Newly diagnosed

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Laszlo

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Hi all,

Almost first post :)

My poor kitty Miguel (we call him Migs) was diagnosed about 2 weeks ago after we came home from holiday to find he'd lost about 500g (he's only about 4.7kg), and was very thirsty, hungry and going to the toilet a lot.

Unfortunately for him the vet tested and found he was only 14.2 in the surgery, and advised to change his diet to m/d wet and come back in a week to see what difference that made. I say unfortunately because on Sunday of that week he went off food, started vomiting, and on Monday was incredibly ill with ketoacidosis. After 4 nights on 4 different kinds of drips in intensive care (Potassium, Phosphate, Insulin and antibiotics (though they didn't find an infection in the end)), he was out of the woods and home. It was an incredibly close shave, and we are unbelievably anxious that we get a 'heads up' to make sure there's not a repeat. The deterioration within 12 hours was horrendous. You go to sleep with a mildly ill cat and wake up with one that can hardly hold his head up.

We're in the UK, he's been put on ProZinc, 1.5U twice a day. Apart from 1 fur shot on Saturday night I think we're doing OK on getting into a routine of injecting him.

After 2 days, I've finally managed to start getting blood for testing (for a few days he just wouldn't have a bar of it, but hard work pays off and he runs to the desk when I shake the bottle of lancets now - actually drawing blood is of course a different matter!), and you can see his SS in the sig. Concerned about the high figures, but today is the first day I'm testing.

I tested for ketones today - 0, so that is something.

Thanks for listening! This is a rather daunting time, and I am acutely aware we need to pay extremely close attention to him over the next weeks and months given his close shave last week. This forum has been very comforting!
 
Hi and welcome to you and Migs. I'm so glad sweet Migs came through his DKA and is doing better! Great that you are home testing and checking for ketones. Are you still feeding the m/d? There are much better choices out there @Elizabeth and Bertie can give you a list. Also be sure to read the stickies at the top of the forum. Lots of good info in there.
 
Hi to you and Migs! Welcome :)
Like Sharon already told you, it's great that you started testing, and even got the spreadsheet up and running.
Have you read the beginners guide that's on the prozinc part of FDMB? Here's the link : http://www.felinediabetes.com/FDMB/...prozinc-pzi-insulin-for-diabetic-cats.164995/
There are the basic steps to get you all set to get on this sugar dance train! ;)
If I may give you a tip... it's great that you are testing already, but it's recommended to test Migs AMPS and PMPS, that means the tests need to be done before Migs gets fed. So the saying here is 'test,feed,shot' that is the way we all handle our kitties here on FDMB. The reason why the AM and PM tests are so important is because then you know how Migs's BG is doing. If it's low, you can't stick with 1.5U if he's high for a couple of days you might want to bump up the dose, and so on. Gathering data on your little fur baby is really important for yourself to understand what's going on and for us all to help you with Migs if you need dosing advise.

@TempestsMum is also from the UK and can maybe help you with some food tips or meters/strips/syringes and stuff like that. There are a lot of tips we give eachother that also saves you a lot of money! So the diabetes is managable within your own budget.

I'm from the Netherlands so time wise i'm almost in your timezone what makes it good for me to help you if you need some help!

:bighug:
 
Hello and welcome! :)

That sounds like an extremely scary beginning! But you have both come through it brilliantly. Fantastic work with the blood testing! I really struggled with that bit, we managed but it was not easy.
Getting blood can be difficult but warm ears really do work and make your life so much easier. Also holding the ear taught helps too. :)

Being in the UK I can vouch for @Elizabeth and Bertie food sheet. I currently feed Sheba fine flakes poultry mainly which is really low carb and kitty loves it! with a couple of sachets of the fish one once a week or whiskas +7 fish depending (it's lower carb than the Sheba fish) for a change.

I chose to use a pet meter which is expensive £90 and the strips I got from medic animal when they have a sale on or my local pharmacy does the freestyle lite ones for me for £18.99 which work in the Alphatrak.
I know many people use a human meter which is cheaper as are the strips but I'm not sure which to recommend there.

:bighug::bighug:
 
Thank you for all the help. I will do pre-shot testing, I just couldn't quite do it this morning. I was only first successful today at +6. I've just done a PMPS and it's 27.2 :(

Will test for ketones again when I can but earlier today we were OK.
 
Here is the link to the UK food list https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1J5JpMe6TDXrHq_aTl9hUtHy6Gs9oRBqlz4nPGKxtySA/pubhtml

Sounds like a scary start! Make sure - given Mig's history, that you do test regularly for ketones. 27.2 is not too bad considering you are just starting out, it can take time to get a cat regulated so the numbers at the start are a bit scary but given time and the right food they will come down. @Ruby&Baco has already given you the link for the Prozinc user guide. If you need any help then yell, there are quite a few UK-ers on the board and we can give you details of where to get the best prices on supplies :).
 
