Hello all you diabetic cats' parents

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Marilyn and Huckleberry

Marilyn and Huckleberry

Member Since 2015
My cat, Huckleberry, has had diabetes for a few years, and has gone hypo more than once, requiring overnight stays in emergency clinics. He was in remission afterwards. He is almost 13 years old.

I would like to discuss what are apparently two different ways of handling this condition. The one my vet has put Huck on involves two meals a day, no food in between and an injection of Lantus insulin 2 times a day after eating. However, I am aware that many owners do a much more involved caretaking requiring taking in home blood samples to check for sugar, etc. In my case, we bring Huck in every few weeks to have some kind of fructose test.

I am very interested in which method people are using although I don't think I could handle the second option.
 
Most people on here do home testing. I avoided doing it for the first two months following my cat's diagnosis. It was the encouragement I found on this board to do it that prompted me to try it. I am SO SO SO glad I did. The first two weeks there was a real learning curve. After that it became so much easier. Honestly my cat barely feels the ear prick at all and dislikes the shot a whole lot more than the ear testing.
 
Being able to test Callie's glucose gives me so much peace of mind. I test before feeding her and then give her her insulin, if her numbers are high enough. There have been several times that she would have gone hypo if I had given her insulin. I am so afraid that I will wake up and find her dead. Testing prevents that.
 
Hello and welcome to FDMB. A with anything, there are differing points of view. We are without a doubt pro home testing here and for a number of good reasons. Most of us also feed our cats multiple meals rather than 2 big meals in order to give the insulin something to work with throughout each cycle.

Marilyn and Huckleberry said:
has gone hypo more than once, requiring overnight stays in emergency clinics.
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With home testing, low numbers can be caught and we can steer the cat to better numbers before a hypo happens. Not only is that easier on kitty and the pet parents but also a lot cheaper.

Fructosamine tests may say kitty was well regulated over the past few weeks but a few low numbers or a few high numbers in that time frame will affect the results so unless kitty is pretty well regulated and stable, the test may or may not be accurate. I've had the test done once and it suggested my girl was well regulated when her daily readings showed she was not anywhere near regulated. I never had it done again. It can also be affected by other blood values which likely are not being tested at the same time. It has it's place but it's not a perfect science.

It's far more stressful for most cats to be visiting the vet than to do daily home testing. Vet visits give you a snap shot of what's going on whereas daily readings give you a movie and allow you to take action sooner should dose increases or decreases be needed.

First and foremost though, each of us has to be mindful of what we as the caregiver are willing and able to do. Both methods have their place and can be successful at keeping kitty happy, healthy and safe.
 
My first vet discouraged home testing. I'm so glad I did NOT follow her advice or I probably would have lost my cat to hypoglycemia! Home testing is not difficult, and could end up saving your kitty's life. It's also a lot more cost-effective than taking kitty to the vet every week or two! :)
 
I like home testing because I get to check in on Diggy every day, instead of waiting to see how he's been doing over the course of a few weeks. But our home testing method doesn't have to be as daunting as it seems. It also doesn't need to consume your life. You can miss a test or a shot here or there and it won't be the end of the world. You're not committing to being home every single hour to test your baby. If you're able to do that, then that's great. But plenty of us work full time and just check before meals and whenever we get an extra chance. I first felt overwhelmed because I thought my life would just consist of taking care of my cat. But this isn't the case, so if that's one of your apprehensions then you have no need to worry!
 
First, if I stuck to 2 meals a day, I would have a very sick kitty. Not all cats can handle only 2 meals a day.

I wasn't home testing. I was told to test if I thought he was "off". Well one night he was hypo (glucose of 32) and I didn't know it. Was able with the good people here to get his glucose up to a safe range.

More times than I can count, Smokey will go from a glucose in the 300's to 40 in 2 hrs. If not testing and I went to work or out.......... what would I have come home to.

You have had hypos requiring overnight stays. I personally would not risk it. One day it will be one hypo to many.
 
Dear Woodsy,
Under what condition does Smokey go from 300 to 40 in two hours?
The thought of a hypo kitty is too frightening.
 
