where do I go from here

Status
Not open for further replies.
I tested him at 6:30pm, just a bit ago, and it is exactly 200.
He is eating now...I should still do the 1 unit insulin after right? I'm did not get to do the spreadsheet yet, but I'm going to. Just wanted to check to make sure I'm doing the right thing since it's exactly 200....
 
Will you be able to get another test in tonight sometime around +4 or +5?

Do your syringes have any other marks besides the whole unit marks for 1u, 2u, 3u, etc? Are there any half unit marks?
 
Djamila said:
Will you be able to get another test in tonight sometime around +4 or +5?

Do your syringes have any other marks besides the whole unit marks for 1u, 2u, 3u, etc? Are there any half unit marks?
Click to expand...

I don't have half marks in the syrings but I could make it go right in the middle of zero and one??

Yes I'll be home now all night - so should I wait and test him ?
 
No, I'm thinking you should give what we call a skinny 1u. You draw up the 1 unit, but stop just a little shy of it. And then still make sure you get a test before bed tonight.
 
Djamila said:
Are you still feeding the Royal Canin? Is it the Glycobalance dry? or something else?
Click to expand...

Yes only the wet canned royal canon glycobalance food. He ate only dry food his whole life but when all this started happening he refused dry food, and kind of acts like a tooth hurts even tho the vet said his teeth look good. so I switched to just wet. I have the fancy feast wet food here too, just in case I ever need him to eat more.
 
And I just had to wash his bottom because he refuses to go in his litter box since this all happened because he was peeing so much from the excessive drinking that the clay litter was getting stuck in his paws and it hurt him, so I really think that's why he is refusing! So I have wee wee pads that he goes on. Stressful but I don't know what else to do!
But now since his legs seem weak/are hurting, it's kind of like he sits in the pee as he pees or after. So I always am trying to wipe him up and he growls sometimes because his legs are hurting. I think I need to give him the Meloxidyl every day for awhile, I wish I just knew. My poor Theodore. I hope I'm taking good care of him, I mean I think I am but I hate that he is hurting! this really is hard to go through. He's been my only pet and I didn't realize it would be so hard! I mean I know it is, but to go through it is harder than I thought.
 
I'm so sorry to hear he's having such a hard time with his legs! The good news is that you're getting some really great numbers right now, and that will help him heal. How long ago did you start noticing the problems with his hind legs?
 
Djamila said:
I'm so sorry to hear he's having such a hard time with his legs! The good news is that you're getting some really great numbers right now, and that will help him heal. How long ago did you start noticing the problems with his hind legs?
Click to expand...

Everything started all at once in the beginning of February. He stays inside and has never been sick in his life besides having some teeth pulled.
So the beginning of February he stopped eating and drinking...he was treated for an ear infection. He had bloodwork done and it didn't show diabetes but it showed higher liver enzymes.
He was limping badly. She did X-rays but they were not clear....She thought he had cancer and wanted to do biopsys and it was costing me a small fortune. So I switched vets.
The new vet did awesome X-rays and found the patch of arthritic and after a month did bloodwork and found diabetes.
 
shawna said:
Everything started all at once in the beginning of February. He stays inside and has never been sick in his life besides having some teeth pulled.
So the beginning of February he stopped eating and drinking...he was treated for an ear infection. He had bloodwork done and it didn't show diabetes but it showed higher liver enzymes.
He was limping badly. She did X-rays but they were not clear....She thought he had cancer and wanted to do biopsys and it was costing me a small fortune. So I switched vets.
The new vet did awesome X-rays and found the patch of arthritic and after a month did bloodwork and found diabetes.
Click to expand...


I did not switch vets because of the money - but I switched because this was her first year as a vet and I didn't feel confident with her - I'm sure she is awesome - but I was told about a highly experienced vet so I switched to her and she pin pointed everything very quickly.
I've been happy for far. Her partner vet told me to switch to 4 units, so I think I will talk to my main vet when I go in next.
 
How do you think he would do switching litters? There are some litters that will stick to him less. And may help with him getting pee on himself. There are shallow litter boxes that he might be able to enter more easily with the arthritis, and a new box might help him with the negative association too.

Vets and diabetes are difficult. They just don't get much training on how to treat it -- especially in cats. That's why this place is so helpful -- it's full of people who do this everyday, so you can learn way more than your vet knows! ;)
 
Djamila said:
How do you think he would do switching litters? There are some litters that will stick to him less. And may help with him getting pee on himself. There are shallow litter boxes that he might be able to enter more easily with the arthritis, and a new box might help him with the negative association too.

