Update: New Meter & Food Questions

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Misty2007

Misty2007

Member Since 2018
For Misty's meter, I was recommended and bought the Reli On Micro. Does anyone else use this? I bought the 50 ea strips to go with it. I hope I am not making mistakes! Of course, I am still new so everything is a bit unpredictable. Also I am wondering how much I should be feeding my cat. I see my vet on the 2nd and could probably call them on Monday.
 

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Hi! I use this meter actually, so I'm in your ally! You're not making a mistake at ALL, no worries!

Can you tell us about your baby Misty, how much she weighs, or used to, before the vet and her diagnosis if she's lost weight?

Most diabetic cats NEED water and food, as much as they can handle - so feed, feed, feed - especially if there's weight loss involved. Wet food is best, we do Friskies/Fancy Feast mainly around here but there's TONS of other brands - but add extra water to each and every meal. Mini meals are best, 3-4 times a day, as the pancreas which is supposed to make the insulin heals up. If you need any help, just let us know - we're here! :bighug:

PS - don't forget to get ketone test strips, for urine testing.
 
Candy&Company said:
Hi! I use this meter actually, so I'm in your ally! You're not making a mistake at ALL, no worries!

Can you tell us about your baby Misty, how much she weighs, or used to, before the vet and her diagnosis if she's lost weight?

Most diabetic cats NEED water and food, as much as they can handle - so feed, feed, feed - especially if there's weight loss involved. Wet food is best, we do Friskies/Fancy Feast mainly around here but there's TONS of other brands - but add extra water to each and every meal. Mini meals are best, 3-4 times a day, as the pancreas which is supposed to make the insulin heals up. If you need any help, just let us know - we're here! :bighug:

PS - don't forget to get ketone test strips, for urine testing.
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Hello!
Misty weighs 9 pounds. She was down two pounds when I went to the vet last. I was told to feed twice a day? Since I don't know how much to feed I am hesitant to feed her mini meals as I am not around enough. I am going to stick to the DM wet food until her next visit. The can is 5.5 oz and I am feeding her half and half (morning/evening). I want to trust my vet, but there is so much information and advice that I don't know what to do. I would like to switch her to a cheaper food eventually.
 
Hi back!

Oooh..... no..... hm.

Okay so I know you trust your vet, but... here's the thing. Most vets don't know alot about feline diabetes. My vet for instance, gave me Hilla i/d which is 24% carbs but told me emphatically "get Fena on a wet food diet under 10% carbs" - weird huh?

So! Here's some more questions:

1.) Was Misty overweight at 11 lbs, or good weight..?

2.) DM food is for gout, inflammation and diabetes but I have bad news, it's WAY high in carbs - it's NOT a good food for diabetic. Is that the only reason the vet recommended it? Honestly, there's no reason to stick with RX vet food, there really isn't. There's a ton of brands on the market that do the same or better, for cheaper.

3.) What's her insulin brand, and how much per 12 hours...? This is very important, some insulins are fast acting and some are slower, gentler.

4.) If you're not home a lot, you can think about getting an auto feeder - the PetSmart5 is a good one!

5.) For a 9lb cat, how active is your baby? Mainly sedentary, runs around a lot, etc? Usually it's 1oz per pound, but it depends. Only 5.5oz food is NOT enough - is there any way you can squeeze in, with an auto feeder like I mentioned, another 3+ oz...? An auto feeder, if you have 1 cat, you can set multiple feedings if necessary - it runs on power and when the "time" is right, it uncovers a segment of food you provided for them. You can also keep it cold via ice cubes, etc. under the tray depending on the model.

6.) Any other health issues for Misty...?
 
Chris & China said:
LOTS of us do, but we just found out tonight that WalMart is discontinuing both the meter and the strips, so if you can find strips, get as many as you can!!

http://www.felinediabetes.com/FDMB/...elion-confirm-and-micro-meters-strips.205164/
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Yeah my crazy butt is catching a taxi to Walmart, AGAIN, to try to and buy them out if at all possible - I hate this. Do you know if this is the end, or are there alternatives..? I just can't believe this... I spent so much money already, ugh. Can there be a thread about this, maybe...?
 
Chris & China said:
We're looking into it. DCIN sends all their clients this meter so we're going to have to find another one that's comparable
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God, did they ever give out a statement to say WHY?! I wish I'd known this... I feel horrible now, spending this money on something that's crapping out. *sigh* What should we move TO...? Prime...? Or...?
 
What strip do I get the 50 or the 100?
Candy&Company said:
Hi back!

Oooh..... no..... hm.

Okay so I know you trust your vet, but... here's the thing. Most vets don't know alot about feline diabetes. My vet for instance, gave me Hilla i/d which is 24% carbs but told me emphatically "get Fena on a wet food diet under 10% carbs" - weird huh?

So! Here's some more questions:

1.) Was Misty overweight at 11 lbs, or good weight..?

2.) DM food is for gout, inflammation and diabetes but I have bad news, it's WAY high in carbs - it's NOT a good food for diabetic. Is that the only reason the vet recommended it? Honestly, there's no reason to stick with RX vet food, there really isn't. There's a ton of brands on the market that do the same or better, for cheaper.

3.) What's her insulin brand, and how much per 12 hours...? This is very important, some insulins are fast acting and some are slower, gentler.

4.) If you're not home a lot, you can think about getting an auto feeder - the PetSmart5 is a good one!

