Worst fears came true today.

[Nightshade]

Hi. My name is Julie and my 10year old male cats name is Nightshade. He is all black and beautiful. I've had him since he was only a couple of weeks old and abandoned by his mother. He is actually my 19year old daughter's cat but mine all the same. He took to her from day one as if she was his mother and although she was young at the time, she did take very good care of him. She just finished her first year in college and starts her second year in less than six months. We live in Maine and she goes to college in San Diego, California. Therefor I am his caregiver.
That being said. We got the awful news today. His glucose was 425. I was in so much shock that my brain wasn't working and when she asked if we had any questions; I said no. She basically gave me two options.
1-Let him live out the rest of his days the way he is.
2-Get him started on treatment. Shots twice a day being 12 hours apart and a change in food.
She said some cats can live without treatment for years and be fine. But I know he's not fine and I've known for awhile. That's why I took him to get tested in the first place. I can tell that he doesn't feel good and that's not just because of his symptoms(Lost a lot of weight with in a year in a half. 22-12. Drinking and peeing a lot)but well I can't explain it. I can just tell.
The thing that's really bugging me now is 425. What does that mean? I know that's high but what else? Does that mean he's super sick? Everything I've read only goes up to 300. Am I going to be able to help him if I start treatment? I don't want him to be sick anymore or be in any pain. I'm so lost as to what to do. Please help me too understand.

 

[JanetNJ]

So sorry about your diagnosis... We have all had that shock. Let me tell you that diabetes is totally treatable and once your cat starts insulin he's going to feel so much better!

You have come to the right place. This is a very active forum with many experienced people to help you.

Getting a reading in the 400's is common for newly diagnosed cats.. It will come down. If you are feeding dry food, just stopping that will make a difference.

What insulin is he putting the cat on? Have you started it yet?

Get your cat on allow carb wet food. The prescription food is not necessary. Most of us feed fancy feast classic or Friskies pate foods... No gravy. If you have any specific health questions there will be more eyes on it in the main health forum.

Take some deep breaths and know we are here to support and guide you.

 

[JanetNJ]

The number one thing I can recommend is home testing once you start insulin to keep him safe from going too low and to know the dose he's on is enough. I didn't start home testing until six weeks after diagnosis, and once I started I wished I had started from the beginning. My spreadsheet is in my signature below. That's one of the ways we help each other with advice. (Notice all the 400's early on.... And that was after 6 weeks!).

I know it seems overwhelming, but in a few weeks it will be routine.

 

[Noah & me (GA)]

Hi Julie and Nightshade. See the cat in the top left corner? Click there, that's where you'll get a basic education on what's happening and what to do about it. Don't just let him live out his days, help him live an almost normal life. Ask all the questions you want about meters, syringes, lancets etc. We all had the same questions at the start and like Janet said, it will be routine one day. Our second diabetic cat is having a snooze at my feet right now.

 

[Yong & Maury GA]

Welcome Julie and Nightshade! We are familiar with the overwhelming feeling. As you suspect if you leave him untreated he is not going to be happy. There is tons of information here along with supportive and understanding people! It's a support group for Nightshade and YOU . If you have not started insulin yet, definitely switch the diet first. Home testing is the best tool in our FD kitty tool belt. Like Janet, I couldn't start testing from day 1, and even after a month I had 400-600 readings . Many kitties can still live out their full life with diabetes and the insulin therapy. There are even a few that can be diet controlled. Either way, we can help you if you are committed . A lot of us use a human glucometer due to affordability of test strips, versus the Vet preferred pet meter AlphaTrak 2. If you decide to start home testing, here is the Spreadsheet template we use: http://www.felinediabetes.com/FDMB/threads/fdmb-spreadsheet-instructions.130337/

Some information in your signature will help those of us with bad memories :
http://www.felinediabetes.com/FDMB/threads/editing-your-signature-profile-and-preferences.130340/

And even though you are just starting, this is an important document to have: http://www.felinediabetes.com/FDMB/threads/how-to-treat-hypos-they-can-kill-print-this-out.15887/

See you on the Main Health Forum! Ask any questions. The only stupid question is the one not asked

 

[Nightshade]

So sorry about your diagnosis... We have all had that shock. Let me tell you that diabetes is totally treatable and once your cat starts insulin he's going to feel so much better!

You have come to the right place. This is a very active forum with many experienced people to help you.

Getting a reading in the 400's is common for newly diagnosed cats.. It will come down. If you are feeding dry food, just stopping that will make a difference.

What insulin is he putting the cat on? Have you started it yet?

Get your cat on allow carb wet food. The prescription food is not necessary. Most of us feed fancy feast classic or Friskies pate foods... No gravy. If you have any specific health questions there will be more eyes on it in the main health forum.