Vets and diabetes are difficult. They just don't get much training on how to treat it -- especially in cats. That's why this place is so helpful -- it's full of people who do this everyday, so you can learn way more than your vet knows! ;)
Click to expand...

Yes this place is a life saver for real!!! I tried to buy the yesterday's news cat litter....recycled paper... with a new shallow litter box and he refused! And I even bought a shallow litter box and just put a ton of soft wee wee pads in there, even that would be better. But he refuses that too! He only wants to go in one place (in my living room!!!! Noooo) but it's near the couch where he is sleeping now. He doesn't go upstairs anymore so I've been sleeping downstairs on the couch with him! I love this cat, lol.
So I have the wee wee pads on the carpet. He's only had one accident on the carpet total, but I still can't just let to continue to go to the bathroom there! Although he rules this house, it's just Teddy and me and he does whatever he wants lol but I hope I can resolve this when he feels better!
 
shawna said:
Yes this place is a life saver for real!!! I tried to buy the yesterday's news cat litter....recycled paper... with a new shallow litter box and he refused! And I even bought a shallow litter box and just put a ton of soft wee wee pads in there, even that would be better. But he refuses that too! He only wants to go in one place (in my living room!!!! Noooo) but it's near the couch where he is sleeping now. He doesn't go upstairs anymore so I've been sleeping downstairs on the couch with him! I love this cat, lol.
So I have the wee wee pads on the carpet. He's only had one accident on the carpet total, but I still can't just let to continue to go to the bathroom there! Although he rules this house, it's just Teddy and me and he does whatever he wants lol but I hope I can resolve this when he feels better!
Click to expand...


He has cat stairs that he manages to get up on the couch. He doesn't jump or move around much at all lately.
 
Lol...oh, how I can relate to that! It's me and two kitties....I often say this is their house, and they just let me live here because I feed them! Have you tried World's Best Cat Litter? It has a more similar feel to clay, but it doesn't stick to them.

Sounds like his arthritis is really bothering him. Why don't you post out in the main forum about the arthritis and the metacam? There might be some folks here who have some experience with it that could give some suggestions about pain management for him.
 
Djamila said:
Vets and diabetes are difficult. They just don't get much training on how to treat it -- especially in cats.
Click to expand...

Exactly. And to add to that, I feel that older vets might also be a little out of touch with things like low carbohydrate diets and the different insulin regimens. I was happy to see that Teddy was initially prescribed Prozinc as my vet started Buddy (my cat) on NPH, but she was open minded and switched him over at my request without a fuss.

Shawna, good luck to Teddy and you. He is very fortunate to have you as his best friend and caretaker!
 
Djamila said:
Lol...oh, how I can relate to that! It's me and two kitties....I often say this is their house, and they just let me live here because I feed them! Have you tried World's Best Cat Litter? It has a more similar feel to clay, but it doesn't stick to them.

Sounds like his arthritis is really bothering him. Why don't you post out in the main forum about the arthritis and the metacam? There might be some folks here who have some experience with it that could give some suggestions about pain management for him.
Click to expand...

Lol yes! Ted knows he can do anything!
No I haven't heard of that litter, but I will definitely give it a try!! Fingers crossed!
Good idea about posting on the main forum about arthritis and this medicine! I don't know a lot about this medicine either. And it's like he suddenly went from perfectly healthy to sick. I know cats hide their pain well so it wasn't overnight but it sure seemed like it to me. I'd love to hear pain management ideas....thanks for the idea!
 
jbfrank said:
Exactly. And to add to that, I feel that older vets might also be a little out of touch with things like low carbohydrate diets and the different insulin regimens. I was happy to see that Teddy was initially prescribed Prozinc as my vet started Buddy (my cat) on NPH, but she was open minded and switched him over at my request without a fuss.

Shawna, good luck to Teddy and you. He is very fortunate to have you as his best friend and caretaker!
Click to expand...

Aww thank you jbfrank! Well he was initially prescribed a different insulin that was so expensive! I had mentioned that I was a bit worried about the cost and then my vet asked me if I wanted to try the prozinc and that it was for cats....so that's how he got this insulin. It looks like this ended up being a good choice, thankfully!
Thanks for the kind words. :)
 
shawna said:
Lol yes! Ted knows he can do anything!
No I haven't heard of that litter, but I will definitely give it a try!! Fingers crossed!
Good idea about posting on the main forum about arthritis and this medicine! I don't know a lot about this medicine either. And it's like he suddenly went from perfectly healthy to sick. I know cats hide their pain well so it wasn't overnight but it sure seemed like it to me. I'd love to hear pain management ideas....thanks for the idea!
Click to expand...
Dr.elsey's Cat Attract litter might be worth a try too.
 
