Smiffy's July Vet appointment

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Looby & Smiffy

Looby & Smiffy

Member Since 2016
@MrWorfMen's Mom @Alexi @Tuxedo Mom @Marlena @donnalea

This is how Smiffy's July trip to the Vet 13th July went:

She thought that Smiffy was doing very well but couldn't say if she was heading for remission but that her numbers were (as we already know) in a much better range now.

They showed that she is doing well on Caninsulin, it seems to last longer in her than in most cats and there is no reason to change to another insulin at the moment - but the option was there for me if I wanted it now or in the future.

She is pleased too that she is testing negative for keytones and that she is generally well and back to her old self.

Her blood pressure under stress at the Vets was 140 I think she said but 'normal' and her slight murmur had not got any worse.

Smiffy has lost 0.1 KG (!) in a month which is better than nothing (Smiffy doesn't eat more than about 70g of her dry food Hills m/d per day so she is stilll on the slimming portion but I let her graze on it until about +7 so that it is there to snack on if she gets low BG).

She told me to continue to do preshot tests and approximate Nadir shots wherever I can and any other tests I feel necessary.

She told me to carry on with the plan which is not to inject if she is under 10, to give her 1 unit if she is between 10 and 14 and 1 1/2 if she is higher.

So that's it really .... just that she is and I am doing very well and improving and to keep up the good work :)

She sees no need to see her again for 3 months unless of course something happens and Roberta is always there if i need help.
 
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That's a wonderful vet report and I'm pleased to hear Smiffy has shed a bit of weight. That too can help with BG control. I think that visit and Smiffy's improvement on Caninsulin just proves the old adage....if it ain't broke, don't fix it. As I said before, the best insulin for your cat is the one that works and it seems Smiffy is doing pretty well. :)
 
MrWorfMen's Mom said:
That's a wonderful vet report and I'm pleased to hear Smiffy has shed a bit of weight. That too can help with BG control. I think that visit and Smiffy's improvement on Caninsulin just proves the old adage....if it ain't broke, don't fix it. As I said before, the best insulin for your cat is the one that works and it seems Smiffy is doing pretty well. :)
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I think so for now it is best to stick with Caninsulin .. why upset her system just to experiment?

Have you heard of Etosha food - dry food that has been suggested by somebody on Facebook that is low in carbs ..... just don't know yet how I could easily get hold of it:

http://www.wildcat-katzenfutter.de/etosha_katzenfutter_wildcat.php

@Elizabeth and Bertie is the expert on food - have you heard of it? Don't know how I would find out if it is lower in carb than Hill's m/d and also the m/d is supposed to be forumatled for weight loss too ..... just out of interest?
 
Woodsywife said:
Wonderful report Sniffy. Wish there was an English option for that website.
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If you use Google Chrome it should give you the option to translate the page to English. These are the ingredients:

Composition
(min. 8.5%) Dried chicken meat (min. 70.5%), chicken meat, chicken fat, flaxseed, Hühnerjus, fennel, vitamins, Immutop® (Jerusalem artichoke concentrate), minerals, blackberries, raspberries, blueberries, black currants, elderberries, aronia, sea salt, dried cranberry, mannanoligosaccharides (prebiotic MOS), fructo-oligosaccharides (FOS prebiotic), grape seed extract, thyme, marjoram, oregano, parsley, sage

Nutritional additives: Food Additives per kg: Vitamins: Vitamin A (as retinyl acetate) 37,800 IU, Vitamin D3 (as cholecalciferol) 2625 IU, Vitamin E (as alpha-tocopherol acetate) 723 IU;Trace elements: Kalziumjodat anhydrous 1.58 mg, selenium (as sodium selenite) 0.51 mg iron (as ferrous sulfate) 309 mg, copper (as copper sulphate) 41 mg, copper chelate of Aminosäurehydrat 51mg, zinc (as zinc chelate of Aminosäurehydrat) 342 mg, manganese (as manganese sulfate) 112.5 mg, zinc (as zinc sulfate) 285 mg iron (as iron chelate of Aminosäurehydrat) 20.5 mg, 1.84% calcium, phosphorus 1.46%, amino acids: DL-methionine 3.158 mg, L-carnitine 48 mg, taurine 3,250 mg, L-lysine 380 mg
 
