Newbie-Diagnosed 1/2/12-Need some advice and comfort

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Becky & Morlei

Becky & Morlei

Member Since 2012
Hello everyone!

A little background on myself and my kitties:
We live in Las Vegas and I am currently in my last semester of grad school at UNLV.
My four kitties are:
Morlei (8.5 yr female tabby, just got diagnosed 1/2/12)
Skittles (8.5 yr male longhair, minor joint problems and an attitude ;-) )
Snickerdoodle (6.5 yr male some type of Siamese mix, minor urinary/kidney issues)
Sprocket (6.5 yr male shorthair, no known problems)
I had these cats before I met my fiance and I think I literally found the only guy in Vegas who didn't mind me having four little meowing pieces of baggage haha.

So on to the issue at hand...Morlei (or mama cat as we call her) has always been an overweight cat, I think her heaviest was about 15.5 pounds. We took her to the vet 7/2011 because her breathing was quite loud and the vet said she was pre-asthmatic and she needed to lose weight. So we started cutting back on the amount of dry food we left out and limited treats, she seemed to lose a little bit of weight but then it didn't stop. We thought maybe it was a thyroid problem so we took her in yesterday and she was diagnosed with diabetes. I thanked God it wasn't anything worse but I was still pretty devastated...I cried all night. We took her in this morning to start insulin (Prozinc, the vet calculated her first dose to be 3.4 units but dropped it to 3 to err on the side of caution) and she has been very stable throughout the day so I will be going back in about 7pm to learn how to do the shot and bring her home.
I am so thankful I found this website because I know my questions will be answered not by vets quoting a medical textbook but by real cat owners who have extensive experience with diabetes.
First, I'd like to post the parts of her blood test/urinalysis that were abnormal so we can see if there's anything else I need to worry about:
Albumin: 4.3 HIGH (reference 2.5-3.9 g/dL)
Glucose: 414 HIGH (reference 64-170 mg/dL)
Na/K ratio: 28 LOW (reference 32-41)
Cholesterol: 228 HIGH (reference 75-220 mg/dL)
Amylase: 1302 HIGH (reference 100-1200 IU/L)
IN URINE:
Protein: 3+ HIGH
Glucose Strip: 3+ HIGH
Occult Blood: Trace HIGH
Microalbuminuria: >30 HIGH (reference <2.5 mg/dL)

Now if everyone doesn't mind I'd like to list some questions I have. I apologize if these are repeats, I've read a bunch of posts but I kinda need it all in one place to process it.
-I'm concerned about how to transition all four cats from a free feed dry cat food diet to controlled wet/dry mix. The vet does not want us to go completely to wet food because of the increased incidence of dental disease, but I'm going to make wet food the majority of each meal. Morlei loves wet food and anything else meat-related, so she will actually adjust the best to a 2x a day wet food feeding. But the other three cats prefer to graze throughout the day and only eat small portions of wet food when we would give it as treats. What is everyone's advice on getting all four cats to transition to the 2 feedings without too much hassle?
-If we feed the 4 cats a combination of wet/dry 2x a day, how much should we give of each? All four cats weigh between 11-15 pounds. The vet said about 1/4 can wet and, using the can as measurement, about 1/2 can dry at each feeding. Is that enough food? Should we up the wet and lower the dry?
-Can I give Morlei snacks in the middle of the day? If so, how much can I give without needing to give her a shot? I saw some posts about freeze dried chicken and rabbit and I think she would love that, where can I get these low-carb treats?
-It seems like everyone here recommends testing at home and I would like to do the same. I asked my vet and he said I could and they could teach me if I wanted but it's easier to do test strips in the litter box. He didn't seem too keen on the idea but I'm going to do what I feel is best for my cat. Can anyone recommend a good brand that is easy-to-use, not horrendously expensive, and that I can find on Amazon or in stores such as Target/Walgreens/Walmart?
-Is there anywhere that sells syringes and/or the insulin for a lower price? The vet has us paying $115 per bottle of ProZinc and $40 for 100 u-40 syringes. I will not compromise quality for a lower price, but if anyone has some reputable places to get supplies please let me know!
-Finally, can anyone tell me about the success of ProZinc? Our goal is hopefully to get Morlei into remission eventually, and if not to at least stablize her on the lowest dose possible and give her the longest, happiest life we possibly can. Also, with ProZinc I was told the shot is to be given every 12 hours...does it have to be every 12 hours on the dot? We both have hectic work schedules and I have school/internship so I don't know if we'll be available exactly every 12 hours. How much can we vary off the 12 hours before it starts to cause problems? Is an hour or so ok?

