We just got our diagnosis *updated with current progress*

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StokLor

Member Since 2013
Hi! I'm Lori, and my sweet "sugar" kitty is Thurmond. We just got our diabetes diagnosis today after I noticed that he was having weakness in his back legs for a few weeks. I kept thinking that he pulled a muscle or something until I finally did some Google research yesterday. I'm a little overwhelmed at the moment, but I know it's manageable. My vet wants to get him started on insulin immediately, which is fine with me, but I want to switch his food before we start the insulin. We've been feeding him dry food for years (I had no idea it was bad for him :sad:), so I'll need to switch him to wet food. He's also been a free-feeder so the transition is going to be tough. He's always been insistent on having a full bowl of food, so I may have some long nights in my future of him harassing me for more food.

My questions for you guys:
--How long should I have him on the new food before we start insulin? I'm currently scheduled to take him in on Monday for them to give him his first dose of insulin and monitor him for the day, but I'm willing to change that around if necessary.
--Any suggestions for making the transition from free-feeding to set meal times any easier?
--Should I start monitoring his blood sugar before we start doing the insulin just to see if the food change is helping?

I also briefly saw a blog post or something about a vitamin that can help them recover from the neuropathy a little quicker, do you guys have any insight on that?

I'm fortunate that I have a decent background with diabetes through nursing school (I'll be an RN by summer), but it's a bit different when the patient is a cat that can't tell you if he's cool and clammy or hot and dry.
 
Re: We just got our diagnosis

I think it's best to get him on a small amount of insulin and do frequent blood sugar test/curves for the first couple of months until his sugar is stabilized.

I don't think there is anything wrong with free feeding as long as it's the right healthy foods for the cat. It is harder with wet food because it will dry out but you can add some water to keep it moist. My cat lived off dry for 8 years and I switched him to 100% Fancy Feast classic and within a month I was able to back him down to 1/2 unit of insulin once a day and he was 100-200 blood sugar all day. Recently I have added back some low carb, grain free dry food due to necessity but I can tell you even with that his blood sugar hits the 300s at some points during the day now. So bottom line is he was pretty well maintained just by changing his diet
 
Re: We just got our diagnosis

Hello and welcome to FDMB,

First off, please don't beat yourself up about the fact that you've been feeding your cat dry food. A lot of us here were doing exactly that...until our cats were diagnosed with diabetes... :roll:

If your cat is used to being free-fed you can carry on doing that. There's no reason to change that. And newly diagnosed diabetic cats are often ravenous, so it's OK at this stage to let him eat what he wants. His appetite should decrease naturally as his blood sugar levels get more under control.

Some cats are easier to transition to wet food than other. Some love the new wet food. Some take a little more time to get used to it. Once out of the system it may take a few days to fully see the effect of that on your cat's blood glucose. But if you could switch to low carb wet/canned before starting on insulin that would brilliant.

As for hometesting, yes it would great if you could start that ASAP. Starting that now would give you a lot of information about what your cat's blood glucose levels are currently, and you will be able to see the effect of phasing out the dry food.

The vitamin that helps with neuropathy is methly B12 (methlycobalamin). It is sold under the brand name 'Zobaline', but can also be bought in capsules. It can make a huge difference to the rate at which neuropathy resolves.

A diagnosis of feline diabetes can be really overwhelming at first. But everyone here has been where you are now. And I have a feeling you're going to do just fine!
 
Re: We just got our diagnosis

It is easier to switch food before starting insulin. Go to Cat Info for a pdf to print out of nutritional values for many common foods and select those with 10% or fewer calories from carbohydrates for regular feeding, plus a few cans of high carb food in case tor a hypoglycemic event.

For insulin, you want Lantus, Levemir, ProZinc (in the US). Do not accept Humulin or Novolog N; they only last about 8 hours in the cat and you'd need to be testing and injecting every 8 hours.

