Newly Diagnosed Cat - Want to take the right steps

[andiecu]

Good Afternoon All-

My name is Andie. Yesterday, our 7 year old cat, Miles, was diagnosed with diabetes. We've started researching and trying to get up to speed as quickly as possible but, of course, it's just so overwhelming. So, let me give you the run-down of where we stand right now:

1) Purchased a 12-pack of Purina D/M wet food for now. We're hoping to find a less expensive food option before they are gone. Does anyone know why the vet insists the Purina D/M wet food is the only way to go instead of "over-the-counter" wet food? Also, what are your preferred wet foods (canned or home-made are viable options for us)?
2) We aren't starting insulin until 10/31/12 because of a trip we already had scheduled. We don't think it's fair for us to hand over the responsibility of insulin injections when we aren't expects yet. The vet has given us the OK for this. Once we start injections, they are prescribing glargine. Any thoughts on this insulin?
3) We are going to home monitor. Do you have suggestions for monitors?
4) We are a one-income household, so we are looking for the best cost savings without jeopardizing Miles health.

Is there anything else I should address right now?

Thank you all for your help!
Andie

 

[Sue and Oliver (GA)]

Welcome! You are already ahead of the game - congrats on starting on this journey, armed with knowledge.

1. I think vets "prescribe" DM because their diabetes workshops in vet school are generally sponsored by Purina. And they do make money on the food. The truth is that there is nothing "prescription" about this food. You can feed grocery or pet store brands and it is much higher quality and less money, and you can get lower carb choices. Check the ingredients - one of the problems is that it is heavily liver based. Most cats tire of the taste. I ended up taking back the DM I bought and just said my cat wouldn't eat it. Then I went out and bought Fancy Feast. The choice is up to you - what your cat will eat and what you can afford. Here are a couple food charts:


Dr. Lisa’s food chart

Hobo’s Food Chart

Janet and Binky’s chart

2. Glargine is also called Lantus and is an excellent insulin. We have a forum with excellent information (see the stickies at the top of the forum) http://www.felinediabetes.com/FDMB/viewforum.php?f=9It is not ideal to wait, but it may be what will work best for you. Until you leave, I would get him ready for hometesting. Here are some ideas:
First pick a place where you want to test. Some people use the kitchen counter, a blanket on the floor, between your legs while sitting – whatever works for you. Take the kitty there and give him/her lots of praise while you play with his/her ears. Give a treat and release. Next time, add the rice sack (thin sock filled with raw rice, heated in the microwave until very warm but not hot) or a prescription pill bottle filled with very warm water. Lots of praise, treat and release. Finally add the lancet so he/she will get used to the noise. The hope is that when you finally poke, they will be used to the process and know a treat is coming!

3. ReliOn from Walmart is very popular and is the cheapest. Here is a shopping list:
A human glucometer. Any one that sips and takes a tiny sample is fine. Some members stay from any meter with True in the name and the Freestyle meters. They feel they are less reliable and read lower than other meters. The meters are often free at drug stores; it’s the strips that are expensive. You can, however, buy them on ebay at less than half the price of stores. Lots of people here also like the ReliOn from Walmart. It is an inexpensive meter and its strips are the cheapest around. Try the meter out on yourself or someone else before you try it on your cat. You want to be familiar with it before you poke the cat.

Lancets and a lancet device. Usually, until the ears “learn” to bleed, a 26-28 gauge is good. Any brand will work as long as the lancets match your device.

Ketone strips. (Ketostix) Just like human diabetics use. You will sometimes need to test urine if the numbers are high.

Rice sack. Make this out of thinnish sock, filled with raw rice or oatmeal and then knotted. You heat this in the microwave until very warm but not hot. Then heat the ears before poking. You can also use a prescription bottle filled with very warm water. It provides a good surface to poke against.

Also nice to have. Flashlight: so you can look at the ears and find the little capillaries that come off the vein running down the ear. Vaseline: Put a tiny smear where you want to poke. It will help the blood bead up.

And some lo carb treats to give your kitty, successful test or not Lo carb treats

Keep reading. There is lots of info here. Other new member threads will help you also. Let us know how we can help.