Thank you so much for reading my post and I look forward to everyone's advice!
Oh, and here is a picture of Morlei in her favorite spot...on top of my fiance haha.
mamacat.jpg
 
-I'm concerned about how to transition all four cats from a free feed dry cat food diet to controlled wet/dry mix. The vet does not want us to go completely to wet food because of the increased incidence of dental disease, but I'm going to make wet food the majority of each meal. Morlei loves wet food and anything else meat-related, so she will actually adjust the best to a 2x a day wet food feeding. But the other three cats prefer to graze throughout the day and only eat small portions of wet food when we would give it as treats. What is everyone's advice on getting all four cats to transition to the 2 feedings without too much hassle?

The idea that dry food is needed to protect teeth is a fallacy - about the same idea that if we ate crunchy cookies, it would improve our teeth. See this website by a vet who explains why wet food is best for all cats. She has great tips on transitioning from dry to wet: http://www.catinfo.org You can let them graze by freezing the wet food and letting it thaw. Converting everyone may be a process but is doable.

BUT, don't change over completely until you are hometesting. Our kitty Oliver went down 100 points overnight when we switched from dry to wet. If we hadn't tested him the next morning, we would have overdosed him.


-Can I give Morlei snacks in the middle of the day? If so, how much can I give without needing to give her a shot? I saw some posts about freeze dried chicken and rabbit and I think she would love that, where can I get these low-carb treats?

Here is a list of low carb treats. Lo carb treats She can have snacks during the day - especially after testing.


-It seems like everyone here recommends testing at home and I would like to do the same. I asked my vet and he said I could and they could teach me if I wanted but it's easier to do test strips in the litter box. He didn't seem too keen on the idea but I'm going to do what I feel is best for my cat. Can anyone recommend a good brand that is easy-to-use, not horrendously expensive, and that I can find on Amazon or in stores such as Target/Walgreens/Walmart?

Here is a shopping list. The strips in the litter will tell you how the cat is doing after the insulin has been in the cat all day. You want to know what the number is before you give each shot to be sure it is safe.

A human glucometer. Any one that sips and takes a tiny sample is fine. 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.

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.


-Finally, can anyone tell me about the success of ProZinc? Our goal is hopefully to get Morlei into remission eventually, and if not to at least stablize her on the lowest dose possible and give her the longest, happiest life we possibly can. Also, with ProZinc I was told the shot is to be given every 12 hours...does it have to be every 12 hours on the dot? We both have hectic work schedules and I have school/internship so I don't know if we'll be available exactly every 12 hours. How much can we vary off the 12 hours before it starts to cause problems? Is an hour or so ok?

ProZinc is a good mild, long lasting insulin and one of the most flexible. 12/12 is ideal, especially at first as you collect blood glucose numbers and see how the insulin is working. After you have some data and see how things are working, it is easier to vary the schedule a little.

We like to start low and go slow with insulin. Our recommendation would be to start at .5 or one unit 2X daily. It is easy to increase as the blood glucose numbers indicate you need to. If you start too high, it is impossible to get the insulin out of the cat once shot and hypos are really dangerous. Cats are stressed at the vet and they may have much higher numbers than they do at home. Doses prescribed based on those inflated numbers can be a problem once the cat gets home. We would urge you to start at a low safe dose and let her numbers guide you.
 
Welcome! My cat was dx in November and this place is SO helpful.

I second that getting rid of dry food for all your cars (esp. any with urinary issues!) is best. You can give a piece of raw stew beef or chicken a couple of times a week to help with dental health.

The Relion meters from Walmart are super easy and have fairly cheap test strips. I have the Micro and it's very easy to use and and easy size and shape to handle as well.

As for low-carb treats, Mikey LOVES freeze-dried chicken. As in will take my finger off if I'm not careful. It's not as cheap as the sugary treats, but you can break them into smaller pieces easily and they last a while. You can get bigger packages cheaper in the dog aisle.

I don't use ProZinc, so I'll leave that to the experts!
 
Welcome to the family!!!

I can't help with PZI success stories because my two were/are on Lantus.

But I can tell you a great success story about all wet diet....My husband and I have 13 cats (think its hard to find a man who tolerates 4, try 13...lol)

All of them went from free fed dry food to an all caned diet when we adopted our first diabetic Maxwell. Not only after a year do they all have beautiful teeth (except for the newest addition she has lousey teeth & was fed dry all her life until now). But they have incredible coats, sparkling eyes, energy through the roof, including my 13 year old diabetic that is in remission. Also my chubby ones lost weight, my skinny minis put on weight and best of all my guy who had severe food allergies and was living on daily predisone had his allergies completely disappear and is now drug free as well.