2 meals a day with no food in between would have endangered (or worse) Dre--
he has always grazed and he is a "diver" ---meaning he can have a pre shot of 250 and (like tonight) he was 69 at +2 hours on a alpha track meter--
I steered him with a little high carb food so he would "surf" in safe numbers (while still testing for at least the next hour to be sure he didn't drop again)
Home testing has saved many cats lives-
I have a friend whose vet told her the same as your vet--she picked up all the food and the cat went hypo-
very scary.....
many diabetic cats do well with several small meals so the pancreas does not have to work so hard....good luck!:bighug:
 
njlarry said:
Dear Woodsy,
Under what condition does Smokey go from 300 to 40 in two hours?
The thought of a hypo kitty is too frightening.
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Sorry for responding late. I didn't get a notification. He was on higher doses at the time. It seemed to be on day 5 of a new dose he would show what it could do. Sometimes it was the cycle of a bounce clearing. A few I have no idea. One morning I woke to a 55. The night before there was no indication. Home testing allowed me to catch it in time. So I pretty much test at least 3 hrs after giving and I don't go out in the morning until I do test and I definitely test before I go to bed. It hasn't happened in quite awhile now. Now Smokey will let me know when he needs to really eat, he is relentless so I test. But he pretty much eats every 3 hrs for another reason and he would still go pretty low.
 
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JanetNJ said:
Most people on here do home testing. I avoided doing it for the first two months following my cat's diagnosis. It was the encouragement I found on this board to do it that prompted me to try it. I am SO SO SO glad I did. The first two weeks there was a real learning curve. After that it became so much easier. Honestly my cat barely feels the ear prick at all and dislikes the shot a whole lot more than the ear testing.
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Do you test daily? I hate pricking my cat Tobey so much. I give up when I don't get enough blood. This is why he hasn't started insulin yet. Just monitoring him on his new diet. Feeding zero carb young again.
 
My cat would be very unhapoy with two meals a day and nothing in between, i dont thik thats a great diet but maybe it works for your cat. Is she famished when its time to eat?

I think it is better for several small meals during the day. I imagine it evens out the metabolism rather than a big load of food at once.

Anyhoo home testing. Yes. I was very resistant for a long time theni finally got a meter and was so glad i did. Its really the only way to know what is going on.

I assume your vet does fructosamine tests. Thats just an average and only gives you a broad view of whats up. If you got a meter, it would calculate the average itself, and you would also know in real time where your cat is at.

Hypo is my biggest fear. Using a home meter is one of the best tools to prevent a hypo episode.
 
At the risk of hijacking this great discussion, what role might urine dip sticks have?
As a new DM parent I am having great difficulty with ear pricking and Chessie has always had a will of iron. For us new cases, since the dip sticks are so easy to use and give sugar and ketone readings, would they have a role till we get better at this BG meter thing?
I know they are general and show an overall picture but if kitty is in the mid range and only getting the lowest dose, how likely is a hypo condition likely? Just asking, not suggesting for sure. Certainly want to work at getting better with the meter thing.
 
The urine dipsticks are better than nothing, but the biggest problem with them is that you won't know what your cat's blood glucose has been doing....by the time the urine has collected in the bladder and your cat finally "goes", many hours have passed....if your cat dropped too low, you'd never know it by the urine

Here's something I wrote up for others that needed help with testing...maybe it'll help you too! (substitute "her" for "him"...LOL)

It can be really helpful to establish a routine with testing. Pick one spot that you want your "testing spot" to be (I like the kitchen counter because it's got good light and it's at a good height....it also already blocked 2 escape routes due to the wall and the backsplash) It can be anywhere though...a rug on the floor, a table, a particular spot on the couch...wherever is good for you. Take him there as many times a day as you can and just give his ears a quick rub and then he gets a yummy (low carb) treat. Most cats aren't objecting so much with the poking..it's the fooling with their ears they don't like, but once they're desensitized to it and learn to associate a certain place with the treats, they usually start to come when they're called! Or even when they hear us opening the test kit!

You also have to remember...you're not poking him to hurt him...you're testing him to keep him safe and understand what's going on inside his body. There's just nothing better than truly understanding what's going on inside your kitty's body and with this disease, the more knowledge you have, the more power you have against it. The edges of the ears have very few pain receptors, so it really doesn't hurt them. Also, if you're nervous and tense, it's going to make your kitty nervous and tense too. As silly as it might seem, try singing! It forces you to use a different part of your brain!

It's also important to make sure his ear is warm. A small sock filled with a little rice and microwaved or a small pill bottle filled with warm water (check temp against your wrist like you would a baby bottle) works well.

When you're first starting, it's also important to use a lower gauge lancet, like 25-28 gauge. Most of the "lancet devices" come with 33 gauge lancets and they are just too tiny to start with. The bigger lancets (that are lower numbers) make a bigger "hole". As you poke more and more, the ears will grow new capillaries and will be easier and easier to get blood from...we call it "learning to bleed"

Finding the right "treat" will be a great help too! Freeze dried chicken, bonito flakes, little pieces of baked chicken...whatever low carb treat you can find that he really enjoys will help him to associate the testing with the treat! China's Achilles heel was baked chicken, so I'd bake a piece, chop it into bite sized pieces, put some in the refrigerator and freeze the rest to use as needed. It didn't take long for her to come any time I picked up the meter!
 
