reassurance

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alexcassandria

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our cat, Fred was diagnosed about 1 mth. ago. i certainly became emotionally frust... felt terrible poking and poking,,,, didn't have him regulated by about the end of 2nd wk. my husband offered to take over, long story short, we are not very responsible Freds # s have been usually high when we do get them which has been haphazardly, been giving 2 & a half to 3 of insulin. :YMSIGH: rght now he is fair thee well, i am putting on my big girl pants & taking back control of the situation in fear that if i don't and even if i do Fred may have something damaged by now. our 9yr old daughter was diag. w/mono 2 & a half weeks ago. such is life, anyway i just went and gave Fred a half can of tuna as i read about the carbs, and dry food. our vet had sold me a bag of diabetic dry food??? i am wanting to jump on the> save this cat to the best of my (our) ability bus to my relief you's are all here when i got on...! i feel sooo ashamed and guilty for letting Freddie down he is an orange short hair tabby 6 yrs. old this mth. who needs to feel these feelings??? on top of all the critical times, hard to deal with. us pet owners, that's who. he is a member of this family and we are going to save him with your help & support. nice to meet you all...
 
I SO know how you feel. It is very overwhelming. This is the BEST place to be. Wonderful, knowlegable, helpful people here. I am new to this as well, so I cannot offer advice. I just wanted to say welcome and stay strong. I am trying to, also. Our furry kids have it so hard, they just can't tell us what's wrong and it is so so frustrating. Your love and perseverance will pay off soon. I am looking for that light at the end of that LONG dark tunnel too. I wish you all the best. I know how hard it is when it isn't just feline diabetes causing a crisis in your home but other things too, at the same time. I wish you comfort and peace in the journey.

Caesar's Mom
 
Well, good for you. I love it when the big girl pants go on! :mrgreen:

First, you need to start hometesting. (You mentioned you were poking but I am not sure whether that is shots or testing) Here is a shopping list, if you need it:

A human glucometer. Any one that sips and takes a tiny sample is fine. We do stay away from any meter with True in the name and the Freestyle meters. They have proven to be very unreliable and read lower than other meters. The meters are often free at drug stores; it’s the strips that are expensive. You can, however, buy them on ebay at less than half the price of stores. Lots of people here also like the ReliOn from Walmart. It is an inexpensive meter and its strips are the cheapest around. Try the meter out on yourself or someone else before you try it on your cat. You want to be familiar with it before you poke the cat.

Lancets and a lancet device. Usually, until the ears “learn” to bleed, a 26-28 gauge is good. Any brand will work as long as the lancets match your device.

Ketone strips. (Ketostix) Just like human diabetics use. You will sometimes need to test urine if the numbers are high.

Rice sack. Make this out of thinnish sock, filled with raw rice or oatmeal and then knotted. You heat this in the microwave until very warm but not hot. Then heat the ears before poking.

Also nice to have. Flashlight: so you can look at the ears and find the little capillaries that come off the vein running down the ear. Vaseline: Put a tiny smear where you want to poke. It will help the blood bead up.

And some lo carb treats to give your kitty, successful test or not Lo carb treats

Here is some good general info: Basic BG testing info


Don't change to all wet until you are testing consistently. Oliver went down 100 points overnight when we switched from dry to wet. If we had given our usual dose the next morning, he would have hypoed.

Give us more info so we can help. Type of insulin? Dose?
 
alexcassandria said:
our cat, Fred was diagnosed about 1 mth. ago. i certainly became emotionally frust... felt terrible poking and poking,,,, didn't have him regulated by about the end of 2nd wk. .
Click to expand...

In reality, almost no cat is regulated in a 2 week period. There are some who go off insulin very quickly with a diet change but for cats who remain on insulin, it can take quite a bit of time. There's really no deadline to get it right. Just concentrate on doing the best you can and making him feel as good as he can. Once you take that pressure off yourself, this will be much less frustrating--for both you and Fred.
 
You didn't mention what insulin he is on......Lantus is the best, Levemir is next. As for regulation.....you may get lucky hometesting, removing dry and using Lantus....but it doesn't happen overnight. Mishka has been diabetic for almost 9 years, long before Lantus was out there, and she is not regulated. She is well controlled for the moment.....every day is a new day but she is healthy, happy, eating well and enjoying life. FWIW, since learning to hometest back in '98 I have never, not even once, given a shot without testing first. Welcome to the club of cat lovers and please let us know what insulin Fred is on.
 
Your post broke my heart. Your cat is very lucky to have you.

One month is a very short period of time and with a sick child in the mix! You are doing fine. Please don't be so hard on yourself, but, yes, you will have to make the commitment to act as if your cat is child, and treat him for his diabetes as if he is a child who can't tell you what is going on. Remember, even though he may not understand this, just like a child, a pin prick is a far less damaging and painful thing than the ravages of uncontrolled diabetes, in the long run.

To make you feel better, cats are said to be very resilient when it comes to diabetes. It may take you quite a while to get it under control or it could be very quick, but cats in the wild are from the desert and sometimes don't eat for days and then gorge. Their bodies can take a lot of abuse, and I'm sure your cat will be just fine given your love for him.

Everyone has given you good advice, but I would like to add this: hydration is very important for a diabetic cat. They tend to get slightly dehydrated and over time this causes other medical problems. There are many tricks to getting a cat to get enough water.

1. Getting the cat off dry food - cats are not designed to eat dry food. They don't usually drink much water in the wild -- they get hydration from their food. Switching to dry food and starting insulin at the same time can be dangerous. One tactic is to do one or the other, start testing, and then start the other change (insulin or wet food) and watch carefully for how the insulin affects your cat. Given that you have started insulin, you may want to get some data on your spreadsheet for a week or so, and then switch the food. Other people here may have other suggestions for this issue.
2. Mixing water into the dry food. As much as the cat will allow you to mix it without refusing the food. Wet food isn't quite as wet as it should be when the cat eats it.
3. Getting a cat fountain. I have found that the cheaper ones make a horrible sound, and you want the fountain where you will notice when your cat drinks. So, getting a good one is important. Mine is a Petmate, and it's several years old. You can wash it in the dishwasher, but if it gets slimy you will need a baby bottle brush and a toothbrush to clean it. I put a tiny drop or two of bleach in the water to keep the slime content down.
4. Checking the poo. Fun! Fun! I check my cat's poo to see if it is too dry, but my cat has Chronic Renal Failure all ready from being dehydrated too long. You may not have to do this very long if you see no issues, but if you do notice it is dry, and you can't get the problem fixed, I would recommend a trip to vet for some tests. Your cat is rather young, so this is less likely to be an issue for you.

This is very, very important: Get your hypo kit ready: http://www.felinediabetes.com/FDMB/viewtopic.php?f=14&t=1122 and http://www.felinediabetes.com/FDMB/viewtopic.php?f=14&t=2354

Choose a good wet food: http://binkyspage.tripod.com/CanFoodNew.html By the way, this table is in the process of revision due to the fact that many pet food manufacturers have changed their formulas. Pumbaa's posts about the new food charts.

Post here what type of insulin you are using, what your cat's BG was a diagnosis and what is has been recently, and how many units you are giving and how often. You mentioned 2.5 to 3 units. Is that twice a day (bid)?

Finally, get a spreadsheet set up. Can someone help her find the link for this? Thanks you! I can't find it at the moment.


Good luck.
 
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