Hello all. My name is Andrea and my little boy Milo who is 8 years old was diagnosed with feline diabetes. Obviously, this was a shock to me and my mind instantly started reeling . . . why didn't I recognize this before?, How long has he been suffering?, I wish he could tell me that he didn't feel well . . . . . . . and then all of the unknowns!!! I am very overwhelmed, frustrated, scared, and stressed. I've been doing so much reading online about feline diabetes that my eyes are starting to cross! My sister found this website for me and I'm glad she did. Milo is my fuzzy child and I love him soooo much. It kills me to know that he doesn't feel well. I look forward to chatting with folks and reading forums and learning more about what I can do to help Milo to feel better and get back to living a normal life!
Newly Diagnosed on Oct 9, 2010
- Thread starter milosmama
- Start date
- Status
EddiesMom
Member
Sending you some Hugs...
I found out Eddie was diabetic in August .. and I cried for 2 days! It will get better.
I've been reading tons as well and this site has more answers than my VET!
Don't be shy and ask questions ... I am sure one of the members here will have an answer for you
I found out Eddie was diabetic in August .. and I cried for 2 days! It will get better.
I've been reading tons as well and this site has more answers than my VET!
Don't be shy and ask questions ... I am sure one of the members here will have an answer for you
Sue and Oliver (GA)
Very Active Member
Just know that we all felt just like you. We missed the signs. I fed Oliver Science diet dry food for years which I am now convinced contributed to his diabetes. The good news is that you can do things about feline diabetes. It is a much easier diagnosis to deal with than many things Milo could have. And we have a sure fire plan to help. We feed wet, lo carb food (htttp://www.catinfo.org), we start low and go slow with insulin, testing at home just like we would do with our children.
Oliver was started on a high dose of insulin and our vet didn't know about hometesting.(http://www.felinediabetes.com/diabetic-cat-diets.htm http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_zE12-4fVn8 ) She is a great vet; she just didn't have much experience with feline diabetes. We came here the first day, learned how to hometest, changed his diet and his numbers came steadily down. Although it doesn't happen for every cat, Oliver was off insulin in 6 months. Our vet was amazed and has asked for our help in hometesting for others.
You can find lots of answers on this site and we will be glad to answer any questions you have. We have insulin support group pages for the different insulin types; there are videos and sites that explain hometesting. Read and reread. We started a notebook and printed off pages of info and the answers on our threads so we could go back and read it over. There is a steep learning curve at first, but this is very doable. You can do this and we can help!
Oliver was started on a high dose of insulin and our vet didn't know about hometesting.(http://www.felinediabetes.com/diabetic-cat-diets.htm http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_zE12-4fVn8 ) She is a great vet; she just didn't have much experience with feline diabetes. We came here the first day, learned how to hometest, changed his diet and his numbers came steadily down. Although it doesn't happen for every cat, Oliver was off insulin in 6 months. Our vet was amazed and has asked for our help in hometesting for others.
You can find lots of answers on this site and we will be glad to answer any questions you have. We have insulin support group pages for the different insulin types; there are videos and sites that explain hometesting. Read and reread. We started a notebook and printed off pages of info and the answers on our threads so we could go back and read it over. There is a steep learning curve at first, but this is very doable. You can do this and we can help!
Jana+BK+Chester(GA)+Wilbur
Active Member
Welcome Andrea (and Milo, too!)...
First thing, you need to take a deep breath and know that Milo's disease is very manageable and both you and he will be fine.
Milo needs to be fed low carb wet food. Janet & Binky's food chart is here: http://www.felinediabetes.com/diabetic-cat-diets.htm. You will find a number of brands and varieties that are low carb and far more economical than food purchased at the vet's office. Milo's BG level will drop just with a change of diet (some have reported a drop of 100+ just with a diet change).
We encourage people to home test. There is a great deal of information about home testing here: http://www.felinediabetes.com/FDMB/viewtopic.php?f=14&t=287. No only will home testing give you peace of mind, but you will also determine very important information about Milo and his diabetes. You will be able to determine his nadir (the lowest BG level over 12-hours), whether or not he is experiencing a hypo incident, and whether an adjustment to his insulin dose is necessary. Also, you will be able to avoid having to take Milo to the vet for his BG curves, as you will be able to do them yourself and provide the information to the vet.