For U-100 syringes (Lantus, Levemir), get 3/10 cc, half-unit marked, short needle, 30-31 gauge.

For blood-testing, use an inexpensive human glucometer such as the Walmart ReliOn Prime or Confirm, which are branded versions of the Arkray meters available through ADW, our shopping partner at the link above. Initially, use 26-27 gauge lancets for pricking the ear. As you get experience and as the ear develops more capillaries, you may be able to use a thinner lancet.
 
Re: We just got our diagnosis

Welcome to the board, Lori and Thurmond (love that name!). :YMHUG:

StokLor said:
--How long should I have him on the new food before we start insulin? I'm currently scheduled to take him in on Monday for them to give him his first dose of insulin and monitor him for the day, but I'm willing to change that around if necessary.
Click to expand...

Just wanted to jump in really quick and say that if you start home testing, there's no need for the vet to monitor him all day. Besides, at the vet, his numbers will most likely be elevated due to stress, resulting in a dose that might be too high for him when he's at home.
 
Re: We just got our diagnosis

BJM said:
It is easier to switch food before starting insulin. Go to Cat Info for a pdf to print out of nutritional values for many common foods and select those with 10% or fewer calories from carbohydrates for regular feeding, plus a few cans of high carb food in case tor a hypoglycemic event.

For insulin, you want Lantus, Levemir, ProZinc (in the US). Do not accept Humulin or Novolog N; they only last about 8 hours in the cat and you'd need to be testing and injecting every 8 houts.

For U-100 syringes (Lantus, Levemir), get 3/10 cc, half-unit marked, short needle, 30-31 gauge.

For blood-testing, use an inexpensive human glucometer such as the Walmart ReliOn Prime or Confirm, which are branded versions of the Arkray meters available through ADW, our shopping partner at the link above. Initially, use 26-27 gauge lancets for pricking the ear. As you get experience and as the ear develops more capillaries, you may be able to use a thinner lancet.
Click to expand...

I'm glad you mentioned that because my vet said she usually puts them on NPH insulin. I mentioned Lantus, and I think she said it was more expensive. Is it significantly more expensive than NPH? I guess it probably equals out in the end though because you're giving less total Lantus than NPH anyway. I kind of get the impression that we may end up having different philosophies on managing this. I think I saw a sticky post on converting your vet, so I'll have to take a look at that too.
 
Re: We just got our diagnosis

You said " I guess it probably equals out in the end though because you're giving less total Lantus than NPH anyway."
Not true. The NPH insulin has a shorter duration that Lantus. With NPH the blood sugar value will just be higher on the average. NPH only lasts 8-10 hours in cats.
 
Re: We just got our diagnosis

Larry and Kitties said:
You said " I guess it probably equals out in the end though because you're giving less total Lantus than NPH anyway."
Not true. The NPH insulin has a shorter duration that Lantus. With NPH the blood sugar value will just be higher on the average. NPH only lasts 8-10 hours in cats.
Click to expand...

I was just thinking that since the duration of Lantus is longer that you would be giving less shots of Lantus each day (every 12 hours instead of every 8 with NPH), but actually I don't know how that works out units wise. Anyway, all that really matters to me is that he's getting the best glucose control possible.
 
Re: We just got our diagnosis

Ok cool.. so whats plan? when will you transition to low carb wet? so will you start home testing?
 
Re: We just got our diagnosis

I'm planning on transitioning to wet food as soon as I can make it to the grocery store. LOL! We're supposed to take him in on Monday to get started on insulin. Is that too soon to start him on the insulin if we're switching foods today or tomorrow?

