Rags, newly diagnosed...Vineland, NJ......could use help

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yo hon

Member Since 2013
I really have a hard time finding a place to ask my questions. I hope this is right place. my boy was diagnosed on the 15th with diabetes. The doctor that he is going to says I have to buy diabetic food for him. I thought there were other foods, like Fancy Feast patae that he could eat. Does anyone know of any other canned food that he can eat? he does like the Fancy Feast. He will not eat the diabetic food. I'm having a very hard time giving him his insulin shots. He has very very long gray hair, and I keep putting the needle on the other side of his hair. Just having a very hard time with this. Also he runs away from me every morning because he thinks he's going to go to the doctors. So I'm having a hard time trying to change his insulin times. The doctor says I only have to check his blood once in the morning before insulin. I think I should check it more often because he is newly diagnosed. He would not eat any food today and his blood sugar was 595 at 130 pm I gave him his shot at 7:30 a.m.also I don't have money to buy lancets and I only have 3 left. I had to borrow a glucometer, and my friend is buying the insulin the kayo syrup. my vet did give me a case of food. My vet also gave me a box of syringes.I won't get my check until the third of the month so I can't buy anything now or then.I really need to find a food that he will eat, because he is a very very different cat. I've had a total of 23 cats that I have taken care of and none of them were like him. His ways are very very different, he doesn't like it if you talk loud he will leave the room, he urinates wherever he wants to, usually my living room. I have six litter boxes, upstairs and downstairs. I showed him how to use the litter box. Sometimes he will and sometimes he WON'T. ! I made the HUGE mistake and put catnip, sprinkled on top of the litter in his box, NOT !!!!! NOW when I put catnip down for my other kids, yes, he urinates on it right away. He fights with all my kids. I tried feliway for three months. It did ABSOLUTELY nothing for any of them !!!! Anyhow, I am soooooo frustrated with this whole diabetes thing. The Vet that I specifically asked for when I called to make Rags appt., diagnosed him but didn't tell me that she wouldn't be there Monday or Tuesday when I brought him in to regulate his insulin. So Rags is now seeing the Doctor that owns the place who is VERY old school. The reason I asked for her is because she is up to date with everything. She goes to all the seminars and she helped me to reverse my girl, Freeway when she had kidney disease. I am very angry about that whole situation, because now HE is taking care of my Rags. Does anyone have any help for me ??? Also, the Doc said he can only eat one quarter of a can of food in the a.m. and p.m. and a half a can in between. That' it !!! He was 16 Lbs., now. /13 lbs. Yes I know he was over weight, but he also is a BIG boy. I really love him and want to do good by him, ya know ???
 
Re: Rags, newly diagnosed.