Speaking of hypo incidents, there are some things you will need to have on hand in the vent of a hypo. Please see here http://www.felinediabetes.com/FDMB/viewtopic.php?f=14&t=2354 and here http://www.felinediabetes.com/FDMB/viewtopic.php?f=14&t=1122 for information on hypos.
We have what we call Newbie Kits available. If you would like a Newbie Kit, please see here http://www.felinediabetes.com/FDMB/viewtopic.php?f=14&t=19528.
Have you and the vet discussed what insulin you will be using? If so, can you tell us what it is and what doseage the vet recommended?
You are going to have a million questions...please do post back and we'll do our best to help and support you.
First thing, you need to take a deep breath and know that Milo's disease is very manageable and both you and he will be fine.
Milo needs to be fed low carb wet food. Janet & Binky's food chart is here: http://www.felinediabetes.com/diabetic-cat-diets.htm. You will find a number of brands and varieties that are low carb and far more economical than food purchased at the vet's office. Milo's BG level will drop just with a change of diet (some have reported a drop of 100+ just with a diet change).
We encourage people to home test. There is a great deal of information about home testing here: http://www.felinediabetes.com/FDMB/viewtopic.php?f=14&t=287. No only will home testing give you peace of mind, but you will also determine very important information about Milo and his diabetes. You will be able to determine his nadir (the lowest BG level over 12-hours), whether or not he is experiencing a hypo incident, and whether an adjustment to his insulin dose is necessary. Also, you will be able to avoid having to take Milo to the vet for his BG curves, as you will be able to do them yourself and provide the information to the vet.
Speaking of hypo incidents, there are some things you will need to have on hand in the vent of a hypo. Please see here http://www.felinediabetes.com/FDMB/viewtopic.php?f=14&t=2354 and here http://www.felinediabetes.com/FDMB/viewtopic.php?f=14&t=1122 for information on hypos.
We have what we call Newbie Kits available. If you would like a Newbie Kit, please see here http://www.felinediabetes.com/FDMB/viewtopic.php?f=14&t=19528.
Have you and the vet discussed what insulin you will be using? If so, can you tell us what it is and what doseage the vet recommended?
You are going to have a million questions...please do post back and we'll do our best to help and support you.
chriscleo
Very Active Member
is milo on insulin yet?
i was pretty scared when my cat was diagnosed, and it comforted me to know that many cats here have lived for years with diabetes or went into remission and stopped needing insulin after a short time. diabetes is a very manageable disease, and you'll probably find that your bond with milo gets even stronger because of what you'll be doing to make him better.
welcome aboard, and feel free to ask any questions you may have. we're all here for you.
i was pretty scared when my cat was diagnosed, and it comforted me to know that many cats here have lived for years with diabetes or went into remission and stopped needing insulin after a short time. diabetes is a very manageable disease, and you'll probably find that your bond with milo gets even stronger because of what you'll be doing to make him better.
welcome aboard, and feel free to ask any questions you may have. we're all here for you.
Gail & Houdini (GA)
Very Active Member
Hi Andrea and Milo!
Welcome.....As the others have said we all felt the same way at first! Read the material and don't worry if it all doesn't sink in at once ..... I had to read over and over for it to make sense...then I had to ask a bunch of questions.
The more you know what is going on inside your cat the less stress you will have. That's why it is so important to hometest. We can help with that too!
Welcome.....As the others have said we all felt the same way at first! Read the material and don't worry if it all doesn't sink in at once ..... I had to read over and over for it to make sense...then I had to ask a bunch of questions.
The more you know what is going on inside your cat the less stress you will have. That's why it is so important to hometest. We can help with that too!
Thank you all for the kind words and support. It really helps my peace of mind to know that I'm (we're) not going it alone.
