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Molly and Sammy

Molly and Sammy

Member Since 2018
Hi all, Molly here. My 11 year old male cat Sammy, 12.6 pounds, was diagnosed yesterday with diabetes. He had not been to the vet for awhile as there had been no problems I was aware of. He'd lost weight, but the vet had asked me to make that happen so I was not worried. Now that I read the literature and forums I see that I should have been more aware. He's been on dry kibble for years (I see now that that was a big mistake), and what I thought was some arthritis turns out to be diabetic neuropathy. He's also been drinking and peeing a lot. His blood glucose test showed a score of 720, which I understand is very high, and he had a slight fever. The vet put him on Purina prescription pate wet food and an antibiotic, and we are going back Friday to see what the other labs show and discuss a treatment plan.

I am of course very concerned. The vet hinted that something even worse than diabetes might be going on. I am 69 and have mobility issues and am not sure I can handle testing and insulin injections, though of course I will try. I also know for sure that I can't afford the Purina prescription food, but from what I read I may be able to substitute something less expensive. Insulin? Can't imagine how expensive that might be, and as a retired person living on SS that scares me. However - I'm trying to take it one day at a time, and am grateful for all the support and information I am finding online. Thank you!
 
Welcome! We were all overwhelmed at first, so we understand your concern. We can definitly help with costs, as well as learning to test and give shots. Hopefully once Sammy’s infection is cleared and he’s on low carb wet food his blood glucose numbers will come down. You can start learning how to test now so that when you start the insulin you’ll be ready to go. Here is some info on testing. It’s really a lot easier than it sounds and we’ll help you along.
http://www.felinediabetes.com/FDMB/threads/hometesting-links-and-tips.287/
Come to the Main Health Forum and ask any questions you have.
 
Hi Molly and Sammy! And welcome to the forum!:)
First of all let me say we were all scared and wondered if we were going to be able to cope in the beginning. And there are many of us in our senior years........and also several people who have health issues so please don't feel alone. We are all one big family here who help each other learn to manage FD (feline diabetes).

A lot of us also gave the dry kibble thinking we were doing the right thing!
There are plenty of canned wet foods available at the supermarket and pet stores that we feed that are not expensive. What you need is wet food 10% or under carbohydrates. Many feed fancy feast pates and friskies pates canned food. Here is a chart with suitable foods. These are for the US as I am assuming you live there.
https://catinfo.org/docs/CatFoodProteinFatCarbPhosphorusChart.pdf

The neuropathy will improve once you get the blood sugar (BSLs) levels more under control. Many of us give Methyl B 12 tablets which seem to help called Zobaline. These are different to the B12 injections that the vets give. Here is a link to where to get the tablets. You do not need to get them at this point if you need to watch expenditure.
https://www.amazon.com/ZobalineTM-Diabetic-Cats-60-tabs/dp/B008G3LI2M?tag=felinediabetesfdmb-20

Hopefully your vet will put Sammy on one of the long acting insulins such as Lantus, Levemir or Prozinc.
I'm wondering if your vet may be hinting at ketones in the urine when he said maybe something else going on.
I would go out today and buy a bottle of Ketostix from a pharmacy or maybe Walmart. You just need to get a urine sample from Sammy and test it as per instructions on the bottle. If Sammy has anything higher than trace of ketones in the urine you will need to get vetinary advice. It can lead to a more serious illness but can be managed and sorted out if caught early.

I see @Sharon14 has given some good advice above. Definitely look at doing home testing the BSLs.
While you wait to go back to the vet, make sure Sammy is eating well and is getting plenty to drink. Add a bit of water to the food if he will let you. And do go and get the Ketostix and test the urine.

Hereis a link to FAQ for you to read. It is a steep learning curve in the beginning ....we all started there........but you will find it is much easier after a couple of weeks!
http://www.felinediabetes.com/FDMB/forums/health-links-faqs-about-feline-diabetes.14/

Keep asking lots of questions!

Here is the link to the main forum for you to post your questions. Looking forward to seeing you over there:)
http://www.felinediabetes.com/FDMB/forums/feline-health-the-main-forum.28/
Bron
 
Welcome Molly and Sammy. I echo Sharon's response about first reactions to the diagnosis. Old man and I are also in our late 60's and retired. Definitely not rich and we were entirely unsure and clueless about the diabetes and wondering if we were capable of treating Idjit. We worked at it and learned (after Laurel and Hardy-esque bumbling around). If you haven't yet, read the Getting Started and Education information on the Home Page. There is more information here in the forums and you will get to that. Right now, just start getting educated and getting familiar with the forums and members (a wonderful community of caring persons).
 
Thank you all so much for the welcome, info, and links. I'll be studying up this week so when we go to the vet Friday I'll be prepared. I am relieved to find so much support! I nursed a cat through feline leukemia twenty years ago, and did get pretty comfortable with various dosing and care procedures. However I was MUCH younger! Actually, I was working and had far less time to devote to my Misty Mission,as we called it. Thanks again.
 
Welcome! No need for expensive food. Most people here feed fancy feast classic or Friskies pate foods.