Mel, Maxwell, Musette & Fur Gang
 
Hi I just wanted to stop in and say welcome from us as well! We feed mocha special kitty from wal mart. She just loves the turkey and giblet flavor. We also used the relion meter from wal mart. I believe it was just under 10.00 for the meter kit, which included the meter, lancing device, a few lancets and a few test strips. Very easy to use. We did not use your insulin type, we used lantus so no dosing advice from me. I am sure you will find all the answers you need on this board!
 
Finally, can anyone tell me about the success of ProZinc? Our goal is hopefully to get Morlei into remission eventually, and if not to at least stablize her on the lowest dose possible and give her the longest, happiest life we possibly can. Also, with ProZinc I was told the shot is to be given every 12 hours...does it have to be every 12 hours on the dot? We both have hectic work schedules and I have school/internship so I don't know if we'll be available exactly every 12 hours. How much can we vary off the 12 hours before it starts to cause problems? Is an hour or so ok?
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Welcome to FDMB!

What Sue said about starting low with the insulin can't be emphasized enough. Three units, twice a day, is a really high dose, and particularly a concern if you are not yet testing at home to be able to know how Morlei's little body will react. It's easy to increase insulin if needed, but impossible to take it back if it's not needed. Start low and go slow is super advice!

ProZinc is a very good insulin, with a lot of success stories documented right here at FDMB! My Beauregard's first test readings at the vet's office were >500. She started us out with one unit of ProZinc twice a day. After a couple weeks and BG #s still in 400s, we increased to two units twice a day. I didn't realize at the time that the 100% increase in insulin probably wasn't a great idea, and we had a bit of a scare with hypoglycemia. Thank goodness I had started home testing and found this message board! It wasn't long after that incident that his little pancreas started to get better and within a matter of weeks he no longer needed any insulin and is now a diet-controlled diabetic. (Please note that I'm not suggesting anything about dosing for Morlei - it's just a note of BooBoo's start low experience with ProZinc!)

As scary as it is getting the diagnosis, and as overwhelming as all the information to absorb might seem today, it is a very manageable disease and Morlei can have a long, happy life with just a few little changes. Heck, in just a few weeks you'll probably be telling other newbies here exactly the same thing!!
 
Welcome!

We recommend you ditch dry food entirely. Sue's link explains why & has tips for.transition. I feed my boys about 8 oz (1.5 can 5.5 oz) each a day. Your diabetic may eat more at first until her diabetes is controlled. Low carb canned food is good for urinary problems, too. Many pf us feed.friskees &.fancy feast. Generally pate styles are low carb. You can.leave.food put for them to.nibble; twice daily feedings aren't necessary.

We recommend you.start at a much.lower dose since numbers at.the vet are usually.high due to stress. 1u twice daily.is a good start, and then we increase slowly as needed. You can use u100 needles with prozinc (available at pharmacies).but you have to use a conversion chart.

We recommend freeze dried.meat as treats. I.get mine at petsmart or pet supplies plus. Any 100% meat treat will work, even small pieces of boiled chicken.

The relion micro or confirm from walmart is a good.way to go for hometestimg. The strips are cheap and readily available. We advise.testing before.each shot, at minimum.

You're asking good questions-keep it up & good luck!
 
First, Poopy and I welcome you to the best place you could have found for you and your kitties! cat_pet_icon The folks here are so friendly and helpful, not to mention knowledgeable!

Transitioning from 24/7 available dry to 2x a day wet...it can be done! But, since you've already started insulin, be very careful. Many cats BG drops when dry is no longer an option. Dry has lots of carbs - carbs are like candy bars for diabetics. As long as the diabetic is eating candy bars, more insulin is needed. To transition my civvie Mia, I just switched. Poopy wasn't an issue as he'll eat anything not nailed down. For a couple of days Mia only nibbled, as if it were a normal treat (what she was used to). Since then she has eaten with gusto. Poopy is the only one who continues to hound me for more food.

I read somewhere a cat should consume 20 calories for each pound of ideal weight. I've been feeding Poopy and Mia a bit more than that since Poopy lost so much weight prior to Dx.

Home testing is the only way to go, whether you are changing foods or not. I've only been here a short time and have already seen what owners go through when the insulin dose ends up being too high (I've read you can't take the insulin out of the cat). Not fun to read and I hope I never have to go through it. (I would, of course, to save the Poopster but hope to never have to do so.) You can pick up a meter at any pharmacy/drug store, and they have a Newbie Kit here they could send you that has one in it. (Also, strips can be found online, like on Ebay, for less than half the price. Be sure to check for the expiration date and that they are unopened.)

