Pumpkin is newly diagnosed

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Hawthorne

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I am new to treating a diabetic cat as well. Our Pumpkin is 12 years old and was dignosed this past Monday.

He was put on Purina Diabetic Management wet food (1/2 can 2 x a day) and (1/4 cup 2x a day) of Purina Diabetic Management dry food as well. He can have the dry down all the time. We spoke to Vet since he has real trouble eating 1/2 can of wet food at a time and she said we could cut it to 1/3 of a can each time as long as he was eating the dry food. He does better at eating slightly less of the wet.

He was also put on 2 units of Humulin N (2x a day) to be given just after he finishes his wet food and every 12 hours.

I have Rheumatoid Arthritis and have been injecting myself with a drug for a number of years now so that has been easy. The Vet gave us intructions too.

They said his blood sugar was 24 the day he was diagnosed and had lost 6 lbs (he is a very large cat - orange tiger stripped male). We took him in because he was eating all the time, drinking all the time and peeing all the time! He also had the beginning of Neuropathy (is that the term?) in his back legs - one worse than the other. He has some arthritis and we thought that it was just getting worse so thought the Vet would do something about the arthritis.

We took him in on Thursday for a blood sugar check. His blood sugar was down to 23 (that was 8 hours after his insulin) and he had gained about 3 ounzes in weight. She told us to up his insulin to 3 units. His legs are improving some too - or is that wishful thinking on my part?

That's where we are. I found this board and have been reading!

We live a 2 minute drive from the Vet and are taking him in weekly for now but may soon consider home testing. My husband has Type 11 diabetes (controlled with pills, diet and exercise). He tests his blood sugar regularly so we may be able to do Pumpkin without too much trouble. That's a decision yet to be made.

We are in Canada so things may be a little different in terms of food,etc but I did see Pumpkin's insulin mentioned here.

Any thoughts are welcome! Thanks!Hawthorne

Joined: Fri Jan 22, 2010 3:17 pm
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Good job! You got it done. (The first time I posted I put it on a completely different forum.) It takes a while to get used to the setup.

As you have read, we feed wet lo carb food. Dry is not good for diabetic cats. Read this website by a vet to see why: http://www.catinfo.org

Humulin N is a harder insulin to regulate with, and very few people here use it. But someone who does may come along. Here is a primer on it: http://www.felinediabetes.com/phorum5/r ... 241,831241 Primer on N from Kimber and Bunny

And yes, you need to hometest. But it should be easier for you since your husband has diabetes (and a meter!) Here is a video that shows how: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_zE12-4fVn8 and my favorite site for hometesting info:
http://www.sugarcats.net/sites/harry/bgtest.ht We all have tips that worked for us. I really felt that warming the ear was the most important part at first. You can make a rice sack with a thinnish sock filled with raw rice. Heat it up in the microwave until very warm but not hot. Use it to warm Pumpkin's ear and get the blood flowing.

The beginning is a steep learning curve. Read and print out stuff. Ask questions. We will be here to help. The good news is that we all were in the same place you are this afternoon and we and our cats survived!
 
Thanks so much!

I am always glad to find support forums and this one, I know, will be helpful as we get going with this new situation in Pumpkin's life. He, like all pets, is very special to us and we want him to feel well and be himself again!

I watched a few YouTube videos about injecting a cat's insulin and also testing their blood glucose. The testing does not look too difficult, especially since my husband does his.

It appears to me that the measurements are different here is Canada. Pumpkin's sugar was 24 on the day he was diagnosed and 23 when we took him on Thursday for the test.

I see numbers like 125, 200, etc here. Is there a different scale?

I will check out those posts you suggested about wet low carb food.

Thanks again!
 
