Newly diagnosed cat

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Slatersmom

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Hi - My cat, Slater, was diagnosed Friday. I am still digesting it. I brought him home a couple hours ago so we are now starting this together. He is due for his first injection. I am petrified. He is definitely in better shape than when I took him in on Thursday. He is on two units am and pm. I did some reading here over the weekend to learn what I could and read alot from the others here. I do think it is better to learn from those already managing a disease. I need to learn more about feeding him.

I am worried about him going low when I am not home. I am scared of hurting him. I read that wonderful poem "from the cat" and am trying not to obsessively watch him. :smile:

Well, I am going to feed him and try to give him his first shot but wanted to get on here to get introduced and start learning.
 
Want to offer the warmest welcome you could think of!
:YMHUG:

Being worried is natural but I will promise you, you have found the best place to be!

You will be asked questions, you will be given advice, and lots and lots of support.

I will suggest posting, hanging out a bit and recieve answers, etc.

What type on insulin are you using?
Have you thought of home testing after reading all the information?
What kinds of foods does Slater eat?
What were his vet numbers?
See, just a few and only from me so far!

You will not hurt him especially if you are game for home testing. You will learn from her for sure and pretty soon, just like me, will be offering advice, warm welcomes and support.
There is alot to digest, that is for sure, but Slater and you will become a routine in no time.
That poem is just wonderful, isnt it? Still makes me cry everytime I read it and boy, is it true... thought I was the ONLY one that did that until I found here! :smile:
Furry paw hugs coming your way!
I will be here for a while, so post away.
 
HI SlatersMom, welcome to the forum. There are lots of really great folks here happy to help. I'm a newbie myself (my cat dxed in December) but there is a wealth of information to help keep your kitty healthy. First thing I would recommend is getting a human blood glucose meter and strips for testing your cats blood sugar levels yourself. It will keep you cat safe from hypoglycemia (which can kill) and save you money on vet visits (better to know what the levels are daily then just taking them in for a one day curve). You wouldn't give insulin to yourself if you didn't know what your blood sugar level is and its the same for your cat. Many folks here use a Relion meter from Walmart because their test strips are the least expensive around. Also purchase some lancets for poking the ear to get blood - start off with a smaller guage (which is actually a bigger needle) to get your cats veins used to bleeding. There is a video (sorry I don't have the link available) showing how to poke the ear to get blood for testing. What insulin was prescribed by your vet? There are different ones - some better then others for cats. Lantus, Levemir, and Prozinc are the newest and best insulins for cats. Its less expensive to get insulin from a big box people pharmacy (ie Costco or Walmart) because of the volume their prices are lower. They are administered and work best on a 12 hour schedule. 2 units of insulin is kind of high to start with - its better to start low and go slow to make sure your cat doesn't hypo. Many folks start with 1 unit, test for 3-5 days, then go up a quarter or half unit as needed. My cats blood glucose levels were all over the map the first 3 weeks - fortunately I gave it time to settle down and she never did need more then 1 unit. There are specific forums as well as information on how to regulate your cat on each type of insulin. I know it sounds pretty overwhelming at first but in no time you'll be on track and have your wonderful healthy kitty back. Jan
 
Hi again. I did come back here last night after I took care of him and someone hit my arm and Poof - it was gone. He ended up throwing up what he ate about 45 minutes after he got the insulin.

Slater is 8 years old - kitten from the first litter I ever fostered. I noticed him coughing when he was playing. He was diagnosed at that time with cardiomyopathy. He is a black boy with big green eyes. I was told when he was little that he probably wouldn't live past a year.

His levels were over 300 when diagnosed. He is on pzi u 100 insulin. They want to see him in a week to check his levels. I asked about checking levels at home and they said it was hard and were discouraging. I do have an accu check glucometer (for me) which I can use until I know what is best for a cat. I saw some discussions here about them. I just haven't been able to take it all in yet. I am kinda all over the place in getting the info together and my thought processes.

He didn't want to eat this morning but he finally did. I am reading about what is best to feed. I didn't want to change too much all at once. He still seems kinda shell shocked to me.
 
