PLEASE READ Me CAT DIABETES

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Welcome! Do you have a kitty with diabetes? If so please tell us more about him and we’ll help you to help him!
 
Ravan is 15 yrs old. He's been fed a raw meat diet all his life. He's a big cat 14 lbs but not overweight. 8 months ago he refused to eat his regular raw meat (1st time) I started trying different food Cooked meat,he would eat a little. Then premium low carb canned food which he would eat.Christmas he started drinking & eating more . End of January I had blood work done His glucose was 500. Vet put him on 1 unit of Lantus 2 X a day. It's been a roller coaster ride.Yesterday 9:30 pm it was 348 he got 1 unit of Lantus at 4:30 am glucose 406 8:30 am up to 425 ( he refused to eat & seemed nauseous.) I gave him Lantus 1 unit checked at 11:50 am & glucose is 449 he has not eaten since yesterday evening.
I'm 71 yrs old & alone. I spend a lot of time crying. Right now he's sleeping Do I wait till tonight & check his glucose? Do I force feed him? Do I give another shot of Lantus ? I do Not want to stress him out in the car to the emergency clinic. Today is Sunday. What do I do? I am on low income (disability) & will do anything to help my Ravan but I can't seem to find a vet in my area that isn't all about the Money! I'm having a difficult time following this web site,I not very good with the computer & I'm very stressed out. What if his glucose is ever higher tonight? I'm frightened! What do I do to help him?
 
JoyBee said:
Ravan is 15 yrs old. He's been fed a raw meat diet all his life. He's a big cat 14 lbs but not overweight. 8 months ago he refused to eat his regular raw meat (1st time) I started trying different food Cooked meat,he would eat a little. Then premium low carb canned food which he would eat.Christmas he started drinking & eating more . End of January I had blood work done His glucose was 500. Vet put him on 1 unit of Lantus 2 X a day. It's been a roller coaster ride.Yesterday 9:30 pm it was 348 he got 1 unit of Lantus at 4:30 am glucose 406 8:30 am up to 425 ( he refused to eat & seemed nauseous.) I gave him Lantus 1 unit checked at 11:50 am & glucose is 449 he has not eaten since yesterday evening.
I'm 71 yrs old & alone. I spend a lot of time crying. Right now he's sleeping Do I wait till tonight & check his glucose? Do I force feed him? Do I give another shot of Lantus ? I do Not want to stress him out in the car to the emergency clinic. Today is Sunday. What do I do? I am on low income (disability) & will do anything to help my Ravan but I can't seem to find a vet in my area that isn't all about the Money! I'm having a difficult time following this web site,I not very good with the computer & I'm very stressed out. What if his glucose is ever higher tonight? I'm frightened! What do I do to help him?
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Hi! His number are high, but they are not too high to panic yet. Do you have any regular pepcid at home? Not extra strength? You could try giving him a half or quarter tablet and see if that helps the nauseau for today. You don't want to give insulin if they don't eat anything at all. Let us know if you can pill him. Try putting some patmesan cheese on his food, that could help.
 
@JoyBee can you get to a pharmacy and pick up some ketone test strips? We need to be sure that there are no ketones present, if there are then you may need to get to a vet. Also you can get some baby food that is all meat, no spices. Maybe he will eat some.
 
Things are worse . 8:30 last night his glucose was 348 he was not eating very good so i cut up a bunch of beef liver. I Went upstairs for a min. & he ate all of the liver. An entire large slice. I gave him 1 unit of Lantus at 9 pm.at 4:30 am I checked glucose It was 406 Checked at 8:30 am & it was even higher 425 He didn't want to eat, but because it was so high I gave him his regular shot 1 unit of lantus. At 12 noon glucose was 449! What is happening? He still won't eat had a small, loose bowel movement at 1pm. What can I do to help him? Would Lactated Ringers be Ok to get some electrolytes & fluid into him? I've given my other cat Sub Q fluids so I can do that if it's OK. Why is his glucose going up higher?
 