Yes. The US scale is different. Multiply your number by 18. We use the US scale on this site just because it's easier to have one scale to deal with. So Pumpkin's numbers were pretty high at the vets - 430's. But be aware, unless Pumpkin is completely relaxed at the vet and doesn't mind the strange noises and smells and people poking him, those numbers will be higher than at home. Stress raises bg levels. That is one of the many reasons we urge you to hometest. If a vet prescribes a dose based on inflated numbers (stress), it may be too much insulin once the kitty gets home and is relaxed.

Keep reading. Keep asking questions. You are doing great.
 
Jen & Squeak - so glad to find at least 1 more "Canuck"! I knew there would be some here :-D

I am in London Ontario. I see you are in Calgary. How long has your cat had diabetes? What is his/her protocol?

You have read about our Pumpkin here. If you have any thoughts or advice I'd gladly hear from you!

I find myself watching him all the time to see if I note anything - good or bad. I guess I will adjust.

He is not used to so much food and it is work to get him to eat enough before he gets his insulin. No problem with the insulin. He hardly notices!

I have Rheumatoid Arthritis and inject myself with a drug once a week so injections were not new to me. His syringes are so much smaller though! Fortunately my hands have not been affected much with the RA so I'm fine giving him his shot 2 times a day.

Thanks for identifying yourself! You may get lots of PMs from me as I go ahead with this!
 
Welcome to our FDMB family and be patient with yourself. You sound like you really love your cats, so you have come to the perfect place. Get some chocolate, sit back and get ready to read. Also, remember Every Cat Is Different. (ECID) Also, remember opinions may vary sometimes on this board, so you may get different views. Unfortunately, that is human nature.
Sorry this is very long, but there is a lot to say! Also, remember we were ALL newbies once and are feeling just like you are right now! :) OK……..breathe………. :RAHCAT

You do not need any type of prescription food or “special” diabetic food. Use Janet & Binky’s chart at http://binkyspage.tripod.com/canfood.html. . Low carb is best for diabetics. I try to stay around 10% or under. I feed Whiskas, 9-Lives and mostly Friskies. Diabetes is very treatable and does not cost as much as you would think. If you are giving a high dose of insulin and feeding dry, be careful with switching to canned food. You MUST reduce the insulin at the same time you switch to canned food.

Please create a profile if you have not already done so (viewtopic.php?f=6&t=531). It will help us to help you. We need to know what kind of insulin you are on, what needles you are using (U-40 or U-100), what are you feeding, how much insulin you are giving and when, BG test results, etc. There are many people on this board from all over the world, so it will be helpful to know what area and time zone you are in. ~O)

Remember that your cat is YOUR cat, and YOU are paying your VET to help you take care of him; diabetes was probably a day or two worth of notes when the vet was in college; it is probably NOT a day-to-day existence with his own cat trying to maintain a quality of life. Sorry to say, but I would have overdosed my guys on insulin if I followed my vet's advice. Vets, unfortunately are not as knowledgeable as they should be on diabetes.

Sometimes, as I did, you have to take a leap of faith and trust these people on this board who deal with diabetes day in and day out. Trust me. You will not be disappointed. OK………..breathe again……….get some chocolate…….. cat_pet_icon

Also, please realize that it takes insulin about a week to settle. START LOW AND GO SLOW!! The usual starting dose from our experiences is 1u twice a day for at least a week. Insulin in cats is NOT and I repeat NOT based on weight. This is a misconception that a lot of us have gotten from our vets here. pc_work

You have to be patient, as I also had to learn!! Do not adjust the dose upwards based on one test. Don’t freak out based on one test result. As long as the levels stay on the high side, keep the same dose twice a day for at least the initial week period and you should see improvements. When you have some time (hee hee), read my profile doc at http://docs.google.com/View?id=dfqss8sg_1cpgwhbd9 .

