Newly diagnosed and overwhelmed!

[Catmom22]

Hi everyone,

Thank you for whoever is taking time to read this and possibly share insight! My baby (9 years old but still a baby ) just got diagnosed. I’ve done my reading and this seems completely manageable with patience, time and love. Issue at hand however is that Baby Cat has IBD which is inevitably what caused the diabetes from long term steroid use (9 months). During the 9 months, I had no indication she was diabetic besides taking her to the emergency vet due to a pancreatitis flare up (no appetite and constant vomiting) and them learning it on blood work, she was sitting at a 20mg/dl. Left with my share of pain killers, anti-nauseants, antacids and insulin. Her dosage is 1 unit twice daily. Poor thing hates me with the pill torture. I do live in Canada so we unfortunately don’t have the same trusted ReliOn as so many talk about but I did go buy one from the pharmacy. Any time I check her BG I get 180-210. Which sounds right. Danger zone is anything less than 60, is that correct? Also does anyone have similar kitties with other co-morbidities?

 

[Larry and Kitties]

Welcome.
What are you feed your baby (name?)? Usually we feed a low-carb canned food. However, IBD may necessitate a higher carb food but canned is best since it typically has lower carbs than dry.
What insulin are you using? 180-200 is not bad for a high but normally BG is highest before feeding and then goes down with lowest at about 6 hours after shot. Exactly when lowest depends upon the specific cat and the insulin used.
To keep track of your measured BG and to make them available for caretakers here to help you, most of use record our BG ins spreadsheet. For how to setup the spreadsheet see:
HOW TO CREATE A SPREADSHEET
If you can't setup a spreadsheet others hee can make one for you.

Danger zone is anything less than 60, is that correct? Also does anyone have similar kitties with other co-morbidities?

Yes, that is good for human meter.

 

[Sienne and Gabby (GA)]

Welcome to FDMB!

You've already gotten yourself and your kitty in a good place and yes, there are lots of members here whose cat has feline diabetes (FD) along with other co-morbid conditions.

First, I'm going to urge you to read this post on helping us to help you. The post contains information on getting started (e.g., having a hypo kit) along with how to set up your signature and a spreadsheet. Your signature will give us basic information about Baby Cat so we don't repeatedly ask the same questions. The spreadsheet will allow you to track your kitty's progress and allow us to follow along and offer informed feedback. We are very numbers driven so it's great that you've already started home testing!

One of the basic issues about diabetes management is food. You will want to be sure your using food that is low in carbohydrates. We consider under 10% as low carb, although most people here will feed their cat in the 5% range. Just to make life complicated, most cat food manufacturers do not put carb information on the can or on their websites. This link has information on canned cat food available in Canada. This chart is a more comprehensive list that was compiled by a vet but not all food may be available in Canada. I'm providing a lot of information about food primarily because an IBD kitty needs to be eating novel proteins. One alternative if you can't find a food that meets Baby Cat's needs is to switch to a raw diet. We can provide information on that, as well.

The two pieces of information you didn't mention is what you're feeding your cat and which insulin you're using.

Please let us know what questions you have. The members here are very generous with their time and knowledge. We're here to help.

 

[Lando demando]

Hi everyone,

Thank you for whoever is taking time to read this and possibly share insight! My baby (9 years old but still a baby ) just got diagnosed. I’ve done my reading and this seems completely manageable with patience, time and love. Issue at hand however is that Baby Cat has IBD which is inevitably what caused the diabetes from long term steroid use (9 months). During the 9 months, I had no indication she was diabetic besides taking her to the emergency vet due to a pancreatitis flare up (no appetite and constant vomiting) and them learning it on blood work, she was sitting at a 20mg/dl. Left with my share of pain killers, anti-nauseants, antacids and insulin. Her dosage is 1 unit twice daily. Poor thing hates me with the pill torture. I do live in Canada so we unfortunately don’t have the same trusted ReliOn as so many talk about but I did go buy one from the pharmacy. Any time I check her BG I get 180-210. Which sounds right. Danger zone is anything less than 60, is that correct? Also does anyone have similar kitties with other co-morbidities?

Sending you lots of encouragement and empathy! I know an experienced member will weigh in with useful advice. I wanted to LYK that ive seen my guy Lando battle pancreatitis, inappetence, and all the other issues your girl is battling. It gets easier and more routine. Hang in there