Need HELP ASAP My Squeakers was Diagnosed with Diabetes on Saturday

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Mary E. Beavers said:
Yes he is acting Normal. Just layed down by me an wanted some loving and is purring away....hates the maple syrup though...but he has been a trooper through all this.
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Glad to hear he's acting normal! But we're still on high alert for the forseeable future-- test again in 20mins. after the maple syrup.

While waiting for the next test time, let's brainstorm on what else you can get him to eat to boost carbs. The maple syrup is great for the quick boost (as you saw with that 239!), but it fades quickly (as you are also seeing). It can also upset their stomachs, the straight sugar.

So, reading through the thread, it seems like he was acting hungry, and devoured cheese, but turned his nose up at his current canned food (and in general will no longer eat his old dry food). How about treats?

If he were eating his canned food, another good option can be to drizzle a little syrup on the food-- gives both a carb hit and some staying power. If you have any other food varieties around that he might eat, you could give it a try on the next round (assuming he's at least in the 40's-- in the 20's and 30's, I'm inclined to stick with the syrup).

Hang in there!
 
Red & Rover (GA) said:
Do your syringes have an orange top or a red top?
View attachment 36515

Can you tell us, using the black marks on the syringe, how much you used? (do not count the lowest black mark which is the zero mark)

Edit: If your syringe has half unit marks, count each mark and divide by 2.
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They are orange and I used .5 I used to work in the medical field so I know how to drawal up meds. and I give myself B12 shots every other week for a deficiency
 
Nan & Amber said:
Glad to hear he's acting normal! But we're still on high alert for the forseeable future-- test again in 20mins. after the maple syrup.

While waiting for the next test time, let's brainstorm on what else you can get him to eat to boost carbs. The maple syrup is great for the quick boost (as you saw with that 239!), but it fades quickly (as you are also seeing). It can also upset their stomachs, the straight sugar.

So, reading through the thread, it seems like he was acting hungry, and devoured cheese, but turned his nose up at his current canned food (and in general will no longer eat his old dry food). How about treats?

If he were eating his canned food, another good option can be to drizzle a little syrup on the food-- gives both a carb hit and some staying power. If you have any other food varieties around that he might eat, you could give it a try on the next round (assuming he's at least in the 40's-- in the 20's and 30's, I'm inclined to stick with the syrup).

Hang in there!
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Unfortunately he does not like treats except hotdogs...lol
 
Mary E. Beavers said:
Unfortunately he does not like treats except hotdogs...lol
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:rolleyes:

[although, in a pinch, a few nibbles of hot dog + syrup is better than nothing!]

One of the common go-tos is to keep a few cans of Fancy Feast Gravy Lover's (or another "gravy" type food) around for this kind of situation. All the carbs are in the gravy, so (if they like it, and most cats find it yummy), you can give a boost that way. But if he only likes hot dogs, well... :joyful:
 
Mary E. Beavers said:
No I would Never leave him alone and tested again it is 55...gonna give a little more syrup and keep testing until it stays at 100 or above
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OK, good.

Really would like to get something in him other than all this syrup, though. Have you offered him a few nibbles of his old dry food, just to see what he'll do? Maybe tuna, if he likes it?

As a last resort (assuming you don't currently have hot dogs on-hand), maybe a little more cheese. I do worry that, while it's more like solid food, it's still very rich on top of the syrup. The very last thing you want to have happen is for him to throw up while still going low, so fingers crossed that this latest round of syrup (plus being on the downslope of the insulin action) does the trick and he keeps it all down.
 
Nan & Amber said:
OK, good.

Really would like to get something in him other than all this syrup, though. Have you offered him a few nibbles of his old dry food, just to see what he'll do? Maybe tuna, if he likes it?

As a last resort (assuming you don't currently have hot dogs on-hand), maybe a little more cheese. I do worry that, while it's more like solid food, it's still very rich on top of the syrup. The very last thing you want to have happen is for him to throw up while still going low, so fingers crossed that this latest round of syrup (plus being on the downslope of the insulin action) does the trick and he keeps it all down.
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There is his dry food out all the time but he can no longer eat it...lost too many teeth. I tried to give him tuna but he refused so gave it to the other cats. I had a piece of baked cheeked and he did eat a few bits of that so I know I will get him into a safe zone soon...it has been a little over 7 hours since his insulin shot...I guess I will go through this same thing tomorrow but at least I will not be quite as panicked. Thank You so much for all your help. I feel exhausted now...too much anxiety I guess. It is test, test and test until I get him where I know he is safe. Once again Thank You
 
Mary E. Beavers said:
There is his dry food out all the time but he can no longer eat it...lost too many teeth.
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Aw, poor guy! Maybe if you added a little water to soften it up?