Looby

Great report from the vet. Smiffy's numbers are good and she is holding them very well. Now that you have mastered testing you are seeing the big picture and overall it is looking good. Fingers crossed that Smiffy continues doing well and hopefully comes down just a bit more...without any big drops of course. ;)
 
Tuxedo Mom said:
If you use Google Chrome it should give you the option to translate the page to English. These are the ingredients:

Composition
(min. 8.5%) Dried chicken meat (min. 70.5%), chicken meat, chicken fat, flaxseed, Hühnerjus, fennel, vitamins, Immutop® (Jerusalem artichoke concentrate), minerals, blackberries, raspberries, blueberries, black currants, elderberries, aronia, sea salt, dried cranberry, mannanoligosaccharides (prebiotic MOS), fructo-oligosaccharides (FOS prebiotic), grape seed extract, thyme, marjoram, oregano, parsley, sage

Nutritional additives: Food Additives per kg: Vitamins: Vitamin A (as retinyl acetate) 37,800 IU, Vitamin D3 (as cholecalciferol) 2625 IU, Vitamin E (as alpha-tocopherol acetate) 723 IU;Trace elements: Kalziumjodat anhydrous 1.58 mg, selenium (as sodium selenite) 0.51 mg iron (as ferrous sulfate) 309 mg, copper (as copper sulphate) 41 mg, copper chelate of Aminosäurehydrat 51mg, zinc (as zinc chelate of Aminosäurehydrat) 342 mg, manganese (as manganese sulfate) 112.5 mg, zinc (as zinc sulfate) 285 mg iron (as iron chelate of Aminosäurehydrat) 20.5 mg, 1.84% calcium, phosphorus 1.46%, amino acids: DL-methionine 3.158 mg, L-carnitine 48 mg, taurine 3,250 mg, L-lysine 380 mg
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Can you tell from al that what percentage carbs that is?
 
Tuxedo Mom said:
Looby

Great report from the vet. Smiffy's numbers are good and she is holding them very well. Now that you have mastered testing you are seeing the big picture and overall it is looking good. Fingers crossed that Smiffy continues doing well and hopefully comes down just a bit more...without any big drops of course. ;)
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Thank you ....... I know that remission is a dream but I am convinced we could get there if we her body continues to repair to allow it to better use the insulin that I am giving her .. hopefully that will extend to her pancreas some time over the next few months and it is not too late for it to start working and starting to produce insulin on its own ....... I am for ever the optimist
 
Looby & Smiify said:
Can you tell from al that what percentage carbs that is?
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I am terrible at trying to figure out dry food carbs since I have never fed dry food to my kitties. The only ingredient I see that has carbs is the flax, but flax is mostly fibre. I don't know how much naturally occuring sugars would be in the fruits though.

You can always dream about remission. I know Smiffy won't eat wet foods, but that could be the last barrier to getting into remission numbers. If Smiffy just continues to refuse low carb wet food then the small dose that you are giving right now seems to be doing a decent job. You are doing the best you can. :)
 
Tuxedo Mom said:
I am terrible at trying to figure out dry food carbs since I have never fed dry food to my kitties. The only ingredient I see that has carbs is the flax, but flax is mostly fibre. I don't know how much naturally occuring sugars would be in the fruits though.

You can always dream about remission. I know Smiffy won't eat wet foods, but that could be the last barrier to getting into remission numbers. If Smiffy just continues to refuse low carb wet food then the small dose that you are giving right now seems to be doing a decent job. You are doing the best you can. :)
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I am reluctant to change just in case and anyway I looked at it on Amazon and it is terribly expensive ..... as far as I am concerned no expense would be spared in getting Smiffy's numner even lower but DH is already saying that Smiffy and Pasha don't need their annual booster jabs and it is just a way for the Vets to make more money but I have told him that it is just as much about getting them to the Vet for an annaul checkup on their general and dental health ..... I don't just have a tinker of a cat to deal with but husband how is telling me that we are just not made of money as we used to be ..... I have just ordered test strips on Amazon and they are expensive and I now need to use at least three a day an then there are always times when I don't get blood ...... I have asked Elizabeth (as in Elizabeth & Bertie) to see if she can work out the carb count of the Estora stuff ..... I will let you know if she can work it out ......

Thanks for your support yet again and comments ...... just going to have a look at your spreadsheet .......
 
Tuxedo Mom said:
I am terrible at trying to figure out dry food carbs since I have never fed dry food to my kitties. The only ingredient I see that has carbs is the flax, but flax is mostly fibre. I don't know how much naturally occuring sugars would be in the fruits though.