JoyBee said:
Things are worse . 8:30 last night his glucose was 348 he was not eating very good so i cut up a bunch of beef liver. I Went upstairs for a min. & he ate all of the liver. An entire large slice. I gave him 1 unit of Lantus at 9 pm.at 4:30 am I checked glucose It was 406 Checked at 8:30 am & it was even higher 425 He didn't want to eat, but because it was so high I gave him his regular shot 1 unit of lantus. At 12 noon glucose was 449! What is happening? He still won't eat had a small, loose bowel movement at 1pm. What can I do to help him? Would Lactated Ringers be Ok to get some electrolytes & fluid into him? I've given my other cat Sub Q fluids so I can do that if it's OK. Why is his glucose going up higher?
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Should I force feed him Baby food,with a syringe?
 
Unless he has a heart problem, itshould be fine to give him fluids. You can feed the baby food with a syringe if he won’t eat it on his own. Has he been peeing normally? Can you pick up some ketone strips? I see you’re in Chicago, we have a couple other members from that area, maybe they could recommend a vet.
 
I'm so worried I'm going to lose my Ravan. He's still not eating or drinking all day & just sleeping. As I said he had a small loose BM a few hour ago I have not seen him pee.I'm going to give him 100cc of Ringers.
 
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It's 4:30 pm Ravan's glucose is still 429. He had 1 unit of Lantus at 9am . He hasn't eaten anything since 8:30 last night & he's not drinking water either I gave him 100cc of Ringers 1 hr. ago. His glucose is not coming down? Should I still give him a syringe of chicken baby food? Won't that raise his glucose more? I thought maybe the liver was what made him sick to begin with. He ate so much of it. Sharon,are you suggesting i try to feed him more?
How can I use Keotone strips if the cat isn't peeing? this is very frustrating. I wish I could talk to someone on the phone that's knowledgeable about this. Waiting for an answer on this web site is so stressful when your upset. Not knowing if your cat is dying , or what to do to help him.

Do any glucose meters check Keotones?
 
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Are you close to a drug store? Can you buy some ketone strips? His glucose isn't horrible. I'd be more concerned that he is not eating.
 
Do you have some tuna? I would try to get some food in him and give his Lantus when it’s due (12 hrs from AM shot). If you can get the ketones strips that would be best, but if not I would treat like he has ketones. That means food, fluids and insulin.
 
What were his numbers like before this? Yes there are blood ketone meters. I’m sorry we’re slow. I know how scary and frustrating that is
 
We worry about ketones when a kitty isn't eating and has high BG. You obviously know how to test his BG and that's great. Have you been tracking his BG since diagnosis? Has he been well controlled until now? Has he been on a 1 unit dose all along? It's possible he needs a higher dose.

For now:
  • feed him anything he'll eat - sardines, tuna, salmon, pureed plain meat baby food (no seasonings). Don't worry about carbs.
  • have someone go to a human pharmacy and get you some urine ketone test strips
  • syringe water into him, as much and as often as you can - I think I'd start with that and move to sub Q if needed later
  • give him his insulin at the next dose time even if he isn't eating much - his numbers are high so I don't think a big drop is in the works.
Most pressing issues in the hours ahead are:
  1. food
  2. insulin
  3. urine ketone test - if more than "trace" he needs to go to the vet ASAP.
Also - please clarify the timing of your insulin doses. Lantus works best when given on a 12/12 schedule. I'm not sure from your posts what the schedule has been.
 
How to test for urine ketones at home:
  • put the end of the test strip right in his urine stream as he's peeing
  • slip a shallow, long handled spoon under his backside to catch a little pee - you don't need much
  • put a double layer of plastic wrap over his favourite part of the litter box and poke some depressions in it too catch pee.
Most test strips have to be dipped and allowed to develop for 15 seconds before viewing the colour change in very good light.
 