If you are not hometesting already, you really need to start!! Hometesting is VERY important. Most of us here us any human meter. Think of it as a human diabetic does. *If it were you or a child of yours, you'd be testing blood glucose levels at home prior to each shot; you'd be working with your doctor to determine a proper dose based on those shot results, correct?* Some vets do not agree with hometesting and I cannot for the life of me understand why. Most vets, sadly are not knowledgeable enough in feline diabetes. Insulin is a VERY powerful drug and you NEED to hometest before giving a shot. This is very important. The vet would rather have you bring the cat to them, stress it out more, which may spike the levels anyway and then they can charge you $$. Hometesting saved me a lot of money and it is VERY important for you personally to know the cat’s levels and how it is reacting to the insulin before you shoot so you do not pass up your ideal dosage.

Thanks to everyone's help here I learned to home test 2 cats and they both got off insulin within 3 weeks with diet change…but of course, they reacting both DIFFERENTLY with the process. If I can do it with 2 cats twice a day (and more on curve days), ANYONE can do it. It does NOT hurt them as much as you think it does. It just stings for a moment and then it is gone, you can try it on yourself. Also, put pressure on the ear after poking and it should minimize the nub. They won't mind it once they start feeling better. I use the True Track meter (CVS or Walgreens brand) which I love. And, the strips are also reasonable. Also, remember to give them a treat after the test. Here is a link to a member videos on hometesting:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_zE12-4fVn8
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cZ6iXetR398

I would not feed DRY food if at all possible. Of course, it is better than nothing – you MUST get them to eat if you are giving insulin, but if there is any chance, get them off the dry. I took my guys off dry and within a month they were off insulin. Again, remember that switching from dry to wet can cause a drop in blood sugars, so you MUST reduce insulin at the same time to make sure you are not giving too much insulin. I truly believe also that I saved some of my many others from developing diabetes. I also saved so, so much money changing them all to regular canned cat food.
When Blackie and Jackie got diagnosed, I was afraid to start shots. The people on this board made me realize it was no big deal. (They went on PZI insulin around 3-25-06 and went off on 4-18-06! :) Please also realize that diet plays a BIG, BIG part in insulin needs. I switched my cats off dry food to all wet and I was never so happy. It was a challenge to try to regulate 2 cats at once.


Welcome to the Sugar Dance. flip_cat
Welcome to the Vampire Club.

If I can do it, ANYONE can!!!
It does get easier. Trust us.

You need to test BEFORE you shoot. It usually goes: Test, Feed, Shoot



There's a saying something like "better the sugar level is too high for a day than too low for a minute".
 
Hi again :)

Squeak was off insulin within a few months of diagnosed; this March it will be 7 years since he needed it :) I stick around in an attempt to pay it all forward...

Humulin N is becoming pretty old school as far as insulins for cats; there are many other options that are much more suited to cats, including lantus/glargine, PZI from Summit, and levemir. Your best tool is testing blood glucose levels at home like human diabetics do, otherwise you are guessing. Hopefully this link to info works http://www.felinediabetes.com/phorum5/r ... sg-1026927

Jen
 
I really appreciate all the help that several of you have given me so far!

Giving Pumpkin the insulin is no problem. He doesn't even seem to notice! I give myself a shot of a drug for Rheumatoid Arthritis weekly, so I was okay with giving him insulin. I know how an injection feels! He is eating fine.

It has been almost a week now (tomorrow) and already he is behaving so much more like himself. He is walking better and last night, he came for his usual play time. He and I usually played for 10 or 15 minutes in the evening. He has his favourite toys! That is the first time he has done that since all this started. He was even pushing his back legs against the toy!

I am still reading and learning and will continue to do so! I'll probably have lots more questions as we go along.

I trust these forums and will discuss lots of these things with my Vet. I belong to a Sleep Apnea forum (I have that as well). I went 5 years on my own with sleep apnea, since the Sleep Specialist has no time and the equipment providers only care about selling equipment! Two years ago I found the sleep apnea forum and things have been so much better!

People who have "been there" know probably more than the medical profession.

One of the Vets in my Vet's office has a cat with diabetes and she is dealing with Pumpkin now so at least she has some experience! :smile:
 
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