Trying to Determine Next Steps

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Kris & Teasel said:
Excellent! Did you give the 2 unit dose? We need to know that if you need help later.
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Yes, my son insisted that we follow doctor's orders. I need to get along with him because I need his help. I was able to get him to read info on this site which is amazing! I will read to see what it looks like if the cat goes from hyper to hypo. I will read every day I just got overwhelmed by everything today, especially while I was at work. I felt like I was just trapped. But my soon can help with the evening dose so that's a huge relief. Linus ate! That's huge!

http://www.felinediabetes.com/FDMB/...insulin-info-handling-drawing-fine-doses.151/
 
I raised my frige temp because it gets a bit cold in there, which we like but I read that Lantus should be stored between 36 and 42 degrees
 
Fit_Jan said:
Yes, my son insisted that we follow doctor's orders. I need to get along with him because I need his help. I was able to get him to read info on this site which is amazing! I will read to see what it looks like if the cat goes from hyper to hypo. I will read every day I just got overwhelmed by everything today, especially while I was at work. I felt like I was just trapped. But my soon can help with the evening dose so that's a huge relief. Linus ate! That's huge!

http://www.felinediabetes.com/FDMB/...insulin-info-handling-drawing-fine-doses.151/
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I understand completely. Most of us followed the vet's instructions to the letter - at the beginning. I know I did.

Fit_Jan said:
I just got overwhelmed by everything today, especially while I was at work. I felt like I was just trapped.
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We understand this too. I remember that shocked/'deer in the headlights"/OMG how am I going to deal with this? feeling like it was yesterday. This is the place for all the help and support you'll need. Try to take in the info in small chunks because it can become overwhelming. A lot of it will be confusing or meaningless to you at this point. Ask questions - no question is a stupid question. :)
 
Here's a task for you:
http://www.felinediabetes.com/FDMB/threads/fdmb-spreadsheet-instructions.130337/
This spreadsheet is the one we strongly encourage you to set up ASAP. It's the first thing we look at before offering advice and is viewable by all members. It's also a good way to track Linus's blood glucose data and the colour coding for various BG ranges will tell you at a glance how he's doing. At the beginning you won't be able to read and interpret the data easily but there are many very experienced people here who can. They can look at it and tell you whether the insulin dose is too high, too low, why his BG went up or down, etc.
 
Sharon14 said:
How is Linus this AM?
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He is much more alert this morning, but he is not moving around much. His appetite is coming back, he ate a good little bit of Fancy Feast Classics at 5:00 am and then at 7:30 am when I gave him his shot. He drank the smallest bit of water. We are doing everything we can do entice him to drink water.

He used to steal water out of my glass of water and I used to fuss at him about that. I put a glass of water out for him to drink this morning and asked him to drink up.
I'm at work now. I'm trying to figure out how I can get someone to give him two doses of his insulin while we are away. We can give him one dose before we leave Saturday, so he will need a Saturday night dose and a Sunday morning dose. We will be back in time for the Sunday evening dose. We have a challenge with the other cat eating up his food. The pet sitter is going to have to keep them separated and will have to make sure Linus eats, they can't just feed and leave like in days past.
 
Fit_Jan said:
He is much more alert this morning, but he is not moving around much. His appetite is coming back, he ate a good little bit of Fancy Feast Classics at 5:00 am and then at 7:30 am when I gave him his shot. He drank the smallest bit of water. We are doing everything we can do entice him to drink water.

He used to steal water out of my glass of water and I used to fuss at him about that. I put a glass of water out for him to drink this morning and asked him to drink up.
I'm at work now. I'm trying to figure out how I can get someone to give him two doses of his insulin while we are away. We can give him one dose before we leave Saturday, so he will need a Saturday night dose and a Sunday morning dose. We will be back in time for the Sunday evening dose. We have a challenge with the other cat eating up his food. The pet sitter is going to have to keep them separated and will have to make sure Linus eats, they can't just feed and leave like in days past.
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In a pinch, you can skip those two doses and pick up where you left off on Sunday evening. It's very early in Linus's treatment so it won't have that much impact and it would be a lot easier for you. Linus is a lovely boy!! :smuggrin:
 
Thanks @Sharon14 and @Kris & Teasel - my son said he is moving around from room to room down stairs, he won't go upstairs now. Poor baby sleeps downstairs by himself now.
He seemed more alert this morning than he did yesterday. I was so worried about him, that is why I started the insulin. I had to do something!!
 
