Possible low BG...skipping tonight, what to do tomorrow?

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Lys7

Lys7

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Hi,

Newly diagnosed. I introduced the Purina wet food to Hotch on Monday night and he has been eating that, with a little bit of kibble ever since. He started insulin on Thursday - 1 unit twice a day. He does not have ears and is temperamental so I have been unsuccessful at my home-testing attempts (which would solve all of this..sigh).

Hotch has been drinking far less. He urinates 1-2 times a day now, opposed to once every 4-5 hours. He only went once today and it was very small. This evening I got my first scare of low BG. We have noticed the past two days at 3pm (+7), he is very sleepy, and didn't even have any interest in going outside at that time (which he is normally obsessed with). Today he was sleeping in the kitchen and had been meowing off and on. I went up each time to check on him. At around 5pm it was like he was talking to himself. I went up and he tried to walk and was swaying and then laid right back down. I immediately gave him some of his kibble. Does this sound like hypo to you? He is already hungry and has normally only bugged for food in the morning, not at night. I realize the peak of ProZinc is usually 5-7 hours and this would have been around +9. His dinner and dose should be in 30 minutes.

Where do I go from here? What should I give, if anything, in the morning? I was thinking of taking him to the vet tomorrow for a leg prick and maybe going down to .5?

Is it harsh on his body if we stop insulin for a few days and focus on getting him on all wet food? We would take him into the vet for another leg prick before starting again?
 
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Hi Alyssa, what you witnessed could very well been a hypo. Glad you were there to give Hotch some kibble! I'll leave the dosing advice up to @Sue and Oliver (GA) @Robin&BB and @Rachel , but with no numbers to go by and the possible hypo, I'm glad you skipped tonight. Has the vet ever tried to get blood from Hotchs paw? Or is it possible to hire a vet tech to come to your house a few times to help you get started?
 
Skipping it was a debate. Alex wanted to give him .5 , but we decided not to give it. Hotch is eating now.
They tried a few times at the vet and were also unsuccessful. :( They ended up taking blood from his leg.
 
Alyssa, this is really difficult. Without numbers, we are just guessing that he dropped low. And even taking him to the vet will only give you numbers that could be high because of stress. To be conservative, you could reduce to 0.5 and start feeding low carb consistently. But again, we are still just guessing.

I know you have gotten lots of ideas about paw poking, including taking it slow in steps. How is that going?
 
When you say unsuccessful, do you mean they couldn't get blood or Hotch wouldn't let them?
 
Sue and Oliver (GA) said:
Alyssa, this is really difficult. Without numbers, we are just guessing that he dropped low. And even taking him to the vet will only give you numbers that could be high because of stress. To be conservative, you could reduce to 0.5 and start feeding low carb consistently. But again, we are still just guessing.

I know you have gotten lots of ideas about paw poking, including taking it slow in steps. How is that going?
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That is true. We are going to give .5 in the morning and I will start to phase out the kibble soon.

We are still taking it slow. Rice on the paw (then he growls), then I give him a treat.
 
Sharon14 said:
When you say unsuccessful, do you mean they couldn't get blood or Hotch wouldn't let them?
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Both. They ended up putting a towel over him and managed to get a little bit of blood but it was soaked into the creases. There were two of us holding him down.
 
Sounds like taking it slow is the thing to do. I know it's tough, but home testing is the best way to keep him safe. :)
 
Did he have frostbite on his feet too? I'm wondering if while you're desensitizing him you should be rubbing some Vaseline on his paws to soften them for when you do start to poke. There is also antibiotic ointment with pain relief in it that might help.
 
@Sharon14, I am not quite sure, but I would think so. Maybe that's why he's extra grumpy..
I put polysporin on a few times but he was licking it off and I didn't think that was good for him.
Once he gets used to the sock, I will try and put vaseline on them. That will help with hairballs too :)
 
Lys7 said:
@Sharon14, I am not quite sure, but I would think so. Maybe that's why he's extra grumpy..
I put polysporin on a few times but he was licking it off and I didn't think that was good for him.
Once he gets used to the sock, I will try and put vaseline on them. That will help with hairballs too :)
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you can use original without pain relief on him which is supposed to be safe if they lick it off
 
Just an off the wall thought.......dogs can be tested at the base of their tail or from their lip. I've never heard of anyone doing either with a cat and I know I'd never be able to test my girl from her lip but it might be worth asking about the base of the tail if you are taking Hotch to the vet this coming week. If he/she laughs at you, just tell him/her, a crazy cat lady told you to ask!:woot:
 
MrWorfMen's Mom said:
Just an off the wall thought.......dogs can be tested at the base of their tail or from their lip. I've never heard of anyone doing either with a cat and I know I'd never be able to test my girl from her lip but it might be worth asking about the base of the tail if you are taking Hotch to the vet this coming week. If he/she laughs at you, just tell him/her, a crazy cat lady told you to ask!:woot:
Click to expand...
he lost his ears and part of tail to frostbite.
 
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