Newly diagnosed, looking for help

espinogena

espinogena

Member Since 2026
Hello, my name is Genevieve and my 6 year old cat, Manten, was just diagnosed with diabetes yesterday. He has always been a very healthy weight, never overate or drank excessively, never peed excessively, nothing like that. He has always been vocal since he's a Siamese, and he's extremely skittish and hates being handled beyond when he feels comfortable getting in your lap for pets. I have wanted to get him on Prozac or something similar for his anxiety for years, and with this diagnosis it's going to be extra necessary.

Before I get into what happened leading up to this, I want to admit that even though I owned cats all my life, I never knew until the last 2ish years that cats need wet food, not just optionally with dry and water. Nobody taught me this and I felt so horrible and stupid when I learned this. Since then I have gone from feeding wet food once a day every other day to daily with my five cats. I figured every other day would be better than nothing since it's very hard to afford everything, but with one of my cats being on prescription food for crystals (obese female) and the new kitten eating wet food every 4 hours, I've just been doing daily in the evening and free feeding dry as I always have up until the afternoon.

That being said, about 2 months ago Manten went from being very excited for wet food to extremely, obsessively loud and desperate for it. We had to up his portions and he still began to lose weight. I assumed it was either his thyroid or a parasite, but apparently not. He went from a consistent 14lbs throughout his adult life to 10.8 in two months time. I truly don't know what happened but this has all come on so fast my head is spinning. I'm sitting here wondering if adding wet food made this happen or if it truly just came out of nowhere like the vet said.

I had planned on taking him to the vet but ended up rushing him at 10pm last night when I noticed he had a nasty bloody wound on his nose. I pay close attention to my pets daily so The mouth ulcer I can easily miss but his nose was not like that the day before. Yet the vet said that and that both wounds are just from diabetes and have him an antibiotic injection for it. They said his glucose was 550 yet he has no ketones in his urine remarkably. I'm still not sure how this is even possible when he showed no signs at all...

After finally being released 7 hours later at 5:30am and crying until I passed out because I genuinely felt there was no way I could afford to do this, we finally got to go back and get him some insulin. The vet said human insulin is an option but it just doesn't work as well as prozinc so they felt it wasn't worth it. So even though I'm a disabled, unemployed, full-time college student hobbling by as it is, I just have to try to help him, and if the more expensive insulin will give him the best chance, I have to find a way.

I'm sorry this is so long and probably a bit unhinged, this news came at a time where so many things are going wrong in my life and it's been completely overwhelming. I just really could use advice on how to proceed and how to afford this on a vice gripped budget. The vet didn't give me anything to test his glucose and didn't tell me to get it, they just told me he needs 2 units of insulin every 12 hours at the same time. Is this for a certain amount of time since his sugar was this high? Could this possibly be some weird, temporary, stress induced thing? How can I give him insulin if he is not wanting to eat due to the wound on his nose/upper lip? Any help is so deeply appreciated. Thank you.
 

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For context, the picture I attached was him last night, right before I took him in. I don't know if the picture of his nose after going to the vet is too graphic to post here or not, but this picture shows it as merely scabby, whereas it devolved into the middle of his nose being raw and... missing. It's truly horrible but if it's allowed, maybe I can get help understanding it since the vet didn't suggest anything but the antibiotic for it.
 
Hi Genevieve - welcome to FDMB! I'm sorry to hear about Manten. I don't have the experience to be able to answer all of your questions but I can help with the pieces that I know.
  • Food - what are you feeding Manten? You mentioned that you feed wet and free feed dry. Dry food is extremely high in carbs, and if possible, you'll want to try to get him off the dry food as it will make his blood glucose harder to regulate. If budget is a concern, Fancy Feast pate is a wonderful budget-friendly option that is low in carbs. Some here feed Friskies as well. Here's a couple food charts that you might find helpful - anything below 10% carbs is low carb and good to feed a diabetic cat.
  • Did you end up getting the Prozinc and have you begun giving 2u every 12 hours? Others here on this forum like @Suzanne & Darcy are experts on this insulin and should be able to advise you better.
    • Prozinc is an excellent insulin and others here may have advice on making it more affordable. We use Lantus, which is a slow-acting insulin like Prozinc. We use a manufacturer's coupon and get each Lantus pen for $35. A pen lasts us months. So our insulin, syringes, etc. are very affordable. And you may want to contact organizations like DCIN (Diabetic Cats In Need) for financial assistance.
  • Home testing - I noticed your vet didn't mention this part to you. Just as you would never give insulin to your human child without testing, it is very important that you test Manten before giving him insulin in order to make sure he's safe. Hypoglycemia can kill your cat. Human blood glucose meters and strips are very affordable - Relion is the most affordable if you're by a Walmart. Here's a link that will help you learn more about home testing. It looks really intimidating at first but the vast majority of cats tolerate testing especially when they learn testing comes with treats :)
  • You shouldn't transition Manten's food too rapidly (to make sure he doesn't get GI upset) and especially not before you begin testing (as eating more wet food will lower Manten's insulin needs and you'll risk hypoglycemia). You also should not be feeding within 2 hours of Manten's insulin shot, as food will raise his blood glucose and you may end up relying on a number that's artificially high from food to decide whether it's safe to give him his injection.
  • When my Moonie has low appetite due to GI upset, I will syringe feed her or I'll feed her baby food. You can use Gerber's chicken or turkey baby food (make sure that there are no other ingredients like garlic etc), or make your own (I'll just get a protein that I know she tolerates, poach it in hot water, blend it up, and serve it at the right temp). Baby food is not nutritionally complete but it is better than nothing.
    • You may also want to consider getting an appetite stimulant like mirtazapine or pain relief like buprenorphine (if you think it's pain preventing him from eating)
  • Finally, if you plan to stick around and hopefully you will, you'll want to create a spreadsheet and signature to give more experienced people here information to help you. Here's a link that you might find helpful
 