Rags is having a VERY difficult time with his blood taking, insulin and then eating. He is a VERY stressed out cat all the time and this isn't helping at all. Wednesday I had to be at work by 8:30 a.m. I took his blood at 7:30 a.m , that's when he would let me catch him. His sugar was 239, the Doc told me to jump up his insulin by one unit (6 units) When I left for work, he would NOT eat. He was hiding under my bed so I put his food, water bowl and litter box in my bedroom , told him it was there and shut the door so my other four cats wouldn't bother him. When I got home at 1:15 p.m. he had not moved from under the bed, ate nothing. The Doc told me to take his blood, I did it was 524, I took it again at 7:10 and it was505, he said give six units, I gave him some ff tuna patae he ate very little, then hid in the basement. Today I got up at 6:00 a.m. cause I wanted to change his insulin time so he could eat with the rest of my kids at 6:00 p.m. He ran in the basement. At 7:00 a.m I went down and got him, took his glucose and it was 426, Doc said up his insulin to 7 units, I did, he would not eat at all and ran in the basement. I called the Doc, got a different one ( the one that I really wanted to take care of him from the beginning) She told me to take his blood, I did and it was35 at 1:00 p.m. I ran him up from the basement, got food and Karo syrup ready and called the Vet. The girl that answered the phone said they were all out to lunch and she didn't know what to tell me. I got VERY mad, I said don't they have cell phones or beepers ? His sugar is 35 and if anything happens to him I will hold you responsible, now call her and hung up. She called me back and said to put honey on his gums and make him eat which I had already started to do. She said the Doc said hold his insulin tonight and give him 5 units in a-m and keep him on five units. I asked what if his sugar gets high, she couldn't give me an answer. I think the Doc should have been the one to call me not the girl answering the phone who knows NOTHING !!! Now I have an "old school" Doctor telling me what to do and a young Doc that keeps up on everything telling me different things to do and I don't know what to do, or who to listen to. No one will listen to what I have to say OR answer my questions. Rags came up from the basement at 6:30p.m. to eat. He ate a bowl of ff chicken/liver and two bowls of ff beef. He also ate some Royal food dry that the Doc sent to me. ( carbs). I have to work tomorrow and I know Rags will hide from me in the morning. I don't think I'll even be able to get his blood or give inj. He found a VERY good hiding place in the basement that I looked for all afternoon and can't find. I just cannot find him, I looked high and low, there are no other places he can hide. I guess I'm going to have to call of work because I'm afraid of another low sugar. My old Vet calls ff cocaine for kittens. I told him the values were MUCH better in that food than in the diabetic food he gave me and there were NO carbs in it. Can anyone PLEASE help me as I do not know what to do. Thanks for reading, I DO appreciate all you do to help me !!! Yo Hon
 
Re: Rags, newly diagnosed.

First, did you see our other posts? You have two threads going at once..

http://felinediabetes.com/FDMB/viewtopic.php?f=28&t=91415&p=979975#p979975

Second, how is he doing now? Did you find him?

I am not happy with your vet either, too many increases too soon. Recommended you shooting when he isnt eating. Not enough data to merit those increases.... and his dose is really high!! All bad. You are lucky he is still alive! I would start looking for another vet.

What weight would you say is his ideal weight? We can start again and recommend a nice safe starting dose based on that.
We also need to know what kind of insulin it is? Lantus? Humalin? What?

Wendy

,
 
Re: Rags, newly diagnosed.

Just wanted to say that the fact that you are asking questions and are concerned about the instructions the vets are giving you is a big step forward.
Lots of us had to choose between our vet instructions or our new friends on this board.

Although its upsetting when the bg is high and obviously you are doing all of this to try to lower it, avoiding a hypo is even more important.
The 35 is obviously way too low but you knew what to do with the syrup/karo and may well have saved Rags' life :thumbup

Wendy has asked for help on the main board and I'm sure someone will be over with dosing advice - most probably to lower the dose and to hold it steady for longer to see if Rags settles in to it.

Food is important - he has to eat and obviously enjoyed the Fancy Feast when he calmed down - stick with that. The vet may call FF 'cocaine for cats' but most people here think DM wet is overpriced and with no better ingredients and any dry is bad.

Everyone here lives & breathes cats - there's always someone here for you & Rats :-D
 
Re: Rags, being very stressed and hiding.

I am not computer Savay as you have probably noticed. I don't know what you mean about two different threads, HELP ! MY boy now weights 13. Lbs. He was 16 lbs. Before this all started. He is a BIG boy and I think he is too thin at 13 lbs., but too much at 16 lbs. If that makes any sense. I am so confused right now and soooo scared. My boy ran down in my basement this morning when it was time to eat. I have been looking for him since 6:30 a.m. and cannot find him anywhere. I took all boxes apart, looked in the ceiling everywhere, I CANNOT find him. He is a VERY stressed out cat to begin with. I just called my Vet because I am supposed to be at work by 9:00 a.m. Of course, I am not going. My Vet told me to rehome him to someone who can take care of him. Well I CAN TAKE CARE of him, he just will NOT cooperate with me cause he' s stressed. OMG, he just came up stairs, it's 9:08. Took his blood ( have to stick his ear too many times to get a good sample even tho I milk it. ). I feel so bad for him. He then ran, I got him to his food bowl to eat and stuck him while he was eating. 5units, I hope that is OK. That's what the Vet told me to stay on yesterday. Novulin. He ate half a bowl and went out, he'll be back in fast. Guess I can go to work now. He'll be OK won't he ??? I'll check his blood when I get home at 1:30. I take this tablet to work with me, so if you have any suggestions I'll see them. AND. Would Appreciate ALL the help anyone can give me cause I do not trust my Vet !!!! I can't change Vets because I do not have any money. But I will listen to what you tell me to do !!!!! Thank you so much to all of you that have written back to me. I REALLY do appreciate all your feedback. Yo Hon
 
