Overwhelmed with 1 year old missy diabetic, help please.

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Missy's Mum

Missy's Mum

Member Since 2013
June this year my cat got diabetes and was put on 1 and a half of insulin twice a day and half can purina dm for weight loss. Changed to mobile vet unit as a last resort before surrendering her. The fee was 4 times cheaper but by now we are about five times over our set budget already. The Old vet used to sedate her for taking blood. Last mobile vet visit tried not to sedate but she was aggressive and they could not draw blood. Cost with sedation is not only more expensive, it is a full day of travel with public transportation to get to the mobile unit and wait for treatment. Read about wellness core being better for diabetics. Fat in wellness is much higher than dm.
Can I switch dm food without vet visit? I tried mixing both and she loves them all.
I was not taught to test blood at home. Her urine is smaller now unless I add water to feed. Adding water helped calm her down, but read less pee is a way to monitor diabetes.

How do I know when she can be weaned off insulin?
How do I estimate the costs of the added visits. She has lost weight and is now at normal range 10.20 was 16. Last visit I was told by the vet if there is no urgent need for a blood test then i can push it off. I was told better than leaving her to continue to eat not edibles (disposable gloves, colored paper) just add 1 tsp food per day and see if that helps her calm down. She now gets tiny snacks of cooked chicken scraps with some homemade broth and water as she starts getting more nuts later in day(and once around 3-4am to shut her up). It helped but not sure of her weight now. So overwhelmed. Always disturbed at night and constantly on the lookout to prevent hungry cat from turning life upside down when i am out or asleep. Was about to give her up, but its so hard we all love her. At my wits end. My life has turned into cat drama before everyone else. Too much. I need to have some time left to live and take care of kids. Not sure how much more I can take but don't know how to say no. None of the shelters had room for her.
Since taking insulin and losing weight she is more energetic, always on counters and table. We all have to be armed with water spray guns when working with food or eating. Once she catches a piece of chicken or fish, she hisses and tries to swallow it whole. It's funny, but I am scared that she will kill herself, trying to swallow huge pieces whole with the plastic bag.
What is involved in weaning her off insulin? How much can I expect cost to range for that? Can I change to wellness core canned without vet? Should I be adding water to her food? How much?
Looking for guidance to help with an extremely tight budget. Also behavioral advice.
 
Hi there!

Welcome to the board!

What kind of insulin is it that you are giving?

Many cats get sick of the canned DM but it is good for diabetes since its low carb. However there are other canned foods that are cheaper, taste better and just as low carb ie Wellness grain free, fancy feast classic pate and Friskies pate. Friskies pates are also cheap cos the cans are bigger. Is she losing weight still?

You can certainly change the food without a vet visit since she is already getting low carb food its not a big change. Cats dont tend to drink enough so adding water to her food wont do any harm but unless she has kidney problems, its not critical to do that either.

I would recommend you test her blood at home. That will save you $ on vet visits plus allow you to keep her safe and get a better idea of how she is doing. For all you know she could already be in remission and you could be overdosing insulin. By home testing you will know when and how to wean her off the insulin.

Wendy

PS Did you say you are feeding her nuts? They are high carb - not good at all.
 
She is hungry because she cannot use the food she is eating - diabetics are starving in the midst of plenty. Insulin allows the glucose to enter the cells and be used as fuel. No insulin right now = death.

Fact: You may not be able to get her off insulin.
Exception: feeding low carb canned food (ex Friskies pates), home testing the glucose for safety, and using long lasting insulin for an unknown period may enable you to get her to a diet controlled state, but it takes a lot of work and patience. We can teach you to home test; this will keep her safe.

Additional assessments you may make are in my signature link Secondary Monitoring Tools. Urine ketone testing in particular, is important as high levels of ketones are a medical emergency.
 
Wendy&Tiggy said:
Hi there!

Welcome to the board!

What kind of insulin is it that you are giving?

Many cats get sick of the canned DM but it is good for diabetes since its low carb. However there are other canned foods that are cheaper, taste better and just as low carb ie Wellness grain free, fancy feast classic pate and Friskies pate. Friskies pates are also cheap cos the cans are bigger. Is she losing weight still?

You can certainly change the food without a vet visit since she is already getting low carb food its not a big change. Cats dont tend to drink enough so adding water to her food wont do any harm but unless she has kidney problems, its not critical to do that either.

I would recommend you test her blood at home. That will save you $ on vet visits plus allow you to keep her safe and get a better idea of how she is doing. For all you know she could already be in remission and you could be overdosing insulin. By home testing you will know when and how to wean her off the insulin.

Wendy

PS Did you say you are feeding her nuts? They are high carb - not good at all.
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Thanks for the info. She is on pro zinc.
Not feeding nuts, I meant she can act nuts. Especially when hungry. Hard to deal with. How much added water is safe?
 
