diabetic cat

[dezinelee]

I just found out my 12 year old Caesar has diabetes.
Does anyone know if there is a catalog or online place where I can buy DM cat food (wet & dry) that may be cheaper than from the vet ?? Leona

[Squawksx3]

Hi Leona and welcome to the board :)

I'm so sorry to hear about Caesar. I'm not sure how much you're paying at the vet, but maybe you could try this link: http://www.ctcfoods.com/purina-cat-food.shtml
Also look and see who makes the food you're currently buying and they may have a website you can order direct from and cut out the middleman(vet). Good luck to you and Caesar.

[bobbie cox]

Leona, do you have to give your cat insulin injections or are you able to get by with diet? We have a diabetic dog who receives insulin twice a day along with a high fibre diet. Jan has given you a good website to explore. We cook skinless chicken breasts in the slow cooker and mix it with the food the vet prescribed. Both our dog and our two cats love the chicken. I put it in the blender and the cats love it that way. Mixed with the prescription food, it helps with the budget. Good luck with your kitty. We have been going through this since May. We met a woman in Boston with 2 diabetic cats and she has been a source of good help and information. Her cats need insulin. Hope all goes well.

Bobbie

[dezinelee]

Hello- thanks for the help- I'm checking out those websites, still no luck finding the food online.
Caesar is now getting 3 units of insulin twice a day, and he seems to be doing better. Thanks a lot!! Leona

[bobbie cox]

So glad to hear your cat is doing better. Are you having any problems with the needle giving? Our poodle climbed the walls after a couple of months of injections. She is doing great now that we bought the needle-free injection system. The man who runs the company gave us a special gentle, gentle jet which works good with an animal's thin skin. It doesn't hurt at all. My husband and I tried it on ouselves first, using saline. It feels like a flutter under the skin. Our dog has needed less insulin since we have been on the system. I will ask our Chief of Critical Care Medicine here at Shands Jax what she feeds her cats. She has two diabetic cats (from same litter). They only get insulin once a day. She hasn't had any problems with needles but the lady in Boston did. She is using Advanta's jets now too. I can ask her what she is feeding her girls as well. Cats with diabetes are prone to urinary tract infections. So is the dog but cats, I believe, are more prone. Again, I'm so glad things are better now. It is hard when our babies age. I can sympathize with the pets as I am old too. Have a great day :) Bobbie Cox

[snorko4]

My cat Max was recently diagnosed and I found one website in particular to awesome. . . It is felinediabetes.com. They have message boards, useful information, etc. It really helped us out when we first started. Other than that, we got DM at the vet. It's a little expensive, but worth it. Remember when you start to change his diet to just mix a little bit of the new with the old food and add a little more in each day. We changed our cat's food too fast and he actually stopped eating. We thought we were going to have to put him to sleep. We went back to his old diet and changed the type of insulin he was getting and he began eating and is doing much better now! Feel free to email me with any other questions. Good luck!!
Trisha

[bobbie cox]

Hi Trisha, hope all is well with you. Do you have any problems giving insulin to your cat. Does he mind the needle. When we were using Type H insulin our dog would not eat because her blood sugar was too low. Maybe that was the problem with your cat rather than the change in food.

Nice to talk to you.

Bobbie

[snorko4]

Hey Bobbie,
I didn't realize you already had an animal with diabetes. That will probably make things alot easier. Our cat doesn't mind the needles at all. The only thing he hates is the glucose testing. We test him a couple of times a week now that he is in range, but he hates it!! It's our only struggle. That and getting him to eat the special cat food. He's not fond of that either, but a cat has to eat, so eventually he gave in. :) Anyway, if you have any questions feel free to write. This is my first day online. I posted the "grief" letter in this section. Anyway, hope all is well. I'll check back a little later.
Trisha

[bobbie cox]

Trisha, a PS - make sure your cat eats around injection time. The insulin needs something to adhere to. I work for Shands Hospital in Jacksonville, Fl and have, of course, been studying up on Diabetes since CC acquired it. The BS normals for cats and dogs are the same for people. I work in Continuing Medical Education. We had a grand rounds on diabetes last Wed. It was very informative. Unfortunately, with all we know about the disease there is much more that we don't know.

Bobbie