Mary E. Beavers said:
I guess I will go through this same thing tomorrow
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Let's hope not! The goal is to get a dose that this doesn't happen every time-- you're just trying to get him into non-damaging numbers for the bulk of the day, not drop him into hypo territory.

I'd suggest a wait-and-see on the next few doses, possibly skipping one or more shots to see what kinds of numbers he has without insulin. That is assuming that he's never had ketones or diabetic ketoacidosis (which it doesn't sound like he has).

Mary E. Beavers said:
Once again Thank You
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You are very welcome-- and you're doing fantastic with all of this!
 
Nan & Amber said:
Aw, poor guy! Maybe if you added a little water to soften it u

Let's hope not! The goal is to get a dose that this doesn't happen every time-- you're just trying to get him into non-damaging numbers for the bulk of the day, not drop him into hypo territory.

I'd suggest a wait-and-see on the next few doses, possibly skipping one or more shots to see what kinds of numbers he has without insulin. That is assuming that he's never had ketones or diabetic ketoacidosis (which it doesn't sound like he has).



You are very welcome-- and you're doing fantastic with all of this!
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I will try what you said about softening his food.
I skipped his dose yesterday evening because he was like 112 but this morning he was 317. Like I said earlier the vets office had the same problem with him dropping too low as well on the Prozinc. So I will skip this evening again and possibly tomorrow morning to see what happens.
Thank You for the compliments I try my best for I am all my babies have and they mean the world to me.
 
The Baltimore Human Society lists 14 organizations that assist with vet, medical expenses of various kinds including meds for special needs pets. If you are not near Baltimore look up the nearest HS or ask a local shelter for info

https://bmorehumane.org/adopt/surrender-2/financial-issues-veterinary-costs-food-etc/

  • The Buddy Foundation of Maryland (provides financial assistance for veterinary costs): tbfmd.org
  • Cats in Crisis (helps cats and kitten with special medical needs): catsincrisis.org
  • Paws 4 A Cure (provides financial assistance for canine and feline owners who cannot afford vet care): paws4acure.org
  • The Pet Fund (provides information to owners about preventative care and financial services which will ensure that pet owners are able to develop financial resources on their own and avoid future medical crises through care and planning): thepetfund.com
  • Pets of the Homeless (pet food and veterinary care assistance for homeless): petsofthehomeless.org
  • Rose’s Fund (provides financial assistance for veterinary costs): rosesfund.org
One of our local non profit food banks actually gives out pet food maybe one near you can assist
I so hope these or others you find by contacting local agencies can help.
At least another vet that has sliding scale or payment plan Your current vet SHOULD know and or at least be able to refer you to help. Not cool on his part!

God bless you for your compassion & commitment to your pets
 
You are in capable hands and I don't have much to add, just a note to tell you to hang in there and that you're doing great.

If his teeth are too gone for kibble, definitely try soaking some in warm water -- the warmth also makes them more palatable.
 
I would strongly suggest you don't give insulin again for now....NONE

A few days running high are a lot safer than having him run this low....He may not be diabetic at all if your vet didn't run the right tests and only ran one blood test.

I'd suggest you feed him a low carb canned food and test him at various times for the next couple days and let's see what's going on first.

If you qualify, DCIN will help pay for (or provide) insulin. Feel free to send me a private message by clicking on my name and choosing "start conversation"
 
Chris & China said:
I would strongly suggest you don't give insulin again for now....NONE

A few days running high are a lot safer than having him run this low....He may not be diabetic at all if your vet didn't run the right tests and only ran one blood test.

I'd suggest you feed him a low carb canned food and test him at various times for the next couple days and let's see what's going on first.

If you qualify, DCIN will help pay for (or provide) insulin. Feel free to send me a private message by clicking on my name and choosing "start conversation"
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I agree. You should hold off on giving insulin for a few days. Test him before you feed him and let us know what his readings are. There is a spreadsheet that many members use to keep track of their readings. I do not have the link to it, but one of our other members can provide it.

Some inexpensive low carb canned foods are the Friskies Pate flavors. You want to avoid any canned foods that are in gravy. If you do go back on insulin, buy a couple cans of the foods with gravy to keep on hand if he ever drops low again.