Welcome to FDMB
You are not the only one that has felt overwhelmed, emotionally and financially, I am a perfect example of this, I adopted Corky when he was 8 weeks old, he grew up grazing on MeauMix, having pets and farm animals in the past, including cats, I never knew cats could develop diabetes, It caught me as surprised as you, Corky went from 16.5lbs to 8.5lbs in less than 2-3 months, also crying hysterical, or to me was meowing in front of his water bowl, he was always a skittish cat since adoption, until one day he just let me pick him up, and he felt like a feather, he is a very large cat, not obese, I rushed to an emergency hospital 20 miles away from home, to find out 7 hours later that he had FD and his glucose level was 650, he stayed hospitalized for 8 1/2 days, depleted my savings, went home with ProZinc and more or less was told what to do, I was broke, he went home with a Continuous Glucose monitor(sensor) that fell off 2 hours after being home, his vet since adopted, fired me, Corky was 9 1/2 when diagnosed. I almost had a nervous breakdown, and broke, So make the story shorter, it was 3 months later that I found this Forum, by searching the web. This Forum saved my Corky's life. Here they taught me what to do, and how to do it, So, today, I am here with you and so are amazing knowledgeable members, to easy your way into this journey.
Here are some things to know:
1- Home testing is important, you do not want to give insulin without knowing your cats' glucose level to avoid hypoglycemia, and test at least 2-3 times during the day. you do not need a pet meter, many members use the ReliOn Premier meter and strips (Walmart) the monitor is $9.00, the strips are $9.00 for 50 or $17.88 for 100, good to have extra strips handy. or any other human meter is good. a non-diabetic cats' glucose levels is between 50-120
2- ProZinc and Lantus are the best insulins for cats, they are a 12-hour insulin gentle on the cat
3-Diabetic cats need to have a diet of wet can or raw food between 0-10% carbs, many members use Fancy Feast pates many feed up to 5%. your cat needs a feeding schedule, feeding 3-4 small meals or snacks during the day plus the two main meals before shots are highly recommended to keep the insulin in check. The protocol for ProZinc or Lantus is TEST-FEED-SHOOT, if you are not home during the day you can use a programmable wet food feeder (Walmart) some have cameras and chips. Do not feed vet's "prescribed food" these are expensive and contain over 20% carbs, cats cannot digest carbs
4-Transitioning from kibbles (dry) food needs to be a slow process, you do not want to upset your cat's stomach, and it can also dive the levels down, so it is important that during this transition you test at least 3-4 times during the day.
5-Below is a link for financial assistance for diabetic cats, I use D.C.I.N. If you qualify, they supply you with syringes, insulin and strips. Quick reply! You are not alone;) It gets better
We are here for you, please continue to post, your kitty is precious:cat::bighug:


Financial Help Links
 
Connie & Parker & Moonie said:
Hi Genevieve - welcome to FDMB! I'm sorry to hear about Manten. I don't have the experience to be able to answer all of your questions but I can help with the pieces that I know.
  • Food - what are you feeding Manten? You mentioned that you feed wet and free feed dry. Dry food is extremely high in carbs, and if possible, you'll want to try to get him off the dry food as it will make his blood glucose harder to regulate. If budget is a concern, Fancy Feast pate is a wonderful budget-friendly option that is low in carbs. Some here feed Friskies as well. Here's a couple food charts that you might find helpful - anything below 10% carbs is low carb and good to feed a diabetic cat.
  • Did you end up getting the Prozinc and have you begun giving 2u every 12 hours? Others here on this forum like @Suzanne & Darcy are experts on this insulin and should be able to advise you better.
    • Prozinc is an excellent insulin and others here may have advice on making it more affordable. We use Lantus, which is a slow-acting insulin like Prozinc. We use a manufacturer's coupon and get each Lantus pen for $35. A pen lasts us months. So our insulin, syringes, etc. are very affordable. And you may want to contact organizations like DCIN (Diabetic Cats In Need) for financial assistance.
  • Home testing - I noticed your vet didn't mention this part to you. Just as you would never give insulin to your human child without testing, it is very important that you test Manten before giving him insulin in order to make sure he's safe. Hypoglycemia can kill your cat. Human blood glucose meters and strips are very affordable - Relion is the most affordable if you're by a Walmart. Here's a link that will help you learn more about home testing. It looks really intimidating at first but the vast majority of cats tolerate testing especially when they learn testing comes with treats :)
  • You shouldn't transition Manten's food too rapidly (to make sure he doesn't get GI upset) and especially not before you begin testing (as eating more wet food will lower Manten's insulin needs and you'll risk hypoglycemia). You also should not be feeding within 2 hours of Manten's insulin shot, as food will raise his blood glucose and you may end up relying on a number that's artificially high from food to decide whether it's safe to give him his injection.
  • When my Moonie has low appetite due to GI upset, I will syringe feed her or I'll feed her baby food. You can use Gerber's chicken or turkey baby food (make sure that there are no other ingredients like garlic etc), or make your own (I'll just get a protein that I know she tolerates, poach it in hot water, blend it up, and serve it at the right temp). Baby food is not nutritionally complete but it is better than nothing.
    • You may also want to consider getting an appetite stimulant like mirtazapine or pain relief like buprenorphine (if you think it's pain preventing him from eating)
  • Finally, if you plan to stick around and hopefully you will, you'll want to create a spreadsheet and signature to give more experienced people here information to help you. Here's a link that you might find helpful
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Unfortunately I don't think it's really feasible for me to be able to remove dry food as I do have so many cats, and leaving a bit of it out for them allows them to graze during the day when people are out/busy with work or school. He doesn't eat very much dry food as it is though, and because my other cat has crystals in her urine and recovering from a UTI (obese female, UTI issues), I put them on the Purina one urinary tract support dry food because I couldn't afford the science diet c/d dry she was prescribed, only the wet version so she would at least get some meds in her. He actually is so wet food motivated, we at first thought he was losing the weight because he only wanted wet and was refusing the dry food.

As far as wet food they have been on fancy feast pate before and have been eating churu meals the last few months. They loved it at first but they all started getting tired of it so I was planning on trying Dave's natural cat food since the 13 Oz cans are affordable and seem good quality like fancy feast. Since all this weight drop though I've given him a few meals of the royal canin mother and baby cat pate (been feeding this to the kitten I found a few weeks ago). I know this food is not good for him ideally but with the bad injuries to his nose and tongue it's the only food he will eat right now because it's an ultra soft pate.

We did get the prozinc and while I was very worried about affording it, I was told that human insulin varies in it's effectiveness for cats and they can often burn it off faster than 12 hours so in reading what others experience is and hearing that it seemed to be generally less consistent for him, I felt I had to get prozinc. In the beginning I thought I was going to have to give him to a sanctuary because I didn't think I could afford this at all with all my other cats, but I'm trying to do this because all my babies are worth it.

He got his first shot last night and his second one this morning, 9pm and 9am. He got gabapentin this morning at 8, ate a meal at 830, then his shot at 9. We're wanting to get him on Prozac but for now they gave us 2 weeks of twice daily gabapentin to help with how difficulty to handle, and honestly he's tolerating it lately because he's still so incredibly weak and hurting from his injury. His nose leather down the middle is missing it's so bad. I've been barely sleeping, trying to research how he's supposed to get insulin as the vet just simply said 2 units twice a day, feed before hand. They didn't even tell me why, I had to find out on my own about the risk of hypoglycemia. From what I can tell though it seems they just want to start him out with this to get him used to having insulin after this 2 month crash and I do want to call them back to be sure of exactly what to do, I just can't risk him not getting any right now with how bad he is, how high his glucose was, and how new this all is. He had a fever and his paw pads were blood red so it's just all very new and hard to believe.
 