You can always dream about remission. I know Smiffy won't eat wet foods, but that could be the last barrier to getting into remission numbers. If Smiffy just continues to refuse low carb wet food then the small dose that you are giving right now seems to be doing a decent job. You are doing the best you can. :)
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Wow ......your cat's numbers are all over the place compared to Smiffy .... oh bless him - he has a naughty pancreas ...... well done you for keeping him well and the relentless care you give him !
 
Looby & Smiify said:
Wow ......your cat's numbers are all over the place compared to Smiffy .... oh bless him - he has a naughty pancreas ...... well done you for keeping him well and the relentless care you give him !
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My Tuxie can't be used as any sort of example for treatment or dosing. He has chronic pancreatitis AND early Cushing's both which cause him to be a high dose kitty and very hard to try to regulate.
 
Tuxedo Mom said:
My Tuxie can't be used as any sort of example for treatment or dosing. He has chronic pancreatitis AND early Cushing's both which cause him to be a high dose kitty and very hard to try to regulate.
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I know I had a look and read your signature ..... I really think it is amazing what you have done and are doing for him
 
Looby & Smiify said:
DH is already saying that Smiffy and Pasha don't need
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Looby & Smiify said:
their annual booster jabs and it is just a way for the Vets to make more money
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Looby,
I totally agree with your DH on this!
It is a waste of money!
If you press your vet whether a cat needs vaccination every year they probably say that actually it is not needed as most last longer than a year and don't need to be repeated so often.
I'm generally against vaccinations. My cats never got any at all and they used to roam freely. I know, I took a gamble and now I regret not knowing more about healthy diet and not exposing them to nasty chemicals for flees and tics. It is very important to start implementing more natural approach when they are very young. I'm saying this because I feel passionate about more natural way of living and I would use herbs and supplements first before succumbing to drugs.
I hope more people will tune in with regards to vaccination as it is an interesting subject but I think I will create a new post and maybe we have a discussion because this post is about Smiffy's progress and not about anything else.
So Looby , I'm not at all saying that you are not right having your Smiffy and Pasha vaccinated every year, I'm only voicing my opinion about yearly vaccination but I'm sure most people will not agree with me.
In the meantime I would like to say how much I admire Looby's hard work and how much better Smiffy is now. Well done.
Hugs,
Marlena:bighug::bighug::bighug:
 
@Alexi @MrWorfMen's Mom Smiffy's numbers are taking a turn for being higher all of a sudden over the past few days ..... this really is a marathon isn't it .... I am wondering if I should give her one and a half units of insulin tonight if she is over 14 preshot tonight?
 
Looby, Admittedly she does seem a bit up the last couple of days but if you gave her a fur shot this morning, that would explain the 14 at +5 and she may have been lower earlier in the cycle. How is your weather? Is it hot because it's been VERY hot here and my girl's BG has been up even though she is indoors with the A/C on at steady temp of around 75F (24C) or so. It's cooled off a bit today and she suddenly decided to drop lower again. Maybe not connected but possible. She's been doing so well on the 1u I'm not sure what to tell you. If you can test up to +3 or +4 tonight and she is higher pre-shot tonight you could increase the dose but I wouldn't increase a full half unit. Can you measure 1.25u? I think you'd have to eyeball it with your syringes. If you can't do it with your syringes, you could use different ones with a conversion chart.
 
MrWorfMen's Mom said:
Looby, Admittedly she does seem a bit up the last couple of days but if you gave her a fur shot this morning, that would explain the 14 at +5 and she may have been lower earlier in the cycle. How is your weather? Is it hot because it's been VERY hot here and my girl's BG has been up even though she is indoors with the A/C on at steady temp of around 75F (24C) or so. It's cooled off a bit today and she suddenly decided to drop lower again. Maybe not connected but possible. She's been doing so well on the 1u I'm not sure what to tell you. If you can test up to +3 or +4 tonight and she is higher pre-shot tonight you could increase the dose but I wouldn't increase a full half unit. Can you measure 1.25u? I think you'd have to eyeball it with your syringes. If you can't do it with your syringes, you could use different ones with a conversion chart.
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No syringes so only 1/2 units ..... it is humid but not unbearable .... I know she is higher today because of the furr shot ..... I will see what she is preshot tonight and if she is well over 14 and eats I will give her 1 1/2 if not just the one ..... maybe she is still a bit stressed after the trip to the Vet .... I will let you know tonight if I can and see if I can get a +3 tonight .... thanks ..... the neighbours are back with their toddler so that might have contributed .... will post later .....
 