Unfortunately, I don't think I have a choice about whether to leave him there to get started or not. I'm in nursing school and have clinicals on Monday and class on Tuesday, so I don't want to try to start this at home when my schedule is so fixed on those two days. I'm really freaking out a bit about how to manage everything when I have to do class and work. How often will I need to test his blood sugar during the day in the beginning? My husband will be learning to do all of this as well so he can be responsible some, but he also works so it's going to be tough. Monday's will be the worst because I will be at the hospital from 6:45 to 4:00. I'm sure we will develop a way of getting it all done, but it seems quite challenging at the moment. I did enlist a back up helper today that is willing to let me teach her how to test Thurmond and give him his insulin just in case we have an emergency or something and can't give him his medicine within a reasonable timeframe.
 
Re: We just got our diagnosis

Can you start to transition the food today? You should see a difference in a few days. But you should start home testing as soon as ( if not before) he goes on insulin and then you will be ok.

If you are getting Lantus or Levemir you will shoot every 12 hours (and you really really want those since they are best for cats), then you can shoot at 6.30am and 6.30pm and then not worry about Mondays! You should always test just before you shoot. Then you can test again at night to see how he is trending and how the insulin is working. It would be good to get a test midday around say lunchtime so if you can pop home then, do it. Else you can do checks midday on your days off. The critical one is the preshot test. so like this...

6.30am test and shoot
12.30pm test if you can sneak out of work ;) else just on days off
6.30pm test and shoot
9.30pm or before bed test

Wendy
 
Re: We just got our diagnosis

And depending on how many tests you can get in on the days you don't have a fixed schedule, you can do your own personal "curve" throughout the week. All a curve at the vet tells is how high/low the cat went under stress at the vet on a particular day. Home monitoring throughout the day across a week will give you a better idea how he trends when he's not under stress and across multiple days.

For example, on Thursday, you can do his AMPS (morning pre-shot), then test him every two hours after that, so you'd get:
AMPS
+2
+4
+6
etc...

Then, on Friday, you could do his AMPS and test him every other hour, so you'd get:
AMPS
+1
+3
+5
etc....

This is just an example! In reality, you can do any variation that fits your schedule and your cat's disposition, i.e. 3-hour increments, post PMPS (evening pre-shot) numbers, etc.... My cat has never had a curve done on him by me or the vet because I test him often enough, so I'm sure others will come by with some better suggestions about doing this more effectively than I've given above.

Either way, after a couple of weeks of testing frequently, you'll have enough data to see how Thurmond is doing on the insulin. Of course, you'll also still want to test him daily at the critical times that Wendy mentioned above. We use this handy spreadsheet here for tracking numbers.

The other downside to the vet wanting to run a curve on the same day they start him on insulin is that depending on the insulin (Lantus or Levemir, for example), there is a depot that is created first and it takes a few 12-hour cycles before you start to see the "true" effect of the insulin on his system.

In regard to Lantus and price, yes, the upfront cost may be more, but in the long run, it's not that expensive. Another option is to get the pens instead of the vial. Again, the pens are more expensive than the vial, however, each pen is good regardless of date of purchase until its first use (with a syringe and not the cartridges that are usually used with the pens) and then you can have anywhere from 4 to 6 months to use up the pen before it starts to degrade. Then, just move on to the next pen. Since the pens individually contain less insulin than a vial, this can mean that theoretically out of a box of 5 pens, you could have over 2 years' supply of insulin (of course this depends on how much insulin your cat may need and how quickly the pens might expire), vs. a vial where you would get at most 6 months worth.

And it's great that your husband is open to testing him too! Don't worry; it gets easier! If you want to, take a look at a few people's spreadsheets to get an idea how often people test. Just as an FYI, if you look at mine, I test waaay more frequently than you'll probably ever need to (I have a growing kitten that keeps needing dosage adjustments).
 
Re: We just got our diagnosis

Wow, you guys give some amazingly good information. My vet may hate me when I talk to her on Monday, but I feel tons better about all of this and I know Thurmond is going to be better off in the long run as a result of this info.