You want to stabilize the levels, the sooner than later, all the foods you mentioned are high in carbs, are you home testing? 2 units is a lot of insulin to begin with, especially if you are not testing, we recommend to begin the dose at 1 unit and increase and decrease in increments of 0.25 units at a time, you need to keep the same dose for at least 3 cycles (3 days) that's about how long it takes to begin to see a pattern and reaction in the cat's system. below you'll have a Drs. approved food list, the third column contains the carb %s. Many brands to choose from, we are looking for Dry Matter Carbs, also a food calculator, insert in the cells the nutrients of the food on the label, please check the carb content for each item you are feeding. You want to begin to heal the pancreas by feeding low carbs, cats cannot digest cats, you may want to consider transition all your cats to low carbs as well, this will avoid UTI's from the dyes of the dry food, future diabetes, and other illnesses, I have another cat, and I transitioned them both, I know that dry food is cheaper, but in the long run much more expensive health wise, you slowly remove 2tbsp at time of dry, substitute with wet until all they are eating is wet, Fancy Feast has some good choices for kibble addict cats, they have chucky chicken 4% . Fish & Fish Flake 0%, Trout (chunky) 4%, if you like you cn review Corky's spreadsheet below to see what you can look forward to, he also uses ProZinc, scroll to the left, you can see, what I feed, how much and when to get an idea
Info - Dr. Pierson - new Food Chart
Carb Calculator - Felinediabetes.com
 
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Please note that cats are very sensitive to stress, and the biggest stressor is a vet's visit, so when the vet preforms a glucose reading, it will always be much higher than reality, this can cause an unnecessary dose increase, also if the vet talks about doing a curve, a curve is best done at home, this means testing every 2 hours for 1 cycle 12 hours, getting a "curve" at the vet's office will only stress your cat in a create all day, which will just cause unrealistic glucose levels, and expensive.
We are very numbers oriented, we would love to help you with medical, medication, diabetes, and dose advice, so we can all be on the same page we would like you to create your signature, link in post #3 and Manten's spreadsheet, this will help you see the progress and how the insulin works during the day, as well as a pattern. Many Vets are aware of our Forum, and are pleased, just like there are some vets that are not too familiar with Feline diabetes, so always follow your instincts, as well as that you cannot tell by looking at a cat if they are going thru a hypoglycemic episode, cats are sneaky they hide illnesses quite well, Hypo is not pretty and it is dangerous and it can damage other organs, that's why home testing especially before dosing is so important, I saw that Connie tagged Suzanne, she is the correct person to help you with the dose you started with and advice you

https://felinediabetes.com/FDMB/forums/spreadsheets-tech-support-testing-area.6/
 
CORKY said:
Please note that cats are very sensitive to stress, and the biggest stressor is a vet's visit, so when the vet preforms a glucose reading, it will always be much higher than reality, this can cause an unnecessary dose increase, also if the vet talks about doing a curve, a curve is best done at home, this means testing every 2 hours for 1 cycle 12 hours, getting a "curve" at the vet's office will only stress your cat in a create all day, which will just cause unrealistic glucose levels, and expensive.
We are very numbers oriented, we would love to help you with medical, medication, diabetes, and dose advice, so we can all be on the same page we would like you to create your signature, link in post #3 and Manten's spreadsheet, this will help you see the progress and how the insulin works during the day, as well as a pattern. Many Vets are aware of our Forum, and are pleased, just like there are some vets that are not too familiar with Feline diabetes, so always follow your instincts, as well as that you cannot tell by looking at a cat if they are going thru a hypoglycemic episode, cats are sneaky they hide illnesses quite well, Hypo is not pretty and it is dangerous and it can damage other organs, that's why home testing especially before dosing is so important, I saw that Connie tagged Suzanne, she is the correct person to help you with the dose you started with and advice you

https://felinediabetes.com/FDMB/forums/spreadsheets-tech-support-testing-area.6/
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I understand but like I said, this is only day two and I had absolutely no knowledge or capacity to tell the vet the amount that she prescribed was incorrect. He is on 2 units because that's what I was told to do because of how he emergency crashed. I really appreciate the help I just need to really get across that this just happened and I am happy to make changes and follow advice, I just can't undo what I was given before I found this forum, and I can't just make these decisions when he's only had 2 insulin doses so far in his entire life. He is having a really hard time breathing because the face injury is making his nose extremely stuffy and bloody, and he is struggling to eat because his mouth is ulcerated. I know now that I need to watch and transition for carbs but right now, I need advice on what to do in these first few days realistically. Surely you can understand that right now, getting him to eat anything at all is more important when he's injured and suffering than trying to be perfect immediately. I just feel like he needs to gain at least a pound back and heal his injuries before I can even think about controlling the types of food he eats. He is a bag of bones, super fragile, and really not feeling well.
 