You might also try putting a litter box in the spot he was peeing on the carpet. See if he'll use it there....and then over time you might be able to slowly move it to a better spot for you both.
 
shawna said:
Yes between 5-6am and then 5-6pm eastern time

I don't understand why the vet (who I love so much) didn't let me know about blood sugar dropping, or maybe that's something people just know? I had no clue until I started googling.
I don't want to talk badly about her of course, so I won't talk about it more - it's just hard to understand why they wouldn't recommend home testing and warnings?

Ok going to test again. He isn't even fighting the testing, thankfully. He's just so sleepy.
Click to expand...
My vet didn't let me know any of this info either. I had the same problem as you a few weeks ago with shooting while she was too low because I just didn't know...
 
Rachel said:
You might also try putting a litter box in the spot he was peeing on the carpet. See if he'll use it there....and then over time you might be able to slowly move it to a better spot for you both.
Click to expand...
That's a good idea...I didn't think of that. I was trying to move the wee wee pads slowly towards the litter box, but I'll give this idea a try! Thank you!
 
Cherish Gallagher said:
My vet didn't let me know any of this info either. I had the same problem as you a few weeks ago with shooting while she was too low because I just didn't know...
Click to expand...

I'm glad we both know now!
I'm feeling a bit paranoid now though. I keep worrying his blood sugar will go really low again. I wasn't able to check him a second time tonight (I did the pre shot) but I wanted to check him again because he's acting a bit weird....but he truly won't let me. He even hissed at me...so sad. I could try to fight it out with him, but I feel he is going to be ok right now. He ate some more so I'm going to just get his testing in the morning and I'll keep checking on him tonight. Doesn't help that I'm sick myself right now, just a bad cold, but that really drains the energy from you. I'm not complaining, just stressed out lol
 
Yong said:
26.5% dry matter carbs :eek:
Click to expand...

Ugh! I was hoping I was wrong about that!

Shawna - try giving Teddy some love and woo him with treats and head scratches (or whatever he likes). Hopefully he'll let you get another test in.

As for the food -- that food is too high in carbs to be healthy for a diabetic cats. Most vets prescribe that or something similar - but we all end up on low-carb foods for our kitties. HOWEVER...if you just stop feeding it to him, it's likely his BG is going to drop pretty dramatically. So changing him onto Fancy Feast Classics pate, or Friskies pate (or something else low carb - but those are good foods and inexpensive) is going to take some care and require you to be able to test in order to keep him safe. So keep feeding how you've been feeding him until you can be more certain of getting the tests done. I would say odds are once the food is switched he will have numbers in the normal, non-diabetic ranges. Time will tell...
 
Djamila said:
Ugh! I was hoping I was wrong about that!

Shawna - try giving Teddy some love and woo him with treats and head scratches (or whatever he likes). Hopefully he'll let you get another test in.

As for the food -- that food is too high in carbs to be healthy for a diabetic cats. Most vets prescribe that or something similar - but we all end up on low-carb foods for our kitties. HOWEVER...if you just stop feeding it to him, it's likely his BG is going to drop pretty dramatically. So changing him onto Fancy Feast Classics pate, or Friskies pate (or something else low carb - but those are good foods and inexpensive) is going to take some care and require you to be able to test in order to keep him safe. So keep feeding how you've been feeding him until you can be more certain of getting the tests done. I would say odds are once the food is switched he will have numbers in the normal, non-diabetic ranges. Time will tell...
Click to expand...

Wow, how can vets prescribe that food for cats with diabetes! :( that is so sad...so they do not know low carbs work best for diabetic cats? I'm so confused!

All tonight Teddy has been on alert and growling. Any time I get near him (or move if I'm on the couch with him) he growls at me. He never does this!!!! I'm trying to let him be in peace but I'm also getting my confidence up to try to test him. This is so awful :(
 
I know it's difficult to not let that behaviour effect you but remember you are doing it to help him, keep him safe, not to hurt him. Deep breathes :bighug: You got this!
 
shawna said:
All tonight Teddy has been on alert and growling. Any time I get near him (or move if I'm on the couch with him) he growls at me. He never does this!!!! I'm trying to let him be in peace but I'm also getting my confidence up to try to test him. This is so awful :(
Click to expand...

Ugh. I remember that phase. Sending you lots of love and reassurance! :bighug::bighug::bighug:
 
shawna said:
Wow, how can vets prescribe that food for cats with diabetes! :( that is so sad...so they do not know low carbs work best for diabetic cats? I'm so confused!
Click to expand...

