You don't need to apologize. I understand how scary this is. It was a long time ago, but I remember how I felt when Cinco was diagnosed. We all remember how it felt. That's why we help people here.
How long ago was that? When did you give the insulin? It takes about two hours for the effects to start to show.
Okay, that's a good, low carb food.
Something to keep in mind going forward: With a diabetic cat, it's a good idea to feed a smaller meal at shot time, then give a little more after an hour or so, then a little more an hour or two later. There are several reasons for this. For one, it's easier on the pancreas to deal with smaller amounts of food. Also, if you spread it out during the first 4-6 hours after you give the insulin, it can help keep the blood sugar from dropping too fast. Thirdly, once you are testing, you may find that he is running low and the way to bring his blood sugar up is to feed him. If you have already given him a big meal, he won't be hungry when you need him to eat.
I've got him now and will do every single thing that you tell me to and will make sure to give him the very best that I can.
I was just going to suggest this. Amazon is usually pretty good about taking things back and refunding your money.
That's wonderful. Sorry, but we just had a member lose her cat to this, and I lost one to it, so that's the first thing I thought of.
Does he seem to be feeling okay? Is he alert? Can he stand and walk on his own? If he is really wobbly or seems disoriented, that means he may be too low.
Don't feel bad. I don't have any such issue, and I was totally confused the first several times I read them!! I totally understand how overwhelming it is. You are already going through a lot, it seems, and now this! Just hang in there. Keep asking questions and try to answer ours and we'll help you through this!
We have no way of knowing that. This is why it's important to test.
Don't be too hard on your vet. I took my cats to the University of California at Davis Veterinary Medical Teaching Hospital, which is the #1 rated vet school in the country, and I was told there that the vet students only get 5 hours of study on diabetes - in both cats and dogs! Vets have to learn about a lot of different diseases and conditions in many different species, so unless they have a lot of experience with a particular condition, they often don't know a lot about it and don't keep up with the current thoughts.
It is a lot to give them all at once. I gave my cats about an ounce at shot time, then another ounce a couple hours later, then another an hour or two later. With Lantus, it's a good idea to feed them in the first half of the twelve hour cycle, when the insulin's effects are increasing. Once you are testing, we will tell you not to feed at all in the two hours before you test and shoot, so that the BG you get has not been influenced by the food and you know it is safe to give insulin.
It might have been the right dose, but not for someone who isn't testing. We may find, once you have your meter and we can see what the insulin is doing, that Spooter does need that much.
You should feed him his dinner at his evening shot time. We recommend you test (when you have a meter), then feed, then shoot. Many of us give the shot while the cat is eating. You can wait and let him finish, but don't wait too long. The insulin will take effect in about 2 hours and he needs to have food on board when it does.
If you have a Walmart nearby, their Relion meters are good and the strips are much less expensive than the Alpha Trak.
A cat can go into hypoglycemia at any time on insulin if the dose is too high. Testing is the only way to be sure that doesn't happen. Most vets think people won't want to bother with it, so they don't recommend it. Things are often unpredictable at first, but that's a good reason to keep track!
No. We ask each member to start a new thread each day. You can put a link to this thread in your first post of the day, so people can go back and see what was already discussed. If you need help doing that, just ask. When you get up in the morning and are more rested, I recommend you read back through this and see what we've said and what we've asked you. You can answer any questions you haven't already answered tomorrow.
Space it out again. Treat the nighttime cycle (12 hours from shot to shot) just like the daytime one. You don't have to stick to 1 ounce. If Spooter gobbles it down and is still hungry, you can give him more than that. Especially if the vet told you he needs to gain weight. I just meant give him 1/3 of his food then, and 1/3 1-2 hours later, etc.
Guess she missed that?... I saw the 911 but I'm glad to see kitty is ok.
