Newly diagnosed 5 year old cat, Moxie.

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Andrealenore

Andrealenore

Member Since 2017
Hello! My cat, Moxie is 5 years old. We adopted her from the humane society 2 years ago. When we adopted her, she was overweight (16 pounds). We took her to the vet for checkups and they always said she was healthy, but needed to be put on a diet to lose weight. My boyfriend and I put her on a diet and she lost 1 pound slowly. Last week, I took her to get groomed and I had noticed that she looked slimmer and the groomer noticed as well. I asked the vet tech to weigh Moxie and she was down to 10 pounds. I immediately made an appointment to see a vet and she was diagnosed with diabetes after some testing the next day.
We were instructed to test Moxie's glucose in the morning, give her 2 units of Prozinc insulin and test her glucose again (same at night, 2 units of prosaic again but 1/4 cup of glycobalance wet food instead). We followed the directions religiously and took her for a glucose curve today. The vet increased her dosage to 2.5 cc's per day because she was not regulated enough quite yet. We have to do another glucose curve in 7 days.

This has been an emotional rollercoaster. I am a teacher and my boyfriend works 60-70 hour weeks so we can just get by. Of course Moxie's health is my priority, but financially we are already struggling between vet bills and diabetic supplies. I need some advice. The vet does not want us to get off of the Prozinc or switch foods. I am praying she will go into remission. Any advice or stories will help. Thank you.
 
Hello and welcome. When I started home testing I was able to do curves at home which not only saves the money but saved my Tigger the stress of having to go to the vet. Their blood glucose can be elevated when you take them to the vet so they might not be getting a true picture of what's going on. I would suggest starting to home test because it also gives you a better idea of what's going on. I use the advocate PET test meter. The meter itself is pretty cheap but the strips are about $40 for 50. I know some people use human meters that are less expensive and hopefully someone will chime in. Good luck to you and your baby.
 
Hi and so glad you found this Board ! People with much more experience than I will answer your concerns and questions . One thing I can suggest is using the Relion meter you can get at Wal Mart....strips are far less expensive and so easy to pick some up when you need more. I use to use an expensive pet meter and it really is not necessary AND saves a ton of money !!
 
Beth 73 said:
Hi and so glad you found this Board ! People with much more experience than I will answer your concerns and questions . One thing I can suggest is using the Relion meter you can get at Wal Mart....strips are far less expensive and so easy to pick some up when you need more. I use to use an expensive pet meter and it really is not necessary AND saves a ton of money !!
Click to expand...
Hi,
Which Relion model?
 
vbc2000 said:
Hi,
Which Relion model?
Click to expand...
The Relion Confirm is the meter I use . I like the convenience of being able to go to Wal Mart for more strips 24/7 if needed. So much easier and cheaper . Most people here use human meters so numbers you see are taken by them .
 
Hi Andrealenore!
The diagnosis is actually the really expensive part, so phew, that part is over!
I use (and like) the ReLion Confirm from Wal-Mart. The meter is $15 uses the smallest amount of blood and the strips are the cheapest out there.
I know my cat has diabetes and only go to the vet now if there's a problem. I do daily testing and curves at home on the weekends about every 3 weeks or as needed. (Need = extra info to make decisions by).
I'm not familiar with your insulin, as I use a different one, but most of the threads here do not recommend staying and cat out on more than one unit to start. Is there a reason you vet started higher?
Do you have the glucose numbers the vet has already done? (This info will likely help the ones that are experts at your insulin.)
Also, big question? What is Moxie eating?
Most of the recommendations here are also not to change both food and insulin at the same time, but for me, I'm going to do whatever gets my cat regulated. If my cat can go into remission on food alone, that's what I'm changing first. (You'll definitely want to be home testing so you don't have a hypo issue.) Have you seen Dr. Lisa's food list? My vet gave me the web address when we were diagnosed to pick out low carb goods. (The prescription goods aren't actually low carb.) Check that out. If you need more info on any of this, please ask here!
For insulin specific info, the board for ProZinc may be a good place to start reading, and asking questions too. (Though they will find you in here too...)

Good luck! The beginning is overwhelming. You can do it! Every one of us is here because we have already been where your at! We can definitely show you the ropes, and in time you'll be a pro!
 
Hi again, Andrea and Moxie!
Lots of information on the forum and experienced members who live and breathe feline diabetes! Few things to get you started.
A signature with some basic information about your kitty is helpful when posting and helps those of us with bad memories: http://www.felinediabetes.com/FDMB/threads/editing-your-signature-profile-and-preferences.130340/

We are very data driven here and highly promote home testing. It is the best tool in caring for our fur babies diabetes. Here is the Spreadsheet we use, all you need is a Google account: http://www.felinediabetes.com/FDMB/threads/fdmb-spreadsheet-instructions.130337/

And I like to give this to new members; better to be prepared, but I hope you never need it: http://www.felinediabetes.com/FDMB/threads/how-to-treat-hypos-they-can-kill-print-this-out.15887/
http://www.felinediabetes.com/FDMB/threads/how-to-treat-hypos-they-can-kill-print-this-out.15887/
As Beth stated, many of us use a human glucometer from Walmart, ReliOn Confirm or Micro (Only difference is meter size). Here's a shopping list to get you started. You can find test strips online for about $10 less
1. Meter ($15)
2. Test strips ($35.88 / 100)
3. 26 or 28 gauge lancets ($4)
4. Neosporin / triple antibiotic ointment (Polysporin if CAN) ($3)
5. Ketone test strips ($6)
6. A treat for yourself :)

Many of us also feed Friskies pate (no to indoor formulas in green can though), Fancy Feast classics (pate), and starting to see more Sheba pate perfect portions. HERE is the food chart many of us use to find low carb foods, <10% carbs. Let us know if you need anymore ways to save some pennies :bighug:
 
Welcome to FDMB! You have definitely come to the right place for help.

