Newly diagnosed and seeking advice

[Olivia's Mom]

My beautiful girl (13y) was just diagnosed last week. The vet put her on purina pro plan DM (crunchies), but she absolutely hates them. During the first two days of her having that food, she threw up eight times. (a few minutes after eating them, so the food was still well formed and not digested at all.) The vet wants to see her next month to check her levels--the hope is that everything will be well in hand and she won't need insulin. After reading a bit online, I decided to buy her some non-prescription wet cat food (tiki cat and purina one grain free) since she wasn't getting any nutrition from the purina DM. So now, I'm just sort of waiting until February for her to see the vet. She seems to be fine atm--she's not peeing like a racehorse or drinking like a fish anymore. Seems reasonably active for a cat. Does that sound like she's in the clear? I was thinking that maybe I should get a glucose meter? Anyone have a suggestion on which to buy? Also, the tiki cat, while it looks edible to even me, is a bit on the pricey side. I haven't tried giving her the purina one grain free yet, because I found Dr. Pierson's list on this website after I had bought it, and it doesn't have any data. Has anyone else tried it with their kitties? I sure would prefer to pay just .90/can instead of $1.50. If I struck out on the purina one grain free, anyone have a suggestion on a lower price low carb wet food? Thank you so much for any help. I feel so lucky that there's such an active forum to help me navigate this!

 

[Red & Rover (GA)]

Quite a few cats do not like the DM foods. You can return it to the vet for a full refund. The company guarantees it.

Fancy Feast pates and Friskies pates are low carb and easy on the wallet.

How did the vet diagnose? Was it from a single blood glucose reading or was it from a fructosamine test (gives a rough idea of the last couple of weeks)?

Testing at home will tell you if Olivia is diabetic. If you are the US, the Relion Prime at Walmart is inexpensive, as are the strips. Much cheaper than a vet visit.

 

[Olivia's Mom]

He did two tests--the first one her reading was 511, the second was a bit higher but still in the 500s. I don't know what kind of test it was, but I know he needed blood and urine. Thanks so much for your reply!

 

[Diane Tyler's Mom GA]

the Relion Prime at Walmart is inexpensive, as are the strips. Much cheaper than a vet visit.

@Red & Rover (GA)
The Relion Prime is discontinued. She can get The
Relion Premier Classic same price 9 dollars, 17.88 for 100 test strips.
Also get 26 or 28 gauge lancets

 

[Bron and Sheba (GA)]

Hi and welcome. If you are not going to start insulin until February (which I think is too long to wait) I would suggest you need to buy a bottle of Ketostix from Walmart or a pharmacy and test your kittys urine for ketones. Diabetic cats that are not getting insulin are at risk of developing ketones. So by testing the urine you will be a step ahead preventing the ketones from developing further into DKA.
If ketones show up in the urine tell your vet and you will need to start insulin straight away.

I think it’s a great idea for you to start home testing the blood glucose.