Re: Rags, being very stressed and hiding.

yo hon said:
I am not computer Savay as you have probably noticed. I don't know what you mean about two different threads, HELP ! MY boy now weights 13. Lbs. He was 16 lbs. Before this all started. He is a BIG boy and I think he is too thin at 13 lbs., but too much at 16 lbs. If that makes any sense. I am so confused right now and soooo scared. My boy ran down in my basement this morning when it was time to eat. I have been looking for him since 6:30 a.m. and cannot find him anywhere. I took all boxes apart, looked in the ceiling everywhere, I CANNOT find him. He is a VERY stressed out cat to begin with. I just called my Vet because I am supposed to be at work by 9:00 a.m. Of course, I am not going. My Vet told me to rehome him to someone who can take care of him. Well I CAN TAKE CARE of him, he just will NOT cooperate with me cause he' s stressed. OMG, he just came up stairs, it's 9:08. Took his blood ( have to stick his ear too many times to get a good sample even tho I milk it. ). I feel so bad for him. He then ran, I got him to his food bowl to eat and stuck him while he was eating. 5units, I hope that is OK. That's what the Vet told me to stay on yesterday. Novulin. He ate half a bowl and went out, he'll be back in fast. Guess I can go to work now. He'll be OK won't he ??? I'll check his blood when I get home at 1:30. I take this tablet to work with me, so if you have any suggestions I'll see them. AND. Would Appreciate ALL the help anyone can give me cause I do not trust my Vet !!!! I can't change Vets because I do not have any money. But I will listen to what you tell me to do !!!!! Thank you so much to all of you that have written back to me. I REALLY do appreciate all your feedback. Yo Hon
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First, I am sending you hugs because you are dealing with so much... and let me say I think you are doing a great job handling it.

I do think your vet is giving you questionable advice, but will let the more experienced people on this board (and there are many) help you work out a different plan for him. If your cat likes the FF I have a big box of FF classic chicken (the pate style) which is low carb that I would be happy to send you. My sugar kitty prefers other flavors so it's just sitting here unused.
 
Thank you so much for the hugs and confidence, but believe me, I AM A BASKET CASE. !!! All I do is cry and I can't stop. I just get soooo frustrated with all this and then these so called Doc's that think I'm a big pain in the ass because I have questions and concerns. They just don't have time to even talk to me. They have one of the girls at the desk who know nothing call me. How high do I let his sugar get before increasing the dose, which I REALLY do not want to do ???? When can he eat ? Anytime or just insulin times ?? Is five units too high to maintain him? That's what the second Doc said, to keep him on FIVE UNITS. The first Doc gave me a sheet with blood levels and when to increase the dose. I don't know if I even want to listen to them anymore !!! Yes, I will gladly accept the food, Rags likes the chicken and beef. I won't be able to send you shipping costs until after the 3rd of the month. Please let me know how much it will cost. I have NO ONE to talk to, no family, no one, just my five kids and I'm driving them crazy. Crying all the time. I love them all soooooooooo much. !!!!!!!!! Also, how many times should I do his blood stick ??? His poor ears must be killing him by now. The Doc says once in the a.m. Again, I thank you all so very much for helping and being nice to me !!!! Yo Hon
 
By threads we mean that you posted the same thing two different times - so you now have to look in two places in order to get all your answers, instead of just one place.

If you click on this: viewtopic.php?f=28&t=91415

You will see the second post you made.

You received good information in the other post.

