Newly diagnosed newbies.

Status
Not open for further replies.
S

sherryb

Member
Hi my name is Sherry and my cat's name is Sami. He is 14 and was just diagnosed a week ago. He tested 380 so the vet put him on a unit of Lantus twice a day. He also switched Sami's food to Purina DM; he isn't too overweight but is a very inactive house cat. As, with most I was shocked at the price of Lantus when I picked up the prescription at Walmart. My husband on the other hand had a melt down and just wants me to let "nature take it's course". Between the tears and watching Sami's every move I decided to get on the internet and start doing some major research on what I can do to try and give Sami a comfortable life as well as lower the cost so my husband is pleased. I have started reading some of the posts and will continue to go through as many as I can.......thank you for this website, it helps to know how others are handling a kitty with diabetes.
 
Hi Sherry and welcome, You have found the right place to help you help your kitty. There is much to learn but once you do, things will become second nature. I havent had a diabetic kitty in a long long time, so I cant speak to the different insulins and their costs. But to be sure, to, "Let nature take it's course" would be a horrible death. I doubt your husband would say that if he knew.

There will be others here shortly that are MUCH better than I at explaining and asking you all the right questions and in turn answering yours.

I just wanted to welcome you to the best site on the planet to help you help your kitty.

All my best,
jeanne
 
Oh Wow!!
Welcome here! You will get all of the support you will ever need! You do not need to spend a fortune to take care of your sugar baby!
There will be many to suggest ideas etc. but I would suggest taking the script food back (will save you a bundle) and pick from binkys list of low carb foods that can be bought thru petco, petsmart, walmart...go with 10 carbs or under. Also, if you will purchase (shipping only) a newbie kit from this site, you can test at home and not pay for those curves that the vet will want you to do, plus, kitty will have a better reading at home vs the vet due to stress. Sounds like you have a great insulin and that cost is pretty hi at first but the food and the testing does not have to be.
If you have been reading here, you know we all test at home before each shot and feed before each shot and feed low carb affordable food.
What area are you in?? If you care to share, if someone is in your area, lots are willing to help ....If you need it, and it is offered, I would suggest taking the offer.....I did and am sooo glad.
Please tell dh (darlin hubby) to just hold on a bit and realize this is extremely doable!!! and affordable.... and your baby is not that old to let nature take its course just yet...AND you will never be alone again.....you now have us! ;-)

Again welcome ms. Sherry and Sami - stay tooned, as more and more will comment to offer support, help, ideas and just plain down right furry hugs
 
Hi Sherry, we can definitely help you and your husband with your kitty. The insulin is expensive, but you can buy it cheaper if you go through Canada, I have my vet write the script for "Five 3ml Solarstar pens" delivered to my door a few months the cost was $109, I'm in Connecticut, not sure if it makes a difference what state, but I don't think so.

Letting nature take it's course is not an option, he'll starve to death, literally, his cells won't be able to bring nutrients into them, insulin helps draw those nutrients into cells. I'm not a vet and I'm not good with the medical terms so others can explain that better.

Is this your only kitty or do you have others? What did you feed before the diagnosis? The D/M is it canned or canned and dry? You can change your cat's diet over to one you can buy at the grocery store. I feed my own cats Fancy Feast the pate varieties, but you can use anything from Wellness or Merrick's to Friskies, folks can explain food choices to you. The dry food is something, if you feed that, it's best to get rid of that. Dry is high in carbs and not healthy for our cats to begin with.

Lastly, hometesting your kitty will save on vet bills and will be your best tool to figure out if the 1U twice per day is really the right dose and you have the ability to see where your cat is at any time. If he's acting funky you can test and be sure he's safe and his numbers are good. You can usually avoid hypos and other things like Ketones.

Did your vet tell you about Hypoglycemia and what to watch for? I haven't seen too many vets talk about ketones, have you heard of those?
 
Welcome Sherry and Sami!

It is scary at first and we all felt that way. But it is also a disease that you can have some control over, which is amazing!

