Thanks for the info, I will check that, so your saying I may not have to feed him the pricey DM Purina?
That's correct. Here is a little info from one of our senior members about DM: "The DM is again, not good quality and not specific to diabetes. It is called dietetic management - not diabetes management. The ingredients are frankly, not very good quality." And this from another senior member: "Most vets are not well trained in nutrition. Beyond the couple of hours (if that) that they get during vet school, most of their information comes from the pet food manufacturer's sales people. As a result, they tend to think that the prescription foods meet the dietary needs of a cat's particular condition, like diabetes. This is not the case. The pet food manufacturers lost a class action suit for misrepresenting the nature of the prescription food. If you look at the label for the DM, there's nothing in it that even vaguely resembles anything 'prescriptive.'" There are a few dry foods low in carbs (let me know if you want their names), but if you can get your FD kitty off kibble, that will be best for Elliott.
As the vet is deciding which insulin, please consider two insulins that are the gold standard for kitties: Lantus (glargine) or Prozinc, which are both recommended by the American Animal Hospital Association. The other insulins. (e.g., Novolin, Vetsulin/Caninsulin) do not have a 12-hour duration which results in swings in the blood glucose numbers. They also tend to be rather harsh, meaning that they can drop numbers quickly. Lantus and Prozinc have a longer duration and are gentler. Because they are gentler, they require more patience on the caregiver's part, meaning that it can take longer to get a cat's numbers down. I initially started my cat on Vetsulin/Caninsulin, which is actually an insulin made for dogs, but I quickly switched him to Lantus, and I saw much better results in his blood glucose numbers.
Since you don't know which insulin Elliott will be on, let me suggest some basics. You'll definitely need to plan on home testing, at least once before each 12-hour shot and, ideally, at least one other time during the 12-hour cycle. Here is an index of guides the forum has for getting started:
Sticky - INDEX: Health Links/FAQs. We have A LOT of information on the forum, and I don't want to overwhelm you, but home testing is absolutely essential in keeping Elliott safe, as you always want to know what his bg is before a shot and what his bg is through a cycle.
As you're pulling things together, you're going to need a monitor for testing. Most of us use a monitor for humans. I use the ReLion monitor from Wal-Mart. It's cost efficient; it and the test strips are readily available at Wal-Mart; and it's what most of us here use and what most of the information related to numbers is based on. The testing strips are relatively cheap. Some vets try to encourage caregivers to purchase an animal monitor, but that isn't necessary and they are costly. We have volumes of information on the forum that guide you with learning how to home test.
Again, I don't want to overwhelm (because FD can be quite overwhelming). Let us know what you need, and we'll do our best to guide you.
A Human blood glucose meter is all you need if you don't want the expense or hassle of a CGM falling off or malfunctioning. Relion is fine and affordable if you have a Walmart store. The Premier Classic is the basic one you want. But you can use any brand of meter you want. There are lots of brands available. I use AccuChek which is on the expensive side.
that shifting his diet won’t be as hard as I thought, helps that he is super hungry.