Fit_Jan said:
Thanks @Sharon14 and @Kris & Teasel - my son said he is moving around from room to room down stairs, he won't go upstairs now. Poor baby sleeps downstairs by himself now.
He seemed more alert this morning than he did yesterday. I was so worried about him, that is why I started the insulin. I had to do something!!
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Congratulations on your first shoot !! that's a huge step .

I'll get better, I know is complicated sometimes, specially with a full time work, but as you get the hang of it and develop a new routine for you and him, it'll get better really. Also as his numbers start to go down he'll feel better and you will notice it, but this is a slow process so patience is important.

Also try and get the ketones test it will give you peace of mind to know that even if his blood glucose is not controlled (it will take a while before he's regulated ) he's ok and not to put any more pressure on you, but an other thing that will help you, is home testing, I know that if I knew no ketones and what his glucose level was when I left home for work that really helped me be less worried about him
 
Sharon14 said:
I'm glad he's a little better! Have you tried testing his glucose yet?
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Not yet. I got a meter and strips, forgot all about the lancets and the Neosporin....
I woke up every hour on the hour last night and had to fight the urge to run down stairs.
My son found out that our litter does not appear to be reactive, he tested the litter after Linus had a pee and it had trace ketones. We know we have to come up with a better testing system.
 
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Someone has a little spunk today!
 
Fit_Jan said:
Not yet. I got a meter and strips, forgot all about the lancets and the Neosporin....
I woke up every hour on the hour last night and had to fight the urge to run down stairs.
My son found out that our litter does not appear to be reactive, he tested the litter after Linus had a pee and it had trace ketones. We know we have to come up with a better testing system.
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Lancets: get thicker ones for now like 26 - 28 gauge. It'll be easier to get a blood drop.

Neosporin: get the version with pain relief. Some people use it often because it helps the blood to bead on the ear and it soothes after the poke. I use Polysporin (similar) with pain relief only after he's had a day of many pokes. I put some on his ear at the end of the day.

Litter: not sure what you mean by reactive. Do you mean it won't allow you to get a ketone test result or that it doesn't affect the result?

Trace ketones: if this was the result from damp litter, it's not reliable. If it had been from Linus's pee directly, it's a "pay attention" sign.

Ways to test urine ketones:
  • shallow, long-handled spoon slipped under his bum while he's peeing to catch a few drops (my method - very easy/successful)
  • double layer of plastic food wrap over his favourite area in the box and push some depressions into it to catch pee
  • test strip held right in the urine stream as he's peeing.
It has to be fresh urine right out of the cat. Most strips take 15 seconds for the colour to develop and they're best viewed in really good light to decide on the colour.
 
He is such a cute little guy! About the lancets, there are two options--you can get the larger ones @Kris & Teasel mentioned and just prick his ear by hand, or you can get a "lancet device." With the device, you just hold it against the ear and press a button, and the needle pops down and pricks the ear. Some cats don't like the little popping sound the device makes; others (like mine) don't care at all. You can try whatever method of ear pricking sounds easiest to you--just don't panic if one doesn't work! You can try the other, and there are tons of tricks you can use to get a good blood sample. I have to use the device.

Quick encouraging story: when I started, I had to prick my cat's ear multiple times every time I got a sample. He would go and hide, and I would cry. Then it got easier--I could get it on the first or second try and he wasn't really upset. And now I can get a sample *while he is sleeping*--he doesn't even fully wake up. He just opens his eyes a crack, gives me a little bit of a dirty look, and closes his eyes again with a sigh. He jumps up on the counter in the morning, wanting his "special time"--he got to where he actually liked the morning test and injection because it meant he got lots of petting and a special (low-carb, of course!) snack. He is off insulin now, and I've had to substitute brushing him--he doesn't want to give up his ritual :rolleyes: I never, never, never would have predicted that! This whole thing truly will get better, as everyone is saying, and you are doing a great job! :bighug:
 
I had a report that Linus is hungry today and he peed!! So that means the bugger is drinking water.

DS didn't test the pee but we know when he makes his pee brick in the litter. LOL

I am going to get on the case with the testing. I we just have to make it through this week. I'm peddling as fast as I can.