This is the first time he stopped eating for so long. On 3/14 his glucose went down to 68 I skipped his Lantus that night. The next morning 3/15 9am glucose 380 He ate I gave 1 unit of Lantus.
9pm 306 1 unit
3/16 9am 336 1 unit
9pm 384 1 unit
3/17 9am 337 1 unit
9pm 348 1 unit ( he ate a LOT of cooked beef liver)

3/18 8:30am 425 1 unit ( he didn't eat but it was so high I gave him 1 unit)
11:50am 449 still not eating ( I gave 100cc Ringers)
4:30pm 429 no eating or drinking Just sleeping

Why is his glucose not coming down? Should I syringe feed him some chicken baby food? He hasn't peed either, so how could I check ketones?

I'm going to try to get a neighbor to drive me to the drug store. As I got older (71) I get very emotional when my animal companions get sick Ravan's sister has high liver enzymes so I'm dealing with that also. I feel so overwhelmed! Thank you all for replying. I appreciate it very much. I'll check your replies again when I get back.
 
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Did you offer the baby food? Maybe he’ll eat it on his own try warming it in the micro and stirring it up good to release the aroma. As for pee, hopefully he will pee now that you’ve given the fluids. You said he had some loose bowels, has he had any more?
Any glucose tests before 3/14?
 
JoyBee said:
This is the first time he stopped eating for so long. On 3/14 his glucose went down to 68 I skipped his Lantus that night. The next morning 3/15 9am glucose 380 He ate I gave 1 unit of Lantus.
9pm 306 1 unit
3/16 9am 336 1 unit
9pm 384 1 unit
3/17 9am 337 1 unit
9pm 348 1 unit ( he ate a LOT of cooked beef liver)

3/18 8:30am 425 1 unit ( he didn't eat but it was so high I gave him 1 unit)
11:50am 449 still not eating ( I gave 100cc Ringers)
4:30pm 429 no eating or drinking Just sleeping

Why is his glucose not coming down? Should I syringe feed him some chicken baby food? He hasn't peed either, so how could I check ketones?

I'm going to try to get a neighbor to drive me to the drug store. As I got older (71) I get very emotional when my animal companions get sick Ravan's sister has high liver enzymes so I'm dealing with that also. I feel so overwhelmed! Thank you all for replying. I appreciate it very much. I'll check your replies again when I get back.
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It's possible he dropped low between AM and PM shots on other days since 14 Mar. If that's the case he might be rebounding into high BGs as a reaction to that. Those BG tests around the middle of the day are so very important to know if the Lantus dose is working.

So - you don't really know what's going on with his BG between shots but his pre shot numbers are high. He needs food of any sort that he'll eat. Give his usual 1 unit dose tonight and then test him again 2 hours after that. If that BG test shows a significantly lower number (100+ points lower) test again 3 and 4 hours after the shot. Getting this data is very important in figuring out of this dose is working or not.
 
Thank you Chris & Teasel, I have been checking his glucose at other times. Sorry I didn't include the readings. I was trying to condense my info so it could be read easier.
I feed Ravan usually 3 times a day Before Lantus in the AM & PM & during the afternoon. His glucose is erratic On 3/14 at 8:45 am it was 352 8:40 pm it was 68 (I did not give insulin) at 10:40 pm 208
3/15 3:40am 404 8:50am 392 ( 1 unit of Lantus) 8:45pm 306 (1 unit ) 3/16 8:30am 336 (1 unit) 8:50pm 384 (1 unit) 3/17 8:30am 171 9:30am 337 (1 unit) 8:30pm 348 ( 1 unit ) this is the night he ate a large piece of liver. COULD that have caused a problem?

3/18 4:30am 406 8:40am 425 he didn't eat but I gave him 1 unit because his glucose was going up 11:50am 449 still going up? he was not eating or drinking for 13 hrs. at noon I gave him 100cc of Ringers. 4:30pm 429 (it only came down 20 points.)


When I got back from the store Ravan came into the kitchen & sat down by his dish I put down his favorite canned food, he wouldn't eat it. I tried raw beef,not that either. I opened a can of wild caught sardines in Water & he ate about a teaspoon

I'm relieved he ate something! It's 8:30 pm I'll check his glucose at 9pm. Does he need to eat again before i give him Lantus? What if he won't eat anything but the fish?
 
