Newly diagnosed 12 year old calico

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PaulaP524

Member Since 2012
Our cat was just diagnosed as diabetic today and we are attempting to regulate this from the start with diet rather than beginning insulin.I have not been told just yet what her BG level was but will find out more from the vet tomorrow. 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. Suzie is 12 years old and a lovely calico and according to the vet, in pretty good shape other than the diabetes! If anyone else has advice, please respond. I have read so much and am thankful I found this forum. Hopeful that we won't need to go down the insulin road... I'm terrible with needles nailbite_smile
 
Have you seen our food charts:

http://binkyspage.tripod.com/canfood.html. Find your Blue Buffalo flavors. We try to stay under 8-10% carbs.

If you would test at home, you can find out whether her blood glucose numbers are going down into normal ranges with the food change or whether she needs insulin. We have taught hundreds of people how to test over the Internet. (even needle phobics) We'd be happy to teach you.
 
Welcome and good luck to you and Suzie. Sounds like you are ahead of the curve researching a good diet.

Food change will most like do some good, but depending on Suzie's numbers she may need some insulin help to get fully into diet controlled.

I too was afraid of needles - I'd pass out at the sight of one. I got so white during our consult visit my vet told me to sit down 3 times because she wasn't any good at treating people and didn't want me on her floor. Blood was no better, the first time I tested Smokey it took 10 minutes laying on the couch before enough blood returned to my head to stand up and give her the shot! I guess one of the great side effects of Smokey's diabetes is I've conquered my fear of needles and the sight of blood.
 
Poopy and I welcome you to the best place you could have found for you and your Suzie! cat_pet_icon The folks here are super friendly and have tons of hands on, day in and day out, knowledge they freely share.

Needles? Blood? You want me to what????? Yea, I've been there! It's surprising what we can conquer when it comes to caring for our fuzzy loves. One trick, for me, is I don't concentrate on the needles. If I do, I'm on the floor. That isn't going to help the Poopster much, now is it? LOL And the blood? I don't think of it as blood, but the stuff I need to test his sugar. I know it sounds silly, but it works for me - and better yet, it's what Poopy needs. :smile:

Changing food to a low carb can make a huge difference in caring for our sugar kitties. It was described to me like this - carbs for kitties are like candy bars for diabetics. Treating a diabetic while still eating candy bars takes more insulin, and the same is true for kitties. Makes perfect sense for me (grew up with two diabetic brothers). Food is one avenue to help manage this disease. Some kitties can be diet controlled alone (no insulin)!

If you find Suzie needs help with insulin, don't sweat it. You can do this for your Suzie. :smile:
 
Thank you all so very much. Just spoke to the vet and he of course stated that I will basically fail if I just try and regulate this with diet. Sooo... I am going to try the insulin route for a bit along with diet. He at least does start out at a very low dose. Now to start investing in supplies - I am going to reach out to the folks with the kits posted on this forum?? Thank you all again - I will keep you updated as to our progress. Oh and a big thank you to Squeem3, I appreciate the link to the food chart! Glad I chose the Wilderness food for sure :cool:
 
Paula,

To give you a bit of encouragement that your trip with both insulin and a diet change may be a short one, since it sounds like you caught your kitty's diabetes early.

In October of last year I adopted a beautiful long haired orange and white fellow who was surrendered to be put to sleep for being diabetic. On October 1st 2010 Maxwell was pulled from death row in Boston MA by one of the ladies on this board and she fostered him for 2 weeks while transport could be arranged to get him out here to me in Nebraska. She took him off dry food and started him on a low dose of Lantus. On October 15th, he was flown out here to me, where I continued to feed him a diet low in carbs and high in protein, I gave him a total of 2 yes 2 shots, before his bg readings fell too low to safely give insulin. On November 1st of 2010 he was officially declared in remission and is still insulin free to this day, even though I still test him twice a month just to keep an eye on things, so far he has shown no signs of going back on insulin. When he arrived out here to me he was a large cat that only weighed 10.5 lbs and looked like a skeleton with skin stretched over it, today he is a lean 17lbs (He's just a really big guy tall and long). He just turned 13 years old and you wouldn't know him from my 4 year olds, he flies through the house, he chases and wrestles with his best friend Lady Jane Grey who will turn 2 years old in a week. He scampers up the cat tree and leaps through the air after his toys.

In fact my vet calls him his poster child for feline diabetes...lol. Even though I didn't know him for the first 12 years of his life, I can easily see us having at least another 8-10 years together filled with snuggles, and purrs.

Mel, Maxwell, Musette & The Fur Gang
 
MommaOfMuse said:
Paula,

To give you a bit of encouragement that your trip with both insulin and a diet change may be a short one, since it sounds like you caught your kitty's diabetes early.