Let me summarize for you:

1) you do NOT need to use prescription food. You can use Fancy Feast - just only give the classics type - which is pate style - do not give, gravy, or sliced, diced, etc. As those are high in carbs.

2) You can ask for a meter here: viewtopic.php?f=28&t=60261

As well as contact DCIN - http://fdmb-cin.blogspot.com/p/education.html

They may be able to help you.

You can also go to Walmart and buy a meter and strips inexpensively. In addition, you can purchase insulin syringes at Walmart for $13/box of 100 - you will need a prescription from the vet.

3) Home testing is important and we can help to teach you how to do it.

4) You can or you may want to ask the vet to shave an area so that you can insert the insulin syringe and see where you are doing it. It is not difficult if you want to shave a little area to make it easier for you.

Could you tell us what insulin you are using? We may have some cost saving ideas with that as well. And how much you are using.

We will do all we can to help you help your kitty.

Yes - 5 units is way too high a starting dose! We highly recommend a start low go slow approach - which means starting at 1 unit or even 1/2 unit of insulin two times a day - in 12 hour increments.

By feeding low carb food - Fancy Feast classics for example his levels may decrease and giving 5 units could put him in a dangerous situation.

As you are in charge of what you do or do not do, not the vet, I HIGHLY recommend that you start over at 1 unit every 12 hours and learn how to test.

One thing you have not told us - what insulin are you using?
 
Take a deep breath!
You can post & talk on this site any time, day or night. Most of the time you'll get a response pretty quick and no one will criticize you for talking about your kitty - we love talking about kitties :-D

Everyone starts as a basket case and then it gets better.

High bg is a concern - it can lead to other medical problems. But now you are working to correct that so things are looking up for Rags.

I believe Rags is on 5units of Novulin - its not an insulin I've ever used but it does seem a high dose.
Take Hillary's advice on the dose.

Don't worry about his ears - he will get used to it and so will you and eventually he won't even notice you're doing it.
Make sure you give him a treat afterwards - just like with kids, it takes away all the discomfort!
You need to test before you give him a shot to make sure its safe to give - that's the priority!
Its also good to get a mid-cycle test to see how low his numbers are going.

He can eat anytime except 2 hours before you test otherwise you will get a food-influenced reading. As he's unregulated, he's going to be hungry - he will need extra food for a while.
Honey went from 4 cans Fancy Feast per day to a little under 2.
 
You need to start with only 1u insulin. For cats it is not based on how high the BG is or how heavy the cat is (dogs, yes, cats, no). Humulin is not the best insulin out there but they like it because it is cheaper than the better ones. It is a fast acting insulin that drops a cat fast- which is why you have them eat before you shoot- and is out of the body in 6-8 hours leaving the cats BG to rise for the next 4-6 hours so don't expect any low PS tests until you dose every 8 hours- and some have been successful at it. I would change insulins when you can.

If you've only just started insulin drop it to 1u twice a day. Rags is plain miserable as his sugars are going so low then shooting up so high. Plus all this is new to him so he doesn't like it anyway.

To stop Rags from hiding... get him to associate testing with treats. This might take some time to do. But always test him before a shot and try to get mid-cycle shots in as well. It might take a few weeks- it took Sneakers a week for her to figure out that we were testing, no matter what she thought about it, frequently. Associate with treats or a meal. And you test him as often as you can. I test about 5 times a day right now- a 24 hour day, not sun up to sun down . With Humulin you want to test early- like +2, +3, and +4 after his shot, while later testing- +6, +8, +10 would let you know how long the insulin lasts in his body. It just depends on when you can do it.

There are many people who have vet problems as vets tend to believe they are the end-all and be-all of vetinary care and there word is golden. Golden poop maybe- but poop is poop no matter what the color. As the old vet hasn't yet felt the need to learn about FD from his old school days that can make him very deadly so I would disregard anything he says pertaining to FD for the time being.

Just calm down and breath slowly- you have the links to the food list, start weening the group off the dry and you won't have so much litter box changing to do and other problems hopefully should clear up too.
 
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