Newbie - Sort of? Advice Welcomed!

[Lindsey and Silver]

Hi everyone! My name's Lindsey, I've been reading this board for a little while (and quietly gathering all your advice!) but this is my first time posting. My cat, Silver, is 13 years old and was diagnosed with diabetes about a couple of months ago. We've been giving her insulin, but of course now that she's a little better I'd like to try and get her as stable as possible.

I think the major problem I face is her current vet, who really doesn't seem to know much about feline diabetes (she eats only dry food, and he said that wouldn't be causing her any problems!) I'd really like to take her to a different vet for some help. Unfortunately, I'm not really sure where to look. I live in Western Australia - is there a chance that someone might know of a good place to go here? Unlikely, haha, but I'm hoping.

Secondly, I haven't been home monitoring, and I know I should, but it is actually impossible with Silver. She is generally well-tempered and never tries to bite or anything, and then she turns into a raging demon as soon as any medical situations arise! I'm surprised as is that she tolerates her injections, but I've tried and she really won't let me draw any blood from her. I desperately want (and need) to change her diet, but I believe that shouldn't be done without close monitoring. I've read the articles on here, but does anyone have any advice on dealing with difficult cats?

Thanks in advance for any help that you guys can give!

 

[JenElliot]

I thought I'd never be about to home test my cat either, but we've got a routine down now. When I first started he'd pull his head away from me when I'd touch his ear (and trying to pin him down/hold him tight didn't work). After trying a few methods I realized that he'll let me test him if he's distracted by a tiny bowl of tuna juice (with a couple small pieces of tuna added in usually). Now he gets excited when he sees me pull out the meter because he knows he's about to get a treat!

So you may want to try just touching your cats ear while eating to see if he'll tolerate it better. And you can try holding the ear at random times too, to see if your cat can get used to the idea of being held/touched that way. And remember to stay calm and relaxed, if you feel stressed your cat will sense it and get stressed too. And although your vet doesn't seem very informed about diabetes, you may want to ask them for advice about home testing too (maybe bring your cat in and watched them do a test).

Switching to low-carb wet food is a very good idea, but I would not recommend switching before you can home test. My cat Mali was diabetic for 5-1/2 years, getting 3.5 units twice a day. We recently switched him to an all low-carb wet food diet (he was eating dry food before), and he has now been off insulin for 2 weeks, I'm still amazed at what a difference just a change in diet has made!

I'm sure more people will be joining the conversation, maybe someone who lives close to you can recommend a good vet. Good luck with your kitty!!

 

[Sue and Oliver (GA)]

I know hometesting can be hard with some kitties, but it is so important. We do have people in Australia; I will contact one to see if she can stop by here. She did use our clothespin trick with her kitty and it was a great help: Clothespin trick I don't know how close or far she might be from you, but it always nice to have someone to talk to - particularly about brands of food as they are so different.

What kind of insulin and what dose?

 

[Lisa and Witn (GA)]

You can begin helping Silver used to testing by getting her used to you massaging her ears. Start doing it just before you feed her and massage them for a minute or so. Then reward her with a low carb treat. Soon she will begin to associate that if she lets you rub her ears, she gets a treat. Then you can begin testing. Have all of your supplies ready and the strip in the meter. Since she may be skittish of the lancet device, you may want to use the lancet free hand without the pen instead - some cats don't like the clicking noise and personally I find I have better control without the pen.

Massage the ear before you poke to help get the blood flowing and if you don't immediately get a drop, continue massaging for a moment or two towards where you poked. Then you should be able to get enough blood for the meter to read.

Don't forget to reward her after you test. You can also give yourself a treat too!!!! :lol:

 

[Anyname]

Hello, I'm another aussie who can lend you some moral support. (I'm in melbourne) My cat is similar to yours in that he has put a cattery worker in hospital when she was grooming him instead of feeding him (when he was on steroids and very hungry). He also freaked out when he had his teeth cleaned a year ago and the vet clinic thought he may have turned feral permanently. We had so much trouble getting him out of the holding cage and into the carry box to get him home - he was 'shouting and swearing' at us the whole way home and we also were afraid of him. He became docile as soon as he was let out of the cage at home.

The point to this story is that he has allowed us to blood test him and he seems to know that he is being cared for. He jumps up on the table to have it done. He sometimes gets confused and jumps back up on the t able to have it done five minutes after it's already been done. Don't underestimate a cat's intelligence. They seem to work it out very quickly that it's not painful and that it's being done to help them. Our boy sometimes feels the prick but it never puts him off having it done - he knows it's important.

We are overseas at the moment and we have our friends testing him and my cousin is living there and testing him too (I have a schedule of helpers set up). My cousin looked so awkward trying to learn how to do it but in our absence he's doing it when he's at the house and sending us the readings.

Initially while you establish a pattern I found with our boy that if you take the scruff of their neck it seems to make them docile. When husband was away at first I used three clothes pegs - obviously older wooden ones that didn't grip too tightly. It worked well. Scruffing really seems to calm them as it seems to be related to how they were moved around as kittens. It seems to put them in a peaceful state of being.

I agree that you need to get sorted with the bg testing b4 changing the diet as a change in diet will change the bg reading and make the current dose too much (in all likelihood). If you can get yourself in to the system used on this forum your vet's knowledge is irrelevant. You will be able to do all the changes necessary from the bg reading. BTW the ear gives more blood in the warm weather and seems to run up the testing strip quickly. Just a small amount of blood is needed in the warm weather.

Approach with confidence and love. They really seem to get it that they are being helped. So many people have commented on the very special bond that develops after blood testing and the general care being given to treat their diabetes. Be patient with yourself and keep trying but try not to turn it into a bad experience. It doesn't hurt them much at all so your cat may not associate it with a medical procedure.

all the best
marilyn