Looby, I'd only suggest a dose increase if you are sure you're able to test during the cycle.
Sometimes only a teensy weensy dose change is needed, ie. less than half a unit. (Bertie's dose increases/decreases are small fractions of a unit and still very effective; and many other cats respond similarly).
Do you feel able to try using syringes? That may enable you to manage small dose changes more accurately...
.
 
Sometimes you don't get a drop in a cycle, plus the added vet stress might have pushed the numbers up. If she is still in yellow numbers at PMPS I would be inclined to stick with the 1 unit, increasing it to 1.5 is actually 50% more insulin and she usually responds well to 1 unit. Until you can use syringes and increase in smaller increments I wouldn't try to change things too much.
 
@MrWorfMen's Mom

Smiffy was 13.2 preshot tonight so not too bad and I gave her just one unit ....... I am late giving her her shot so I might not get the +3 tonight and she is already more than a bit upset with beeing prodded tonight so I will have to try again tomorrow for a +3 in the evening .... at least 13.2 is lower than I was expecting having given her a fur shot this morning ......
 
Elizabeth and Bertie said:
Looby, I'd only suggest a dose increase if you are sure you're able to test during the cycle.
Sometimes only a teensy weensy dose change is needed, ie. less than half a unit. (Bertie's dose increases/decreases are small fractions of a unit and still very effective; and many other cats respond similarly).
Do you feel able to try using syringes? That may enable you to manage small dose changes more accurately...
.
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No I don't feel able to use syringes ...... Smiffy was 13.2 preshot so not as high as I was expecting having given her a fur shot this morning so just gave her one unit ... will see how tomorrow goes .....
 
Alexi said:
Sometimes you don't get a drop in a cycle, plus the added vet stress might have pushed the numbers up. If she is still in yellow numbers at PMPS I would be inclined to stick with the 1 unit, increasing it to 1.5 is actually 50% more insulin and she usually responds well to 1 unit. Until you can use syringes and increase in smaller increments I wouldn't try to change things too much.
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Just 13.2 preshot so definitely just one unit tonight - not as high as I was expecting ... see how she is tomorrow morning ... she is a bit upset tonight so I am not going to test again and I am late giving her her shot anyway ...... thanks - I agree - I think the visit to the Vet may still be affecting her .....
 
@Alexi @MrWorfMen's Mom Smiffy is 14.9 this morning so gave her one unit ..... it is hot and I think one of you suggested that the heat would put her numbers up ..... it is suddenly very hot and humid today so I am hoping that is the reason for her numbers still being quite high .... goodness I can't deal with it either!!!
 
When it's hot/humid the body gets stressed trying to keep cooled down and any kind of stress can cause BG to go up. There can be all sorts of reasons such as the toddlers you mentioned or some other new noise Smiffy can hear but you can't. As long as Smiffy is not showing any signs of anything else going on, I'd be patient and see if it will come back down on its own.
 
MrWorfMen's Mom said:
When it's hot/humid the body gets stressed trying to keep cooled down and any kind of stress can cause BG to go up. There can be all sorts of reasons such as the toddlers you mentioned or some other new noise Smiffy can hear but you can't. As long as Smiffy is not showing any signs of anything else going on, I'd be patient and see if it will come back down on its own.
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Yes it is very hot and she can't go out as I am too hot to take her but I will try ..... she has been a bit more stressed about testing and shooting since she was at the Vet which is what happened last time she went to the Vet ...... will see how we go over the next few days ....... thanks for sticking with us (:
 
Now Smiffy has had a dog in her garden which has really upset her so her readings are not going to be anywhere near where they should be ..... there is a barrier up so that the dog doesn't get out again but Smiffy's confidence is battered .... will try to take her out again in a sec .... hope it is just for the weekend!
 