JoyBee said:
Thank you Chris & Teasel, I have been checking his glucose at other times. Sorry I didn't include the readings. I was trying to condense my info so it could be read easier.
I feed Ravan usually 3 times a day Before Lantus in the AM & PM & during the afternoon. His glucose is erratic On 3/14 at 8:45 am it was 352 8:40 pm it was 68 (I did not give insulin) at 10:40 pm 208
3/15 3:40am 404 8:50am 392 ( 1 unit of Lantus) 8:45pm 306 (1 unit ) 3/16 8:30am 336 (1 unit) 8:50pm 384 (1 unit) 3/17 8:30am 171 9:30am 337 (1 unit) 8:30pm 348 ( 1 unit ) this is the night he ate a large piece of liver. COULD that have caused a problem?

3/18 4:30am 406 8:40am 425 he didn't eat but I gave him 1 unit because his glucose was going up 11:50am 449 still going up? he was not eating or drinking for 13 hrs. at noon I gave him 100cc of Ringers. 4:30pm 429 (it only came down 20 points.)


When I got back from the store Ravan came into the kitchen & sat down by his dish I put down his favorite canned food, he wouldn't eat it. I tried raw beef,not that either. I opened a can of wild caught sardines in Water & he ate about a teaspoon

I'm relieved he ate something! It's 8:30 pm I'll check his glucose at 9pm. Does he need to eat again before i give him Lantus? What if he won't eat anything but the fish?
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Let him eat the fish. If he has had a big drop in BG on one day (14 Mar) it might have happened at various times on other days too. Those big drops can set off rebound hyperglycemia and then they can stay stuck in higher numbers. He might actually need a dose reduction. You need a structured testing routine to sort this out:
  1. test every day AM and PM before feeding and injecting (no food at least 2 hours before) to see if the planned dose is safe
  2. test at least once near mid cycle or at bedtime daily to see how low the BG goes
  3. do extra tests on days off to fill in the response picture
  4. if indicated by consistently high numbers, increase the dose by no more than 0.25 u at a time so you don't accidentally go right past a good dose
  5. post here for advice whenever you're confused or unsure of what to do.
We recommend tracking BG data in a spreadsheet. The patterns show up very clearly and it's so much easier for us to give advice:
http://www.felinediabetes.com/FDMB/threads/fdmb-spreadsheet-instructions.130337/

Keep up the fluids and feeding as much as you can. If there's no improvement by tomorrow AM I strongly recommend calling your vet.
 
Is it Ok to give him 1 unit at 9:30 tonight? He ate a little bit of sardines I checked his blood at 9pm ( a few mins ago) it's 390 it came down a bit more from 429 at 4:30

I'll try to do the spreadsheet tomorrow.

Thank You again.
 
Yes, 1 unit Lantus at 9:am Should I give him more food in a syringe if he won't eat more or is the teaspoon of sardines enough? I want to give him the Lantus in 10 mins that's his usual time. OK?
 
JoyBee said:
Is it Ok to give him 1 unit at 9:30 tonight? He ate a little bit of sardines I checked his blood at 9pm ( a few mins ago) it's 390 it came down a bit more from 429 at 4:30

I'll try to do the spreadsheet tomorrow.

Thank You again.
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Yes, give him the dose at 9:30 PM. He needs insulin. Yes to giving more pureed food by syringe too.
 
OK Thanks

One time his glucose dropped from 352 to 68 in the 12 hours What do I do if this happens again after I give this shot of Lantus?
 
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JoyBee said:
OK Thanks

One time his glucose dropped from 352 to 68 in the 12 hours What do I do if this happens again after I give this shot of Lantus?
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Two hours after his shot test his BG again. If it's similar to what you got before this evening shot or a bit higher it's very unlikely he'll drop very low. If the BG at the two hour mark is a lot lower (100+ points) then you should test hourly up to the 6 hour mark at least (if you can stay awake) to see if it continues to fall a lot. Post here for help.
 