I started him on the new wet food tonight by just mixing it with a little bit of his normal dry food and some water. He ate a little less than half of it, but I think he had already eaten a bit of the dry food that was still out for him. I think you may have me convinced about doing the curve myself, but again timing is an issue for me. With the food switch and beginning to test his BGL's, would I be okay to wait on starting his insulin next weekend? I don't have anything planned and will be able to test him every 2 hours then.
 
Re: We just got our diagnosis

Not sure if you want to wait that long to start him on insulin. At the very least, you can start home testing (or at least attempting to home test) right now if you want. That way you have some numbers already of what he's like on mostly dry food. If you can get a test in over the weekend, I would suggest you start a new post with his number, specifying that it's without insulin and on dry food and ask for advice about this. You might want to mention when he last ate, as well. I suggest you post this in the Lantus Forum since there are more people there who use Lantus that will see it.
 
Re: We just got our diagnosis

I didn't see anywhere that you mentioned what his BG has been.

If he's running over 200 on a human meter, I'd encourage you to give insulin much sooner than later. The longer you wait, the greater the chance he will become insulin resistant meaning the BG will start to rise and it will take more insulin to bring him back down.
 
Re: We just got our diagnosis

He was 320 at the vet's office. I've already started him on wet food (just mixing some of the dry in with it and adding water); he seems to be enjoying it so hopefully he will continue to eat it. I'll get a test in over the weekend and post with some update numbers.This is hitting at probably the busiest 5-6 days that I've had in a long time. :sad:
 
Re: We just got our diagnosis

I've fully transitioned him to wet food now and have started testing.

He's doing pretty good with the wet food, but he usually doesn't finish either of the 2 cans he gets every day.I'm currently feeding him Friskies pates, so he's getting one 5.5 oz can twice a day. I tried to find the formula for calculating the number of calories he should be getting today, but I couldn't locate it for some reason. I've been sporadically testing him twice a day for the past few days. He was under 200 for a couple of days and then was over 200 (206, 221) last night and this morning, for reference he was 320 at the vet's office. I called my vet today to talk to her about starting him on Lantus and doing his curve at home over the weekend, but she called me back while I was working and couldn't talk so I'll call her again tomorrow. I hate waiting so long to start his insulin, but I also didn't want to send him to the vet for his curve and have his insulin dose too high or try to do it on a day that I couldn't be really focused on him and testing his BGL's.

I have noticed that he's drinking and peeing way less than he has in a long time. I didn't realize just how often I was seeing him go to the water bowl until now when he's going to it so much less.

I'm honestly feeling really overwhelmed at the moment though. I just can't figure out how I'm going to work in consistently testing, feeding, and giving insulin every 12 hrs. My husband will help me, but our schedule is so set at the moment. Is there any flexibility in that 12 hr. window when it comes to testing and giving his insulin? I guess that will be more apparent once we start and see how he responds to the insulin. I also need to get him started on the methylcobalamin (I think I spelled that right) for the neuropathy, I saw some people recommend some online places to purchase it, but has anyone had any success finding it at a health food store or something? Also is it labeled specifically for felines or do you just give them the human form of it?

I feel like I have a million questions, so I'm probably bombarding you guys a bit with all of it in this post...sorry about that.

ETA: I forgot about my most frustrating issue at the moment. He's started driving us crazy at night after we go to bed since we switched him to wet food. He's always been obsessive about there being food in his bowl all night long. If he could see the bottom of it then I'd have to go in there and put more in the bowl, otherwise he would harass me endlessly while I was trying to sleep. Well the past 2 nights he has been relentless about harassing us. I'm assuming it has to do with the amount of food in his bowl, but he doesn't actually want to eat he just wants his bowl to be full. Last night I was pretty much awake from 2:45 on because I was trying to keep him from walking all over me and nudging my neck and face with his nose. I have no idea how to manage this and control his intake at the same time. I really don't think he's hungry because even with the harassment there will still be food left in the bowl when I refill it in the morning. I don't want to isolate him away from us either because I know it will stress him out even more and that doesn't seem fair considering he's already adjusting to new food and having his ear pricked all the time. I'm hoping you guys will have some advice here too.
 