In October of last year I adopted a beautiful long haired orange and white fellow who was surrendered to be put to sleep for being diabetic. On October 1st 2010 Maxwell was pulled from death row in Boston MA by one of the ladies on this board and she fostered him for 2 weeks while transport could be arranged to get him out here to me in Nebraska. She took him off dry food and started him on a low dose of Lantus. On October 15th, he was flown out here to me, where I continued to feed him a diet low in carbs and high in protein, I gave him a total of 2 yes 2 shots, before his bg readings fell too low to safely give insulin. On November 1st of 2010 he was officially declared in remission and is still insulin free to this day, even though I still test him twice a month just to keep an eye on things, so far he has shown no signs of going back on insulin. When he arrived out here to me he was a large cat that only weighed 10.5 lbs and looked like a skeleton with skin stretched over it, today he is a lean 17lbs (He's just a really big guy tall and long). He just turned 13 years old and you wouldn't know him from my 4 year olds, he flies through the house, he chases and wrestles with his best friend Lady Jane Grey who will turn 2 years old in a week. He scampers up the cat tree and leaps through the air after his toys.

In fact my vet calls him his poster child for feline diabetes...lol. Even though I didn't know him for the first 12 years of his life, I can easily see us having at least another 8-10 years together filled with snuggles, and purrs.

That is such wonderful encouragement for sure - I am hopeful that this will be the same result for Suzie. Thank you so much :smile:
Click to expand...
 
Hi Paula!

Your vet's concern is sound...most cats do need a little insulin to give their pancreas time to heal. Also, studies have shown that the sooner you start insulin therapy, the greater your chances of getting your cat into remission, so I think it's not a bad thing!

Did your vet say what insulin he wants to use? I would ask for Lantus or Levemir--they are slow acting insulins that have a very high remission rate (80+%) when used in combination with regulation via home testing and a low carb canned diet. PZI is also a decent insulin, with about a 50% remission rate. I wouldn't accept a prescription for anything but one of those three insulins.

You're on your way with the food change! It's far easier to change the diet before or as you start insulin than afterwards.
 
Here's a handout on a useful relaxation technique for you!

A way to think of syringes and lancets is as variants of long thin cat claws. You may not like being scratched by one, but you can deal with it.
 

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You are all so amazing - I can't tell you how much I appreciate your help with all of this. I feel so overwhelmed about the whole situation but reading your posts sure gives me a boost! I am really glad for the info about the insulin types. I will certainly ask before I purchase the insulin what type it is. :-D
 
I have a question. I have not purchased the insulin for Suzie yet. We have been feeding her regularly for about 4 days now strictly wet food (Blue Wilderness) and I am waiting for Newbie Kit to be sent to me. In the meantime, should I be concerned about getting her started on insulin? Her blood sugar test from the vet 2 days ago was 302. She has slowed down on urinating, having normal poo and seems to feeling better. Not totally herself of course but doesn't really seem to be "sick"... I don't want to put her in danger! I have not heard from the person that I ordered the kit from on this site so I am hoping that they received my order. Any advice would be most welcome :!:
 
Paula,

Suzie didn't become a diabetic over night, even though she wasn't showing signs of diabetes before she was already starting the process long before you realized that something was wrong. A few days of letting her new diet take effect before starting her on insulin isn't going effect her drastically. I would however pick up some Ketostixs to test her urine of ketones as those are the truly dangerous part for diabetics.

If given the choice of shooting insulin blind or waiting for a meter to arrive for a couple of days, I would personally choose to wait for a meter, as long as she is still eating well, and not acting horribly ill. It is far more dangerous for her to go to low on insulin without you being able to monitor and bring her back up safely than running a little high for a few more days.

Mel, Maxwell, Musette & The Fur Gang
 
MommaofMuse - thanks very much for responding. I am hopeful that folks I ordered the Newbie Kit from received my order. I will certainly purchase those Ketostix as you suggested. Is it alright to just put a few in the litter box to get them wet that way? I never know when Suzie is going to use it... :?

Paula
 
you have to catch fresh uncontaminated urine to test, plus those strips are expensive and you don't want to just waste them. some people put little foil cups in the litter, spread a little plastic wrap over the area they like to go in, stick an old soup ladle under the stream if you can catch them. if all else fails you can switch to a temporary box (small box inside of a plastic garbage bag) that has aquarium gravel or lentils in it.

make sure and pay attention to the directions because you have to read them exactly on time - i think it's 15 seconds.

i just want to add my encouragement to the others. we're encouraging you because we all felt just as discouraged and not wanting to do it as you do. no worries. it's surprisingly easy once you get the hang of it. i thought the first 4 days were toughest, and on day 4 i thought "hey, i'm doing this and i'm doing ok with it!" you'll get there and we'll help you.
 
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