Hi Marilyn,

My kitty was diagnosed at the end of January this year but I've only just joined the FDMB today. I read huge volumes of information on here as I got accustomed to dealing with feline diabetes. Like you, I was told by my vet to give only two meals a day 12 hours apart and inject insulin twice a day, once after each meal. However, I was taught how to take a blood sample from an ear and use a glucose meter so that I could gather BG data over 12 hours for periodic blood glucose curves. I sent the data to my vet who would give me dosing advice. I was told to just watch for signs of hypo and do a quick BG test if I was suspicious. I generally followed this advice but would pass on my thoughts, research, etc. to my vet who is fairly open to other methodology. This approach got me to where I am today with my cat, Teasel. You can read our first entry in the ProZinc forum.

Now comes crunch time: my cat has been responding well to his insulin dose recently and he likely needs to have it lowered in a careful, stepwise fashion. I'm very concerned about a hypo episode as he has gotten into some low numbers. I had to skip his shot this morning because I was sure he would crash if I had gone ahead with it. Blood glucose testing before his morning shot saved the day! I strongly urge you to consider learning how to do it and making it part of a routine that works for you and Huckleberry. I have been lucky because my cat is very cooperative but I have a disability that has robbed me of my hand strength and dexterity. I still manage to prick his ear and give him his shots. Where there's a will, there's a way! Over time you'll learn how to fit it all into your schedule, when you can skip testing, etc.

My best advice if you decide to go ahead and train your cat to accept this rigmarole is to stock up on loads of freeze dried meat treats and be generous with them! Also, if you can get hold of them, butterfly IV infusion needles in a small gauge make excellent ear pricking needles and are easy to hold. I cut off most of the thin tubing and leave about 3 inches so I have something to hold with my lips while I wrangle kitty into position on the bath mat where all the action occurs.
 
Woodsywife said:
First, if I stuck to 2 meals a day, I would have a very sick kitty. Not all cats can handle only 2 meals a day.

I wasn't home testing. I was told to test if I thought he was "off". Well one night he was hypo (glucose of 32) and I didn't know it. Was able with the good people here to get his glucose up to a safe range.

More times than I can count, Smokey will go from a glucose in the 300's to 40 in 2 hrs. If not testing and I went to work or out.......... what would I have come home to.

You have had hypos requiring overnight stays. I personally would not risk it. One day it will be one hypo to many.
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That is my biggest fear!! I test before I give her shot but am then gone for 12 hours! I'm doing my first curve tomorrow. But how will I be able to handle this going forward? I can't quit my job. I'm going to maybe see if my sister can do BG testings during the day from time to time but how do you all deal with not being able to test during the day. I literally sleep in fear that she is going low and am freaked out while at work.

I didn't realize a cat could be in the 300's and then go hypo! I thought once she got in the lower 200's, late 100's then I would really have to closely monitor it. This whole FD is hard. I thought I would never ever ever be able to give a shot or do her BG readings and then got through that. Am still elated that I'm able to actually do it and have some control over her health, but now am realizing that that is only such a tiny piece. There still is constant monitoring and am always in fear. How can I more closely monitor while being gone from my home for 12 hours every day???

I know...... I need to finally move out of this cold nasty city with our long (3 hour) daily commutes and move to the beach!!! Kitty would be happy by seeing me more and I will too!! Hahaha :)
 
Jlynn said:
I am so curious why a vet would discourage it. Is it some how dangerous to home test that I'm not aware of?

I did a search on "curves" as I'm doing my first tomorrow and this thread came up! Haha so that's why I'm responding to something from weeks ago!
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Lots of vets discourage home testing. I have no idea why they do this, except to think that they make money off you every time you bring your kitty in for a BG test or a curve. My first vet definitely did not want me to home test and, even after I bought the expensive pet meter she finally ordered for me, still only wanted me to test once or twice a month, at the most. I spent lots of $$ taking my cat in for regular BG tests. In that (brief) period of time my cat had two hypos. Scary!

There is nothing at all dangerous about home testing. It's the best thing you can do to make sure your kitty stays safe! And curves done at home are actually more accurate than those done at the vet's, because your cat is not under "vet stress". My Squallie has never had a curve done at the vet's office; my current vet recognizes my ability to do them at home and agrees that they are more accurate.

Jlynn said:
I know...... I need to finally move out of this cold nasty city with our long (3 hour) daily commutes and move to the beach!!! Kitty would be happy by seeing me more and I will too!! Hahaha :)
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Yes! That's a plan I can stand firmly behind, lol!

Best of luck with your curve tomorrow, I'm sure you'll do fine. You'll be an old hand at this sugar dance before you know it!
 
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