This is getting more and more difficult the hotter it gets ..... I now have cats fighting outside and Pasha won't come in so Smiffy is stressed and won't eat because Pasha is not in - all conspiring to me not being able to give her a shot ........ so now I have resorted to feeding Smiffy in the bathroom whilst she has one eye on the garden to see if Pasha is going to come in ..... really I would like to give her 1 1/2 units as she has been consistenly in the higher numbers for several days now 14s mostly ......... now she has stopped eating again and with Caninsulin I can't risk it .....maybe I will just give her 1/2 unit to that she has at least some insulin in her ... on the other hand she might tolerate one whole unit as she is preshot 14.5 .....try to get her to eat again ..... so now Pasha is in and she is eating but Smiffy is still not interested .... just a sec we are now on the stairs - no we are in the bedroom .... wish me luck ..... nope got a smack around the arm and a growl and a look of thunder so just gave her a stroke on the head and got the needle in but just a half unit in case she doesn't come down to eat now when she thinks I have forgotten about her .... this is back to square one with her and I am sure it is to do with her being in a mood because of the dog and the hot weather .......
 
The heat does make them unsettled and it is very humid today which doesn't help. With the reduced dose tonight she may be a little high in the morning but she has nice safe numbers.
 
Alexi said:
The heat does make them unsettled and it is very humid today which doesn't help. With the reduced dose tonight she may be a little high in the morning but she has nice safe numbers.
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Where do you live? Yes I think the heat has messed things up in more than one way including reduced appetite ......no her numbers won't be much reduced romorrow but half a unit is better than none I think ...... So humid I can't beat it!
 
@Alexi and @MrWorfMen's Mom still a bit concerned:

Smiffy stressed by the neighbours and is 16.8 at +7 ... these numbers are getting a bit high now ...

She had nearly the darkest spot on the keto diastrix strip this morning meaning lots of sugar in her urine

What can all this mean? She was doing so well with low numbers (see spreadsheet).

Not panicking - just disappointed and curious ....can this all be hot weahter and a bit of stress (dog yesterday in her garden and now other people in the communal passage) ....

Somebody on Facebook said that I need to get the numbers down as there is the risk of developing keytones ......... she was negative for keytones this morning .....

How high before I start to worry about keytones?
 
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This morning's urine result may well have been because you only gave half a unit last night, so she will have run higher numbers overnight and got glucose going into the urine. She probably is stressed. If you can tonight I would go back to her usual dose. Is she drinking plenty?
 
Looby & Smiify said:
@Alexi and @MrWorfMen's Mom still a bit concerned:

Smiffy stressed by the neighbours and is 16.8 at +7 ... these numbers are getting a bit high now ...

She had nearly the darkest spot on the keto diastrix strip this morning meaning lots of sugar in her urine

What can all this mean? She was doing so well with low numbers (see spreadsheet).

Not panicking - just disappointed and curious ....can this all be hot weahter and a bit of stress (dog yesterday in her garden and now other people in the communal passage) ....
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Hi Lucille,

Just a suggestion, it is something that I faced sometimes ago : my Vetpen wasn't functioning properly.
When I was using Caninsulin, I was using the Vetpen, and at one time, I had to give really high doses (up to 9 IU, no comment...).
But I started to suspect a malfunctioning when I had to inject such high doses, and when the black button came back so quickly in its initial position.
In fact, I was injecting nothing!

It's just a suggestion.
 
Alexi said:
This morning's urine result may well have been because you only gave half a unit last night, so she will have run higher numbers overnight and got glucose going into the urine. She probably is stressed. If you can tonight I would go back to her usual dose. Is she drinking plenty?
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OK ... somebody on Facebook said that I might have to start worrying about keytones if she stays this high - are her numbers high enough for me to worry about that? She tested negative for keytones this morning ..... the 16.8 at +7 was just after she came in having been spooked by the neighbours .... I have taken her food away so that she is hungry for tonight .... she is not drinking at all ..... I told you that she was sick with a furr ball this morning - quite a big one so that might have been stressing her over the last few days too ....
 
Capoo said:
Hi Lucille,

Just a suggestion, it is something that I faced sometimes ago : my Vetpen wasn't functioning properly.
When I was using Caninsulin, I was using the Vetpen, and at one time, I had to give really high doses (up to 9 IU, no comment...).
But I started to suspect a malfunctioning when I had to inject such high doses, and when the black button came back so quickly in its initial position.
In fact, I was injecting nothing!

It's just a suggestion.
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No I think the pen is fine .... I have only just changed the cartridge under the Vet's supervision and it worked really well as we were getting rid of the bubbles and the other morning - yesterday I think - I did a furr shot and her fur was wet .... I will just do a half unit shot into the sink .... just a sec ....... yes the pen is working fine thanks for getting me to check ... tested negative for keytones this morning but somebody on Facebook said with these numbers I might have to start worrying about keytones - what do you think? As I have told Alexi I have taekn her food away now so that she will be hungry at tea time ....
 
