«Diabetes» diagnosis and what you should know about it
Just a moment ago everything was fine - your furry friend was healthy and happy - and then you receive the diagnosis: Diabetes. This brief excursus on this disease is intended to sensitize people who have a diabetic patient at home to the topic.
At first, your world collapses and you don't know how you can cope with this on a day-to-day basis. The good news is that you are not alone and there are many people who care for their diabetics. In this blog post, we will briefly inform you about a few important key facts on the topic and give you various recommendations and inputs so that you can find out the best information about diabetes.
A Facebook group
To begin with, we would like to introduce you to the Facebook group «Cats with diabetes» to the heart. The helpers were incredibly helpful to us in 2018 when a cat in our family was diagnosed with diabetes. You may think what you like about social media... but without this group, Mitzi - 11 years old at the time - probably wouldn't have lived much longer.
«With the help of this group, we achieved remission (insulin-free period) in a very short time and Mitzi no longer needed insulin. «
Suitable food for your diabetic
Cats with diabetes do not need special food - surprisingly, so-called special food often even contains a lot of carbohydrates, which unnecessarily increase blood sugar. Instead, high-quality wet food without sugar, cereals or other ingredients that increase blood sugar (e.g. potatoes, rice, pasta) is suitable, in which the NfE value in the dry matter is below 10 %.
To ensure that a food is suitable, first check the ingredients (composition). If these are OK, add the analytical ingredients listed on the packaging to a NfE calculator on. The calculated NfE in the dry matter should be less than 10 %. The NfE refers to the nitrogen-free extractives in the feed, which simply describes the carbohydrate content. Make sure that the NfE in the dry matter not the lower total NfE.
Calculate NfE in the dry matter
To calculate the required NfE value, use this, for example NfE calculator. Fill the calculator with the appropriate analytical ingredients, which you can find on the feed label or on the back of the feed bag. For high-quality feed, the NfE value in dry matter decisive.
Suitable treats
Especially at the beginning, when you are «Home Monitoring» it is important that your cat associates blood glucose testing on the ear with something positive. This works quite well with the patient's favorite treat. As treats are not given in large quantities and only as an exception, it is not necessary to calculate the NfE value for them. The following snacks are particularly suitable:
catz finefood Meatz No.3 Chicken
Don't go hungry!
Important! Under no circumstances should your diabetic go hungry. If he has not been used to high-quality food up to now, we recommend a Slow change of food to make. Not that your patient won't eat anything.
Positive news 🙂
If you feed your diabetic high-quality food, it is not necessary to keep your other furry friends away from the supposedly special food. High-quality wet food that is suitable for your diabetic can be freely accessible to your other cats.
«Home Monitoring»
Measure - Eat - Inject
The «home monitoring» procedure is still far too uncommon in Switzerland. After diagnosis, the patient is usually kept at the vet for a day, where the blood sugar is measured at regular intervals. Based on these results, you will then be given information on the amount of insulin you should inject twice a day. As a result of nervousness and stress, the blood sugar level rises, which means that the values measured at the vet are not meaningful for everyday life. Injecting insulin without knowing your blood sugar can lead to life-threatening situations, which is why measuring at home must be ensured as quickly as possible.
Important information on spraying
It will be all 12 hours (e.g. 7.00 a.m. and 7.00 p.m.). Deviations of +/- 30 minutes are okay, but a larger deviation must be avoided. Below a value of 150 mg/dl (8.3 mmol/l) not be injected.
1. trade fairs
Before injecting insulin, it is essential to measure your blood sugar. You will need a glucometer, suitable measuring strips and possibly a lancing device. Massage the ear beforehand so that it is nice and warm. Accumulate the blood by squeezing the ear vein with your fingers and make a fine pick directly near the ear vein for the small blood sample.
2. eating
You are welcome to reward your cat with a treat after measuring and then serve it high-quality wet food suitable for diabetics.
Attention! If your cat is not eating, you must not inject, otherwise there is a risk of hypoglycemia.
3. spraying
You can inject the insulin as soon as your cat has eaten or is eating. Some cats are easily distracted by eating and don't even notice the injection.
For reasons of hygiene, syringes must not be used more than once.
Utensils that you absolutely need
In order to provide your diabetic with the best possible care, we recommend that you obtain a few things. Unless otherwise described, you can obtain these items from a standard pharmacy:
- Glucometer - we recommend the Contour® next Measuring device
- Blood sugarMeasuring strips
- Lancets and/or a lancing device
- Ketone meter - for example Freestyle Precision Neo from the Abbott Freestyle brand
- Ketone test strips - Available separately from the Abbott Freestyle brand
- InsulinSyringes - You can obtain these from your trusted vet
- Insulin - Obtain the correct insulin from your vet
- Honey - for emergencies: in the event of hypoglycaemia, it is important that you liquid honey in the household. If necessary, you can also use an inferior food that is not free from sugar. Available wherever there is honey ?
Watch list on the subject of diabetes
There are terms in the subject that you will come across again and again. Or important information that you need to be able to retrieve as quickly as possible. Here is a «short» compilation.
| Term | Description |
|---|---|
| High-quality wet food | For your diabetic suitable |
| Facebook group | You can get help here: Cats with diabetes We received extremely good advice from this group many years ago. The people there want to help and are very knowledgeable about diabetes. Among other things, you can also find the relevant tables on when and how much insulin to inject. |
| NfE calculator | https://nfe-rechner.de NfE value in dry matter below 10 % |
| Home Monitoring | Home monitoring is about measuring your cat's blood sugar before injecting. Measure - Eat - Inject |
| Fairs | Measurements are taken in the ear vein - please do not measure in the ball of the foot (for hygienic reasons) |
| Blood glucose meter | Contour® next meter and test strips available in a normal pharmacy |
| Formula for conversion | 1 mmol/l = 18.02 mg/dl |
| Insulin | You can obtain various insulins and syringes from your vet: ProZinc®, Caninsulin®, Lantus®, Levemir® |
| Syringes | Do not inject below a value of 150 mg/dl (8.3 mmol/l) |
| Touch | A «touch» is the smallest possible amount of insulin: push the syringe in firmly and insert into the insulin vial - release - pull out, ready to inject. When pulling out the syringe, keep it pressed in so that no insulin flows back. |
| Remission ? | Remission, also affectionately known as a «honeymoon», is the time during which your cat no longer needs insulin and the blood sugar remains stable over a longer period of time. |