Low carb snacks - I found mine in the dog treat aisle at Wal-Mart, and for a darn good price! Shopped at PetSmart today and checked out their freeze dried treats and ended up buying in the dog aisle again due to price. I only give out treats after a pokey poke session (to help train Poopy that it's a good thing to be doing BGs. All he knows is that I'm poking his ears! Now he associates it with treats and food. Bingo!).

A few years ago I learned an interesting tidbit about vet pricing from a vet. This may not be true for all areas! In my area (Kansas City), many of the vets use a formula - basing their prices by the average income of the nearby likely clientele. I can take Poopy anywhere I want in the city, but the vet prices are lowest in the distressed areas. I happen to live in an area deemed distressed. I also used to like my vet (the main vet has left the practice recently and am having issues with those still there). If you have the opportunity, call other vets and check their pricing for ProZinc. You can also check online for pricing. My vet happens to sell the ProZinc and syringes for less than I can get the Prozinc alone for online, prior to shipping costs. If you can find it cheaper in your area, ask your vet to match. Worth a shot, isn't it? :smile:

I use a 12/12 schedule, and knowing I may be off a time or two I'm happy if I'm within an hour. The trick is test, feed, then shoot. If the test is below 200...wait 20-30 minutes to see if BG is up over 200...then feed and shoot. One reason why testing is so very important. It's also important to know how much to give your cat. I believe if I had followed my vets advice, I would have been one of the folks on here with a very sick kitty, fighting to save his life.

Last, but by far least, what a beautiful girl! Poopy sends fur hugs to Morlei!
 
Hi & welcome to the board!! My cat was just dx last week so I totally understand the fear of it all. The 1st night was pretty scary for me as bringing him home the vet had been feeding him terrible dry food & overdosed his insulin compared to the home wet diet we gave. I bought the meter to home test before we brought him home & it literally saved his life. Also as others have mentioned cats can go into remission & home testing is the best way to see that transition to weening off the insulin. I also free fed dry between can & have since pulled it all up (I have 5 cats). They don't seem to miss it at all but I did have to add an extra can a day to supplement the loss of dry. I didn't transition since I had the monitor but they have adjusted just fine. The people here have been absolutely wonderful & can help with any questions you have. GL to you & your kitty!! cat_pet_icon
 
Thank you everyone! I just got her back from the vet and she's happy to be home. But the vet said to do 3 units of ProZinc twice a day, I asked him isn't that a high dose to start with? And he said they calculate it based on weight...I think they said she's 13.5 or so pounds. I'm worried to death about giving her that much tomorrow when she's not as stressed...I'm going to go buy a meter at Walmart tonight before we do tomorrow morning's shot. For right now I'm going to put a little dry in with the wet just so she doesn't go down too low I think and transition to completely wet in the near future.
Can anybody recommend a video to watch for doing the blood glucose by pricking her little ear??
Thanks!!
 
Oh boy. From everything I've read, heard, and seen others go through, that is way too much! The slogan is to go slow and most start their kitties on 1u 2x a day on a 12/12. Home testing is where this helps, to know how much to give your kitty and how it's working.

I'm still a newbie myself, learning how to dose, so I'm sure others will have more experienced input and will be on shortly. :smile:
 
Just stopping by to welcome you and your adorable kitty AND to emphasize that the dose your vet recommended is too high. We see this over and over again. It is a recipe for disaster and the Vets seem oblivious to it.
Please start your kitty on the 1 unit
ESPECIALLY as you are changing diet.
And please do test your kitty.
If you are starting insulin tomorow the kit I send out is likely too late...but it is available if you need it.
See the link below called Newbie Kits and then go to the web store.
But if you are doing that than I would suggest going with .5u until the kit arrives.
We've all been where your at.
We all care very much
And we all have the kitty's to show for it!
Lori
Newbie Kits
 
You are all my heroes, thank you so much. We watched the video and think we'll be able to do the at home testing. We have decided to give her .5 units until I can get the testing strips after work tomorrow. I didn't know that Walmart kept the ReliOn strips behind the counter at the pharmacy and they were closed :(
And now I have questions about the ranges. When her blood was tested on Monday at the vet's, her glucose came back at 414. When we test her bg, what ranges am I looking for? Do I not give her insulin when it's under 200, but if it's 200-500 do I give her the .5 units or do I need to up it to 1 unit if she's closer to the 500 end?

Also, we are scheduled to go back to the vet's in 10 days for a fructosamine and bg test (since he wasn't too keen on us doing home testing it seems like). But should I do the .5 for 10 days until we go back and see where she's at with their test? Or should I do .5 for a few days and if she's still say 350-500 then up it to 1 unit? How quickly can we go up in the dose without her going hypo? (And how do we go about telling the vet that we're not following their dose instructions without them calling us crazy for listening to people on the internet? I really like the office we go to but I just don't think they know enough about feline diabetes.)