Milo seems to be feeling much better but not yet 100%. He is on 2 units of Humulin N insulin 2 times a day. I am also feeding him a large spoonful of Rx C/D soft food in the am and pm along with his Rx C/D dry food which he gets 1/4 cup 4 times a day (every 4 hours). Milo had gone from weighing 13 pounds down to 9 and we are now trying to get him to eat a little more to gain that weight back, but he just doesn't want to eat that extra food. To make matters more complicated, Milo has had Urolithiasis (stones in the urinary tract) so he eats Rx C/D dry food for that making him unable to eat the Rx diabetic food (on top of the fact that the Rx diabetic food would flair up the Urolithiasis). If that's not enough, I found a red, inflamed area of his skin where his fur is coming off so we're going to see our vet tomorrow morning about that.
On Oct. 18th I take him in to the vet to have his blood sugar monitored for the day and then adjusted according to what his numbers say. I did request a Newbie Kit so I look forward to receiving the glucometer and being able to do the home-testing.
My poor little guy. I just want him to feel better soon.
Milo seems to be feeling much better but not yet 100%. He is on 2 units of Humulin N insulin 2 times a day. I am also feeding him a large spoonful of Rx C/D soft food in the am and pm along with his Rx C/D dry food which he gets 1/4 cup 4 times a day (every 4 hours). Milo had gone from weighing 13 pounds down to 9 and we are now trying to get him to eat a little more to gain that weight back, but he just doesn't want to eat that extra food. To make matters more complicated, Milo has had Urolithiasis (stones in the urinary tract) so he eats Rx C/D dry food for that making him unable to eat the Rx diabetic food (on top of the fact that the Rx diabetic food would flair up the Urolithiasis). If that's not enough, I found a red, inflamed area of his skin where his fur is coming off so we're going to see our vet tomorrow morning about that.
On Oct. 18th I take him in to the vet to have his blood sugar monitored for the day and then adjusted according to what his numbers say. I did request a Newbie Kit so I look forward to receiving the glucometer and being able to do the home-testing.
My poor little guy. I just want him to feel better soon.
Sue and Oliver (GA)
Very Active Member
Your food situation sounds complicated. Did you check out Dr. Lisa's site: http://www.catinfo.org She has great insights on feeding kitties with problems. Nutrition is her specialty and she does do phone consultations.
If it is Hills CD dry, it is 36% carbs - way above the recommended 8-10%.
If it is Hills CD dry, it is 36% carbs - way above the recommended 8-10%.
Jen & Squeak
Very Active Member
Unfortunately, for most cats, RX foods are not the solution. According to Dr Lisa, the best treatment for stones is a species appropriate diet that includes lots of moisture. Feeding dry food to a cat with crystals will dehydrate them further, leading to the possibility of more stones developing.
That said, you have a lot to adjust to right now so let's table the food issue for a minute. Learn about insulin, learn about food, and learn to hometest. And THEN consider a food change.
Now, Humulin N is pretty old school for insulins...much better options are PZI or lantus/glargine. Humulin N is shorter acting in cats and hits fairly hard...it is better than nothing but once you've learnt a bit you may want to talk with your vet about this.
Jen
That said, you have a lot to adjust to right now so let's table the food issue for a minute. Learn about insulin, learn about food, and learn to hometest. And THEN consider a food change.
Now, Humulin N is pretty old school for insulins...much better options are PZI or lantus/glargine. Humulin N is shorter acting in cats and hits fairly hard...it is better than nothing but once you've learnt a bit you may want to talk with your vet about this.
Jen
PeterDevonMocha
Very Active Member
Welcome to the board! I know how scared and confused you are feeling ... Before mocha was diagnosed we shrugged off her excessive water drinking because it was warm out .. we shrugged off her weight loss because we reduced her food intake for weight loss .. Thankfully one day it all clicked in my head before she became critically ill and we got her in and got her on insulin right away but the guilt was still there ... But this board has a TON of valuable information on it along with a ton of great people that are always willing to help answer any questions you might have!
Jana+BK+Chester(GA)+Wilbur
Active Member
Andrea, I'm so sorry. Milo knows you loved him, and now he is free from pain and disease.
