Zoey newly diagosed

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Zoey & Carol

Zoey & Carol

Member Since 2015
Zoey, my 8-year-old tabby, was just diagnosed. For about the last month, she has been drinking a lot of water and urinating an immense amount. At first I thought the urine was from my 20 pound Maine Coon cat, but after they were separated for a time, I realized it was my small 8 lb. Zoey. Then she started getting into anything and everything edible, even opening bread bags. Before she had been a picky eater, so I knew there was a real problem. We have started insulin injections so we are just starting to get it under control. I'm hopeful, but the issue is that both my husband and I travel a lot with our jobs, and it is going to be difficult to maintain the injection schedule. We do have a friend that has offered to help, but that will mean transporting her occasionally, which she definitely does not like. Any suggestions would definitely be welcome. Thanks for any info you can give me.
 
Welcome to FDMB.
A few questions that'll help us give you feedback:
What insulin are you using and what dose?
For safety, are you home testing the blood glucose?
What foods are you feeding?
See my signature links Glucometer Notes to learn a bit about home blood glucose testing. and Secondary Monitoring Tools for some assessments you may find helpful.
 
She is on Novolin 2 ml twice a day. She was just diagnosed and hasn't been monitored yet. She will be spending Wednesday at the vet's to be tested every couple of hours. I was feeding her Blue Mountain dry food prior to her diagnosis but switched to Science Diet canned and dry foods. She seems to be feeling better and not so ravenous, but I'm concerned because she is looking a little scruffy. Usually she is so fastidious, and she doesn't seem to care right now.
 
Novolin lasts roughly 6-8 hours in the cat, leaving 4-6 hours with unregulated glucose levels which can harm the body, just as in human diabetics.
We strongly recommend home glucose testing to keep your cat safe from hypoglycemia, which can kill suddenly.
Please read and print out this post on Hypos
 
Hi Zoey, and -- what's your name? ;)

Welcome to FDMB! You'll find a ton of information here! A lot of cats stop grooming because they don't feel well. My Cobb's fur was so matted when he was diagnosed that the vet wanted to shave him (I said no). We've worked the matting out and once his numbers came down, he started grooming himself again. He was never fastidious (what male is?! :rolleyes:) but he's much better.

As BJ mentioned Novolin isn't usually the first choice of insulin for cats. Did your vet tell you why he/she picked that insulin? Many people use Prozinc, Lantus or Levemir to treat their cat's diabetes.

Cats typically do better on wet, low carb food. And most of us feed Friskies or Fancy Feast. It's much more economical and you don't need a prescription for it! Most of the prescription food is too high in carbs for our sugarcats anyway. We like to feed under 10% carbs. I was feeding a Royal Canin "diabetic" formula at one point that we calculated to be around 21% carbs, if I remember correctly. It has been awhile so I don't remember the exact number. It was definitely much higher carb than what we feed now.

I'm sure you are incredibly overwhelmed...trying to figure out the disease, learning what you can, managing injections on a crazy busy schedule. Take a deep breath...it can be done!! :smuggrin:

The other thing BJ mentioned is home testing. It seems intimidating, but we can help you through it. Vet stress can raise a cat's blood sugar. Most of us monitor with a human glucometer (you can get one at Walmart for $15) and keep the numbers in a spreadsheet that we can share with you as well.

I know it's a lot of information very quickly! What questions do you have for us? Ask away!

~Suzanne
 
Suzanne & Cobb said:
Hi Zoey, and -- what's your name? ;)

Welcome to FDMB! You'll find a ton of information here! A lot of cats stop grooming because they don't feel well. My Cobb's fur was so matted when he was diagnosed that the vet wanted to shave him (I said no). We've worked the matting out and once his numbers came down, he started grooming himself again. He was never fastidious (what male is?! :rolleyes:) but he's much better.

As BJ mentioned Novolin isn't usually the first choice of insulin for cats. Did your vet tell you why he/she picked that insulin? Many people use Prozinc, Lantus or Levemir to treat their cat's diabetes.

Cats typically do better on wet, low carb food. And most of us feed Friskies or Fancy Feast. It's much more economical and you don't need a prescription for it! Most of the prescription food is too high in carbs for our sugarcats anyway. We like to feed under 10% carbs. I was feeding a Royal Canin "diabetic" formula at one point that we calculated to be around 21% carbs, if I remember correctly. It has been awhile so I don't remember the exact number. It was definitely much higher carb than what we feed now.

I'm sure you are incredibly overwhelmed...trying to figure out the disease, learning what you can, managing injections on a crazy busy schedule. Take a deep breath...it can be done!! :smuggrin:

The other thing BJ mentioned is home testing. It seems intimidating, but we can help you through it. Vet stress can raise a cat's blood sugar. Most of us monitor with a human glucometer (you can get one at Walmart for $15) and keep the numbers in a spreadsheet that we can share with you as well.

I know it's a lot of information very quickly! What questions do you have for us? Ask away!

~Suzanne
Click to expand...
My name is Carol. I'm not sure why my vet chose Novolin, but he is thinking we need to change to something else. He did mention a name, but I'm not sure what it was. I am going to check her glucose again today and then I'll talk to him again. Besides trying to get her glucose under control, I am having a very difficult time with the glucose testing. I've tried her ear several times and was only able to get enough blood one time. Then I clipped a nail, but it makes me feel horrible. Any suggestions about other places to get blood? The vet suggested inside the upper lip, but that sounds almost impossible. She is such a sweetie about it all and doesn't seem to hold it against me, but I'm very frustrated! Also, is there any dry food you recommend between feedings of the canned? She likes Fancy Feast, but she is used to grazing a little all day.

Thanks for your help!
 
Hi Carol!

A lot of people find warming up the ear helps. You can try a rice sock. Another thing that worked for us to put warm to hot water in an empty prescription bottle and use that to brace so we had something besides our hand behind the ear. It helped us steady the poke. I found a lancing device to be easier than free handing it, but some cats don't like the click of the pen. I definitely takes some practice. Get some Neosporin with pain relief to put on her ears. As weird as this sounds, the ears "learn" to bleed, so the more you are poking, the ears do respond and bleed easier.

We recommend no dry food at all. It's just too high in carbs for our extra sweet kitties. I leave out wet food in a timed feeder...that way Cobb gets a few meals during the day. If you absolutely cannot do that, there is one dry food (Young Again) that is supposedly carb-free, but I've read it is more like 5% carbs, which is under 10% -- that's where we like to keep our cat's food.

We've reorganized the forums a bit, but have one forum dedicated to helping new caregivers get up to speed on everything they need to know -- including tips on home testing. That is our Feline Health board. There we can give you all the information you never wanted to know about feline diabetes. I'll link this post (we call them condos) in a New Post over there so you can get more people's eyes on it. I know they'll have some fantastic suggestions for you!

~Suzanne
 
WARNING: Unless you are reliably glucose testing, keep the food the same. Food changes may reduce the glucose 100-200 mg/dL and reduce the insulin dose 1-2 units.
 
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