And one last thing...she had 3 units Tuesday morning and Tuesday evening...she seems to be fine now, was a little shaky at the vet before they gave her the second dose but I guess that could have been anxiety too. But will she be ok going from those two 3 unit shots to the .5? I gave her a few freeze dried treats right now because she was begging for food and I plan to give her some in a few hours because I usually wake up sometime during the night, just to make sure she doesn't drop too low before she gets the .5 unit dose later in the morning.
 
Good morning and welcome
If she had 2 doses of 3 units yesterday I would only give .50
this moring if you are not going to test
you dont know what her levels are today and she could have gone low last night
from the 3 units so I would go easy today
 
marzecr said:
Thank you everyone! I just got her back from the vet and she's happy to be home. But the vet said to do 3 units of ProZinc twice a day
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Welcome to FDMB! I totally understand that you believe and trust your vet, after all they went to school and studied all of this, right? Well my blind trust could have killed my cat. Like you, I was told to give 3 units 2x a day. The 1st day I did as told and blindly gave 3 units every 12 hrs...then I found this board and started to home test the very next day. It wasn't hard to do...I watched a few videos on youtube and followed the advice of members here. Well, it turns out that I would have given my precious cat 3 units of insulin at the time his blood glucose was at 74 if I followed their instructions blindly without testing him. If I had not tested my cat at home, my cat probably would not be here today.

You have come to a fantastic place, filled with supportive, knowledgeable people. This is the best place you could have come upon.
 
Welcome aboard! and good early am to you!

I have been awake since 2:45 ~ helping another family member that does not have the internet at home. Her Louie boy went low.... 35 after +5 shot time....
this was on 1 unit....she is still fighting with her vet to raise to 2 units! At 5:30 still keeping a watch on his numbers.

I would strongly suggest not going that high...start low like everyone has suggested to you...test at home; it might take a couple of times for it to be successful (took me about 5-8 times). But, I will promise, if it does, it will get easier.

Some items at walmart: lancets that are 25-27 gauge; neosporin w/ pain OINTMENT; baby sock - to fill with rice; regular rice - to fill sock (ear warming). I use the relion micro meter as the strips are the cheapest; ketone strips - testing pee pee.

Are you leaving foods out for Morlei? I know until they are regulated a bit better, they are always hungry & it is ok to feed often. As long as she has had no food for about 2 hours before testing/shot.

Keep us posted and what a beautiful baby!
 
Again can't help with the dosing advice since I have no experience with PZI, but as far as telling your vet that you aren't following his dosage advice. That is an easy one, just tell him that 3u made you really nervous so you opted to start at a lower dose to see how she would do first. Plus if you have been testing her at home for the next ten days before she sees him again you will have plenty of data to take in to him. If her numbers by then support that she truly needed a lower dose, he can't argue with success. :-D

Mel, Maxwell, Musette & The Fur Gang.
 
The ProZinc dosage scale that Beauregard's vet suggested after his hypo scare was:

BG 200-250 - .5 units
BG 250-300 - 1 unit
BG 300 - 1 unit and call her with the #s for possible increase to 1.5 units.

I would think that at least for the first few days, any increase to a dose over 1 unit would NOT be recommended as it seems to take a few days for kitties to 'settle in' to a particular dose, but others might disagree. The BG #s would be his AMPS and PMPS (a.m. pre-shot, and p.m. pre-shot). If possible, kitty's test should be done at least two hours after any food because food naturally causes an increase in the blood sugar (that's why food is part of managing through an incident of low BG levels). The sequence of events should be test...then eat...then shoot. I had to give shots while Boo was eating though - he's not the most cooperative patient - and it seemed to work well.
 
lori and tom (GA) said:
But if you are doing that than I would suggest going with .5u until the kit arrives.
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Mystery said:
The ProZinc dosage scale that Beauregard's vet suggested after his hypo scare was:

BG 200-250 - .5 units
BG 250-300 - 1 unit
BG 300 - 1 unit and call her with the #s for possible increase to 1.5 units.
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Prozinc is U40, isn't it? U40 insulin syringes don't have half unit markings and neither does the new ProZinc 12 unit insulin syringe

To measure 0.5 units, one would have to eyeball it on a U40 insulin syringe or do the conversion with U100 insulin syringes.

confused_cat
 
squeem3 said:
Prozinc is U40, isn't it? U40 insulin syringes don't have half unit markings and neither does the new ProZinc 12 unit insulin syringe

To measure 0.5 units, one would have to eyeball it on a U40 insulin syringe or do the conversion with U100 insulin syringes.

confused_cat
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Yes, I was referring to U40 ProZinc (I think that's the only way it is made), and was eyeballing .5 with the U40 syringes. It's wasn't too difficult for me and I was very comfortable doing that, but others might understandably be more hesitant.
 