Re: We just got our diagnosis *updated with current progress

Great! I have some ideas that might help..

1.. Testing. Set up a spreadsheet (http://www.felinediabetes.com/FDMB/viewtopic.php?f=6&t=18207). That way we can look and advise on dose as well as when you should try and get tests. Once you get the insulin you will want to test before every shot. also ideally once during the day and a before bed test, but we will see once you get him set up with a sheet and on insulin. You can expect him to be higher at the vets due to stress. Ideally you give the shot every 12 hours give or take 30mins. You can shift it gradually if you need to be out or whatever.

2. Food . Does he need to lose weight? You could top his bowl up more or try a timed feeder.. It might be so different he will behave differently with it.

3. Drinking and peeing. It sounds like the food change is already having a difference so it good you waited on the insulin. However are you checking his urine for ketones?

4. Methycobalamin can be got from most health food stores.. Human version is fine but make sure it doesn't have xylitol in it since its toxic to cats. Also check it doesn't have sugars like glucose or fructose etc.

Wendy
 
Re: We just got our diagnosis *updated with current progress

I will work on setting up the spreadsheet.

I haven't been testing his urine for ketones. His general appearance and activity level has been pretty obviously improved so I haven't been that concerned about DKA. I also have absolutely no clue how to go about doing that either.

I'm not sure on the weight aspect either, he's currently around 10 lbs. He doesn't seem that overweight to me but he could probably lose a little bit of weight.

Whew...this is all exhausting. Hopefully I'll be able to get in a groove with it all at some point.
 
Re: We just got our diagnosis *updated with current progress

It's a steep learning curve but before you know it, it becomes very routine.

Let me know once you get the spreadsheet set up.

Wendy
 
Re: We just got our diagnosis *updated with current progress

SS is started and linked in my siggy. I'm not sure how useful it is right now because we haven't started insulin yet. In the AMPS slot I plugged in my morning number, which I take before he gets his new can of food; in the PMPS slot, I'm putting my PM number which is a few hours after he got his PM can of food. He pretty much eats throughout the day but tends to eat the largest volume at any one time right after I put the food down. I will try to get a midday reading tomorrow to see how he's doing then too. Hopefully I'll be able to get the Rx for insulin tomorrow and get him started over the weekend.
 
Re: We just got our diagnosis *updated with current progress

Another trick to keep the bowl "full" overnight is to freeze a portion and put it down frozen then top it with fresh food, that way he can eat the fresh right away and nibble on the frozen as it thaws. While my two diabetics don't drive me nuts about the empty dish I have 3 siamese that think they are dying if they can see the bottom of the bowl and the above technique has worked very well in getting them to stop singing for food at 2am..lol. I just mix it up with a little water and pour it into mini muffin pans then store the frozen hockey pucks in a freezer bag.

Mel, Maxwell, Autumn & The Fur Gang
 
Re: We just got our diagnosis *updated with current progress

The SS is very useful because it gives us a baseline and also shows us what his trends are as they relate to his diet change. What meter are you using?
 
Re: We just got our diagnosis

StokLor said:
...I'm honestly feeling really overwhelmed at the moment though. I just can't figure out how I'm going to work in consistently testing, feeding, and giving insulin every 12 hrs. My husband will help me, but our schedule is so set at the moment.
Is there any flexibility in that 12 hr. window when it comes to testing and giving his insulin?
Click to expand...
Hi,

The 'flexibility' in the timing of giving shots depends on the insulin you'll be using, because they work differently.

With protamine zinc insulins (PZI/Prozinc) there is quite a bit of scope for flexibility.
With Lantus, the timing of shots needs to be - as close as possible - to 12 hours apart. (I don't use Lantus, but understand that this is the case).