Take some deep breaths and know we are here to support and guide you.

I haven't started him on the insulin yet. I just got the news yesterday and the vet wanted me to take time to think things through. She said to go ahead and start switching his food over a little at a time and once he's fully on the new food, to call and make an appointment for my decision and show me how to do the shots if decided. He has been on dry food his whole life with wet on special occasions. I did buy a bag of the dry prescription food yesterday but after finding this site last night; I went out today and got one each of the Fancy Feast Classics. That way I can find out which ones he likes or doesn't like. I haven't started the switch over on the food yet cause its been crazy and I have 4 other cats. So just this is gonna be a task and a big change for us all.

P.S. I'm not a crazy cat lady with 5 cats. lol Two are my parents. Two are my daughters and I have one.

 

[JanetNJ]

I haven't started him on the insulin yet. I just got the news yesterday and the vet wanted me to take time to think things through. She said to go ahead and start switching his food over a little at a time and once he's fully on the new food, to call and make an appointment for my decision and show me how to do the shots if decided. He has been on dry food his whole life with wet on special occasions. I did buy a bag of the dry prescription food yesterday but after finding this site last night; I went out today and got one each of the Fancy Feast Classics. That way I can find out which ones he likes or doesn't like. I haven't started the switch over on the food yet cause its been crazy and I have 4 other cats. So just this is gonna be a task and a big change for us all.

P.S. I'm not a crazy cat lady with 5 cats. lol Two are my parents. Two are my daughters and I have one.

Hey listen I AM a crazy cat lady with 6. Lol. All mine. (7 up until two weeks ago).

If you really can't get them all off dry, there are a few dry foods that are diabetic friendly. I give wet ff classic twice a day and leave out the following:

My favorite is Young Again Zero carb which is 1% carb. You can get it at Youngagainpetfood.com. They will send you a free sample of the Young Again Zero if you ask. It's expensive but because it is nutrient dense and high in calories they eat less of it. An 8 lb bag lasts 5 cats eating it in addition to the wet about 3 1/2 weeks.

The other is Evo Cat and Kitten in the purple bag at 8 % carb.

 

[jbfrank]

His glucose was 425. I was in so much shock that my brain wasn't working

Hi Nightshade, relax and do some research and develop a plan. My cat Buddy was diagnosed a week ago and his blood sugar was over 600 on the vet's equipment. I was actually relieved since I'm a diabetic myself and kinda know what to expect, and was thankful that it wasn't something worse like kidney disease. I'm probably one of the crazy cat guys around here since we've got five in the house, three of which (including Buddy) were ferals.

My favorite is Young Again Zero carb which is 1% carb. You can get it at Youngagainpetfood.com. They will send you a free sample of the Young Again Zero if you ask. It's expensive but because it is nutrient dense and high in calories they eat less of it. An 8 lb bag lasts 5 cats eating it in addition to the wet about 3 1/2 weeks.

The other is Evo Cat and Kitten in the purple bag at 8 % carb.

Hi Janet, I've got the sample bag of YA coming to me and I need to look for a small test bag of the EVO to see what will work best here. They're currently getting Friskies Pate, but they are definitely not thrilled with it.

 

[JanetNJ]

Hi Nightshade, relax and do some research and develop a plan. My cat Buddy was diagnosed a week ago and his blood sugar was over 600 on the vet's equipment. I was actually relieved since I'm a diabetic myself and kinda know what to expect, and was thankful that it wasn't something worse like kidney disease. I'm probably one of the crazy cat guys around here since we've got five in the house, three of which (including Buddy) were ferals.



Hi Janet, I've got the sample bag of YA coming to me and I need to look for a small test bag of the EVO to see what will work best here. They're currently getting Friskies Pate, but they are definitely not thrilled with it.

They have small bags of it on amazon... I buy through jet.com

 

[Lillie]

Hello Julie and Nightshade! I was completely overwhelmed when my kitty was diagnosed and felt really dumb about some of the questions I had about needles, testing, etc. in the beginning. My kitty Leo went to normal BG levels after a change in food and only a couple weeks on insulin so I'm no expert on diabetes in cats but I can't stress enough how important it is to home test. People here really helped me at one point and home testing may have saved my cat's life.

 

[Lillie]

Also- I didn't do a very good job in the beginning on testing and gave him pierced ears a couple times and also nicked the vein so there was quite a bit of bleeding (he's on a blood thinner). Not to scare you but to let you know that he recovered, I got better at it, and he's not worse off from it. Ears healed and Leo forgave me. The best part was that I prevented a crisis, and Leo is alive and well!