I think what happens is that the sales reps go into the vet offices and spin them a tall tale about how great the food is and how it's scientifically formulated and will magically heal all the pets. The vets sincerely want to help their clients, so they believe the sales pitch and then pass it on to all of us. They do make a profit off of selling it, but I choose to believe that the vets have good intentions, they just don't know it's bogus and don't have time/take the time to research it.

My vet specifically told me that the glycobalance was low carb, and I think he really honestly thought it was. It wasn't until I went home and found this board that I learned otherwise.
 
shawna said:
Wow, how can vets prescribe that food for cats with diabetes! :( that is so sad...so they do not know low carbs work best for diabetic cats? I'm so confused!

All tonight Teddy has been on alert and growling. Any time I get near him (or move if I'm on the couch with him) he growls at me. He never does this!!!! I'm trying to let him be in peace but I'm also getting my confidence up to try to test him. This is so awful :(
Click to expand...
Does he like cat nip? That might chill him out!

Always give a treat when testing so he gets good associations with it. Fresh meats like chicken, cold cuts without fillers(Boars head brand I know doesn't), cat nip, freeze dried meat treats.
 
Last edited:
Djamila said:
I think what happens is that the sales reps go into the vet offices and spin them a tall tale about how great the food is and how it's scientifically formulated and will magically heal all the pets. The vets sincerely want to help their clients, so they believe the sales pitch and then pass it on to all of us. They do make a profit off of selling it, but I choose to believe that the vets have good intentions, they just don't know it's bogus and don't have time/take the time to research it.

My vet specifically told me that the glycobalance was low carb, and I think he really honestly thought it was. It wasn't until I went home and found this board that I learned otherwise.
Click to expand...


Wow, thanks for sharing...it makes sense. I guess that just reaffirms why it is so essential to get our own knowledge to help our fur babies!

His blood sugar this morning - right now - is 349.

I don't know why the number jump around so much. Do I still stick to 1 unit?

I know I can't keep asking every single time, and I couldn't do the spreadsheet yet because I'm sick with first grade germs lol. It's just a cold but I feel awful, so I didn't have the time or energy to figure it out yesterday.
 
JanetNJ said:
Does he like cat nip? That might chill him out!

Always give a treat when testing so he gets good associations with it. Fresh meats like chicken, cold cuts without fillers(Boars head brand I know doesn't), cat nip, freeze dried meat treats.
Click to expand...

Oh I never thought to use fresh meats as a treat - he has never eaten people food. Well not that fresh meat is only people food lol ...only people own that food lol, oh geez I am tired LOL but I will try that because right now he is starting to really not like when I touch his ears!

His blood sugar right now is 349, so high? I think it's because I panicked last night and gave him extra food because I kept worrrying his blood sugar was low because I couldn't test him, he was not happy last night!

I asked djamila already, but i don't know if she will get the message, do I always stay with 1 unit if it's over 200, even if it's high like it is now?
 
shawna said:
Oh I never thought to use fresh meats as a treat - he has never eaten people food. Well not that fresh meat is only people food lol ...only people own that food lol, oh geez I am tired LOL but I will try that because right now he is starting to really not like when I touch his ears!

His blood sugar right now is 349, so high? I think it's because I panicked last night and gave him extra food because I kept worrrying his blood sugar was low because I couldn't test him, he was not happy last night!

I asked djamila already, but i don't know if she will get the message, do I always stay with 1 unit if it's over 200, even if it's high like it is now?
Click to expand...


Catnip used to make him a bit crazy lol. It won't hurt to try though, thanks!
 
shawna said:
Oh I never thought to use fresh meats as a treat - he has never eaten people food. Well not that fresh meat is only people food lol ...only people own that food lol, oh geez I am tired LOL but I will try that because right now he is starting to really not like when I touch his ears!

His blood sugar right now is 349, so high? I think it's because I panicked last night and gave him extra food because I kept worrrying his blood sugar was low because I couldn't test him, he was not happy last night!

I asked djamila already, but i don't know if she will get the message, do I always stay with 1 unit if it's over 200, even if it's high like it is now?
Click to expand...
It's really not that high for a preshot. Yes, do 1 unit for a few days.
 
JanetNJ said:
And don't forget to play. Right now he is passed at you and could use some positive interactions. Not to mention activity helps lower their levels just like for people.
Click to expand...

Yes I will definitely try. He doesn't want to get off the couch! I bought him new little ball toys and he just looks at me like, yeah right. Lol. But I will try xo
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top