Newly diagnosed

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Rardito

Rardito

Member Since 2018
Hello everyone!

I have two cats: Bitsy age 10 and Mitsy age 9. Mitsy was just diagnosed with diabetes this week.

She had been peeing on the floor for about a month and the vet had stated it was behavioral due to her having normal bloodwork in March. However, she kept getting worse (pawing at the water dish/knocking it over, peeing EVERYWHERE on the floors, acting zoned out) so I took her back and had them redo the blood work. Due to her high blood sugar, she was diagnosed with diabetes and possible pancreatitis.

They started her on insulin - 2 units on Monday. She stayed at the vet during the day on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, and today for blood sugar testing. He has now increased her to 5 units of Vetsulin twice daily and her blood sugar was at 130 today when we left the vet.

I am very new to this and slightly overwhelmed - but I wanted to make an introduction in the meantime.

Thanks for reading!

Rosa
 
Hi Rose, Mitsy and Bitsy and welcome to the forum.:)
The first few weeks after diagnosis are always overwhelming but it does get easier!
There is a steep learning curve in the beginning.....ask lots of questions and read all you can..there are yellow stickies at the top of all the forums for you to read.
Here is a link to FAQ
http://www.felinediabetes.com/FDMB/forums/health-links-faqs-about-feline-diabetes.14/

I was alarmed to read your vet had increased the insulin to 5 units. That is a HUGE increase for a cat just starting on insulin.
I would NOT give that amount of insulin. You are risking a hypo. I would stick to two units until you are testing the blood sugars.
The best thing you could do is start home testing the blood sugars so you can see what is happening with Misty after she gets the insulin and to keep her safe.
Cats usually run higher at the vets due to stress so the reading they get at the vet are higher readings than you will get at home.
Here is a link to home testing the blood sugar. It is not hard to do...takes a few days to master it only...and it doesn't hurt the cat.. we will help you get started with the testing .
What you need to test is:
A Relion meter which you can buy from Walmart
A box of 100 lancets 26 or 28 gauge
Some cotton balls to put behind the ear when testing
A box of extra test strips.
http://www.felinediabetes.com/FDMB/threads/hometesting-links-and-tips.28

Here is a beginners guide to using Vetsulin for you to read
http://www.felinediabetes.com/FDMB/threads/beginners-guide-to-caninsulin-vetsulin.186099/

I am going to tag a couple of people who use vetsulin and they will be able to help you.
@Kris & Teasel
@JanetNJ
@Rachel
 
What food are you feeding Misty?
The best cat food for diabetic cats is low carb ( under 10%) wet/canned food.
Dry food is too high in carbs and is not recommmended for any cats.
There is no need to buy the expensive prescription cat food the vet sells you. Low carb food you buy at the supermarket is just as good and cheaper. Lots of people feed friskies and fancy feast pate which are low carb.
However DO NOT CHANGE over to a low carb food until you are testing, as the blood sugars will drop on the low carb food, and with the insulin it may drop too far. If you are testing you will be able keep Misty safe during the change over and adjust the insulin dose as needed.
 
Welcome. It can definitely be scary and overwhelming at first but we are here for you.

I don't want to scare you, but your vet is not good at dosing and had your cat on an unsafe dose. The recommended starting dose is 1 unit twice a day. You would hold that for several days while switching to a low carb canned food such as fancy feast classic or Friskies pate foods. Then if through daily testing it proves to not be enough the dose is raised in .25-0.5 increments. Your cat is in danger of hypoglycemia at this extremely high dose.
Most cats never need a dose close to what yours is getting.


I have a video in my signature showing how I test my cat CC at home
 
Welcome! I love the photo of your kitty! :)

I agree with Janet about the 5 u dose. That's frightening high for a newly diagnosed kitty. If you wouldn't mind reposting on the main health forum we can start helping you. This is actually the introduction forum.
 
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