Of course We understand that you are overwhelmed with so much information, so following your vets instructions, did your vet tell you that you needed to home test prior to shot?? You say crash? How? What was his level at that time? 50-120 is where a non-Diabetic cats glucose level should be at, did you get a chance to see Corky’s spreadsheet? He is tightly regulated, the green numbers is a a perfect diabetic cat should be at, this means the pancreas are constantly healing, what are his levels now? Or when the vet tested?
 
Of course, to get to Corky’s levels takes a long time, aside from the fact that he will be a lifetime diabetic, if you cats’s levels are very high, when you give two units of insulin, you will not know if his levels are dangerous unless you test prior to shot and two hours after shot, in most cats that’s when ProZinc kicks in the system I will tag Suzanne, she might put a better light to my explanations, you are not doing anything wrong, you are following your vets instructions It was of no intentions to make you feel uncomfortable, you’ll get this soon, feline diabetes is manageable, is unfortunately that many vets are not updated or well schooled on FD. And treat it as if it was a dog diabetes, and there is a difference😉🫶
@Suzanne & Darcy
 
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Thank you for understanding. I am doing everything I can to research and learn what to do beyond the vets instructions, but yes they told me to start him on 2 units because his blood glucose and his urine glucose were both extremely high. They did two blood tests and a urinalysis in the emergency room and I was told his reading was 550. He had a fever of 102.8, his paw pads were blood red and his nose is very bad. I have a picture I just don't know the rules on pictures here yet. I will make a signature, spreadsheet, check more rules for sure, just right now I haven't slept more than 3 hours in the last 2 days and I even missed my class and assignments this week as a full time college student. Between my disabilities, school other cats, 8 year old step son and now this, I'm just forcing myself to find strength I haven't had in years to get Manten healthy again. Just finding this forum has helped me feel much better. Right now I'm making us all dinner and I'm planning to go get a glucose meter for him tonight so I can start testing him. I will call the vet to ask if I should adjust anything or skip a dose at any point, but from what I understand he should stay on this regimen at least 3 days for now. The vet definitely did their best to just get him going between my destitute wallet and crying over his nose melting off.
 
In my own hours of desperation, as you are right now, Suzanne said these wise words : Take a step back, breath in and breath out, cats are very sensitive to stress, you stress, they stress. I still recite them now and then, The fever and possible infection are a factor of why his levels are so high, and of course the high carbs. but you have not said if you are or not home testing? I insist with the 2 units is so so important! a great tool to avoid hypoglycemia, more complications, and avoid spending money on vet bills just to test his levels, you need to relax and rest, your fur baby needs you healthy and stress free, we are here for you:bighug:
 
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I’m sorry that you’re dealing with so much right now. I think right now, you should prioritize getting some sleep for yourself, getting Manten to eat, and starting home testing. Suzanne will be able to advise you on dosing.

Honestly I’d try anything that he loves even if it’s not nutritionally complete for now, if he’s truly refusing food. Poached chicken breast, baby food (with just turkey / chicken) etc are all fine for now. And you can try toppers like freeze dried chicken, Fortiflora, churu, whatever it takes for him to start eating. And if you can, I’d try to get that script for buprenorphine if he’s in pain. Or consider an appetite stimulant. Moonie is on Prozac, and I can also tell you that made a big difference for us. And the cost was very low. I think we get almost a half years’ worth filled at Chewy for $20.

Sending you a lot of hugs. You’ve got this. I’m so sorry that everything is coming at you and it feels so overwhelming. But it truly does get better with time. Manten is a very very lucky boy to have you. Please keep trying and staying strong for him. I adopted Moonie from the shelter after she’d been diagnosed as diabetic, and the things I’ve learned since about diabetic cats and their odds of adoption (or even survival in a shelter setting) are truly heartbreaking.

Also - sorry if I missed this but what did the vet say about the nose and paw pads? It sounds like something that needs to be looked at.
 
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Thank you both for the help and understanding. Yeah right now he is somewhat interested in the wet foods we have on hand, but until we added the babycat kitten pate he did not want to actually eat it. Luckily his nose is starting to heal just as fast as it degraded, so between that and the insulin I'm hoping he'll start gaining weight again. He's always been about 14 pounds like the rest of my cats, yet for his size he was never chubby, just dense and lean. So now that he's down to 10.8 from what I understand its his size/weight that determined the 2cc dosage by the vet. The vet is the one who noticed the ulcer in his mouth, since he's so hard to handle I wouldn't think to go looking in there regularly, and they did hive him an antibiotic shot to help heal both his nose and tongue. I just checked and his paw pads are back to being pink and he's no longer burning up, so he's really just weak and healing right now. I've wanted to get him on prozac for years so now is the perfect time, and even more necessary that before. I was reading about transdermal prozac, do you have any experience with that, if it costs more/ isn't as effective, or anything like that? I know the prozac pills are very affordable on chewy, and I was hoping maybe he wouldn't care if they were crushed in his food, cuz he understandably hates oral medicine but seems to not care about the injections or having his ears touched.
 