You are on a good insulin at a good dose. There are some great stickies on how to use Lantus, how to store it and dose etc. They are on this page below the grey line, all starred. Some great information for you: http://www.felinediabetes.com/FDMB/viewforum.php?f=9

The next two steps are home testing and food. As you have probably read, we test our cats at home. Here is how we do it: Video for hometesting If money is an issue, one of our members will send you a free newbie kit with a meter, strips etc. http://www.felinediabetes.com/FDMB/viewtopic.php?f=28&t=19541 With testing, we can know that the dose we are going to give is safe and we can see during the cycle how the insulin is working.

If your kitty quits eating the Purina DM (many do as it is liver based) you can return it to the vet and look at lo carb non prescription foods. Most of us feed wet lo carb foods like Fancy Feast, Friskies, Welllness, Merrick, Blue Buffalo.

Keep reading and asking questions. We would love to help you help Sami.
 
Oh my gosh!!! Thank you all for your wonderful support. I live in Yakima, Washington and before last week didn't even know that cats or dogs for that matter could get diabetes. Sami was on Friskies Indoor (dry) cat food. He never cared for the wet food before. But the vet sent me home with DM dry and wet and Sami loves the wet. Because I only got 2 cans of the wet food I have only been giving it to Sami as a treat just before I give him his insulin. I then give him the dry food to keep him happy for the rest of the day. I was reading the wet food is really the way to go and now am looking into which wet food to get. Haven't made it to Blinky's list of food yet but will go and read.....I was looking on Petsmart's website and read good things about Blue Buffalo Wilderness. Sami is my only cat, not sure how much wet food he would eat per day. I always had one of those self feeders and he fed himself. I did read here on this site about the Solaris pens and will be going that route and thank you for the tip about getting it in Canada. The people at Walmart really tried to help me get the lowest price but it was $110.00 and then I read that it may not stay viable for the entire 40-50 days so the pens sound the best way to go. I have been reading here about home testing and am really curious as to why my vet didn't suggest that....he did mention the urine strips down the line but I really want to take handle of caring for my baby right off and if that means testing him before giving the insulin then that's what I am prepared to do. I see my vet tomorrow for Sami's blood test to see what his level and will be going in a little better prepared than I did last week when I got the diagnosis. The vet did explain a possible hyo and what to do, I have Karo on hand and ready just in case. I know that letting nature take its course is not the way to go and I will always find a way to help my Sami it just would be nice not to have to do it while fighting with my husband.
 
Sherry, until you are hometesting please do not remove his dry food. Dry is so much higher in carbs than canned and removing it may lower his insulin needs to where even 1 unit of Lantus may be too much.
 
Sami will probably be hungier while he is unregulated. His body can't metabolize the food well. For an example, our 16 pound Maine Coon ate 3 cans of Fancy Feast when unregulated. When off insulin, he went down to 2 cans and was at a much better weight. My non diabetic 10 pound kitty who is much more active than the Maine Coon also eats 2 cans a day. Lots of us let the kitties graze. You can freeze the wet and let it thaw out during the day. We have an automatic feeder than makes the process very easy.

Some vets don't know that people are willing to test their cats at home. Some don't want to overwhelm the owner on the first visit when everything else is already too much. Some would rather their clients would bring them in for a day and have them test ($$)

We test at home because we think the numbers are more reliable to base doses on. A cat is usually stressed at the vet with all the strange smells, animals and sounds. Stress raises bg levels so numbers gotten in that situation can be much higher than they would be at home. Doses based on those numbers can be too high.

And we want to know how the insulin is working. How long does the kitty go during the cycle? So low that we should reduce the dose? You just can't tell by looking how well the cat is doing. The numbers give you such a sense of control - you know exactly what is happening.
 
Hi Sherry,
Welcome to the board!
Others have mentioned food and Binky's..... under my name is a pair of links to that information. Some brands are on one list, and others on the 2nd. What you want to look for is food that is lower than 10% carbs, so pay attention to that column in particular. While you are there, look at the carb value on the DM the vet suggested. Then pick a couple you can find at the grocery store and start saving some money!