Good morning everyone! I gave Morlei a few pieces of freeze dried chicken during the night when I woke up then gave her 1/2 can wet and about 1/2 can dry this morning, then gave her .5 unit of prozinc. The .5 is so small, I was like did it go in? But her back wasn't wet or anything so I assumed it did. I gave her the dry because I am hesitant to start transitioning her to wet only until we can start testing. Seems to be doing fine, she's curled up in her favorite laundry basket. I'll be getting the test strips after work and my fiance and I will attempt to get a reading tonight. I will let everyone know how it goes. Thanks!!
 
I am so glad you did .5, I was so worried today,
Good luck with the testing! please dont be dissapointed if you dont get blood the first time
it will happen, just remember, patience and breathe
 
Glad to hear you picked up a meter at Walmart. I too made the mistake about the strips and bought my meter on Easter Sunday only to have to go back since the pharmacy was closed! :lol:
I buy my lancets at target b/c they come with caps to put over the needles when you are done. I bought a sharps container at walmart too.

We were on lantus and my vet was experienced with FD; it's possible that your vet is not, hence the responses you got. My uncle has moved away from LV, but if you need for me to ask him who his vet was, let me know (they have a dog and lived in Henderson). Home testing is very important, no matter what. I use the heating pad of one of my cat toys to heat Cedric's ear when I do test him (abpout every 2 weeks now).

cedric was on lantus for a month. Prior to his dx, he ate a 3oz can of cat food (fancy feast all kinds) plu about 1/2 cup of dry -Blue Buffalo Weight management, which only made him fat (ditto w/my co-workers 3 cats). i changed him over to wellness canned and BB wilderness dry, all grain free, high protein and low carb. The gang here finally got me to drop the dry. this was a big feat - my last cat had that peridontal disease so I was trying to stay away from canned food. My vet got me to get Cedric on both about 3 years ago, but i was still wary for the same reasons your vet said. Well then damn dry got Cedric into this mess! He was only 5 1/2! anyway, took away the dry (after reducing it) and his # went down 100 points. If I hadn't home tested, he would have od. He got normal numbers 2 days later and hasn't had insulin since - I have my vial to someone else who has 2 FDs on lantus.

Cedric now eats 4 small meals a day of canned food - wellness mostly (grain free varities). I use the catmate c20 auto feeder (has an ice pack for the bottom) to give him meal #2 and 3 when I am at work (work 7 days a week). The stray cat I rescued (see the "My name is Dallas" thread in the community forum) eats the same stuff (although he says Cedric gets the better food) and has his own feeder. I think they each get their fill - at least I hope so!

Bottom line is that FD is treatable and not hard to handle. you even have a helper (your fiance)! I can't help you with your insulin, since Cedric was on lantus, but I hope you can get your cat into remission. There is a wealth of knowledge on this site and message board. The help I got here has left my vet scratching his head that cedric went into remission so quickly. he has a Fd and k-9 diabetic at home, so I hope he used cedric's example at home! Good luck! and welcome!
 
doombuggy said:
We were on lantus and my vet was experienced with FD; it's possible that your vet is not, hence the responses you got. My uncle has moved away from LV, but if you need for me to ask him who his vet was, let me know (they have a dog and lived in Henderson).
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If you could please ask him that would be great...we'd like to start "shopping around" for a vet that is experienced with diabetes or at least will welcome our at home approach and work with us.

doombuggy said:
cedric was on lantus for a month. Prior to his dx, he ate a 3oz can of cat food (fancy feast all kinds) plu about 1/2 cup of dry -Blue Buffalo Weight management, which only made him fat (ditto w/my co-workers 3 cats). i changed him over to wellness canned and BB wilderness dry, all grain free, high protein and low carb. The gang here finally got me to drop the dry. this was a big feat - my last cat had that peridontal disease so I was trying to stay away from canned food. My vet got me to get Cedric on both about 3 years ago, but i was still wary for the same reasons your vet said. Well then damn dry got Cedric into this mess! He was only 5 1/2! anyway, took away the dry (after reducing it) and his # went down 100 points. If I hadn't home tested, he would have od. He got normal numbers 2 days later and hasn't had insulin since - I have my vial to someone else who has 2 FDs on lantus.
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Do you know if they sell the BB wilderness at walmart or do I need to go to Petsmart? Also, is there a specific one or are all of them grain free and low carb? I have to be careful because one of my other cats is prone to urinary problems so this is what I'm thinking of doing...
Right now I'm trying to get all four cats used to eating when I give them the food rather than being able to eat it whenever they want...so I plan on giving them 2 larger meals and a meal/snack in the middle. For Morlei, I'm giving her 1/2 can (5.5 oz size) wet, 1/2 can dry for her 2 larger meals before her shots. About a half hour ago I gave her a 1/4 can wet with a few freeze dried shrimp on top, no dry, as her middle meal/snack. For the other cats I give them whatever wet food they'll eat with a little dry for the 2 larger meals then just let them graze on the dry for about 20 minutes for the middle meal. Eventually I will reduce the dry for all cats and eliminate it completely for Morlei but I may keep it around a tad longer for the other cats because they don't like wet food as much as she does. Just want to make the transition as easy as possible. And of course we will not be reducing the dry until we're able to do the testing on her properly.

