Rags, diagnosed 3/15/13 with diabetes

Status
Not open for further replies.
BJM

BJM

Member Since 2010
Re-posted from Tech Support. Please respond here. I will link her to this.

yo hon said:
My boy is 9 years old. At first I thought he had a urinary tract infection. He was treated with antibiotics. Then I thought he had hrperthyroidism. No, his blood sugar reading was 504 on Friday. My Vet wants him in Monday for two days of regulating his insulin. I told her he will not stay over night because no one is there. I have been crying all weekend and going on every site I can find to learn more about this. I have one BIG problem, as I'm sure a lot of people do. MONEY !!!! I live alone (not alone, I have five cats). But no one that can help me financially. I didn't have any idea how much all of this is going to cost. I am on a fixed income and it ALL goes out the day it is put in my bank. I already owe Care Credit $5400.00. I had nine cats until two years ago. My old vet killed three of my cats. One went in to have her teeth cleaned, she had heart problems and was to have special medicine when she had surgery. Not only did they not have her medicine but they let a girl in the office that wanted to be a tech do it. She hurt my Little Mo's throat so bad when she put the tube down. They all lied to me and the Doctor said she had cancer. NO SHE DID NOT HAVE CANCER !!!! Her throat was all cut up and she couldn't swallow her food. My Sweet Pea had cardiomyopathy, when she came home so sick he wouldn't have anything to do with her. They were VERY close, he took care of her, bathing her etc. Now his chest filled up with fluid because he was so stressed. I HATE my self for what happened to them and my Honey Bun. I will NEVER get over it. I will NOT euthanize my Rags because of his illness. I just don't know how I I'll pay for all his needs. I found some financial aid sites, but do to the economy, they are not getting donations so they can't help with ongoing illnesses. My Vet is giving me a couple of boxes of syringes that someone brought in to her. She also said she would give me a case of canned Royal Canine food. I understand that is high in carbs., and he probably won't even eat it. Then there are all the supplies, gllucometer, lancets, strips, insulin, urine strips, honey, corn syrup, and special food. I have NO IDEA how I will pay for any of this. I get $16.00 a month in food stamps, only eat once a day. The honest truth !!! Any one have any suggestions ??? Or where and what to buy ? I'm stuck, and I DON'T want Rags to die !!! Yo Hon
Click to expand...
 
Let's get you started with good diet change. A low carb canned or raw diet may be fed without buying a prescription diet from the vet. Pop over to Cat Info for more information.

Home testing is next. You will need an inexpensive human glucometer (ex WalMart ReliOn Confirm aka Arkray Glucocard 01), lancets (26 gauge), and test strips for the meter.

Also, urine ketone testing is vital. Ketones are a by-product of fat breakdown. High levels of ketones suggest diabetic ketoacidosis (DKA), a potentially fatal, expensive to treat, complication of diabetes. See my signature link Secondary Monitoring Tools for tactics to do this.

It is critical for you to know that untreated diabetes is like starving to death. Please check with Diabetic Cats In Need (DCIN) to see if they can help. If no resources can be found to help you, you have 2 humane choices: rehoming the cat with someone who can treat her or euthanasia.
 
I just posted a long reply, and it went away. I am NOT computer savay. My name is Becki Orr, I Live in Vineland, New Jersey. Yes I do have transportation, but I have NO money. That is my dilema. I have two Care Credit Cards maxed out to the tune of $5400.00. I pay $200.00/month and my balance keeps getting higher instead of lower. I had nine cats, two sick, heart problems and the other with cardiomyopathy. My girl. Freeway will be 17 on April 01 and she had kidney disease. She no longer has it, thank God !!! Diet worked. Rags, I am NOT willing to put him to sleep. I just have NO idea where all the money is coming from to take care of him. My landlord wants to move back into my house, so now I have to move some how. I can't even save money for rent or to buy a house. I am too old to be moving and I told them 12 years ago I was gonna die here because I didn't want to ever have to move again. Now my kids will have to go throught that stress. My kids are my world, they give me a reason to get up every morning. I got my girl, Freeway when my parents passed away. She was the only cat I had when I moved here. Unfortuneatly these people that live all around me will not take care of their cats. They think if you feed them they won't mouse and the old man across the street was drowning six week old kittens right in front of their mother. She carried five kittens across the street to me. I took them back five times. I didn't know what he had done. The last time she only brought three, she took the other two to another neighbor because she thought I didn't want five kittens. I did go look for the other two but couldn't find them. Found out two years later what she did. She had a litter of nine here and seven made it. I had her spayed and someone killed her four months later. It just broke my heart cause she was a VERY good mother. Cats would get hit by a car and I would get them and call their owners to take them to the Vets and they refused to, so I did. They will not even spay or nueter any of them and they all have money. That's how I ended up with so many cats and in debt so bad. My vet bills are due to all their cats and they wouldn't even re-imburse me for vet bills. I will continue to find site for financial aide, but I don't think they will be able to help beacause of the Economy and no one making donatkions. So, if anyone has any suggestions for me I would REALLY appreciate it. Thank you for all the responses that I have received and for gettng me in the right place. I didn't know where to post so I did Tech Support. Again, THANK YOU ALL !!!!
 
Hi Becki, I am new at this too. My cat Jupiter was just diagnosed on 3/14/13. Please tell me you have switched vets since you last had problems with your other cats? Try to avoid having your cat keep going to the vet. That will save you a lot of money. There are so many people here that can help you. In the long run, home-testing will be much much cheaper. I was really scared to test Jupiter, but I tested him today for the first time. 2 ladies that I have never met before today, came here to help me (I met them on this site!!). What a blessing that was for me. They were so nice and helpful and taught me how to do the testing. Testing him really wasnt too bad, it was really easy. I was scared of hurting him, so I tried it on myself to see if it hurt - after doing it and seeing that it didnt hurt I didnt feel so bad testing Jupiter. Its quick and painless and its better then having him deal with all the anxiety of going to the vet. Before you buy the insulin - call around to all your local pharmacies and tell them you need a price-check. Also make sure you ask them if they do any "cash discounts" or discounts for pets. I was surprised when I learned a pharmacy near where I live gave these discounts. Even if its only $10 off - its still something - and that $10 can then be used for lancets or test strips. I know everything is overwhelming, I still feel a little stressed out but I know things will get easier. Just since Thursday things are already starting to get easier and a little less overwhelming. If you need any help or have any questions always post them and dont be afraid to ask - I have come to learn that sooo many members here are so willing to help and explain things. I was even so lucky to have a member call me while I was at walmart to help me pick out the right items for testing!!
 
Welcome to the board! Don't panic though, we can help.. I agree with everyone's advice

1. Switch the food to a low carb canned like fancy feast classic pâtés, friskies pâtés
2. Contact DCIN like BJ said and see if they can help with supplies and meter etc
3. Start home testing, it will keep rags safe and it will save you money long term. you don't need the vet to do curves, you can do it yourself. You only need him to prescribe insulin .. Lantus and levemir are popular here since they offer a good chance of remission

Wendy
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top