Like Hope said, don't change over instantly. Not until you can start monitoring Sami's BG at home, because the lower carb food is going to help drop those numbers, and might affect the insulin dose.

You're going to find lots of help, advice, and friends here.

Carl
 
Hi Sherry,
I'll have your newbie kit in the mail tomorow. It should arrive by Sat. or Mon. latest.
It will have everything you need to start testing asap.
Try to learn the testing methods before it arrives.
And.....get friendly with Sami's ear. That's his test spot!
Things will get better, just breath and hang in there.
Lori
Newbie Kits
 
I'm a newly diagnosed as well. The Prozinc insulin was also a little steep. $100 and $28 for the syringes. I feel so taken by my vet bc no other treatment options were discussed with me. The vet also suggested that my cat switch to the expensive dry food, when it seems like they should stay away from the dry kibble. I wish you luck. My husband is giving me the same grief about the cost, which is just adding to the stress.
 
Sami has been really great about my hovering. I read the post titled message from your cat and felt that"s exactly what Sami would say. We have re-bonded though and he loves that he is first to get my attention in the morning. I will feel more in control once I start self testing. Val9955.....sorry to hear about your kitty and agree hubby's adding to the stress is not helping. I'm taking deep breaths and one day at a time. I keep telling myself the I won't learn everything all at once so try to learn a little each day..... Today was self testing and eventually switching over to a healthy wet food. Thank you all for you word of encouragement.
 
Sherry,

Just wanted to say, thank you thank you thank you for agreeing to test at home and consider the binky's list of food. And for posting your town as I am sure you will get responses on someone in your area!!

The prescription food that you have, the vet should take it back, just tell them he wont eat it (of course after you are testing) and they should give you a refund or credit toward any other appointments you have for Sami.

As you start to test and get some data, you will probably want to start a spreadsheet that we all use here and of course, someone - other than me as I dont even remember how I did this - will coach you as to how to do this if you need it!! - see mine at the bottom with my signature - that will be where you will show Sami's numbers for all of us to view

GREAT JOB AND HURRAY FOR SAMI cat_pet_icon cat_pet_icon
 
Sherry,
Your kit will contain a one touch meter. The strips are expensive so I would suggest you do what I and many of us do and open an ebay account, if you don't already have one.
You can buy strips for half price their.
Start shopping and familiarize yourself with it early.
If you get good you can score some great deals on your strips.
Lori
Newbie Kits
 
Thanks ohbell for the spreadsheet, I want to keep a log and this will be very helpful. I also plan to get a notebook to keep all Sami's info in too, that way I can take it to the vet to see. We go see the vet this morning for lab work and I'm afraid that he will increase Sami's insulin because Sami still camps out at the water dish. I have also narrowed down some canned food choices Blue Wildnerss, Wellness, or Merrick; I just need to find out which will be easier to get at the pet stores. Oh, and of course Sami has to approve :lol: My only concern is that those have ash in them. When Sami was little he had UT problems because of the ash. DM canned doesn't appear to have any ash in it but will verify with the vet. I have a question.......many of you suggest me taking back the DM food, is there a problem with it? Sami likes it and I thought that I would just keep him on it until he is fully switched to a canned food. But if for some reason it is not good for him, I don't want him on it. I won't get a refund because the vet just gave me the bag. I have a really good vet who helps in any way he can.....he knows I will do everything in my power to help my babies and if it's something that I can do at home and am comfortable doing he encourages me to do it.

Lori, thank you so much for sending the kit. I have an eBay account and will start looking for strips today if possible. Since I don't have the kit yet, do you know if One Touch Meter all have the same type of strips? I would like to buy them ASAP so that I can start testing as soon as the meter gets here. However, not cost effective to buy the wrong brand/size of strips that won't fit the meter :o Again, I would like to thank everyone for being here and helping me. We all know it is confusing, scary and at times frustrating but it is so much better to hear from people who are going or have gone through all this. <3
 
Dearest Sherry & Sami,
I would not take away the dm until you are testing before each shot. That is probably keeping him in a good range and not letting him hypo.
I am not for sure how much the strips are for the one touch so, goood idea to ebay shop. I finally purchased a meter at relion as the strips are very affordable. And there is no need for a script in Texas for the meter, strips, lancets or syringes.

