, and called my vet every other week to check in. You do not need in-office curves or fructosamine tests, no matter what the vet tells you. You can collect all of this information on a home meter.

Home testing is the key to getting your cat quickly regulated, and lowering all of your related costs.

Do you have a PetSmart near you? They sell freeze dried chicken and salmon in the treat section. I've found them to be the most cost effective in terms of freeze dried treats that are easy to pick up. Some people find plain freeze dried chicken (the ingredients should only say "chicken" on the bag) in the dog treat section to be more cost effective. You can also just cook some chicken breast or use deli turkey, or tiny cubes of raw meat, or whatever your cat likes that is low carb (any plain meat or fish--raw, grilled, or steamed(not fried) will be low carb and ok to give as a treat.

Friskies Turkey and Giblets is low carb, and there are some others, too. I know PetSmart has the big cans of Friskies. Check out the link to Janet & Binky's food charts that were posted earlier, and you can find the other Friskies that are under 10% carbs.
 
I don't have relion right now...i was sending freestyle lite with 50 strips....however i might be getting a relion with 50 strips in the mail today or tomorow....sooooooo, should i wait? what does anyone think?
it's the difference between getting the kit by monday or thurs as our mail does not go out on saturday :roll:
i don't remember how much the freestyle strips cost.
 
beccalecca said:
They seem hesitant to agree to home monitoring at the beginning -- sounds like they are not trusting people to call the numbers in -- but are quite happy to have it done later.
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Frankly, it's your cat so you get to make the final call. Many people here don't use their vet for anything other than insulin and syringe scripts. I was fortunate to have a very good vet who advocated home testing and showed me how to do it on the resident kitty in her office, and prescribed Lantus and recommended low carb commercial cat foods. We disagreed on dosing, as she was dosing Bandit like a dog and I wanted to follow the recommended protocol here for Lantus, so I just listened to her advice and then followed the protocol anyway.

If your vet fights you on your decisions, switch vets. There are many, many vets out there that will work with you and will be relieved that you want to hometest. You can share your data with your vet online so they can see the progress whenever you want. Ultimately, it is the safest and best thing for your cat, and you shouldn't wait until your vet tells you it's ok. The daily tests in the first week or two are vital for determining your cat's ideal dose, which is key to getting her regulated and off insulin as quickly as possible.
 
WELCOME. This is the best group ever. My Maisey is a very skidish girl and after the first few days of testing settled in very nicely.
Practice deep breathing techniques. I'm beginning to think Vets intentionally make it costly to start, because they don't want to be bothered. (just my opinion) Maisey & I haven't been back since diagnosis. This group has helped me through everything. Maisey was on PZI for a month and has been doing great ever since with diet change. They have called and offered phone consultations for $26 and I have said "no thanks" we're fine.
We had also been Purina One and ProPlan. Do go to the canned wet foods, lots of inexpensive choices are available. Lots of the kitties like the frozen pops of food - I mixed 1 can wet food with equal amount of boiled/baked chicken and broth/water. We freeze them in the silicon cupcake forms and pop them into freezer bags to use a wanted/needed. Two of mine loved crunching on them frozen, Maisey preferred waiting for the thaw.
You can do this, and keep costs down from now on.
 
:shock: OH NO!
let me try again....erase that from your memory becca....THAT is not how we draw blood!!!!!!!
 
lori and tom said:
I don't have relion right now...i was sending freestyle lite with 50 strips....however i might be getting a relion with 50 strips in the mail today or tomorow....sooooooo, should i wait? what does anyone think?
it's the difference between getting the kit by monday or thurs as our mail does not go out on saturday :roll:
i don't remember how much the freestyle strips cost.
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I think it depends on whether Becca would like to buy her strips in the store or on Ebay...Relion strips are cheaper than Freestyle if you're buying them in the store, but Freestyle strips are the same or generally cheaper than the Relion strips on ebay. (you can't get relion test strips on ebay, only at Walmart.)

If it were me, I would go with the Freestyle because it's more cost effective in the long run if you get the strips on Ebay.
 
