Vicki
Member Since 2015
Hello,
I have an almost 15 year old cat, Elizabeth, who has never had any health problems. We live in Louisiana. Last November Liz had excessive thirst and urination, so I took her to the vet and he did full lab work on her. Her lab work looked good - BG level was normal at that time, but she did have a bladder infection. She was put on antibiotics, but I had a lot of trouble giving her the liquid meds. Liz was not a good patient so the medicine seemed to go everywhere but in her mouth. I always wondered if the bladder infection totally cleared up.
Three weeks ago, she started having excessive thirst and urination again, so I took her to the vet thinking the bladder infection had flared up again. This time her BG was elevated - high 400s. Maybe it was 500 - I can't remember exactly. I was going out of town for over a week, so I boarded her, and they worked on trying to get her BG level down, but did not have much luck. The days that it was low (normal) it turned out she hadn't eaten, but was given her insulin.
Since I have brought her home a week and a half ago, I have been giving her shots: 2 units of Lantus 2 x a day. The vet tech gave me 100 unit syringes (they didn't have any others at the time), but a couple of days ago I bought 30 unit syringes. I took her in last week to be checked, and her BG level was in the 400's. The vet suggested I try 3 units one morning and bring her in 6 hours later. I have not yet tried the 3 units. Some days she has excessive urination, but other days she does not. When it's excessive, I assume her BG level is high, as it was the day I took her to get checked.
I told my vet about the information I had found on the internet about diet, home testing, etc, and he is not one of those vets who believes in home testing, and he didn't see any reason to take Elizabeth off of dry food since the dry food is specifically for diabetic cats. There are actually multiple vets in this office, and they all have the same theories. However, my vet said he would work with me. They all discouraged me from testing at home saying it just isn't going to work. From this forum I see that a lot of people do it and I think I can, too. I have been successful giving the shots -she doesn't even notice, and I have spent a lot of time playing with Elizabeth's ears so that when I am ready to test she won't find all the ear attention odd.
Since her diagnosis Elizabeth has been eating canned food and dry food - both Hill's M/D. She is not overweight and never has been, and in fact seems to have lost some weight. She has always been a free eater with dry food (Hill's) out at all times, and a half a can of wet food at night. Now I have cut her back on the dry food - 1/4 cup a day, or less, and she eats less than a 5.5 oz can of wet food. I did not take her totally off the dry food, as I read that is not desirable. My vet thought it was crazy to consider taking her off dry food, mentioning that it helps keep her teeth clean. Liz is not a big eater during the day (she has always done most of her eating at night), and the vet said to make sure she eats at least a couple tablespoons of wet food before giving her the shot 30 minutes later. I really have to coax her, but so far she has eaten that much, and I have given her the 2 units 2 x a day. I usually give her more than the 2 tablespoons in the morning and evening, and then let her eat the rest during the day/night. And I leave that little bit of dry food out.
I really want to try testing at home, but am very nervous about it. I want to use whatever has proven the easiest and most successful. This is a lot of information to take in! I didn't even know there was such a difference in syringes until Liz was diagnosed. Any help and advice is greatly appreciated! It's nice to know there are so many dedicated cat lovers out there!
Vicki
I have an almost 15 year old cat, Elizabeth, who has never had any health problems. We live in Louisiana. Last November Liz had excessive thirst and urination, so I took her to the vet and he did full lab work on her. Her lab work looked good - BG level was normal at that time, but she did have a bladder infection. She was put on antibiotics, but I had a lot of trouble giving her the liquid meds. Liz was not a good patient so the medicine seemed to go everywhere but in her mouth. I always wondered if the bladder infection totally cleared up.
Three weeks ago, she started having excessive thirst and urination again, so I took her to the vet thinking the bladder infection had flared up again. This time her BG was elevated - high 400s. Maybe it was 500 - I can't remember exactly. I was going out of town for over a week, so I boarded her, and they worked on trying to get her BG level down, but did not have much luck. The days that it was low (normal) it turned out she hadn't eaten, but was given her insulin.
Since I have brought her home a week and a half ago, I have been giving her shots: 2 units of Lantus 2 x a day. The vet tech gave me 100 unit syringes (they didn't have any others at the time), but a couple of days ago I bought 30 unit syringes. I took her in last week to be checked, and her BG level was in the 400's. The vet suggested I try 3 units one morning and bring her in 6 hours later. I have not yet tried the 3 units. Some days she has excessive urination, but other days she does not. When it's excessive, I assume her BG level is high, as it was the day I took her to get checked.
I told my vet about the information I had found on the internet about diet, home testing, etc, and he is not one of those vets who believes in home testing, and he didn't see any reason to take Elizabeth off of dry food since the dry food is specifically for diabetic cats. There are actually multiple vets in this office, and they all have the same theories. However, my vet said he would work with me. They all discouraged me from testing at home saying it just isn't going to work. From this forum I see that a lot of people do it and I think I can, too. I have been successful giving the shots -she doesn't even notice, and I have spent a lot of time playing with Elizabeth's ears so that when I am ready to test she won't find all the ear attention odd.
Since her diagnosis Elizabeth has been eating canned food and dry food - both Hill's M/D. She is not overweight and never has been, and in fact seems to have lost some weight. She has always been a free eater with dry food (Hill's) out at all times, and a half a can of wet food at night. Now I have cut her back on the dry food - 1/4 cup a day, or less, and she eats less than a 5.5 oz can of wet food. I did not take her totally off the dry food, as I read that is not desirable. My vet thought it was crazy to consider taking her off dry food, mentioning that it helps keep her teeth clean. Liz is not a big eater during the day (she has always done most of her eating at night), and the vet said to make sure she eats at least a couple tablespoons of wet food before giving her the shot 30 minutes later. I really have to coax her, but so far she has eaten that much, and I have given her the 2 units 2 x a day. I usually give her more than the 2 tablespoons in the morning and evening, and then let her eat the rest during the day/night. And I leave that little bit of dry food out.
I really want to try testing at home, but am very nervous about it. I want to use whatever has proven the easiest and most successful. This is a lot of information to take in! I didn't even know there was such a difference in syringes until Liz was diagnosed. Any help and advice is greatly appreciated! It's nice to know there are so many dedicated cat lovers out there!
Vicki
We have all been in your shoes-You can do this!! I congratulate you for wanting to home test- it is the absolute best way to keep Liz safe! Not to innundate you with more info, but this video helped me when I was just starting out(My kitty wasn't as nice as Buddy 
) : 
Should I be putting these questions in another area?