espinogena said:
Hello, my name is Genevieve and my 6 year old cat, Manten, was just diagnosed with diabetes yesterday. He has always been a very healthy weight, never overate or drank excessively, never peed excessively, nothing like that. He has always been vocal since he's a Siamese, and he's extremely skittish and hates being handled beyond when he feels comfortable getting in your lap for pets. I have wanted to get him on Prozac or something similar for his anxiety for years, and with this diagnosis it's going to be extra necessary.

Before I get into what happened leading up to this, I want to admit that even though I owned cats all my life, I never knew until the last 2ish years that cats need wet food, not just optionally with dry and water. Nobody taught me this and I felt so horrible and stupid when I learned this. Since then I have gone from feeding wet food once a day every other day to daily with my five cats. I figured every other day would be better than nothing since it's very hard to afford everything, but with one of my cats being on prescription food for crystals (obese female) and the new kitten eating wet food every 4 hours, I've just been doing daily in the evening and free feeding dry as I always have up until the afternoon.

That being said, about 2 months ago Manten went from being very excited for wet food to extremely, obsessively loud and desperate for it. We had to up his portions and he still began to lose weight. I assumed it was either his thyroid or a parasite, but apparently not. He went from a consistent 14lbs throughout his adult life to 10.8 in two months time. I truly don't know what happened but this has all come on so fast my head is spinning. I'm sitting here wondering if adding wet food made this happen or if it truly just came out of nowhere like the vet said.

I had planned on taking him to the vet but ended up rushing him at 10pm last night when I noticed he had a nasty bloody wound on his nose. I pay close attention to my pets daily so The mouth ulcer I can easily miss but his nose was not like that the day before. Yet the vet said that and that both wounds are just from diabetes and have him an antibiotic injection for it. They said his glucose was 550 yet he has no ketones in his urine remarkably. I'm still not sure how this is even possible when he showed no signs at all...

After finally being released 7 hours later at 5:30am and crying until I passed out because I genuinely felt there was no way I could afford to do this, we finally got to go back and get him some insulin. The vet said human insulin is an option but it just doesn't work as well as prozinc so they felt it wasn't worth it. So even though I'm a disabled, unemployed, full-time college student hobbling by as it is, I just have to try to help him, and if the more expensive insulin will give him the best chance, I have to find a way.

I'm sorry this is so long and probably a bit unhinged, this news came at a time where so many things are going wrong in my life and it's been completely overwhelming. I just really could use advice on how to proceed and how to afford this on a vice gripped budget. The vet didn't give me anything to test his glucose and didn't tell me to get it, they just told me he needs 2 units of insulin every 12 hours at the same time. Is this for a certain amount of time since his sugar was this high? Could this possibly be some weird, temporary, stress induced thing? How can I give him insulin if he is not wanting to eat due to the wound on his nose/upper lip? Any help is so deeply appreciated. Thank you.
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Most important question is: how was he diagnosed? Was a fructosamine test done? If you don’t know, please ask for your baby’s blood test results. A single high blood glucose reading will not tell for sure if a cat is diabetic (although the symptoms do go along with FD.)
 
espinogena said:
Thank you both for the help and understanding. Yeah right now he is somewhat interested in the wet foods we have on hand, but until we added the babycat kitten pate he did not want to actually eat it. Luckily his nose is starting to heal just as fast as it degraded, so between that and the insulin I'm hoping he'll start gaining weight again. He's always been about 14 pounds like the rest of my cats, yet for his size he was never chubby, just dense and lean. So now that he's down to 10.8 from what I understand its his size/weight that determined the 2cc dosage by the vet. The vet is the one who noticed the ulcer in his mouth, since he's so hard to handle I wouldn't think to go looking in there regularly, and they did hive him an antibiotic shot to help heal both his nose and tongue. I just checked and his paw pads are back to being pink and he's no longer burning up, so he's really just weak and healing right now. I've wanted to get him on prozac for years so now is the perfect time, and even more necessary that before. I was reading about transdermal prozac, do you have any experience with that, if it costs more/ isn't as effective, or anything like that? I know the prozac pills are very affordable on chewy, and I was hoping maybe he wouldn't care if they were crushed in his food, cuz he understandably hates oral medicine but seems to not care about the injections or having his ears touched.
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The transdermal Prozac is more expensive. It is less bioavailable than the tablet but the dosing can adjust for that. I think it was 3x the cost of tablets if I remember. I unfortunately gave all of my transdermal to someone else here on the forum or else I’d offer you our spare. Moonie hates pills but she will devour it in a pill wrapper if you think Sandy would accept that. The pill itself is really really tiny. I wouldn’t crush it though because it tastes bitter. You can also try hiding it in churu - dropping the pill into the churu tube right before you squeeze it into his mouth.
 
