Newly diagnosed

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Squeakers

Member Since 2014
Hello All,
I'm Stacy and my 13 year old male cat is Squeakers. I'm from SC and just got his diagnosis yesterday. My vet has prescribed Humulin N100 - 3 units twice a day. I went to CVS and it cost me $107.00 for the insulin, when I got home I looked in the bag and there were no needles. Being new I didn't know one had to buy them separately. So missed last night and this morning, will go to Walmart to get needles, and ask how much their insulin is, because $100. is way too much for a month. I have to bring him in next week for a curve test, I am thinking of getting the home kit stuff at Walmart and wait to see what his levels should be at the next vet visit.
Squeakers has been drinking heavily, filling up his catbox, always hungry and his coat is blah. The vet told me Squeakers also has hyperthyroidism but will deal with his diabetes first. I lost his litter mate last year when I accidently left flowers on a table from a funeral and he ate a lilly and had liver failure. My cat also has started peeing on our 4 dogs' beds so I'm dealing with that too. I've had him his whole life and he just started this.
I am so glad to have this forum, I would be lost and spending way too much on treatment otherwise. Thank you
 
Welcome Stacy and Sneakers,

We will be glad to help you! Getting a meter is the best first step. Here is a shopping list:

A human glucometer. Any one that sips and takes a tiny sample is fine. Some members stay away from any meter with True in the name and the Freestyle meters. Some people think they are unreliable and read lower than other meters. The meters are often free at drug stores; it’s the strips that are expensive. You can, however, buy them on ebay at less than half the price of stores. Lots of people here also like the ReliOn from Walmart. It is an inexpensive meter and its strips are the cheapest around. Try the meter out on yourself or someone else before you try it on your cat. You want to be familiar with it before you poke the cat.

Lancets and a lancet device. Usually, until the ears “learn” to bleed, a 26-28 gauge is good. Any brand will work as long as the lancets match your device.

Ketone strips. (Ketostix) Just like human diabetics use. You will sometimes need to test urine if the numbers are high.

Rice sack. Make this out of thinnish sock, filled with raw rice or oatmeal and then knotted. You heat this in the microwave until very warm but not hot. Then heat the ears before poking. You can also use a prescription bottle filled with very warm water. It provides a good surface to poke against.

Also nice to have. Flashlight: so you can look at the ears and find the little capillaries that come off the vein running down the ear. Vaseline: Put a tiny smear where you want to poke. It will help the blood bead up.

And some lo carb treats to give your kitty, successful test or not Lo carb treats

While you wait, you can Sneakers ready for testing.
First pick a place where you want to test. Some people use the kitchen counter, a blanket on the floor, between your legs while sitting – whatever works for you. Take the kitty there and give him lots of praise while you play with his ears. Give a treat and release. Next time, add the rice sack (thin sock filled with raw rice, heated in the microwave until very warm but not hot) or a prescription pill bottle filled with very warm water. Lots of praise, treat and release. Finally add the lancet so he will get used to the noise. The hope is that when you finally poke, they will be used to the process and know a treat is coming!

We are not big fans of N. We generally find it to be short lived and harsh in cats. We like milder, longer lasting insulin like Lantus, Levemir and ProZinc. There was some free ProZinc in the supply closet recently http://www.felinediabetes.com/FDMB/viewtopic.php?f=15&t=117941 You might ask your vet if you could use it; he should be familiar with it. It is commonly used in cats; N is not. If you have to use the N at first, be sure you test often to see how it is working.
 
A symptom of diabetes IS hyperglycemia, so I'm not sure what your vet meant.

If you have not yet started the insulin AND if the vet did not indicate any ketone or fatty liver issues, you might try a diet change first and make sure what you are feeding is less than 10% calories (not weight) from carbohydrates. There is a terrific printable food chart at Cat Info you can use for shopping. Most are much less expensive than the prescription foods and have more variety.
 
Hi Stacy and Squeakers

We have a lot of information here to help you treat this disease as inexpensively as we can. I know that you are worried about the expense so I will address that. The Relion meters are $15 at Walmart and the strips are $36 for a hundred of them. If a diet change doesn't work and you do need insulin, we recommend longer lasting insulins like Lantus, Levemir or PZI. We use insulin long past their expiration date because we keep them cold. I can make a pen of Lantus last three months and I bought five pens for $200 so that's 3 months x five pens = 15 months.

So let's look at food. What are you feeding your Squeakers now? Most of us first get rid of any dry food. IMO dry food is evil. It is very bad for the urinary tract and is way too high in carbs. Once I removed the dry food from ALL of my cats' diets, they didn't need the water bowl anymore because they get all their hydration from their food - as it should be.

So we feed low carb pate foods like Fancy Feast Classics and Friskies Pates and Wellness pate and we feed several small meals throughout the day or as I do, three feedings - morning, night, before bed.

We have all the tricks and cost-saving advice for this sugardance. Please ask as many questions and for as much support as you need. We are here for you and Squeakers.
 
Welcome to the best of the best was here 4 years ago and got my Trey off the insulin in 2 months we had to come back this week but I am sure they will get him back on track. Vets don`t know a lot about cats and diabetes but they do here... Good luck ask lots of questions take lots of deep breaths and poke ear a lot....before you know it your baby will be on his way to feeling so much better Hugs and tons of healing green light coming to both of you .....Kath & Trey
 
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