Thank you - I will transition him across to Thrive Complete cans since I order that in for the other cat anyway (and the other cat now has an unnatural like of m/d canned - as he's not diabetic, I think he might be welcome to the remaining 14 cans!). How much should I be feeding him of Thrive Complete tins? It's a bit bamboozling, sorry for all questions..
 
Hello to you and Migs, and welcome!

Gosh, it sounds like you've had a seriously hard time of it recently.... (((Huge hugs to you))). :bighug::bighug::bighug:

But you are doing absolutely brilliantly, and should be proud of yourself: You've learned to give insulin shots, learned to hometest, and you've started entering your test data onto an SS. Excellent stuff!

That '14.2' number from the vet's is actually pretty good...
Can I ask, what were you feeding before the vet suggested you start using the M/D?
How old is Migs, and has Migs had any steroid treatment recently?

I know this has been, and probably still is, a very daunting time for you. But please let me reassure you that this is manageable. And I really do think you will get the hang of things in no time at all.

Eliz
 
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Wow, you had a rough start. Kudos to you for quickly coming up to speed on testing and charting your data!

Glad, you found your way here. You'll get lots of sound advice and support from this group.
 
Elizabeth and Bertie said:
Hello to you and Migs, and welcome!

Gosh, it sounds like you've had a seriously hard time of it recently.... (((Huge hugs to you))). :bighug::bighug::bighug:

But you are doing absolutely brilliantly, and should be proud of yourself: You've learned to give insulin shots, learned to hometest, and you've started entering your test data onto an SS. Excellent stuff!

That '14.2' number from the vet's is actually pretty good...
Can I ask, what were you feeding before the vet suggested you start using the M/D?
How old is Migs, and has Migs had any steroid treatment recently?

I know this has been, and probably still is, a very daunting time for you. But please let me reassure you that this is manageable. And I really do think you will get the hang of things in no time at all.

Eliz
Click to expand...

Slightly more rhythm this morning! Test done in 15 seconds even when he was super uncooperative because he was starving, good clean injection :). Getting easier!

Prior he was on t/d for breakfast and a tin or sachet of something for dinner (Sheba sometimes or Iams pouches, more latterly thrive complete tins).

Migs is almost 11 and has not had steroid treatment before. We have struggled keeping his weight down for most of his life, and whilst occasionally a bit pudgy hasn't been obese. His only other medical issues have been terrible teeth, he won't suffer for any cleaning whatsoever! He is an incredibly sweet cat but he has limits!
 
My gosh! What a scary beginning for you! So grateful that MIGs is okay.

The testing gets easier on both of you. Do you give treats? Most of us have special testing treats! I gave freeze dried chicken. Gypsy knew that testing meant her special treats so she allowed tests whenever!
 
Yes, he gets treats :) - hilariously today he's been waiting for me at the testing table at around the right time!!

He gets the freeze dried tuna or chicken, and goes absolutely crazy for it.
 
Haha! Yep they start reminding you about tests as they learn and treats! We got to the point where all my cats came running. Gypsy got her test and treat...then everyone else else got a treat. Gypsy always got an extra one since she had the test.
 
Hi Laszio - welcome -
Your progress in such a short time is amazing - another trick that can help with testing is to be sure their ears are warm - it's not so much an issue in the summer, but come the cold temperatures of winter, a small rice filled, microwaved warm sock is frequently needed to get the ears heated up
I'm not sure what you mean about Mig's teeth - dental/gum disease can play a large role in diabetic kitties' s blood sugar, and many times, it is difficult to regulate a cat until they've had a dental. It's definitely something to talk to your vet about.
 
Thank you - I'm on the rice in the sock routine, and although we just went through 3 strips to get a result, I think I'm getting the hang of it, he's a bit wriggly and then often does a head shake resulting in the drop going everywhere but where I need it :), but you can see I'm making good progress.

I was just mentioning his medical history, his teeth have always been bad, he's had a few removed. He had a dental 2 months ago and they removed another tooth, so he's probably ok for the moment.
 
You really have this feline diabetes thing nailed, Laszio. You are FAR ahead of most people in this very early stage - congratulations. I predict good things ahead for Migs.
 
He is nothing if not consistent! Almost identical points at the start and end of the day, and even intraday (I think PMPS yesterday was due to food - I ended up feeding him a little 1 hour prior because he was so noisy I couldn't sit on a conference call!
 
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