Since your budget is tight, I would recommend trying a flavor of Friskies pate. They are low carb and inexpensive. It’s not my favorite food for any cat past the age of 5, because of the high phosphorus content that is very hard on the kidneys, but if he doesn’t have kidney disease at this time, we will not borrow trouble. The same can be said of Fancy Feast classic pates. They’re low carb, but too high in phosphorus. But again, right now the top priority is to get him (and all of your cats) on a low carb (less than 10 percent carbs) wet food diet for their health.
 
I have doubts that Prozac will help with fiesty cat. Prozac is better for things like inappropriate spraying of the house. For a spicy or combative cat, Gabapentin is more appropriate. I have had MANY cats on prozac over the years and it’s just not a sedative that makes cats really chilled out.
 
Now, I am not recommending Gabapentin either. I doubt if you will need it if you slowly get your cat accustomed to testing the blood glucose and give a lot of treats (unless your cat if feral.)
 
Suzanne & Darcy said:
I have doubts that Prozac will help with fiesty cat. Prozac is better for things like inappropriate spraying of the house. For a spicy or combative cat, Gabapentin is more appropriate. I have had MANY cats on prozac over the years and it’s just not a sedative that makes cats really chilled out.
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That makes sense. It may have just worked for us because Moonie was struggling with anxiety more than anything else. And for her, that looked like stress eating or redirected aggression if she saw other cats fight (even if minor). But she was never spicy or combative.
 
I do want to say that my heart really goes out to you. You are going through a lot right now. As I read your first post, I could really relate to it. I felt sad.

Hang in there. I think we can work through this together. I’m going through a lot right now with several cats, and the bills are through the roof and I have very little time to do anything other than care for them. It never ends around here.

Anyway, I always launch into problem solving mode and I didn’t want to skip over that I am sympathetic everything you are experiencing. If we suggest things here, we are trying to suggest the best things for your baby. It’s a process and everything is not achieved at once! We know that.
 
Connie & Parker & Moonie said:
That makes sense. It may have just worked for us because Moonie was struggling with anxiety more than anything else. And for her, that looked like stress eating or redirected aggression if she saw other cats fight (even if minor). But she was never spicy or combative.
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Yes. That makes sense 😊 The vet may have ideas about what meds to try if they’re necessary. Since Manten does not mind having his ears touched, hopefully all will be well (with treats! 😊)
 
I do want to have them send me a visit summary, I was just saying earlier I think its weird that vets basically never do that. I do have a cost summary and we got IDEXX Urinalysis, IDEXX Catalyst Chem 10, and IDEXX Catalyst Total T4 & SDMA tests done. I couldn't afford the Procyte Hematology and Catalyst Chem 22 they also suggested so they went with those 4 tests. I am still wondering how it is that he was basically the healthiest cat of all of my cats up until he rapidly declined and now they're sure its just spontaneous diabetes. He's 6 years old and never been overweight or anything. I just don't know what caused all this and the injuries, the vet just said its just diabetes and it just happens.

As far as his anxiety goes, he has always been almost feral in a way. He was born to a barn cat mother but brought inside and hand raised as a newborn with his whole litter, so there's no reason for him to be feral feral. I got him and his brother and while they are both high strung and skittish, Manten has always been so much worse than his brother. His tuxedo brother is a cuddly baby who is very clingy and loving, and Manten is loving too but only when he rarely feels comfortable to come get on a lap if you're sitting or laying down. If I need to give him any kind of med, be it topical, oral, or even clipping his claws, I have to gently follow him around the house as he runs, hisses and spits until he eventually gives up and freezes so I can get him and do what I need to. He will still hiss and scream but he never attacks me at all, just shakes from stress. I genuinely felt like getting him to the vet someday would give him a heart attack or something he's that anxious, and the carrier definitely did upset him. He will pee himself and has even expressed his anal glands when he was younger, just from me trying to approach him to pet him. He has gabapentin right now I just really feel like he needs something long term to help control his cortisol levels, and especially now that he absolutely has to be handled daily.
 