Please let us know how he did at the vet and what the bgs were.

BTW....you will never be alone with this again! you can count on that ;-)
 
I am a newby too. The only thing I can really speak to is the cost thing.
At the vet during the diagnosis my first thought was OMG I have to put him down. Then I asked what the cost was, and decided to do one vial. One vial to say my goodbyes. DH digested that really well, and now he doesn't really care. :) Let some time go by. It may simmer down after a bit. With the safe handling stuff here you can make that vial last. My DH now jokes with me about dropping it!!! GRRRR

Good luck and welcome. No matter what course you choose with caring for a diabetic cat you have time that you wouldn't have had before, and that's such a great thing. At least there is something we can do!

I also think that the vet didn't offer other options because the other options are not that great. You have the best option, so even if you can only do one vial, you get that time and so does kitty. There are coupons and support financially too, read the Lantus stickies. Not sure how much help you could get but there is some out there.

I have also seen, but don't know how common it is, people adopt diabetic kitties because they know how to live with it. There is also a website for this, but I don't remember where I saw it now...(too new) :)

Hang in there. Big hugs. (Isn't this board awesome???)
 
Sherry, if you visit the Wellness, EVO, and Merrick websites, they all have "store finder" or "where to buy" pages that will list all the places that carry it near you. I would strongly urge you to check out a few different places and price compare. Not only do many small, locally owned places have deals if you buy a case at a time, they also tend to have the larger cans available where places like PetSmart don't--and the large cans are way more economical, sometimes even cheaper or the same amount as buying Fancy Feast. I pay $1.16 for a 5.5 oz can of Merrick's at my local pet food store--the same can is nearly $1.50 at PetCo.

As for the UT issues--anything lower in phosphorus is going to likely be lower in ash as well. Here's an updated nutrition chart with premium foods: https://docs.google.com/leaf?id=0B8...MzhkYTkxOGM4NThk&sort=name&layout=list&num=50

Since Sami is 14, try and stay under 250 mg/100 kcal of phosphorus. This will also help head off any kidney problems with Sami. Keeping him as hydrated as possible (by mixing a little water in his food) will also promote urinary tract health and prevent kidney disease.

There is no problem with feeding he Canned Purina DM food--in fact, it's the only prescription food that is good for diabetic cats. It's just that it's pretty much the same thing ingredients-wise as Friskies, Special Kitty, or Sophistacat Pate foods, so you're basically paying $1.60 a can for the exact same thing you can get for less than 40 cents at the store. Basically all you're paying for is the prescription label. You can get a higher end food without byproducts and lower in phosphorus for cheaper than what you're paying for the DM.
 
We are back from the vet. I am happy to report that Sami's BG is down; it was 398 when first diagnosed last week and now 11 days into the new diet and insulin he is at 283. The vet is keeping him at the 1 unit of Lantus 2X a day. He was very happy to hear that I will be testing at home and we could switch to over the phone conversations instead of me driving in each week. I told him about this group and he took down the info to pass on to other parents with diabetes kitties. I also discussed the shelf life of the vial of Lantus versus getting the Solstar pens and how much the cost difference is. He explained that as long as it was Lantus and not some generic from India that he would be happy with that. He wrote a script for me and agreed that buying from Canada would be best. Sami loved his car ride today, got to be out of the carrier and look around.....he used to love car rides when he was younger. I ended up buying Wellness Grain Free Chicken Formula for him. Petsmart was still the best price here in town. I wanted Blue Wilderness but it was only a 3oz can and the same price as the 5.5oz of Wellness that I bought. May end up buying something by the case online as this is a small town and not a lot of choice. The vet said something about Evo but couldn't find it here. :( Main thing I want to look for is grain free, low carbs, and lowest possible phosphorus and of course easy access of getting the food. So right now Sami is happily taking a nap, I'm in a good mood and off to have a little me time :-x May everyone and their babies have a wonderful day {hugs}
 