My fiance called the vet today because he was mad that they didn't even tell us the readings when she was being observed after her first shot. The vet said after the first 3 unit shot her reading was 305 at 10 am (+2 after shot) and her lowest range was 252-305...her bg was 414 the day before with no insulin.
So now my question is...what is the ideal range for her bg? I assume that the 414 is partially due to stress so her actual bg is most likely under 400. Should we be aiming for consistent readings then once it's consistent start reducing the dry? But what number should I be aiming for before starting to reduce the dry? I guess what I'm trying to say is that I'm a little confused about the numbers and what's good/bad and what exactly I should be aiming for.
Once again, thank you for all your help and support! =^..^=
 
If I understand your question correctly normal range for a cat is 40 - 120, but once you are testng at home you can start reducing the dry at anytime. The less carbs in the lower the blood sugar readings are going to get. But you don't want to switch the diet until you are testing at home because you are going to need to redice the insulin as the readings go down.

Every cat is different and I have two adopted diabetics that are as different as day and night. Maxwell was on insulin 2 weeks had his diet switched while he was in foster care before he was even transported ou here to me. He went from 485 when first diagnoised to into remission and diet controlled simply from having dry food eliminated from his diet and a short course of insulin.

Musette on the other hand eats exactly what Maxwell does, yet she is still insulin dependent after 6 months after my adopting her and treating her with the exact same insulin and diet as Maxwell. But she has gone down from 2u of Lantus twice aday while on dry to less that 1u now that she is on low carb canned.

All feeding dry food is going to do is keep Morlei's numbers higher than they would be if she is switched over to a low carb canned diet.

Mel, Maxwell, Musette & The Fur Gang
 
We generally say a regulated cat runs about mid 200s at preshot and 100 or below mid cycle. 40s at mid cycle are too low and require intervention. If a cat tests below 200 at preshot, we like new diabetics to wait 20 minutes without feeding, test again. If she goes above 200, then shoot a reduced dose.


Have we given you the PZI document? A lot of good info but too much for one reading.

http://www.felinediabetes.com/FDMB/viewtopic.php?f=24&t=32799
 
Do you know if they sell the BB wilderness at walmart or do I need to go to Petsmart? Also, is there a specific one or are all of them grain free and low carb? I have to be careful because one of my other cats is prone to urinary problems so this is what I'm thinking of doing...

Our cat was just diagnosed as diabetic today and we are attempting to regulate this from the start with diet rather than beginning insulin. She has been fed Blue Buffalo dry food for about a year now and various other dry foods prior.

I found the Blue Buffalo Wilderness canned food at PetsMart for about $1.49 per can. It is 95% chicken, duck, turkey, etc. and grain free. If anyone else has advice, please respond. I have not been told just yet what her BG level was but will find out more from the vet tomorrow. Suzie is 12 years old and a lovely calico and according to the vet, in pretty good shape other than the diabetes!
 
Paula,

You may want to start your own thread so yours doesn't get lost in this one. Just go to the top and hit New topic, that way folks will know you are new and will be able to jump in to help you out. It may be a little quiet around here for awhile until the "night crew gets on" I'm off to bed shortly myself but others will be along later.

Mel, Maxwell, Musette & The Fur Gang
 
Thank you Mel and Sue, the numbers for cats both on and off insulin helped to put those numbers and the range into perspective for me. We were just a little confused about where she should be in relation to a non-diabetic cat or one that is off insulin and now I understand. I may try to test one of my other cats that is overweight once we get the hang of it with Morlei so we can hopefully prevent this from happening to him as well. And thank you for the PZI document, that'll be all I read for the next few days! :smile:
 
GOOD NEWS! We were able to prick her little ear and got a first reading of 260, then a second reading out of the other ear of 269! So according to the numbers you gave me that is perfect for a preshot reading! We'll give her another .5 unit shot tonight, no reason to do any higher! We'll start mid cycle testing on the weekend when we're home and available to do so. I'm so happy! :-D
 
marzecr said:
Do you know if they sell the BB wilderness at walmart or do I need to go to Petsmart? Also, is there a specific one or are all of them grain free and low carb? I have to be careful because one of my other cats is prone to urinary problems so this is what I'm thinking of doing...
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You won't find any mid to high end brands of food at Wal Mart and other similar stores. You'll only find these at pet stores and specialty pet stores/boutiques.

