Newly Diagnosed

[Ever & Holly]

It's nice to meet everyone! My name is Ever and I am owned by my cat Holly

My kitty was diagnosed when having her blood work done at the same time as getting her teeth cleaned. She had only just started showing symptoms since her last checkup a few months ago (weight loss, peeing a lot, less playful). Right now, I am switching her to low carb wet food with some pumpkin. I will be taking her back to the vet in a month to see how she's doing.

Right now, I'm grieving for her health. I have severe anxiety disorder and am dealing with a lot of self-blame even though she's been a very healthy kitty until now. This diagnosis has made the future feel uncertain. I just finished my Masters degree and was planning to move back to Japan next year but I don't know how that will go with a diabetic kitty. I at least have some time to think it over. Otherwise, I am having surgery in less than two weeks. I'm glad I don't have to think about insulin quite yet. If I did, I would likely end up tearing a few stitches trying to jab a reluctant cat lol

The only question I have now is about her treats: I give her half a serving of dry treats (5-6 pieces) in the morning and half a serving of Sheba tender stick in the evening. These treats are important since I struggle with getting out of bed and going to bed with my anxiety and my kitty helps me with this. I really don't want to mess with this ritual, so I'm wondering if these treats are okay at this small amount?

 

[Ann & Scatcats]

Without insulin you need to bg check every day with blood glucose meter anyway. And urin strips for A-Urine Ketons, so no Diabetes Keto Acidosis, DKA, occurs. Since that is Critical ER care needed then.

Others will help you out.

 

[Nan & Amber (GA)]

Hello and welcome!

I hope Holly is one of the lucky ones that can be diet-controlled. Please don't blame yourself-- we see all kinds of cats with all kinds of backgrounds develop FD. Sometimes it just happens. The good news is that FD is very treatable and Holly can lead a very normal life in her usual good health with it. Let's get the diet in order and then see where things go.

To answer your question about treats: it should be no problem to stick with your routine, you just might have to change things a little bit by switching Holly to low-carb treats. One good option are the little freeze-dried meats (chicken breast, shrimp, etc.) that they sell as treats for pets. A couple good brands are Life Essentials and PureBites. Orijen also makes some low-carb treats, they are a little harder to find and pricier.

Hope this helps, keep asking questions!

 

[JanetNJ]

Right now, I'm grieving for her health. I have severe anxiety disorder and am dealing with a lot of self-blame even though she's been a very healthy kitty until now. This diagnosis has made the future feel uncertain.

I want to assure you that diabetes is not a death sentence and they can live long healthy lives with it. My cat was diabetic for 4.5 years. She died a few weeks ago but from a sudden surprise cancer, not the diabetes. You can do this and you aren't alone. We are here to help. I have found that 4-5 dry treats raised my cats blood sugar up to 100 points. See if she will eat purebites freeze dried chicken.

 

[JanetNJ]

How come you haven't started insulin yet?

 

[Nan & Amber (GA)]

I am having surgery in less than two weeks. I'm glad I don't have to think about insulin quite yet. If I did, I would likely end up tearing a few stitches trying to jab a reluctant cat lol

I think this is a smart way to proceed (surgery is stressful enough!) but you may be surprised by how well Holly deals with getting jabbed! A lot of folks do the shot while kitty is eating, and they usually don't notice at all. Or the other thing to do is to just always make sure that there's a treat after the shot-- most cats will put up with a lot to get the treat, and with the tiny needles that are used in insulin syringes, they hardly even notice.

One thing you might try doing now is to work on desensitizing Holly (and yourself) to the whole process. Set up a "shot place" in your house/apartment where you're planning on doing the shots. Start by bringing her over there, petting her a few times, give a treat, let her go. Then next time, bring her over, pet her, and then practice pulling up the skin to make the "tent", treat and go. Then the next time, do that, but "poke" the tent with a finger, etc. If you're nervous about the whole process, you can make up a silly song to sing to her while you're doing this. It sounds silly, but it really can work to distract you both, so that she doesn't pick up on your nervousness.

Hang in there, you got this!

 

[Critter Mom]

Hi Ever,

Following on from Nan's excellent advice about getting Holly used to her designated testing spot, here's a really good behaviour training video. You can adapt the techniques for home testing too:

Mogs
.