The expense of the insulin depends on which one. Vetsulin is about $55, ProZinc is $95 through chewy.com (usually about $130 from your vet). Lantus is crazy expensive in the US, ($300) but many of the people on here order it from Canada for 1/3 the price ($136 for a years supply).
 
Hi Molly and Sammy!
Many of us that have come here looking for information found support in the shared experiences. My Fabby was always a big girl. She was 18lbs at her biggest (Her brother was 20lbs at 2 years old, they were just big cats) so I too didn't worry so much about the weight loss. We can only do something if we know, though... now you'll never un-know... lol. The big thing is you took him in and now you're working on a treatment plan.
My disability affects my joints, and my biggest affected is my hands. I too struggled if I was going to be able to do it. The learning curve is tough, mostly because of added anxiety and pressure because you want to help your cat be better. Just hang in there, it does get better. Check out the videos (JanetNJ has one in her signature above) on testing. Those help a lot in easing my own anxiety. My Fabby even got to the point where she would run to me if I picked up the testing kit. (I hid zero carb teats in there, so the testing kit meant treat time!)
As for cost, at Walmart they have the ReLion brand. I recommend the Confirm as it needs a smaller blood sample. The test strips are $36 for a hundred (you can get smaller quantity, but the price per strip goes up. Some months we had to get the smaller boxes. Keep a look out in the sales board here for opportunities to help out on costs with supplies. Testing at home is WAY cheaper than having the vet do it.

We fed Fabby the Friskies Pate because they fall between 4-6 carbs. She ate two cans a day and it was $.44 a can, so for the month her food cost was roughly $27 which is way cheaper than the vet food which has more carbs.

I used the Fancy Feast one ingredient treats $3.50 because I could store them in her test kit, but you can just use boiled chicken breast to save cost.

If it is overwhelming, take a deep breath and give Sammy a cuddle. Ask questions. So many people on this board have years of lived experience with almost any scenario, so they can often help. You got this!
I do hope the rest of Sammy's tests come out fine!
 
Hi, my name is Sherri. This is Tc. He was diagnosed with diabetes on June 30,2018. He is currently on 4 units of Vetsulin. The last visit to vet his BG was 558. She raised him from 3 units to 4. I plan on changing his diet from the one his vet put him on as I have learned the Hills is bad for him. I also got a ReliOn CONFIRM glucose meter but am so confused on how to convert the reading to cat from human reading. I have been reading a lot of what has been on here and have learned a ton. It just took me a while to figure out how to post an introduction. Here I am Finally. I would appreciate all the help I can possibly get. Thank you!!!
 
Hi My name is Sherri. I am having an awful time trying to post an introduction. I am doing so for the second time. This is Tc and he was diagnosed with diabetes June 30,2018. He is currently on 4 units of Vetsulin. The last time I took him to the vet his BG was 558. They raised him from 3 units to 4. I will try to get this on and move to the other forum for health help. Thank you!! Can you help me do introduction. I emailed a week ago for help and can not figure it out
 
Sherri Savage said:
Hi, my name is Sherri. This is Tc. He was diagnosed with diabetes on June 30,2018. He is currently on 4 units of Vetsulin. The last visit to vet his BG was 558. She raised him from 3 units to 4. I plan on changing his diet from the one his vet put him on as I have learned the Hills is bad for him. I also got a ReliOn CONFIRM glucose meter but am so confused on how to convert the reading to cat from human reading. I have been reading a lot of what has been on here and have learned a ton. It just took me a while to figure out how to post an introduction. Here I am Finally. I would appreciate all the help I can possibly get. Thank you!!!
Click to expand...
Hi there Sherri and Welcome. I am so glad you have been reading information on the board and are testing. Testing is the best tool you can use to determine how the insulin is affecting Tc and help prevent hypos. I will tell you tho, that you posted on another new member's introduction, which is not a bad thing. But I wanted to let you know so that you can copy and paste the message and create your own introduction, so that other members can see that and recognize a brand new member. Here's how:

Click on Welcome to the Group - Post an Introduction Here at bottom center of this page
In the upper right of that page, click on Post New Thread
Enter a title
Enter your message
Click on Create Thread

I also have learned that you do not have to worry about converting your test readings from human to cat. There is no exact conversion. The BG (blood glucose) level protocols are based on human meters. When they were developed, cat meters either weren't widely available or used. So, no worries there. Many of us use the human meters.
 
Sherri Savage said:
Hi My name is Sherri. I am having an awful time trying to post an introduction. I am doing so for the second time. This is Tc and he was diagnosed with diabetes June 30,2018. He is currently on 4 units of Vetsulin. The last time I took him to the vet his BG was 558. They raised him from 3 units to 4. I will try to get this on and move to the other forum for health help. Thank you!! Can you help me do introduction. I emailed a week ago for help and can not figure it out
Click to expand...
Sherri, sorry, I didn't realize you are having trouble posting. We have been spammed lately and things tightened up, sometimes preventing new members from posting. Try posting that you are having trouble here in the tech forum:http://www.felinediabetes.com/FDMB/forums/suggestions-tech-support-testing-area.6/
It's possible since I replied to you that whatever safeguards that are set up will relax and let you post. Try creating a thread in the Main forum. You can PM me (start a conversation) if this doesn't work and I will try to help.
 
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