Newly Diagnosed

[Flanigan]

Hi everyone! I'm so glad I found this board. My boo bear, aka Louie, was recently diagnosed. He's a big boy and he had been losing a lot of weight. Come to find out, he lost 1/3 of his weight in a year! .. The vet started him on Lantus, 1 unit 2xday. He's had 2 curve tests and they recently upped his dosage to 3 units 2xday. With this increase, he started vomiting so I'm leaving work early today to bring him back to the vet to see about decreasing again. I never thought my cat would have an illness that is a life long commitment.

I'm in the process of trying to find the right food for Louie. He's VERY,VERY picky about his food. He will ONLY eat dry food. no treats, no raw food! He likes the dry.

Also, my other cat,Leo, is diagnosed with hyperthyroidism. So we have become a medicated household! haha

I just wanted to say hi and to give a bit of background. I look forward to interacting with everyone!

 

[jt and trouble (GA)]

Welcome to the best site on the planet. I will let the Lantus experts talk to you about this insulin I just wanted to welcome you and maybe sugest you start here ...

viewtopic.php?f=14&t=2502

or here for tips on learning to hometest your kitty...

viewtopic.php?f=14&t=287

Home testing will give you a more accurate idea of how your insulin is working.

Good luck and welcome.
jeanne

 

[BJM]

Welcome!

Since he's already on insulin, learning to home test the blood glucose is very highly recommended. You can use an inexpensive, over the counter HUMAN test meter to track relative glucose levels and know when it is safe to give insulin ... and when it is not! Yes, the vet may propose using a pricey animal specific glucometer, but there are several veterinary articles which explain how to use human meters on felines by adjusting the target numbers (read the Lantus forum stickies)

Additionally, keep note of the 5 Ps - purring preening (grooming), playing, peeing, and poohing. Changes in these may indicate changes in how well you are managing the diabetes and any other health conditions which may co-occur. As the diabetes becomes better controlled, you should note less thirst and less flooding of the litterbox, plus less hunger as your cat will be able to use the food he eats.

There are a couple of low carb dry foods - Wellness Core and Evo Cat and Kitten - but dry food is a water depleted diet which may stress the kidneys and possibly lead to renal failure. Dr Pierson of Cat Info has a number of tips on how to help you cat transition to a more healthy canned or raw diet, as well as other discussions on appropriate nutrition for cats