Here's the Blue Buffalo web site: http://bluebuffalo.com There's a store locator there that you can use to find a local store. PetSmart sells the food. The brand is listed on this newer food chart Looks like all the Wilderness varieties are 2% carbs. The other Blue Buffalo canned food lines are too high in carbs.

Many pet food company web sites have a store locator search that you can use :smile:

For urinary problems, any canned food will help :smile: You don't need a special urinary tract formula. The key is to get more water into your cat's body to help it function properly. http://www.catinfo.org has more info about diet and urinary issues.
 
wow,
what a wonderful fd number - and at home....lots lower! gooood parents you are.
I would guess that you know if you would have shot as much insulin as your vet suggested without testing, that could have been a very bad thing.
Hats off to you for testing at home \M/
What a happy happy story Morlei!
Great way to start my day! ty for sharing your numbers

My Bean was on PZI; see spreadsheet and is now in remission. We still only feed low carb foods and freeze dried meat treats and just tested Monday, at 70 with eating foods...mommabean is sooo happy.
 
If you're looking for a food that you can easily get at Walmart or the Grocery store, I would recommend Fancy Feast. There's a list of all the diabetic friendly flavors here: http://felinediabetes.com/glutenfree.htm

If you're looking for a premium food, Blue Wilderness is a good food, but in my opinion very overpriced. There are many other premium foods that are just as good that you can find much cheaper. Some popular brands that are on the newer food chart provided for you are Wellness, EVO, and Merricks. If you google the brand name, all of their websites have store finders. While PetSmart and PetCo carry many of these brands, I've found that it's far cheaper to get them at your locally owned feed or farm supply store. They usually have the large cans (which are more economical) or discounts if you buy in bulk. You'll find a premium food can be about the same price or cheaper as Fancy Feast if find it at the right price.
 
Thank you everyone, we had bought some friskies off one of the lists you guys had given me but we just need some variety for the other cats. Also, we wanted to know if it's normal or "ok" at least if Morlei seems sleepy after eating and her shot. I know my grandpa, who has diabetes, always falls asleep after a meal but I wanted to know if it's normal for cats.
Also, her reading was 255 this morning.
 
That is a nice amps number and .5 units should have been fine. Maybe she is just sleepy after the big meal?

You might check her bg levels and make sure she is not going too low, just for your reassurance.
 
Hey everyone, I was able to get a reading on Morlei at about +8 after her am shot, it was 311. I know it wasn't the ideal mid-cycle reading but I wasn't home. Shouldn't it be lower than that? Or is this the part of the cycle where it starts going back up to reach the peak again at +12? She had no food between her feeding at 10 am and this reading. Her reading this am was 255. I ended up giving her 1/4 can of food even with this reading because the poor thing was starving. We'll be getting her next reading at about 9:30/10 pm.
 
Too soon to make any conclusions. Plan to get some more mid cycle numbers and, of course, a preshot number each time. We don't know what her lowest point was. It might have been +4, +5 or 6 hours after the shot, and then 8 would have been going up. In general, though, 200-300s aren't bad numbers. Many diabetics start in the 400s.

You might try feeding small meals during the day. That may help support her pancreas and she won't be starving when you get home. Many of us freeze the wet food and leave it out to thaw and/or use an automatic feeder.

Can you do a spreadsheet? It's a great color coded tool that will help you and your vet and us, when you need dose advice. Sign onto Google, then search Templates for FDMB Spreadsheet. After you get it, choose File and Publish to the Web. The URL in your signature will let us see it. It's kind of tricky, so if you need help, just ask.

You guys are doing great!
 
Ok, thank you, I've just been writing the numbers/shots/feedings down on a notepad, I was planning on starting a spreadsheet this weekend but I'll start it tonight after I get her pm reading. Just wanted to make sure she was ok with that reading! :)
 
Got her spreadsheet done, please let me know if I need to change/move anything. The link is in my signature as well. We will be doing a curve tomorrow since we can stay at home all day. So basically for the curve we test her preshot as normal, give food and shot, then retest every two hours for 12 hours? Can I give her any snacks during the day or do I need to only do the two meals?

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/ccc?key=0Aj5fPAh2Z1PJdHpaRHZtdGtzazlvclFpcEJ4cVctanc
 
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