Newly diagnosed-? about home monitoring

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DarylS

DarylS

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Hi--We and our 11 year old cat Chico are new to this. He was diagnosed a few weeks ago and we are trying diet control. Currently feeding Purina canned DM, but I see lots of info about pros & cons. But right now my question is this--I have purchased a glucometer, etc. Chico is NOT on insulin or any meds. What is the optimal time to do the blood test, with relation to feeding I suppose, to get a good representation. He has been re-tested at vet, but was so anxious vet said that would falsely raise level. His symptoms have dramatically improved, really back to baseline with urination/drinking since diet change. I want to try some home testing when he is less stressed to see how we are really doing. Your input is appreciated. Thanks, Daryl
 
Re: Newly diagnosis-? about home monitoring

Since he currently isn't on insulin, do tests at different times each day. This will give you a good overall picture of how he is doing, how the food affects his system, etc.


I do suggest not using the DM or any dry food as the DM tends to be higher in carbs than what we recommend and isn't made of any better quality food then what you can buy in the store. You just pay a premium $$$ for it being prescription food. You can return it for a refund and yes they have to refund you - just say the won't eat it.
 
Re: Newly diagnosis-? about home monitoring

If you trying diet control, be sure it is low carb canned food. Check out Binky's List under diet on this site.

Look for canned food under 10% carbs that you can afford and your cat likes. You can use Friskies, Fancy Feast, Merricks, Wellness, or Evo. I have fed any and all of these pate varieties with no gravy to my group of 7 diabetic cats.

Good luck,

Claudia
 
Re: Newly diagnosis-? about home monitoring

Purina Canned DM is good to feed a diabetic cat. However, the ingredients are low quality (compare the label to the low priced foods like Friskies or 9 Lives--they're pretty much the same), so basically you're paying a lot of money just for the veterinary label. You can get a premium food like Merrick's or Wellness for less than what you're paying for the DM, and the ingredients will be a much higher quality. So I would recommend switching foods, not because the DM is a bad food, but because it's ridiculously over priced considering it's pretty much the same food as the cheap stuff.

Fancy Feast good mid-quality food that a lot of people feed here because it's easy to get. Here's a list of the diabetic safe flavors: http://felinediabetes.com/glutenfree.htm I feed Bandit a rotation of Fancy Feast Tender Beef, Fancy Feast Ocean Whitefish & Tuna/Flaked Tuna & Mackerel, Merrick's Cowboy Cookout, Merrick's Surf & Turf, and Merrick's Before Grain Turkey (I limit the Fancy Feast Fish flavors to once or twice a week because of mercury content).
 
Re: Newly diagnosis-? about home monitoring

Thanks to all you who answered. I'm still trying to get used to the mechanics/organization of this forum. One day it seems to flow chronologically, and the next the posts seem in no real order. Guess I need to look more to see if there is a section that explains how it is organized, etc. We tried our first glucose test today. Got some blood, but not a droplet that I could get on the strip. May try again before bed. I have read to expect it to take some time before you get it right, but we are anxious to see where we are. Thanks for the support.
 
Re: Newly diagnosis-? about home monitoring

The default setting for the order of the posts should be "latest message at the top", but you can change that by using drop down menus at the bottom of each index page.
However, there are also "stickied" threads at the top of most forums that will stay at the top no matter what.

The top forum, "How to use the FDMB" has a couple of threads that will help you to navigate the board and alter settings.


In order to get blood on the strip, try stiking the very tip close to the skin where the drop is, and it should "sip" the blood up onto the strip. You don't need to actually stick in in the middle of the bead of blood. Not sure what meter you are using, but the relion micro I use requires very little blood - think it's .3 micro liters or something like that.
Carl
 
Thanks Carl--we have been successful twice now and our Chico is being pretty cooperative. His appetite has dropped off the last few days, but he is still eating. If you recall he is not on insulin at this point. We think a diet change a few months ago may have triggered his diabetes and we are really hoping we can be successul with diet control alone. I have read lots of the material here and from the vet posts (is it Dr Lisa?) about appropriate foods. His levels so far were 234 and 129. I plan to try a curve even though he's not on isulin to see how we are doing with diet regulation. Thanks for the info all. Daryl
 
Re: Newly diagnosed-? about home monitoring: a new specific

Can anyone give me an idea of what levels we should consider acceptable in order to continue with diet regulation only? I understand there will be fluctuation depending on how recently he has eaten, etc, but what do you folks think are acceptable highs and what should the target for diet control be? Said another way, at what levels should we seriously consider starting insulin? Thanks much! Daryl
 
Bob is now diet-controlled, and "normal" for a kitty is 50-120 I believe. Some people will go as high as 150. I still test Bob, and he lives in the 60s and 70s range.
We usually tell new members that a non-shoot number is anything below 200, so if Chico were to stay at that level or lower, we'd usually tell you to not shoot. Above 200, he should really be getting insulin to keep him from going "out of control" eventually. You can expect Chico to rise a couple hours after feeding, and then go back down as the food no longer pushes his BG up (that assumes his pancreas is doing its job controlling the BG level).

Carl in SC
 
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