5.) For a 9lb cat, how active is your baby? Mainly sedentary, runs around a lot, etc? Usually it's 1oz per pound, but it depends. Only 5.5oz food is NOT enough - is there any way you can squeeze in, with an auto feeder like I mentioned, another 3+ oz...? An auto feeder, if you have 1 cat, you can set multiple feedings if necessary - it runs on power and when the "time" is right, it uncovers a segment of food you provided for them. You can also keep it cold via ice cubes, etc. under the tray depending on the model.

6.) Any other health issues for Misty...?
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1) Yes she was overweight.

2) I just want to keep her on it until she visits the vet again or I talk to them about the carb level in Fancy Feast.

3) Her insulin brand is Vetsulin, and she gets 1 unit twice a day.

4) Will save up for one.

5) I have been trying to play with her more often. She is not that active.
 
Misty2007 said:
What strip do I get the 50 or the 100?


1) Yes she was overweight.

-----Okay in a way this is.. kind of good? Is her 9lbss her ideal then, or..?

2) I just want to keep her on it until she visits the vet again or I talk to them about the carb level in Fancy Feast.

-----Fancy Feast pates are under 10% carbs, if you check out Dr. Lisa's chart - when you click on the main forum for health, it's at the top - you'll see Dr. Lisa's post right up top, and a bright blue link, click that and you can search her chart, etc.

3) Her insulin brand is Vetsulin, and she gets 1 unit twice a day.

-----Vetsulin is VERY fast acting, it hits hard and fast with some cats, it's not at all gentle so when you shoot it (give the shot) you want to make sure your baby ate enough food to support it, the more the better! Have you checked out the insulin-specific forum for this..? It helps A LOT. http://www.felinediabetes.com/FDMB/forums/caninsulin-vetsulin-and-n-nph.19/ that's the link for your insulin type - it'll help!!

4) Will save up for one.

----Oh an autofeeder is only about $50, plus shipping, not tootoo expensive, no worries!

5) I have been trying to play with her more often. She is not that active.

-----Okay so no constipation, renal issues allergies, etc...? That's good!
Click to expand...
 
Chris & China said:
We're looking into different meters. When I have a suggestion, I'll post it!



If you mean the Confirm/Micro strips, get as many as you can afford. You WILL use them
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Yeah, definitely but when I bought my supplies they were already severely limited so it was a miracle. There were 2 boxes of 100 strips and 3 boxes of 50, that's it. I got the 2 100 but I kicked myself for not cleaning them out. I hate doing that, but... I'll see.
 
I just grabbed another 200 strips from Amazon for $124.. hopefully I can snag more, in the future. Checking out your link now, thanks so much!
 

Is the feeder for wet food? I am on disability so $50 can be a lot.
I will have to ask if the vet thinks she is under or over right now.
My next appointment is not too far away, and I am not comfortable switching the food now, eh.
I will be doing so much reading tomorrow! :)
 
Misty2007 said:
Is the feeder for wet food? I am on disability so $50 can be a lot.
I will have to ask if the vet thinks she is under or over right now.
My next appointment is not too far away, and I am not comfortable switching the food now, eh.
I will be doing so much reading tomorrow! :)
Click to expand...

It can be for wet, or dry and believe me I know about government funds from my Mom. *soft smile*

But if you can save up, it IS worth it, so much... and I understand about the food, but it IS high carb and it IS much more expensive than our suggested food - just wanted to state that, before saying, if you need further help just let us know. :)
 
Candy&Company said:
It can be for wet, or dry and believe me I know about government funds from my Mom. *soft smile*

But if you can save up, it IS worth it, so much... and I understand about the food, but it IS high carb and it IS much more expensive than our suggested food - just wanted to state that, before saying, if you need further help just let us know. :)
Click to expand...
Candy&Company said:
It can be for wet, or dry and believe me I know about government funds from my Mom. *soft smile*

Oh I will definitely switch foods after the visit. I bought a case of Fancy Feast Classic. I have some questions that I want to ask before I do. I will save up for it for sure! Thank you for your help so far! I am sure that I will have more soon.
Click to expand...
 
I was advised to get the 26 or 28 gauge lancets starting out. (Alternative site lancets.) It's easier to get that drop of blood at first. The larger the gauge number of lancet, the finer it is. Crazy, I know. It's up to you to decide if you want to use a lancing device or not. The device didn't work for us, I just do it manually so I can see where the pointy end is going. I didn't want to hit the vein and wanted in that sweet spot. It took patience and practice, the more you test, the more capillaries develop and the ears bleed easier. I had to remember to poke at an angle also,that seemed to work better. Treats for Misty, even before if needed, always after even if not successful. Treats for you too.
 
I've gotten some of the smaller lancets to work for me, 10 came with my Micro meter - once I held it by hand, and I eyeballed my target area, I did it QUICK - instead of 1-2 pokes with a bigger gauge like 26-28, with a 30-33 I did 3-4 pokes rapid, tight together and mostly, it worked! It is harder, but the extra 1-2 pokes made the difference. But I will say, doing that, I had to make sure my thumbnail was CLEAN and collect it on that.
 
I use the Relion Micro as well and will be stocking up on strips. The 26 gauge lancets without the lancing pen have worked well for me. It's just easier to free-hand it with Coco and I can see exactly what I'm hitting. And I second what Lou says - treats all around!
 
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