Sherry,
ty for sharing a great story! And Sami is in such goood hands. Have you received your kit yet and testing??
I tried the Wellness, Merick, Evo and my sugar Bean would not eat them??? She does enjoy ffeast, friskies and Sophistacat ~ go figure.
Have you thought of a phosphorus blocker if you need to? I did some research on this before and will ck my favorites for information if you like.
Furry hugs on a great Friday am
 
Hi Ohbell, I have not yet gotten the kit, should be here in the next couple of days. As soon as I get it I will start testing. I have not heard of a phosphorus blocker but looked for foods that are low so as not to have an UT problem. He had them when he was younger but I also had him on cheap dry cat food.....that changed real quick! But yes, if you have the info handy, I wouldn't mind learning "just in case". As for the food, cats have a mind of their own and they don't let you forget it.....Sami does not seem to like the Wellness. I want to give it a few days to see if he will adjust. He never liked any wet food before until I gave him the DM......every time I went to the kitchen he begged for it. Now, with the Wellness he just turns his nose up at it :( I have not found a lot of grain free canned foods here in town and now a little nervous about buying a case of anything online until I find something he likes and I don't want to keep switching foods on him just to upset his poor tummy..
 
Did you get a chance to put your location in the store finders on the web sites? It can be very surprising what stores near you sell it. Sometimes you'll find it at farm supply stores and the like, especially in rural areas.

Here's Wellness: http://www.wellnesspetfood.com/store-locator.aspx

Merrick: http://www.merrickpetcare.com/locator/

EVO: http://wtb.naturapet.com/?new=true

Definitely call the places you find and ask if they have the canned foods you're looking for--some places might only carry dry food, or a limited selection.
 
Will Sami eat Friskies? The Special Diet Friskies are also low in phospherous and well as most flavors being diabetic safe...there is one though that at the moment I can't think what it is called but it is in gravy and clearly marked as such so you will know it when you see it. My senior kids all eat the Friskies Special Diet Turkey & Giblets and Ocean Whitefish and love it...Not a single one of my 13 will eat the pricey better quality stuff...guess I just own burger & fries cats instead of t-bone steak and caviar types...lol

Mel, Maxwell, Musette & The Fur Gang
 
I went to the websites and did the find in my location. The grain free food is hard to find here. I went to my local farm store (it's where I get my chicken food) they had 1 can and only Blue Wilderness but would special order it. The locally owned pet store had nothing. The farm store by my vet (30 miles away) sells Evo but not sure how much they have on hand since the vet has other parents of diabetics buy the Evo there. Friskies is everywhere but I haven't found grain free.....does Friskies have a grain free canned food? I have no problem buying a case online but want to make sure that it is something that Sami will eat before I do. I will check Petco, it is a small store here but they do sell Merrick.
 
Additional home monitoring tactics:

ketone testing - pick up some urine ketone test strips at the local pharmacy and use them to check for ketones whenever his glucose is over 250. Ketones occur if a lot of fat is being broken down due to insufficient insulin. Alternatively, there are a few meters which can test blood ketones - the strips are pricey! - but the results are 'real time', not delayed by processing into urine.

The 5 Ps - purring, playing, preening, peeing, poohing - A healthy cat is usually good natured and purring, interested in some play, will groom himself (preen), urination is not excessive, and there are no problems with defecation.

Hypoglycemia behaviours to watch out for. If you see those, get a blood test if you can.
 
sherryb said:
I went to the websites and did the find in my location. The grain free food is hard to find here. I went to my local farm store (it's where I get my chicken food) they had 1 can and only Blue Wilderness but would special order it. The locally owned pet store had nothing. The farm store by my vet (30 miles away) sells Evo but not sure how much they have on hand since the vet has other parents of diabetics buy the Evo there. Friskies is everywhere but I haven't found grain free.....does Friskies have a grain free canned food? I have no problem buying a case online but want to make sure that it is something that Sami will eat before I do. I will check Petco, it is a small store here but they do sell Merrick.
Click to expand...