Fly free, Milo wings_cat
Fly free, Milo wings_cat
Jen & Squeak
Very Active Member
oh my I am so sorry! I know this must be a shock for you 
Know at least that he is now at peace.
Hugs
Jen
Know at least that he is now at peace.Hugs
Jen
Carol-Charlie
Very Active Member
I'm sorry for your tragic loss of your Milo....
Dear Mom,
I’m just about to take a nap, for I’ve been running free.
I was chasing butterflies, and one small bumble bee.
I’ve rolled around in catnip, I’ve climbed high in a tree
And now I’ll rest all cuddled up with others just like me.
I’m in a truly lovely place, it’s right by Heaven’s gate.
I’m not alone, and I am told this is the place to wait.
I’ve told everyone about you, they said you won’t be late.
That though on earth long years will pass, I’ll meet you by the gate.
There’s a bridge we’ll cross together, it has a rainbow hue
And really it’s so pretty here, that all I miss is you.
So please don’t think about the things you did or didn’t do
It was my time to find the bridge, so please do not feel blue.
I’m sorry that I left so fast, with just a kiss good-bye.
But I’ve enclosed a “head butt” and a slow blink of my eye.
Take care of all our family and tell them that I’ll try
To be the one that greets them first, when they come, by and by.
Love and thanks for being such a good mom,
Your Milo
© 2004 By Carol Notermann
Dear Mom,
I’m just about to take a nap, for I’ve been running free.
I was chasing butterflies, and one small bumble bee.
I’ve rolled around in catnip, I’ve climbed high in a tree
And now I’ll rest all cuddled up with others just like me.
I’m in a truly lovely place, it’s right by Heaven’s gate.
I’m not alone, and I am told this is the place to wait.
I’ve told everyone about you, they said you won’t be late.
That though on earth long years will pass, I’ll meet you by the gate.
There’s a bridge we’ll cross together, it has a rainbow hue
And really it’s so pretty here, that all I miss is you.
So please don’t think about the things you did or didn’t do
It was my time to find the bridge, so please do not feel blue.
I’m sorry that I left so fast, with just a kiss good-bye.
But I’ve enclosed a “head butt” and a slow blink of my eye.
Take care of all our family and tell them that I’ll try
To be the one that greets them first, when they come, by and by.
Love and thanks for being such a good mom,
Your Milo
© 2004 By Carol Notermann
PeterDevonMocha
Very Active Member
Oh my .. I'm so sorry for your loss ....
Karen & Smokey(GA)
Very Active Member
I am so sorry for your loss.
May all your best memories of Milo comfort you...
...'ti you meet again.
May all your best memories of Milo comfort you...
...'ti you meet again.
Emmy & Dude
Very Active Member
I'm so sorry that your sweet Milo left you - my heart goes out to you in you sadness. They leave such a hole in our hearts and lives when we must say goodbye
Emmy & Dude (& Mittsi too)
Emmy & Dude (& Mittsi too)
M L and Cleo (GA)
Active Member
I'm so sorry. Sending you many prayers for comfort and peace.
Gail & Houdini (GA)
Very Active Member
I'm so very sorry...sending hugs and prayers to help heal your heart.
Fly free dear Milo.
Fly free dear Milo.
Buffy&Coney
Member
I am very sorry
Fly free Milo
Fly free Milo
jt and trouble (GA)
Very Active Member
Andrea I am so sorry to read this. How heart breaking for you. May God grant you peace and Keep Milo in His heart till you and Milo are together again.
Safe journey little one
jeanne
Safe journey little one
jeanne
Lisa and Merlyn (GA)
Very Active Member
Wrapping you in cyber hugs.. I am so very sorry for your loss. Milo is flying free now, whole and healthy over the Rainbow Bridge. rb_icon
wings_cat
wings_cat
Hope + (((Baby)))GA
Very Active Member
My deepest sympathy to you, Andrea, on the loss of your sweet Milo. He was so young and this is so sad to read. Please know that in some instances diabetes is really the secondary disease to something else that may have been going on with Milo, but it was the first disease to show up. We can only treat what we know at the time and you did everything you could to help you baby. My heart goes out to you on his passing.
- Status