If on a regular basis you don't think you'll be able to give the shots 12 hourly then I'm wondering if a PZI insulin might be a better fit for you. If it's only going to be occasionally that you can't give shots 12 hourly then Lantus may still be a good option.

(Please folks, feel free to chime in here about this!)
 
Re: We just got our diagnosis *updated with current progress

I'm using the ReliOn Prime meter. I'd be interested in hearing more about the PZI if it offers a bit more flexibility than Lantus. Is the cost similar?
 
Re: We just got our diagnosis *updated with current progress

You can get a 10 ml vial of ProZinc for about $95 but shipping is maybe $20 since it has to be kept cold
http://www.allivet.com/p-2738-prozinc-c ... -vial.aspx
Also, ProZinc is a U40 concentration, that means the 10 ml vial only has 400 units of insulin compared with 1000 units in a 10 ml vial of Lantus. Thus, the ProZinc costs more but you can usually use the whole vial.
 
Re: We just got our diagnosis *updated with current progress

OK, morning reading was 154, so we're back under 200 again. The 200+ readings did coordinate with him being a bit more stressed. We had family in town who brought their dog and stayed in the kitty's room. We've always moved his litter box and food bowl when anyone needs to stay in our guest room, and he adjusts fine but I'm sure it stresses him out some. This was also right in the midst of his nighttime craziness where I was moving him off of my head all night long. I keep reading about not shooting if the numbers are below 200, so I'm not sure where we go from here. I know that his actual level could be a bit higher due to using a human meter though. I'm going to test a bit more frequently this weekend and get a good idea of how his numbers trend throughout the day. Should we still plan on trying to start insulin this weekend, provided I can get my hands on some of course?
 
Re: We just got our diagnosis *updated with current progress

Good morning!

I wouldnt be concerned about the fact that its a human meter, I think he might be gradually coming down just due to the food change, which is great and it looks like his pancreas is working since his BG is lower sometimes after eating.

We dont recommend newbies shoot under 200 so you wouldnt be shooting at this level yet.. So I have asked some experienced dosing members to come over and advise. Even if you do put him on insulin I think they would recommend a very small dose. They may even want you to wait a little longer to see if he comes down lower but lets see what they say.

Wendy
 
Re: We just got our diagnosis *updated with current progress

Would it be a good idea to seek out some foods that are even lower in carbs and see how they do? Right now I'm just going with the Friskies pates, which most seem to be in the 8-10% range as far as carbs. I noticed some other foods on the list that are closer to the 4-5% range.
 
Re: We just got our diagnosis *updated with current progress

I concur with the prozinc recommendation for you - over lantus or levimer - why - solely because you need more flexibiity with shot schedule - prozinc is more forgiving that way.
 
Re: We just got our diagnosis *updated with current progress

Yes! Its definately worth a try to reduce the carbs... that might be his tipping point into diet control.
 
Re: We just got our diagnosis *updated with current progress

StokLor said:
Would it be a good idea to seek out some foods that are even lower in carbs and see how they do? Right now I'm just going with the Friskies pates, which most seem to be in the 8-10% range as far as carbs. I noticed some other foods on the list that are closer to the 4-5% range.
Click to expand...

Yes, excellent idea. A change like this can make a lot of difference to some cats' blood glucose levels.
 
Re: We just got our diagnosis *updated with current progress

YAY! He's laying under my feet batting around my dangling computer charger cord, that's the first time he's acted like his crazy self in awhile!! I'll be on the hunt for the super low carb food today. Does anyone have a condensed list with just the low carb stuff?

Also, this forum is truly amazing!! Thank you for all of the help so far!
 
Re: We just got our diagnosis *updated with current progress

2 hrs after eating: 121!! He ate about a third of his food this morning.

I'm heading to work for a bit, but I will test again after noon sometime.
 
Re: We just got our diagnosis *updated with current progress

Hi StokLor,

This is great news! As for the low-carb list, are you currently using Dr. Lisa's list? It's easy to simply choose your brand of choice and scan down the carbs list.