Unfortunately, there isn't a grain free variety of Friskies--they all contain some rice. PetCo does sell Merrick's and Wellness, and last I checked they sell Wellness in the big 12 oz cans, unlike PetSmart. It's definitely less expensive if you buy it in the larger cans. Wellness Turkey is a very good food to feed a senior cat, as is Merrick's Cowboy Cookout, and Merrick's Before Grain Beef and Turkey flavors. They're all low in carbs and phosphorus.

Unless Sami has a grain allergy or is sensitive to carbs from rice, you should also be fine feeding the Friskie's Special Diet Pates, if you can't find a good grain-free food within distance/price range. The carb content is low enough in those where it's not going to negatively effect Sami's blood sugar. Or you could opt to feed half and half to keep your costs down. I fed half friskies special diet/ half Petguard (a low phos premium food without byproducts) to my senior kitty when I was going through a financial bind and couldn't afford the Petguard all the time. She did fine on the mix.
 
Just a thought???

How about raw? I feed 2 of my 3 girls raw (Slappy will have NOOO PART OF THAT....yet). I have purchased a grinder and do it myself but at first I bought the premade ones from the feed store....dont know about the grain etc, but you might want to ask or others here might know. I use the Primal Pet Foods brand and Natures variety Instinct Raw. The Primal says it is 100% grain free. Their website is primalpetfoods.com and the web page for Natures is http://www.naturesvariety.com/InstinctRaw/cat/all

I tried the sample package from the feed store of the Primal and have gone back for more. Now that I am doing my own and use this site for the recipe http://catinfo.org/?link=makingcatfood, I only feed those for treats.

My sugar Bean was holding a steady 8lbs after dx and being almost 13 before dx.... Now, she is +10 and holding for over 1 month! I am soo happy about her skin, coat and muscle tone - unbelievable. Mommabean plans to weigh her this week end as I bought a baby scale to play with :o
It has taken a while and I keep the other stuff down but we are up to aprox. 9oz per day for 2 cats and probably 5 oz of canned food for 2 cats per day...I just bet I am overfeeding ohmygod_smile

My idea is to completely transition within 2 months or so, but I know they are eating more and more of the raw. I will be grinding this week end and I do about 5-6 pounds at a time. I then put about 3-4 oz (set on the scale) per babyfood jar (from craigslist) and stick into the freezer and set in fridg to thaw a couple of days before eating.

Anyway, did not mean to go on and on lol....
 
Try a can or two of Merrick. Cowboy's Cookout (a beef food) and Grammy's Pot Pie (a chicken food) are both diabetic-friendly and OK on phosphorus levels. Cowboy's Cookout is the best nutritional makeup, but one of my cats is violently allergic to it. Grammy's Pot Pie has been the "magic bullet" for me. Two of my cats love it (the other will eat it but isn't over the moon), and *nobody* in my house has any allergy problems or BG problems with it. Since two of the cats have food allergies that produce skin problems and, more obviously, asthma, the allergy angle is extremely important in my particular case. Wellness (Chicken) isn't nearly as good on the allergy front, though if the allergies weren't in the picture, it would be a good choice.

I get my food from PetFlow.com. If you set up a recurring order (which you can always change - I have, many times), the food is shipped right to your door. There is usually an offer for free shipping for however long you have the recurring order going, as long as you order over a certain dollar amount (which is less than what a few cases will cost). For premium foods, I find it saves a fortune.

Of course, you want to find a flavor your kitty will accept before you buy in bulk, but it sounds like you have several options available locally for getting small numbers of cans to try out.
 