Slatersmom said:
I asked about checking levels at home and they said it was hard and were discouraging. I do have an accu check glucometer (for me) which I can use until I know what is best for a cat. I saw some discussions here about them.
Click to expand...

HOme blood glucose testing does take a bit of time to learn how to do and be very frustrating at first but you soon learn what works and doesn't work and get into a routine and it's easy to do :-D

Any Human blood glucose meter works. Maybe not the FreeStyle ones because they tend to read too low (or is it too high?). AccuChek is a good brand. The Aviva model works great for cats but test strips are pricey. Which AccuChek meter do you have?

Here's a blood glucose meter comparision guide: http://www.felinediabetes.com/FDMB/viewtopic.php?f=28&t=67082 A meter that only needs a teeny 0.3 ul of blood is ideal for a cat since sometimes you can't get moremore than that.


I am reading about what is best to feed. I didn't want to change too much all at once. He still seems kinda shell shocked to me.
Click to expand...

Low carb canned foods are best to feed :smile: Or raw, which is what some people here feed. There are lots of brands of canned food that you can feed: Fancy Feast, Friskies, Wellness, Innova EVO, Special Kitty, etc. Look at Binky's food charts, the Pet Food Nutritional Vales list, Dr. Lynne's Wet Food list, and the list of low carb gluten free Fancy Feast. On Binky's chart, look at the column for carbs and choose foods that have a number 10 or less. On the Pet Food Nutritional values list, look at the % kcal from carbs column and choose foods that have a number 10 or less.

I've never used PZI so I can't tell you how that insulin works for cats. How much insulin is your cat getting?
 
Welcome back and please do NOT listen to that vet. Home testing is the way to go! Yes, you can use that meter. I bought a relion from w. mart as the strips are the cheapest I found.

Testing might not be really easy at first, but it will get easy. Trust me.

My experiences:
Treats for testing time that Bean only gets during testing
The same testing spot for treat time
Special container (wicker basket) with all supplies in - she sees me get this basket and walk toward our chair, she knows - treats
Warm the ear for a while before testing - especially at first (ears learn to bleed)
Apply small amount of neosporin w/ pain ointment before pokey
Hold area after pokey to stop bruising
Calm calm calm - momma had a hard time with this! lol = but I kept trying and it worked.

The routine became natural after a bit.

Please glance at Beans sheet and see why I get soo scared about not testing. I almost lost my girl. If I would have not taken the gentle encouragement from here to test (as my vet told me not to), I would have lost Bean for sure!

I would not suggest changing foods until you are testing. I know every cat is different, but my Bean girls numbers dropped alot after we completely changed to wet, low carb foods and no carb treats.

There are many of us out here, perhaps someone would be in your area to help w/ the testing if you needed?

Hang in there - even if it is by your claws - this is doable!
Sending paw hugs!
 
Welcome, Slater and Mom (What shall we call you? :smile: ) -

Hershey was diagnosed Nov, 2011. We found the forum and started insulin Jan, 2012. I spent lots of time reading on here and other sites and trying to learn as much as possible. I asked LOTS of questions, too! In fact, that's STILL what I do! :-D I didn't know how in the world I was going to be able to test and give my sweet boy shots - in fact, my husband did it all for the first few weeks and I did the paperwork part. Now, we both test and give the shots (but I still do the reading and asking questions - then pass it along to him ;-) ). It really does get easier. I find that Hershey is a lot like my kids and likes routine. For testing, we sit in a rocker/recliner beside a table with a lamp. When we turn on the lamp, he knows it's time and comes our way. (Of course, I'm sure the treat following testing makes him come, too. ;-) ) And, we give him his shot while he's still eating so he rarely notices. As you've already heard, it is important for you to remain calm. They know when we're stressed and I know Hershey's numbers go up when he's stressed.