 

[Tara & Buster]

Hello Andie - WELCOME! Sue has given you most of the basics to get you started. I just wanted to welcome you and congratulate you for getting all your ducks in a row right from the start! Ask all the questions you need - the collective knowledge on this forum is phenomenal!

It's probably a little premature since you won't be giving insulin for a little bit, but when you get a chance you will want to set up an internet-based spreadsheet to help you track your numbers. We post it as a link in our signatures to use as a quick reference when you need dosing advice or just general support as you go along. You will want to post in the Lantus forums (Lantus Land) regularly to get the most interaction/assistance. We also set up a profile of our sugar kitties so people can be aware of any additional health issues.

Here are the links to help get those set up when you're ready:

Spreadsheet: http://www.felinediabetes.com/FDMB/viewtopic.php?f=6&t=18207
Profile: http://felinediabetes.com/FDMB/viewtopic.php?f=6&t=79123

 

[Misty&Bast]

My kitty comes home this weekend for the first time so I am not tons of help but I just came home from my local Ralphs.
The selection is not huge but the friskies and 9 lives cans are 50 cents on sale right now. They had almost all the pate ones on the list. So I bought 15 cans (and a few cans at trader joes) to start. I hope to find a better deal on larger cans later. (ralphs doesn't have the large cans of cat food). Fancy feast was just out of my budget. I am also looking for coupons
Hope that helps with food.

Misty (another newbie!)

 

[squeem3]

Since you won't be starting insulin for awhile, you can start wth diet. It is much easier to change the diet now than it is when your cat is on insulin. Diet has a big impact on blood glucose numbers.

Pruina DM is full of very low quality ingredients. Think of Twinkies, donuts, and sugar loaded cake with extra sugar loaded frosting. A good web site to learn about cat nutrition is http://www.ctinfo.org And DM Is expensive. Think of paying $20 just for a single Twinkie :shock:

Dry DM is too high in carbs which just keeps your cat's blood glucose levels too high. In fact, dry food is one reason why many cats end up diabetic in the first place.

Canned DM is slighlty better in carbs but it's very heavily liver-based which cany cause vitamin A toxicity. And many cats get bored of eating it.

There are many commerical canned foods you can feed, from low end brands like Fancy Feast to the higher end brands like Merrick. Sue has already given you the links to the food charts. Here are additional ones you can use:

Pet Food Nutritional Values list
Dr. Lynne's Wet Food list
List of low carb gluten free Fancy Feast

Homemade diet is an option. Many people here feed raw food, either homemade or a commerical brand. Here is info about making your own homemade raw food: http://www.catinfo.org/?link=makingcatfood The recipie is used by many members here. If making your own food from scratch isn't appealing, you could also do a sort of semi-homemade diet by using store bought raw meats and adding in a premix such as TC Feline or you could do the "whole prey" model raw diet. Good commericial brands of raw food are Nature's Variety, Primal Pet, and Bravo. There are many other brands but do check the package to make sure that there are no sugary ingredients or sources of carbs/starches/grains. These are typically frozen diets. Some of these brands also have freeze dried raw diets but they are not 100% complete diets.

Frugal Feline Diabetes: http://binkyspage.tripod.com/frugal.html

Lantus (aka glargine) is a great insulin to use :smile: Be sure to read the stickies on the Lantus board to understand how it works for cats: http://felinediabetes.com/FDMB/viewforum.php?f=9

Any Human blood glucose meter works. Lotsof people here use the Relion brand from Wal Mart. If you don't have a local Wal Mart, any local pharmacy will have sveral big name barnds of meters. AccuChek, OneTouch, and Bayer are other popular brands. You can also request a free starter kit from here: http://felinediabetes.com/FDMB/viewtopic.php?f=28&t=60261

 

[hmjohnston]

If you have a Wal-mart nearby their Special Kitty is good- Chunky chicken and Tuna pate, super super, mixed grill, and ocean whitefish and tuna are around 4 and 5%.

Here the 5.5 oz is $.43, the 13 oz is $.70 and the 3 oz is $.50 :? :shock: . I buy the big cans if available (not in all 4 kinds but cheapest) and once open I freeze them in ice cube trays with water. My cat likes variety so that means opening a bunch and freezing them and thawing for instant food and leaving frozen out to thaw for later snacks and food while i am at work.