Thanks for all the ideas on food. I will give it a day or two to see if Sami comes around on the Wellness and then I will try something else....I just don't want to switch too fast and make him more finicky than he already is. I may even go back to the DM since I know he will eat that....canned DM better is than eating just the dry food and right now he won't eat the Wellness. So in the long run might be more cost effective to buy the can DM instead of wasting a lot of money on different foods that he won't eat. I would really like some input on people who have bought their meds from Canada. I have spent the last hour reading the topic "Insulin From Canada Phstmacies" and I got say right now in tears because I'm more confused than before I read. A lot of info on prices but no one really gives a positive review on where to buy from or how long they have been buying from a certain pharmacy. I will ask this question there as well but some may read my question here faster. My vet said do not buy Lantus from India because no guarantee on the actual ingredients in it. Doesn't help to save money buying from Canada only to find out the medicine is not good. Some mentioned craigslist but that to me just sounds like a disaster waiting to happen. I went to the Lantus sticky and watched the video on drawing up the insulin dose......and of course everything that I have done for the last week has been wrong, so I want to get the Solarstar pens just in case my vial goes bad.
 
Sherry, I would suggest starting a new topic - something like Need Info On best places for Lantus in Canada. That will catch the eyes of Canadian members who will be able to steer you to good sources.
 
hi sherry!

welcome - you have made a lot of really great changes. sounds like you've jumped in and are ready to go. If you want help learning the Protocol that many of us with kitties on Lantus use, feel free to post over in the Lantus-Tight Regulation Protocol group. http://www.felinediabetes.com/FDMB/viewforum.php

it's not as scary as it sounds - that's what it was named by the people who did the research on Lantus/Levemir and diabetic cats. people can teach you how Lantus works and how to get the best possible results on it. We follow this protocol because it has been proven to get newly diagnosed cats off of insulin best, and while not every cat goes off, many, many do, especially if they get on it within a short time of diagnosis.

All of us are just ordinary people with jobs and other responsibilities but who are looking to learn how lantus works so we can help our cats be as healthy as possible.

so lots to learn, but you sound like you're doing great. kudos to you for your commitment to your kitty!
 
I wanted to say thank you for the newbie kit. I posted a thank you in that thread but wanted to post here too. I started testing Monday night but a little confused because my readings are so much higher than my vets. I watched a video and followed directions but my vets reading was 293 and when I did mine it was 364....is it common to be that different. On my next vet visit I will take the meter with me and test at the same time but I was a little shocked at it being so much higher. Last night I got a reading over 400 but I forgot to wash my hands before testing and read that may affect the results drastically. Sami is not drinking or peeing as much as he has so I must be doing something off. Sami hates the testing but I give him a treat a much love to try and help. I was given good advice by Jenn who suggested a frozen cotton ball to the area so will give it a try. I read some of the posts from those who ordered their Lantus online and went with the Canada Drug Center. I called their number and someone there walked me right through the process. He did say that the medicine was coming from Europe so it would take 12 business day he also said that I shouldn't have to worry about it freezing so we'll see. My first time doing this so just a little apprehensive. I found a vet close by that sells the DM canned for $1.25 and that so far is the best price for a 5.5oz can of grain free low carb food. Since he likes it and I can get it easily I am going to stay with that for now....poor Sami has had enough changes without me putting different foods in front of him. And the plus side is that I don't get woke up a 4AM to a vomiting cat.
 
Sherry, does your meter need to be calibrated? I don't think so...but was there an instruction booklet along with the kit?
Did you get an ultra mini one touch?
I get confused myself with all the different meters.
Do one touch ultra mini's need calibration folks???????? Please advise.
Lori
Newbie Kits

p.s. Sherry, I always feel a little bad sending out one touch or accu check as those strips are more costly. It was next in line according to expy date to send out.
if I can help you with syringes or anything else let me know ok?
 
There should be a code on the vial of strips; make sure it matches the code that shows when you turn on the meter.
 
sherryb said:
I found a vet close by that sells the DM canned for $1.25 and that so far is the best price for a 5.5oz can of grain free low carb food.
Click to expand...

Sherry, there are many foods that are the same quality as the DM that are much cheaper. You might want to pick up a few and see if there are any that Sami takes to like the DM. If you compare the ingredients, they are nearly exactly the same as Sophistacat (PetSmart brand) or Special Kitty (Walmart brand) pate flavors. Fancy Feast is a favorite around here, and has a ton of grain-free flavors to chose from and many cats love it:http://felinediabetes.com/glutenfree.htm. All of these brands have grain free, low carb varieties that are the same or better quality.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top