Kathyh said:
$26 and I have said "no thanks" we're fine.
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Your vet was going to charge $26 for every phone consult???? Mine doesn't charge anything for phone consults for current patients. Neither did my old vet. If anything the phone consults were to keep my vet up to date on Bandit's progress, not to get dosing advice. What a rip!
 
Becca which would you perfer, a meter & strips that can be there by Monday or wait until Thursday for one? The other option would be to have Lori send you the freestyle, then if you need to pick up a relion from walmart to have as a back up meter. I actually have two meters here, I use the Relion for Maxwell, but have a One Touch in reserve in case it is needed. Your choice, we all have our favorites. I actually like my One Touch better but my Relion is cheaper for me since I don't shop ebay. And since I don't test that often anymore now that Maxwell is in remission, it is just easier for me to run to Walmart for strips and not have to worry about exp. dates.

Mel, Maxwell and The Fur Gang
 
Ha. I had not watched the video, thinking to save it until we could get hands on practice. So no images to erase from my memory. :smile:

Julia, is the "protocol" you mention just in the lantus forums?

I'm probably more likely to buy online. Amazon, ebay, etc. Expiration dates, eh? How quickly does a cat go through test strips? Twice daily? More as we're getting used to things?
 
At the very least before every shot so twice a day there, and then usually depending on the cat and the insulin at about +6 (6 hours after the shot) to see where Star's low point is or nadir. Then for a curve you will be testing every 2 hours of a 12 hour cycle. Then there is always a chance of Hypo (slim when home testing but it happens to the best of us).Where you may be testing very often, so in the beginning you can go through a lot. Once you have lots of data and know how she is responding you may cut back on testings. And then again you could be like some of us and just become a test-o-holic...lol. Maxwell has been in remission 7 months, and I still test him at the very least twice a month, I'm a worry wart. I even test my civies (non-diabetics) once a month.

But that is why it works better for me to get my strips at the store, because I probably don't use a vial of 50 strips up in several months. In fact I just used my last strip out of the first vial of 50 that I bought the day I adopted Maxwell back in October of last year, but then again he went into remission after two weeks on Lantus, the diet change alone was the major factor for him.

Mel, Maxwell and The Fur Gang
 
For the travel issue, it is possible to begin desensitizing her with positive reinforcement training so that you can take her with you.

The basic concept is to break down your goal into a series of small steps that progress towards it.

Each step is worked slowly until it is accomplished successfully with a calm, happy kitty. This could take 5 minutes or 5 weeks - each cat is different (ECID)

Rewards such as low carb treats, pets, and praise are used liberally; find something your cat really likes and use that after accomplishing each step.

Any time a step doesn't go well, back up a level and work it some more. Also look for a smaller step that could be taken next increase.

For example, step 1 could be this:
- Leave a clean carrier out, with a comfy towel or blanket, put in a smidgen of catnip, and optional scented with some Feliway (a friendly pheromone). After a while, she may find she likes to sleep in there. The occasional play session around the carrier helps to, especially if you toss a toy or low carb treat in there occasionally.

Once she is comfortable hanging out or playing in the carrier, you move on to another small step, such as closing the door for 5 minutes, treating her after 5 minutes & releasing her. Do that for roughly a week or so, until it becomes no big deal.

Slowly increase the time in 5 minute increments.

When you've gotten up to 15 minutes or so, start adding in some movement after the time period, pehaps like this:
- Pick up and put down the crate, treat & release
- Pick up the crate, walk a few steps, put down the crate, treat & release
- Slowly add in a few more steps at a time.
- Add in other features such as going up and down a few steps, out the door to the car and back, and so on.

Once crating and movement are handled OK, move on to the sound of a car:
- crate, walk to car, turn on car a few minutes, turn off, walk back to house, treat and release
- gradually increase time
- add in car movement, starting with a small amount of driving and slowly increasing the time.

Just take it slowly, and remember to treat and release at the end.