I know your veterinarian recommended it, but the glycobalance food is over 25% carbs! We recommend feeding foods that are under 10% carbs. If you look at the food chart Yong gave you a link to, you can find many nutritious and less expensive foods to feed Moxie (the glycobalance is also full of "cellulose powder" which is basically the equivalent of cardboard). Most diabetic kitties seem to do best if they have several smaller meals throughout the day, rather than one or two larger ones per day.

The Walmart brand Relion meters are very popular here, yes. The Prime is probably the cheapest as far as purchasing test strips, but it does need a slightly larger blood droplet for testing. The Confirm and the Micro both use a tiny blood droplet, but the strips are a little higher. Trust me, you will go through strips really fast! You can save SO much money by doing your own curves at home! It also gives a more accurate picture of your kitty's progress, because there is no "vet stress," which can cause blood glucose to rise 100 points or more. When you have you home testing meter, post to let us know and we can help you get started! :):):)
 
Hello and welcome :)

You are definitely in the right place. I think when you change foods you will see a huge difference, and who knows maybe kitty can be diet controlled.
ProZinc should be started on 1U to see how kitty reacts, if you are not testing then I wouldn't go above that for now. My kitty hypoed on a starting dose (she's fine). If I wasn't testing I would have gone to bed and woke up to (likely a dead cat)... it was ok though and the wonderful people here talked me through it all, held my hand (virtually) and she went on into remission with their help and advice.
Right now you need some actual numbers and as everyone has said - they will be higher when done at the vets. So please nip out and grab yourselves a meter.
 
Lots of great info above so I'll just say welcome! I'm a teacher as it's my partner so I feel the tight budget.... There are ways around some of the cost. Ditch all dry food you are giving. Ditch all perscription food. Go with fancy feast classic. You don't have to feed only twice a day, esp since she lost weight! Just no food two hours before preshot testing. But! Don't pull the dry without lowering the dose.... 2 units is too high top start. 1 unit is the recommended starting dose. Sometimes too much insulin can look like not enough.


ProZinc is a good insulin. It runs about $130, but if kept refrigerated it should last about 4 months.

Once I started home testing and entering my data on a spreadsheet (look in all of our signatures) my cat didnt have to go back to the vet except just recently for a yearly physical and dental. Every two weeks or so I just emailed my vet a link to my spreadsheet to keep her in the loop.
 
Yong said:
Hi again, Andrea and Moxie!
Lots of information on the forum and experienced members who live and breathe feline diabetes! Few things to get you started.
A signature with some basic information about your kitty is helpful when posting and helps those of us with bad memories: http://www.felinediabetes.com/FDMB/threads/editing-your-signature-profile-and-preferences.130340/

We are very data driven here and highly promote home testing. It is the best tool in caring for our fur babies diabetes. Here is the Spreadsheet we use, all you need is a Google account: http://www.felinediabetes.com/FDMB/threads/fdmb-spreadsheet-instructions.130337/

And I like to give this to new members; better to be prepared, but I hope you never need it: http://www.felinediabetes.com/FDMB/threads/how-to-treat-hypos-they-can-kill-print-this-out.15887/
As Beth stated, many of us use a human glucometer from Walmart, ReliOn Confirm or Micro (Only difference is meter size). Here's a shopping list to get you started. You can find test strips online for about $10 less
1. Meter ($15)
2. Test strips ($35.88 / 100)
3. 26 or 28 gauge lancets ($4)
4. Neosporin / triple antibiotic ointment (Polysporin if CAN) ($3)
5. Ketone test strips ($6)
6. A treat for yourself :)

Many of us also feed Friskies pate (no to indoor formulas in green can though), Fancy Feast classics (pate), and starting to see more Sheba pate perfect portions. HERE is the food chart many of us use to find low carb foods, <10% carbs. Let us know if you need anymore ways to save some pennies :bighug:
Click to expand...

Love that "treat for yourself part! A question for the Relion Confirm people:
Do you know the comparison to a pet meter in the readings you get. For example, if I get say 170 on my pet meter, what might it convert to on the Relion? I am seriously considering getting it because of the cost of the test strips! They're half of what they are for Advocate Pet Test.
Thanks,
Stephanie
 
vbc2000 said:
Love that "treat for yourself part! A question for the Relion Confirm people:
Do you know the comparison to a pet meter in the readings you get. For example, if I get say 170 on my pet meter, what might it convert to on the Relion? I am seriously considering getting it because of the cost of the test strips! They're half of what they are for Advocate Pet Test.
Thanks,
Stephanie
Click to expand...
There's no way to accurately convert pet meter readings to human meter readings. Human meters read lower and the difference will be larger at high BGs and much less at low BGs. You'll quickly get used to human meter ranges and we all understand them here. The key numbers to know are the "take action" ones: 50 and below on a human meter, 68 and below on a pet meter.

The cost of strips for a pet meter is prohibitive in the long term.
 
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