Her numbers are not that high, just a little up on her usual. You are checking urine so just make sure you get a test when you think she is running high or if she is not right. Will be interested to see what her PMPS is today.
 
Alexi said:
Her numbers are not that high, just a little up on her usual. You are checking urine so just make sure you get a test when you think she is running high or if she is not right. Will be interested to see what her PMPS is today.
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Yes OK .... she is definitely stressed by the neighbours being about because I took her down to our spot under the Eucaplytus tree where she usually settles but because there are neigbours about she got up and came back to our 'safe' top garden .... I fell really sorry for her that she can't relax in her own garden .....
 
Looby, unless Smiffy has had ketones in the past, I wouldn't be overly concerned about them just because her numbers are up a bit. Some cats are more prone than others so while checking for ketones is a good idea, her BG numbers are not alarmingly high. All the new activity around the garden etc. can stress them out a bit and cause a little increase. 16.8 is not that much higher than her AMPS especially when you take meter variance into consideration.

Just something to think about.....I know you are not comfortable with the idea of syringes, but would you consider getting a pack of 10 syringes to practice with and see if you can use to them? You can practise with water and injecting fruit to get a sense of how syringes are different from the pen for injecting and if you can get comfortable with them, you'd have even more control over Smiffy's dose of insulin. :)
 
She has come down a bit tonight so gave her a full unit ... she was preshot 14.7 so not nearly as bad as I was thinking it would be .... more evidence that the Caninsulin seems to last more or less 12 hours in Smiffy I think .....
 
MrWorfMen's Mom said:
Looby, unless Smiffy has had ketones in the past, I wouldn't be overly concerned about them just because her numbers are up a bit. Some cats are more prone than others so while checking for ketones is a good idea, her BG numbers are not alarmingly high. All the new activity around the garden etc. can stress them out a bit and cause a little increase. 16.8 is not that much higher than her AMPS especially when you take meter variance into consideration.

Just something to think about.....I know you are not comfortable with the idea of syringes, but would you consider getting a pack of 10 syringes to practice with and see if you can use to them? You can practise with water and injecting fruit to get a sense of how syringes are different from the pen for injecting and if you can get comfortable with them, you'd have even more control over Smiffy's dose of insulin. :)
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I wouldn't have a clue what syringes to get or how to get the insulin out of the Caninsulin cartridge .... I will stick to what I know but will not rule it out ... will see how things go over the next few days or until we are over the worst of the weather .... I must admit I am not keen as I have enough of run around with the pen .... but that small step would make sense to just practice with some to see how I feel ... what syringes would I need in order to take the insulin from a Caninsulin cartridge .... bear in mind I don't keep the charged pen in the fridge but change it after 28 days even if it is not empty ....
 
Alexi said:
Her numbers are not that high, just a little up on her usual. You are checking urine so just make sure you get a test when you think she is running high or if she is not right. Will be interested to see what her PMPS is today.
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14.7 so down from earlier (: Gave her one unit tonight .....
 
Looby & Smiify said:
I wouldn't have a clue what syringes to get or how to get the insulin out of the Caninsulin cartridge .... I will stick to what I know but will not rule it out ... will see how things go over the next few days or until we are over the worst of the weather .... I must admit I am not keen as I have enough of run around with the pen .... but that small step would make sense to just practice with some to see how I feel ... what syringes would I need in order to take the insulin from a Caninsulin cartridge .... bear in mind I don't keep the charged pen in the fridge but change it after 28 days even if it is not empty ....
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The syringes that are used with caninsulin are u40 syringes, they come with the needle fixed to it. It is important to get u40 and not any other type of syringe. The cartridge has a little rubber stopper at the end so to get the insulin out with a syringe you hold it with the rubber stopper pointing down wards and the syringe with the needle pointing upwards then push the needle through the stopper then pull the end of the syringe to get the insulin out, it is ok to then push some out and back into the cartridge until you hit the line on the syringe that corresponds to the dose. I would find a pen more complicated! I use 3ml vials of caninsulin which are small, there is a 10ml vial but these are wasteful for cats. Mine usually lasts around 4 weeks but Smiffy is on a much smaller dose of insulin so would last you longer, I keep them in the fridge. There is a caninsulin branded syringe but I have found a cheaper u40 syringe on amazon which has half unit markings on it and I've been using them for a few weeks now.
 