Is she losing weight? Would you say she was underweight or overweight or....?

I would add a few tablespoons per can

Wendy
 
HI there and welcome!

With regard to feeding and saving money: there are MANY non-prescription, much cheaper wet foods to feed her. Many of us (including myself, who has a diet-controlled cat) feed the Fancy Feast and Friskies Pates which are low carb. Here's a few:

Fancy Feast Pate "Classic":

Chopped Grill Feast
Cod/Sole/Shrimp Feast
Chicken Feast
Salmon & Shrimp Feast
Seafood Feast
Ocean Whitefsh & Tuna Feast
Savory Salmon Feast

Fancy Feast Chunky:

Turkey
Chicken

Friskies Pate:

Special Diet Turkey and Giblets
Special Diet Ocean Whitefish
Salmon Dinner
Turkey and Giblets Dinner
Supreme Supper
Mariner’s Catch

And there are several other brands/varieties that area also low carb. If you'd like more suggestions, just let me know :)

ALSO: It is usually a good idea to ALWAYS add some water to the food.
 
TheBowHuntress said:
HI there and welcome!

With regard to feeding and saving money: there are MANY non-prescription, much cheaper wet foods to feed her. Many of us (including myself, who has a diet-controlled cat) feed the Fancy Feast and Friskies Pates which are low carb. Here's a few:

Fancy Feast Pate "Classic":

Chopped Grill Feast
Cod/Sole/Shrimp Feast
Chicken Feast
Salmon & Shrimp Feast
Seafood Feast
Ocean Whitefsh & Tuna Feast
Savory Salmon Feast

Fancy Feast Chunky:

Turkey
Chicken

Friskies Pate:

Special Diet Turkey and Giblets
Special Diet Ocean Whitefish
Salmon Dinner
Turkey and Giblets Dinner
Supreme Supper
Mariner’s Catch

And there are several other brands/varieties that area also low carb. If you'd like more suggestions, just let me know :)

ALSO: It is usually a good idea to ALWAYS add some water to the food.
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Thanks I think those may be easy to find locally.
 
I would learn to test at home - less stressful for the cat, cheaper for you, more accurate. We've taught hundreds of people over the internet how to test and would be glad to teach you.

Once you have some numbers - preshot and midcycle, you can see how the insulin is working and then slowly increase as needed. This is a home treated disease, just like with human diabetics. Sometimes the vet will agree - sometimes not. We always hope if not, it is because of concern that the owner will be stressed and not because they will lose money. But truthfully, you will be much less stressed if you know exactly what is happening.
 
Sue and Oliver (GA) said:
I would learn to test at home - less stressful for the cat, cheaper for you, more accurate. We've taught hundreds of people over the internet how to test and would be glad to teach you.

Once you have some numbers - preshot and midcycle, you can see how the insulin is working and then slowly increase as needed. This is a home treated disease, just like with human diabetics. Sometimes the vet will agree - sometimes not. We always hope if not, it is because of concern that the owner will be stressed and not because they will lose money. But truthfully, you will be much less stressed if you know exactly what is happening.
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Thanks. Don't understand the abreviations. Home test sounds coplicated. Last night she pooed while walking around. What does that mean? 2nd time in a week I think. Just after that I heard a weird meow and then she froze mid walk and drool a little clearliquid. Wasn't sure if she shook a little or not. When I tried to push her down to look at her she went limp. Rubbed some honey on her gum. Then she jumped on counter looking for food so I gave her snack. Now half asleep found one more poo. Just gave her resst of snack. What do I do now?
 
Cleo & Jane said:
Also, please click on the ? button at the top of your original post, so others will know you need some answers.

Jane
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This chat thing is new to me. So where is it now if it is bumped up? How do I add a ? To original post? Overwhelmed and lost.
 
If you bumped it up (which you did) it will show up higher on the list on this Health board. Each time someone responds, be it you or another member, you post goes back up to the top...
 
To edit the post's title, go to your first entry. You will see an edit button in the upper right of it (because you wrote it - no one else can do that). Click on it and edit the Subject line, then hit Submit.
 
Is she on any meds? I am wondering whether the drooling and poop is a reaction. Did you change her food? That can sometimes cause diarrhea. Maybe slow down that process, mixing in less of the new with more of the old. (And remember we really don't want you to switch to low carb until testing) It may not necessarily be related to the diabetes. Hypo symptoms (too much insulin, too low a blood glucose level) are usually things like lethargy, yeowling, confusion.

I really think the only way to do this with your vet transportation limitations is to test at home. We can teach you over the internet; we've taught dozens of people. Just think how nice it would have been to check her levels when she was acting ill and know they were okay. Where are you located? I wonder if we have a member nearby who could help you in person.
 
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