I, too, asked my vet about home testing and was led to believe it wasn't necessary. Hershey has hypo'd a few times now, without symptoms, so I wouldn't have known it had I not been testing. Scary thought -

Hershey used to eat dry food (still feeling the guilt!) and had canned as a treat at bedtime. Once he was diagnosed with something we didn't even know cats could get! we started reading and immediately switched him to wet food. (Hershey eats Wellness, but Oreo prefers Friskies Pate'.) He had not started insulin at that point, so it was easy to switch him. Please don't switch until you are home-testing!

We started off using an iPet meter because my husband wanted one for pets. The strips were just too expensive to continue using, so we switched to ReliOn Confirm and order the strips (cheaper).

Again, WELCOME! You've found a SUPER resource here!!!!

Libby (and Hershey, too!)
 
Slatersmom said:
Hi again. I did come back here last night after I took care of him and someone hit my arm and Poof - it was gone. He ended up throwing up what he ate about 45 minutes after he got the insulin.

Slater is 8 years old - kitten from the first litter I ever fostered. I noticed him coughing when he was playing. He was diagnosed at that time with cardiomyopathy. He is a black boy with big green eyes. I was told when he was little that he probably wouldn't live past a year.

His levels were over 300 when diagnosed. He is on pzi u 100 insulin. They want to see him in a week to check his levels. I asked about checking levels at home and they said it was hard and were discouraging. I do have an accu check glucometer (for me) which I can use until I know what is best for a cat. I saw some discussions here about them. I just haven't been able to take it all in yet. I am kinda all over the place in getting the info together and my thought processes.

He didn't want to eat this morning but he finally did. I am reading about what is best to feed. I didn't want to change too much all at once. He still seems kinda shell shocked to me.
Click to expand...

Welcome to the site.

The insulin you are using is a U40 insulin from the vet; the U100 insulins are Lantus and Levemir.
What dose are you giving to him?

The meter you have is just fine! And testing your cat is NOT hard at all! My two cats pretty much slept through pokes to their ear tips.
Testing on cat’s ear
Most meters are just fine but do NOT get any of the FreeStyle meters as their strips seems to give false readings for cats.
I love Bayer Contour and use OneTouch as our backups, but I also had an Accu Chek and it was fine as well. The Relion is also good and the most economical.
Just watch the video and give it a try; if you have any questions, just ask.
Their ears 'learn' to bleed so don't be upset if you have problems at first.

What food are you feeding? If dry food, you will want to switch to wet low carb foods, keeping below 10% carbs.
Binky’s Food Lists
Feeding Your Cat: Know The Basics of Feline Nutrition
List of Low Carb Healthy Treats

Be sure to ask all the questions you have; someone will have answers for you.
 
Gayle Shadoe & Oliver said:
Slatersmom said:
He is on pzi u 100 insulin.
Click to expand...


The insulin you are using is a U40 insulin from the vet; the U100 insulins are Lantus and Levemir.
Click to expand...


BCP PZI is available as U100 as well as U40, http://www.bcpvetpharm.com/news_bovineinsulin.html

Slatersmom, please confirm what brand of PZI you are using and if it is indeed U100. Do you have matching insulin syringes to use? U40 insulin syringes for U40 insulin OR U100 insulin syringes for U100 insulin. The package of insulin syringes will say which type they are and it should also say right on the insulin syringe barrel.
 
Slaters mom,
when I first began posting, lots were confused by the U100 in PZI, BUT, that was what Bean used. Promise Promise. Took a bit for everyone to get that, but I must have looked many times on that bottle for several folks.
Just very important to make sure :shock:
 
I wasn't sure what kind of insulin - It just has a white sticker saying what I put there. I can recheck it when I get home. Thank you all so much because it is terrible to feel so alone in learning. He did eat for me last night (friskies canned) but he wouldn't eat this morning. I was told by the vet to try baby food or tuna. I would say he is doing better attitude wise. It may be baby steps for bit. I have 3 other cats and am separating them in the morning and evening so I can see what he is eating. I am doing some bottle babies now so I have kmr in the house. I saw someone suggest that if necessary?

They gave me syringes so will have to check.

PS - my name is Kellie
 
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