The preceeding assumes the cat is in a carrier; if you fly, you may need to take her out of the carrier (do NOT ship her, bring her in the cabin with you so you may monitor her!). In that case, you will need to train her to accept a harness. This too may be done in gradual steps, with positive reinforcement.
 
beccalecca said:
Julia, is the "protocol" you mention just in the lantus forums?

I'm probably more likely to buy online. Amazon, ebay, etc. Expiration dates, eh? How quickly does a cat go through test strips? Twice daily? More as we're getting used to things?
Click to expand...

Becca, yes the protocol is for Lantus. Here's a link to the one I handed my vet: http://felinediabetes.com/Roomp_Rand_2008 dosing_testing protocol.pdf, and here's a link to it explained more easily in the forum: http://www.felinediabetes.com/FDMB/viewtopic.php?f=9&t=1581

You should have Lori send you the Freestyle, then. You'll need to test at least 3 times daily (4 would be better, though) and then a curve once a week. That's about 25 strips a week. Ebay definitely has the best priced strips, you just have to watch the expiration dates. But at 25 strips a week, that's about 100 a month, so you can usually get good deals on things expiring within a month or two on ebay since you know you'll use them up. After the initial cost of insulin, strips are going to be your only other big expense. But the cost of test strips are still going to be way cheaper than taking your cat to the vet to be tested, and more accurate since there's no vet stress (which can raise blood glucose and cause overdosing by the vet), and allow you to regulate your cat more quickly because you can test daily and reach the correct dose scientifically instead of guessing and most likely missing it. It's very easy to get in an overdose trap with your vet, because unless you're testing daily for the nadirs (about 6 hours after the insulin shot, when the insulin is most effective), the effects of too much insulin can look exactly the same when they test at the office as too little insulin.
 
Welcome Becca!

You have gotten some amazing fantastic advice!

We use the freestyle lite and buy our test strips on amazon (because i'm addicted to my amazon prime membership) they are more expensive than ebay but never have a date issue.

Our strips were probably the in and out most expensive piece of our day since some days, we would just blast through them:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000Z9PWCW

We also take advantage of amazon's subscribe and save (we don't have walmart in chicago, but we do have nearly 11% sales tax, ugh) so tinned food is cheaper when shipped, it works out to less than .50c a can:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000Z9PWCW
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0010B3FIC
both these packs contain fancy feast cans from janet and binky's gluten free low carb list.

also target sells packs of 100 lancets for $2.


your vet should be disclosing everything with you. would you go to a doctor who wouldn't tell you your children's test results? no! you'd take their paperwork and book it to a new doc. i do believe that vets become vets because they care, but some are just so poorly misinformed about fd, that i think it can be intimidating for them, especially when the family starts becoming educated and asking questions. there are great vets out there, time to find a new one. i would get the lantus pen scrip from this one, and then find a new vet.

hope to see you around!
 
Thanks for the links and advice, all. I do feel like you've all bolstered my commitment level. I'm sure I'll have lots more questions once we start monitoring and insulin!
 
becca i send out dozens of newbie kits a month but for some reason i am excited about you recieving this one.
please report back when you are ready for your first pokie. or after you have accomplished your first pokie.
it should arrive monday.....tuesday absolute latest.

for other newbie's : all your kits are important to me i promise. this kitty just sounded perhaps on the verge of not being treated (i was like that when i arrived) so i am especially happy about this order. :YMHUG:
 
We got the newbie kit (yay!) and will try testing tonight after our daughters are in bed. Maybe my husband and I will arm wrestle over who gets the honor.... I figure we're just experimenting until Thursday morning when we return to the vet for an insulin demo. Should we wait to feed her, or does it matter since we have no insulin at this point no matter what it reads?
 
Since you don't have your insulin yet, and this is just practice I would feed first, that way she will be easier to get to hold still...But it would be a good idea ahead of time to pick a spot and a towel or blanket that will be always used for testing. Cats like routine, so if they know this is the spot I get treats if mom pokes my ear pretty soon she will come running to that spot. And practice or not...DONT FORGET TREATS!!!! For both you and the cat...treats make everything better.

Mel, Maxwell and The Fur Gang
 
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