I will warn you, however, that my cats can tell a difference between the ultra LC food and others -- I swear they sneer at the 3% vs. 4-5%. That said, you may want to be strategic with introducing it -- maybe slide down from 8% to 6% and then to 5% or maybe mix 8% with 4%? May not be needed, but wanted to give you a heads up!

Good luck -- you're doing great!
 
Re: We just got our diagnosis *updated with current progress

StokLor said:
2 hrs after eating: 121!! He ate about a third of his food this morning.

I'm heading to work for a bit, but I will test again after noon sometime.
Click to expand...

121 is a normal number! I'm really interested to see what effect changing to lower carb food might have....nailbite_smile
 
Re: We just got our diagnosis *updated with current progress

StokLor said:
YAY! He's laying under my feet batting around my dangling computer charger cord, that's the first time he's acted like his crazy self in awhile!! I'll be on the hunt for the super low carb food today. Does anyone have a condensed list with just the low carb stuff?

Also, this forum is truly amazing!! Thank you for all of the help so far!
Click to expand...

Ooh, just found this condensed list from Rhiannon. I'm pasting only the Friskies and Fancy Feast, since it seems that you're currently feeding Friskies?

all values are from Dr. Pierson's updated list


carbs in % . . last number is phosphorus ( FKD cats need under 250 phosphorus)
4% - fancy feast CLASSICS chicken feast- 546 - stay away from any that are not classics
4%- fancy feast chopped grilled feast pate -569
2%- fancy feast cod, sole & shrimp feast pate – 787
4%- fancy feast Ocean Whitefish and tuna pate 823
1% -fancy feast Savory Salmon feast pate – 369
5%-fancy feast Tender beef feast pate -637
5%-fancy feast Tender beef and chicken feast pate -502
5% - fancy feast Tender beef and liver feast pate – 525
4% -fancy feast Tender liver and chicken feast pate -598
3%- fancy feast Turkey & giblets feast pate – 355

8% - Friskies flaked with tuna and egg 415
9% - Friskies Poultry platter – 438
5% - Friskies Special diet Turkey and Giblets dinner pate 189
5% - Friskies Special diet Beef and Chicken Entree pate 242

I just scanned through this list myself and now understand why my cats often turn their noses up at the FF Salmon -- it's only 1% carbs (see my other post re: their differentiating between low carb and ultra-low carb)! :lol:

Good luck!
 
Re: We just got our diagnosis *updated with current progress

Just tested again and he's at 171. He randomly nibbles all day so I have no idea how long it's been since he last ate. I stocked up on some lower carb food so I'll transition him into that and see if he makes even more of a difference. I feel good about his progress so far though. I've been telling everyone that I know with cats to get them off the dry food and onto a lower carb wet food!!
 
Re: We just got our diagnosis *updated with current progress

Great! he is a little high but maybe the lower carb food will bring him down...
 
Re: We just got our diagnosis *updated with current progress

Bleh...214 before eating tonight.

I'm feeding a mixture of Friskies Poultry Platter and FF chopped grill feast for his dinner tonight.
 
Re: We just got our diagnosis *updated with current progress

Do you have the insulin yet? Do you know what type and dose the vet would want you to start on?
 
Re: We just got our diagnosis *updated with current progress

No, I don't have any yet. I talked to my vet today and she wanted me to continue to test his levels for a few more days to see how they were doing considering we were getting decent numbers. I'd be terrified to give him his first dose of insulin at nighttime anyway though.
 
Re: We just got our diagnosis *updated with current progress

He's eaten some of it, which is just fine with me. If he eats it slowly then maybe he won't harass me too much while I'm trying to sleep tonight!
 
Re: We just got our diagnosis *updated with current progress

Morning numbers have been interesting today, 172, 165, 90. Details are on the SS. Hopefully the lower carb food continues to bring things down, I would be terrified to give him insulin with these numbers.
 
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