Newly Diagnosed. Hi.

[Papa Stark]

When our normally insouciant Snow (6yo NM) started acting out, I thought at first that he was cranky about having his litter changed. When he decided that my brand new bed would make a suitable replacement, I about hit the roof - at least, until I picked him up to pull him off of it. How did my fat, lazy little buddy manage to hide that he was losing so much weight, especially when everyone else crows about every half pound? So off to the vet we went. Not only was he diabetic, he was in the grip of DKA, and ended up spending two heartbreaking nights in the hospital getting stabilized before he came home on Saturday evening.

Now we're all adjusting. He and his litter-mate Arya have always been grazers, and she's having a bit more trouble so far adjusting to a meal-time setup than he is: he's eating like a champ again, after an initial bout of doubt about switching to wet food (Arya's next). I'm not sure if this is a good thing - he's always been a scarfer, but I've read that it can be a bad sign. (On the other hand, they were worried about him in the hospital because he wasn't eating much.) Either I'm pretty good at giving him shots, or he's even more stoic than I gave him credit for, because he gives us no trouble, and doesn't seem particularly cranky afterwards. It's an excuse for him to get a cookie, after all.

Kittydoc has him on 2u ProZinc bid, which has me a little worried. Between his fairly drastic weight loss (~30%... I must have missed it for some time :sad: ), and the switch to LC, and the fact that seems to be much higher than what a lot of people seem to start at from what I've read here, I'm afraid it might be too much. But I know I'm neither a vet nor terribly knowledgeable about FD, and I *am* so Type-A that I squeak when I walk, so rather than fret and double-think about it, I've got a Relion Micro on order (picking it up after work today)... something else we're going to have to adjust to. If he's half as cooperative to the testing as he has been for the shots, we should do all right, but I suspect I'm already straining against the limits of his largesse and may well end up sashimi when he's done trying to "re-educate" me on his poking limits.

Though I'm just getting around to introducing myself now, I've been lurking and reading (a lot) since we got his dx, so I already owe all of you a great deal of thanks.

Edit: Oops, he's 6, not 8 (born in '08). Derp. Oh well. I forget how old my lady is often enough, and how old I am nearly as often. Why leave out the cats?

 

[dirtybirdsoaps]

Welcome to FDMB!

You found the right place and your off to a great start with diet change, great insulin and home testing!

Home testing is VERY important especially when changing diet. Diet alone can drastically drop bg.

May I ask what your feeding and how much Snow weighs?

My vet started my Hidey on 2 units of prozinc twice a day, and the first night he was on it I couldnt give him his shot because he was too low. It is advised not to shoot when 200 or less. The main issue with most vets initial dosage in my opinion, is that MOST vets dont consider that stress raises bg so of course their number is higher when at the vet, but at home in a relaxed environment the bg is less. This site was the reason for my Hidey going into remission, not my vet.

Don't forget about diabetic friendly treats, most here use freeze dried chicken. I know Hidey doesnt mind being tested at all because he gets his treats. Heck, if I leave them out by accident he jumps on the counter and knocks them off like HEY test me so I can have a treat!

When home testing make sure to test before every shot but also try to get a test in about 6 hours after giving insulin to see how it works.

An unregulated cat will be hungry more often so it is ok to feed right now, just keep an eye out for calorie control and carb %. Best thing for a diabetic is 10% or less carbs. Here is our food list if you dont have it already....
http://www.catinfo.org/docs/FoodChartPublic9-22-12.pdf

It all becomes habit and normal over time....testing, checking carb content on everything, etc. Have any questions just ask. The people on this board are great and full of knowledge.

 

[Sue and Oliver (GA)]

Hi and Welcome,

It sounds like you have the important stuff down: good insulin, change to wet low carb diet and starting hometesting.

We have put together a protocol for ProZinc that might help with the basics:

http://www.felinediabetes.com/FDMB/viewtopic.php?f=24&t=109077

Just for general reference, we consider a cat regulated if they range from mid to lower 200s at preshot and double digits at mid cycle (with ProZinc usually 5-7 hours after the shot) but not below 40, which is approaching hypo territory.

As Samantha said, the dose is higher than we suggest. We like to start low and increase slowly as the numbers guide us. Lots easier than getting a sudden low number and trying to decide how much to reduce.

If he is a scarfer, you might try adding warm water to the food so it is like a gravy/soupy consistency. That helps with dehydration and also slows down the gulping. Another thing that might help is to smear the food around on the plate so it takes him longer.

There are great resources on this site- On the main forum page under Health resources, there are lots of links to home testing suggestions, videos and information. And ask any questions you want to - everyone who answers your post is paying it forward for help they received when they were overwhelmed in the beginning. It does get easier - promise!

 

[Papa Stark]

Hey, Dirtybirdsoaps,

Snow is down to around 11-12 lbs. now. This morning marked the end of the Hill's scam Prescription Diet M/D we got from the vet - the after-work Walmart trip to get the meter is also serving as a food run to grab a couple of cans of Friskies or FF (don't want to go too far overboard only to end up with a case of something this picky lot throws against the wall), but I've got a printout of the food shopping list and a copy of the big chart on my tablet, in case they're not available.

And people say cats are neurotic. nailbite_smile

 

[Sue and Oliver (GA)]

You aren't even on the low side of the scale toward neurotic. Some of us have been known to accost people in PetSmart who are buying dry food and urge them to switch to wet! BTW, Purina will accept any of their food back, no questions asked.

 

[Papa Stark]

You aren't even on the low side of the scale toward neurotic. Some of us have been known to accost people in PetSmart who are buying dry food and urge them to switch to wet! BTW, Purina will accept any of their food back, no questions asked.

That's extremely helpful to know, since their old food has been Purina One since they were kittens. Thank you.