If Ravens bg drops too low and he wont eat any high carb food, you can rub some honey or syrup on his gums. And as Kris said, post here for help. It would be better if you could start a thread in the Main Health forum where more people would see it.
I know you said you were having a bit of trouble navigating the site, just go to this forum http://www.felinediabetes.com/FDMB/forums/feline-health-the-main-forum.28/
and in the upper right hand corner click on ‘post new thread’
 
So should I post a new thread but still talk to you in this one? i READ THE INFO & IT SAID TO GO TO THE LANTUS FORUM? I'm sorry I'm so slow with all this but I didn't sleep much for the last 24 hrs & I'm 71 yrs old. It's difficult to absorb all this information. I FEEL OVERWHELMED

aT WHAT READING WOULD i RUB HONEY IN RAVANS MOUTH?
 
I know there’s so much to learn and all the worry about our fur babies is stressful. If you post a new thread in the Main Forum there are more people there to help. You could post in the Lantus forum too if you’d like, this forum is for introductions and so not as many people frequent it.
 
What meter are you using? A pet meter such as alpha track you would use honey at 68. On a human meter the number is 50.
 
I have the relion prime meter from Walmart.
I didn't realize I was on the forum for introduction I thought it was the Lantus one. I must be just too stressed out!
If his reading goes down to 50 but he doesn't act weird do I still rub honey on his gums? I'm going to be afraid to sleep again tonight.
 
If you can’t get him to eat, then yes rub or even syringe some honey. Has he eaten any more? Do you have any temptations treats? They are high carb, so not good for diabetics, but many cats love them and you can crush them up and use them as a food topper to get him to eat.
 
Thanks Sharon, My cats never got treats (never) they are terribly picky about what they eat probably my fault for spoiling them.
I'm so worried I won't be able to stay up all night to check Ravan's BG every hour like Chris said. If anything happens to Ravan it will be my fault!. Do you think every 2 or 3 hours would be OK? So I might be able to get a few hours of sleep & set my alarm? If you think I better check every hour I'll just drink coffee that will keep me up.
 
You probably won’t have to check every 2-3 hours. Check him at 11:30 which is 2 hours after the shot and see where he is. If he’s higher than he was before the shot, go to bed. It’s so hard at first. I remember following my cat around and waking him up from a sound sleep because I was afraid something was terribly wrong. It will get easier, I promise.
 
You said go to bed if it's higher. what if it's lower? One time 4 days ago it went from 352 to 68 but that was 12 hrs later after the shot.
 
If it’s lower, then you will need to test some more. If it’s a lot lower, then maybe every hour. Since we don’t have a lot of bg data on him, we don’t know when his nadir or low point is, in the cycle. Usually with Lantus it’s 6 hours after the shot.
 
If you look back at 8:33 pm I posted the times & readings for the last couple days Hid glucose has gone down from 352 to 68 from 8:45 am to 8:40 pm another time it went down from 251 in the am to 123 in the pm OK I'm going to check now. I let you know what his reading is in a few mins.
 
his glucose is 377 at 11:30 it dropped 23 points in 2 1/2 hrs. It was 390 at 9pm. Do you think it would be safe to wait 4 hrs to check again. I usually get up at 4am to check him anyway.
 
I think that would be fine. If you can try to get him to eat a little or syringe some more baby food if possible.
 
At 3:15 am Ravan's glucose (6 hrs after insulin) is 213. He ate a tablespoon of Instinct Rabbit cat food. I'm so glad his glucose came down & he's eating a bit. I also checked ketones & they're negative. Thank you all for your help. I'll go over to the main forum as you both suggested.
 
JoyBee said:
At 3:15 am Ravan's glucose (6 hrs after insulin) is 213. He ate a tablespoon of Instinct Rabbit cat food. I'm so glad his glucose came down & he's eating a bit. I also checked ketones & they're negative. Thank you all for your help. I'll go over to the main forum as you both suggested.
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Ravan woke me up at 6am hungry. Glucose down to 163. He ate but I'm concerned it will keep going lower.
Should i keep posting here & on the main form or just switch over to there?
 
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