She has diabetes

Just found out my little girl has it. Ill have to give her two shots a day and they want to change her food to a 50.00 bag at the vets. purina dm. Went to pharmacy and got a pen with pen needles,they say this is easier than actual needles,anyone have any pointers for me??? thx

This is an excellent resource for you: http://www.felinediabetes.com

I've never used a pen. I just use regular insulin needles. Injecting will soon become second nature. 

The pen was like 83.00 the insulin needles would have cost 271.00. the lady at teh pharmacy said pens would be much easier. Does the dose have to be excatly every 12 hrs or can it be 13 or 14 if i get home from work late?

$271? There's a problem with that. How many boxes of needles were they trying to sell you? I pay $120 for 5 small pen vials of lantus. Needles at the vet cost $35 for hundred, but you can get them online for much, much less.

We do insulin at 9 am and 9 pm. My partner does the mornings and I do the evenings so we don't get mixed up and double dose. I've given insulin late. If it's two hours late, I make sure to tell my partner so that he gives insulin a bit later in the morning and over the course of a day or two, get back on track. Whether this is the proper method, I don't know.

Please do read up on insulin overdose on the link mentioned above. It is is most serious and potentially deadly. With insulin, too little is better than too much. the link also provides places where you can get low-cost supplies, and talks about nutrition.

Thx for link have been reading,the pen has insulin in for 28 days cost 82.00 at cvs,got pen needles for about 40.00. big box full. My concern is she only eats dry food, and have read purina dm dry food is not good,so can i still giver her her normal scince diet??

You can order insulin online from Canada cheaper. Being from Canada, I just use my local pharmacy. You  might ask the the diabetic cat forum which Canadian pharmacy is best to order from.

Ask the question about food in the Nutrition threads where more people will see it. I do not feel qualified to answer that question, having no experience with Science Diet.

OK thx,one last thing i wanted to ask,i was just overwhelmed on the phone when she told me this,vet said her l;evel should be at 110,she said my cats level is 400,does this sound right?? what were your cats levels before insulin and after??? thx

Gosh, that was a long time ago. If I remember correctly, my cat's level was about 270. You want to aim for 120 or just below that. 50-120 is the range, but you don't want to get anywhere near 50 because your cat could end up in insulin shock.

For the first while, your cat will be having glucose levels checked frequently so that the vet can figure out the proper dosage. The insulin level will increase and the glucose level will be brought down slowly so that the cat does not go into insulin shock. Once a good level is established, the vet visits will taper off, and the vet will rely more on periodic fructosamine tests which give an idea of glucose levels over a period of time, rather than a glucose test that tells you only what the current level is. The vet may want to keep the cat for a day to do a glucose curve. They measure the blood sugars every hour and get an idea of how well your cat is responding to the insulin.

You can buy a human glucometer and learn to test your day at home once insulin levels are established.

You will have high readings like that at the beginning an that's ok. You can use the good old cheap needles and bottle of insulin which are cheaper because honestly the needles are so thin the cat can't feel it. I used to givey cat insulin while she was eating and she never flinched. A cat with high glucose is much easier to deal with than low. I know it is overwhelming at first but you can do it. There is going to be lots of trial and error with the insulin dose that is normal too. As for the food the only thing that worked for my kitty was the high protein food Core Wellness worked for my kitty and the prescription stuff never did.

Sorry I'm bad a proofreading I hope you got what I was trying to say.

Yes, there is a lot of flurry at the beginning, and it does seem overwhelming. It's a whole new language for you. It will get easier.

What kind of insulin are you using? I used Prozinc and on a bad day it was $120 a bottle that lasted 2 months and the needles are $13 a box of 100. Americandiabeteswholesale.com is the cheapest for needles and I've shopped everywhere. The prices you are being quoted seem really really high for insulin.

Racn1320 said:

Just found out my little girl has it. Ill have to give her two shots a day and they want to change her food to a 50.00 bag at the vets. purina dm. Went to pharmacy and got a pen with pen needles,they say this is easier than actual needles,anyone have any pointers for me??? thx

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Switch to grain free low carb wet food and diabetes sometimes corrects itself!

lantose/solostar. Have a pen type and pen needles

I would try the Lantus in the bottle with regular needles, when you run out of the pen. It will be a lot cheaper if expense is a concern. Otherwise the pens are the easiest thing. And you can miss the dose by an hour or two if you can't come home from work. If you are gone from work long blocks of time I would keep food out for your cat. Also set an alarm on your phone to remind you to give your cat the insulin it helps a lot.

Thx for all the info,the pen i actully have has a dial on it to where you can set how much. Looks like i just insert a pen needed,screw on? So its sfae to miss a shot?? my vet acted like you cant miss a shot. She is picky i know she wont eat for days on wet food and the info they gave me said she has to eat before the shot?? sound right/

Is it possible if i get her to switch to regular canned food and stop with teh dry and wouldnt have to get the expensive dry food?? Sorry for all the questions just didnt really expect this

Racn1320 said:

 
Thx for all the info,the pen i actully have has a dial on it to where you can set how much. Looks like i just insert a pen needed,screw on? So its sfae to miss a shot?? my vet acted like you cant miss a shot. She is picky i know she wont eat for days on wet food and the info they gave me said she has to eat before the shot?? sound right/

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No, you don't use the dial on the pen. That only works if you are using the  pen needles like a Human diabetic. For cats, you use the pen just like an insulin bottle: insert insulin syringe into the rubber stop, pull plunger back to draw insulin into the syringe, remove insulin syringe from the rubber stopper, tap to float bubbles towards the needle, slowly push plunger towards needle to expel the bubbles and any excess insulin.

Did the vet say anything about testing your cat's blood glucose levels at home? It's a really important part of managing your cat's diabetes, just like it is for Human diabetics. Blindly giving insulin can result in a cat who becomes hypoglycemic in a few hours.

Missing a shot isn't the worst thng in the world but it does vary among diabetic cats. I've had to miss giving my diabetic cat a shot a few times and he was perfectly fine at the next insulin time, just with higher than usual levels. Definitely join the FDMB Lantus board to get more specific help on your cat.

I've always just tested and gave insulin while my cat was busy eating. With some insulins you do want to feed first and then giev insulin like half an hour later. But Lantus is pretty gentle so your cat doesn't really need to eat before the insulin. Sometimes my cat wouldn't eat right away but I'd still test him and give insulin.

Racn1320 said:

 
Is it possible if i get her to switch to regular canned food and stop with teh dry and wouldnt have to get the expensive dry food?? Sorry for all the questions just didnt really expect this

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Commerical canned food is great Just make sure it is low carb (under 10%). You do not need to feed the prescription stuff, dry or canned.

Here's a list of low carb Fancy Feast: http://www.felinediabetes.com/glutenfree.htm

I fed my cat Nature's Variety Instinct. There are many others you can feed. You can post on the FDMB board for suggestions. And check this chart: http://catinfo.org/docs/FoodChartPublic9-22-12.pdf

Yes you can do that. The wet food has less carbs and is better for her. The dry food is for leaving out when you know you will be gone awhile. It's tough to keep wet food around all day for nibbling purposes to keep the blood sugar up if you don't mind it that is the best thing to do. And yes you are supposed to give the injections 12 hours apart and you should try always but for those times when something delays you and hour or two your cat will be fine. I know you are probably on diabetes overload with the info but you and you kitty will get through this and she can lead a happy life for several years. I had a diabetic cat for 18 1/2 years 9 or which as a diabetic. Good luck and we are always here if you need us.