@Squeakycats Thank you for the kind and encouraging words!
@Kris & Teasel - Thank you for the information and I am taking them as action items!
 
Fit_Jan said:
I had a report that Linus is hungry today and he peed!! So that means the bugger is drinking water.

DS didn't test the pee but we know when he makes his pee brick in the litter. LOL

I am going to get on the case with the testing. I we just have to make it through this week. I'm peddling as fast as I can.

@Squeakycats Thank you for the kind and encouraging words!
@Kris & Teasel - Thank you for the information and I am taking them as action items!
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Sorry if my response seemed cursory or abrupt. I was trying to pack a lot in as concisely as I could. I'm a big fan of lists, bullet points, etc. :);)
 
Kris & Teasel said:
Sorry if my response seemed cursory or abrupt. I was trying to pack a lot in as concisely as I could. I'm a big fan of lists, bullet points, etc. :);)
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That is exactly what I need!! Please don't apologize I appreciate your help!

I found a pet sitting service that can give Linus his shots and make sure he eats well, etc.

Linus is using the litter box and he is eating well today!
 
Fit_Jan said:
Linus is alert, eating, drinking and peeing normal amounts. I will be working on testing when I return from my trip.

Thanks again everyone. I have all of the important info in this thread bookmarked!
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Glad to hear he's feeling better!!! Enjoy your trip!
 
A quick update:
Our trip went well this past weekend and Linus received quality care in our absence. When I woke up this morning, Linus was at my bedroom door waiting for me to get up. He hasn't been upstairs in over 10 days!
I was so surprised and happy to see him! He was very steady when he walked downstairs. His appetite is fully back, he is really enjoying Fancy Feast classics. I am going to get myself settled and rested (I drove 12 over hours this past weekend) and I will start reading about testing when I am recovered.

Thanks again everyone for your support!
 
Glad it all worked out!! Not sure if anyone else has tried this with regards to Ketone testing. I wasn't able to get a spoon under Beenie because she squats so low there's practically no room between her bum and the litter o_O. I wasn't quick enough to slide plastic in nor did I really want to use a special litter.

I read about a trick online and its been working for us. I use Worlds Best Cat Litter. I took a clean sample of litter and wet it with water and tested it with a ketone test strip to make sure there was no "reaction". Now I stalk Beenie when she goes, and this has to be very quick, soon as she lifts her tush up I stick the ketone test strip in the pool of urine right before it gets soaked up by the litter. The strip gets soaked with urine and I read it 15 seconds after. Works well and hope its another option if others are unsuccessful the other ways. The key would be to test the litter you do use with water and a clean sample of litter.

Now if my males cats had to have their urine tested I could probably catch it mid stream. They both need the high sided litter pans because they rise as they pee :facepalm:
 
Fit_Jan said:
A quick update:
Our trip went well this past weekend and Linus received quality care in our absence. When I woke up this morning, Linus was at my bedroom door waiting for me to get up. He hasn't been upstairs in over 10 days!
I was so surprised and happy to see him! He was very steady when he walked downstairs. His appetite is fully back, he is really enjoying Fancy Feast classics. I am going to get myself settled and rested (I drove 12 over hours this past weekend) and I will start reading about testing when I am recovered.

Thanks again everyone for your support!
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That's great news
 
Beenie said:
Glad it all worked out!! Not sure if anyone else has tried this with regards to Ketone testing. I wasn't able to get a spoon under Beenie because she squats so low there's practically no room between her bum and the litter o_O. I wasn't quick enough to slide plastic in nor did I really want to use a special litter.

I read about a trick online and its been working for us. I use Worlds Best Cat Litter. I took a clean sample of litter and wet it with water and tested it with a ketone test strip to make sure there was no "reaction". Now I stalk Beenie when she goes, and this has to be very quick, soon as she lifts her tush up I stick the ketone test strip in the pool of urine right before it gets soaked up by the litter. The strip gets soaked with urine and I read it 15 seconds after. Works well and hope its another option if others are unsuccessful the other ways. The key would be to test the litter you do use with water and a clean sample of litter.

Now if my males cats had to have their urine tested I could probably catch it mid stream. They both need the high sided litter pans because they rise as they pee :facepalm:
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My son told me about that method. It appears that our litter is non-reactive. We just have to get our timing correct.
 
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