I understand. I have cats that have to be doped up on Gabapentin just to clip their nails (100 mg.) and some have to be sedated at the vet for anything. But that is because I do rescue and end up with a lot of rejects. They’re special though. Nothing is more special than when a feral cat loves and accepts you. I do have some normal cats around here too! 😉
 
What about placing a Libre continuous glucose monitor on him? With a little shirt on top? That might be too costly in the long run though? They have to be replaced every two weeks. I hope you can learn to test him. Walmart ReliOn glucometers are only $17.88 for 100 test strips.
 
Well, it’s 11:30 here, and I have to go syringe feed one cat and give fluids to two cats and hopefully go to bed. I will be up at five a.m. 🙁 I will check in with you tomorrow. Remember… it’s a marathon and not a sprint! You can help Manten and you are on your way!
 
It definitely sounds like you're going through a lot! I think we've all been there, one way or another. The month Crowley got diagnosed, his diagnosis was actually the cheapest and least stressful thing going on (once I found this site at least). So just... know you can do this and you are in the right place to get help!
 
The continuous glucose monitors are expensive, around 50$ minimum every 2 weeks so I definitely can't afford that. We just tried to test his ear with the ReliOn platinum we just got from walmart and despite me warming him up with the heating pad he still got impatient and we didn't get enough blood. I just need to figure out the right depth setting and ideally test while the gabapentin is still in full force. I just hate to see him suffering so much, but at least a steamy bathroom moment earlier for his nose got him purring.
 
espinogena said:
The continuous glucose monitors are expensive, around 50$ minimum every 2 weeks so I definitely can't afford that. We just tried to test his ear with the ReliOn platinum we just got from walmart and despite me warming him up with the heating pad he still got impatient and we didn't get enough blood. I just need to figure out the right depth setting and ideally test while the gabapentin is still in full force. I just hate to see him suffering so much, but at least a steamy bathroom moment earlier for his nose got him purring.
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I had so many failed test attempts at first with Moonie and she wasn’t even spicy. I think the most important thing in the beginning is to be patient with yourself and reward him with treats with each attempt regardless of whether it was successful.

Also for us, we benefitted a lot from 1) REALLY warming up the ear, 2) starting with a much bigger lancet - 26g, 3) Vaseline thin layer on the ear because Moonie’s ears are black.

Also sometimes one ear bleeds much better than the other so you can try both ears.

I hope he’s feeling better today and you were able to get some sleep!
 
Cats get very animated with treats, sit with him by his comfort zone, a few hours at a time by you, give a small low car treat to associate, without the testing time, then in a couple of times of association he will stay for testing, do not give treat prior to testing, food raises levels, give after tests a let him see the meter snoop around the stuff, place the strip in the meter, with the palm of your hand lightly press his head between the ears to have a hold, I use a small flashlight that I place in my mouth to see the droplet of 🩸, take a small sock fill the end with rice, about a gulf size, tie it, use this to cup the ear for better hold, once the capillaries begin to swell it will be a breeze,
 

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His ears are light so seeing the blood wasn't hard luckily, and I wrapped him in a heating pad so I figured it would warm his ear while also making him relaxed yet it did not help. He just doesn't like being handled and he has never once been a cat to be enticed by treats no matter the situation, if he's uncomfortable he doesn't give a crap about food. I'm going to have to try the heated rice thing and get him when his gabapentin is strongest.

Also about the food choices for the house, I know fancy feast pate is low carb and decent quality, but Dave's naturally healthy pet food is very close, its something like 10-12% carbs and I'm just curious if that's close enough because it has no fillers or by-products and the ingredients list looks really clean. I would really strongly prefer my cats be on cleaner, high quality food if it would still be ok for Manten. Maybe I could try rotating the two foods or something.

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12 % carbs is considered medium carbs, some cats are very sensitive to carbs, example, Corky, if I were to give him just a1/4 tsp of 12% his level would go from 80 to 150, in one half hour
The reason most members use Fancy Feast is because is US made regulated and has no waste in the their food. A named brand food does not means it’s better, as a matter of fact, Royal Cannin, including Hills, and other named brands that vets recommends them for diabetic cats, yet these foods are over 20+ carbs, cats cannot digest carbs and they poop more often because of all the waste in the food, Corky and Coco before Ff they would poop almost twice as many day, now they poop every other day and a better looking non smelly poop. So, brand and price does not mean is better, you can always feed raw food, but you will need to add nutrients and vitamins to the food for supplements and calculating the nutrients from this label this food is 27.3% carbs, we are looking for the DRY MATTER CARBS
 

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No! you are right, and I know so is this chart, now, with the calculator use the same label you posted and place the nutrients, in the cells, see the Dry Matter Carbs, this is the calculator we use, in any case use the list carbs, and test for the first day or so every 3 hours to see how the food reacts on the levels, you should begin to see results within 2 hours after shot
 
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