Gave Smiffy one unit last night and she is still 15.6 this morning and not really eating very much but gave her another unit .... this heat must be really messing with her blood glucose ..... will be milder by the end of the week ......

@Alexi would you be able to give me a link to Amazon UK for the needles to make sure I get the right ones ....

As you can see Smiffy is still running much higher than the good numbers we were getting jut over a week ago ..... really upset about it now .... she got her full unit last night as she was only just over 14 so couldn't risk a one and a half unit ...

Thanks xxx
 
Looby, it could be that Smiffy is bouncing a bit but it's impossible to tell if that's the case because you haven't got any readings around the +3 mark during the PM cycle for that last 5 nights. Those readings around +3 can be very telling when it comes to knowing what is going on and finding the best dose of insulin for Smiffy. If she is going even lower per chance than she had been, she may be compensating with higher numbers.
 
MrWorfMen's Mom said:
Looby, it could be that Smiffy is bouncing a bit but it's impossible to tell if that's the case because you haven't got any readings around the +3 mark during the PM cycle for that last 5 nights. Those readings around +3 can be very telling when it comes to knowing what is going on and finding the best dose of insulin for Smiffy. If she is going even lower per chance than she had been, she may be compensating with higher numbers.
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Really? I don't think she would be bouncing for the preshot numbers would she? I have tried for the +3 numbers in the evening but I have been falling asleep ... need to put an alarm on ...... I know she has been stressed over the last few days since she went to the Vet and the hot weather is not helping .... it is too hot for me to take her to the garden as we are having a heat wave at the moment ..... I will really try to do the +3 tonight ...... or I will give her a one and a half unit shot if she is over 14 .... I had high hopes for this morning after giving her her one unit last night ... she rises very quickly if she is stressed because the 16 reading yesterday was directly after she was spooked in the garden ....she is relaxed at the moment outside so I will take her +5 and hope it is in the 13s or 14s at the highest .... she was quite stressed this morning when I gave her her injection - she even growled at me when I gave her food .... that is all to do with the heat I think ... doesn't want to eat a big meal all in one go - just wants to graze and there is me shoving food in front of her ...

Just done +5 and she is 14.6 so still a bit high .. covinced it is the hot weather and she is bored and a bit stressed because she can't go to the garden with Mummy ....... only a few days left of this hot weather
 
@Alexi @MrWorfMen's Mom it has been suggested to me that there might be something else going on with Smiffy as she is not eating as much or drinking much water and her numbers are higher than they were a couple of weeks ago so I am now starting to get worried ..... you have both given me reassurance that everything is OK and not out of the ordinary but I am getting told by pepes on FB that their cats are not effected by the heat but I think Smiffy is .... going to do a +7 reading with a treat ...... 15 .... shall I call the Vet? Do you think she should be drinking a lot in this weather? I have been told that in the numbers she is reading now she should be eating a lot more but that is not the case I don't think ...... not drinking very much and not eating a lot are good clinical signs of her doing well aren't they? I am getting mixed messages and am getting worried again now .....
 
MrWorfMen's Mom said:
Looby, it could be that Smiffy is bouncing a bit but it's impossible to tell if that's the case because you haven't got any readings around the +3 mark during the PM cycle for that last 5 nights. Those readings around +3 can be very telling when it comes to knowing what is going on and finding the best dose of insulin for Smiffy. If she is going even lower per chance than she had been, she may be compensating with higher numbers.
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What exactly do you mean in your last sentence ... are you talking about the lower numbers she was getting jus tover a week ago?
 
Looby, what you have to remember is that every cat is different. Some eat and drink in the hot weather much the same as they do when it's cooler. Some may not. Smiffy's numbers may be higher this week for all sorts of reasons. There's not necessarily anything else going on. Elizabeth mentioned that as a possibility over on Facebook simply to alert you to the possibility (duplicate word intended for emphasis). If you post on different sites you are bound to get some similar responses and some different ones, covering many different scenarios, some of which may be relevant to you and some not.

Basically, you know your own cat so let your own observation of her behaviour be your guide. You could ask 100 cat-owners how their cat behaves in hot weather and get almost as many different answers. Your vet has told you not to worry - so don't!

Diana
 
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