Do you know what tests your vet ran to determine that he has diabetes? It should have been a fructosamine test. A simple test using a glucometer would not give an accurate reading to determine if he has diabetes. A cat's glucose readings normally does raise when a cat's at the vet. A fructosamine test measures the glucose levels in your cat's body over a period of several days and takes an average. That is way more accurate test.
 
Marie&HerCats RUSTY said:
The Baltimore Human Society lists 14 organizations that assist with vet, medical expenses of various kinds including meds for special needs pets. If you are not near Baltimore look up the nearest HS or ask a local shelter for info

https://bmorehumane.org/adopt/surrender-2/financial-issues-veterinary-costs-food-etc/

  • The Buddy Foundation of Maryland (provides financial assistance for veterinary costs): tbfmd.org
  • Cats in Crisis (helps cats and kitten with special medical needs): catsincrisis.org
  • Paws 4 A Cure (provides financial assistance for canine and feline owners who cannot afford vet care): paws4acure.org
  • The Pet Fund (provides information to owners about preventative care and financial services which will ensure that pet owners are able to develop financial resources on their own and avoid future medical crises through care and planning): thepetfund.com
  • Pets of the Homeless (pet food and veterinary care assistance for homeless): petsofthehomeless.org
  • Rose’s Fund (provides financial assistance for veterinary costs): rosesfund.org
One of our local non profit food banks actually gives out pet food maybe one near you can assist
I so hope these or others you find by contacting local agencies can help.
At least another vet that has sliding scale or payment plan Your current vet SHOULD know and or at least be able to refer you to help. Not cool on his part!

God bless you for your compassion & commitment to your pets
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Thank You for all the information. I will certainly look into this...my fear is too many people finding out that I have so many cats....These are wonderful cats and Love me and I Love them. They were all ferrals at one point and most of them do not like anyone but me and if they were ti be taken away from me they would be put down as unadoptable. So I am reluctant to ask for help...I could lie and not tell them about the other cats but then they would say you should get by on what you get. Which is just $2 over getting any State assistance. I will look up these places though and see what info. they want. I greatly appreciate you taking the time to bring me this information.
 
Nan & Amber said:
What's the latest BG value?
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So sorry My phone died and then I fell asleep. He gradually kept going up by 6 pm he was 125 so I knew he was out of danger and then I laid down and fell asleep until like 6:50 this morning. Exhausted from all the stress the past several days I guess....his level this morning was 426 but decided to withhold all insulin today unless he goes above 600
JustJust tested again and got 137....I knew that couldn't be right so retested and got 421. So thus far he is holding steady...not sure how often I should test today....I am so behind on cleaning up the 40 Plus litter pans and will be extremely busy but I will post when I can
 
Chris & China said:
I would strongly suggest you don't give insulin again for now....NONE

A few days running high are a lot safer than having him run this low....He may not be diabetic at all if your vet didn't run the right tests and only ran one blood test.

I'd suggest you feed him a low carb canned food and test him at various times for the next couple days and let's see what's going on first.

If you qualify, DCIN will help pay for (or provide) insulin. Feel free to send me a private message by clicking on my name and choosing "start conversation"
Click to expand...
Thank You so much and Yes I have decided to withhold insulin for a while but I really don't want to let him go over 600.
Thanks !
 
Lisa and Witn (GA) said:
I agree. You should hold off on giving insulin for a few days. Test him before you feed him and let us know what his readings are. There is a spreadsheet that many members use to keep track of their readings. I do not have the link to it, but one of our other members can provide it.

Some inexpensive low carb canned foods are the Friskies Pate flavors. You want to avoid any canned foods that are in gravy. If you do go back on insulin, buy a couple cans of the foods with gravy to keep on hand if he ever drops low again.

Do you know what tests your vet ran to determine that he has diabetes? It should have been a fructosamine test. A simple test using a glucometer would not give an accurate reading to determine if he has diabetes. A cat's glucose readings normally does raise when a cat's at the vet. A fructosamine test measures the glucose levels in your cat's body over a period of several days and takes an average. That is way more accurate test.
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Thanks for the info.
I am not sure what blood test he ran. I know they took him in the back and took blood. Then like 45 mins later he called me back in the room and said they were going to keep him in the hospital for a few days and give him insulin because his BG was 500 s d something but all other blood tests were normal. I will call and see if they can tell me what test they used to determine his diabetes diagnoses
 
Mary, you might consider starting a new thread with a different title ,since the initial emergency has resolved and this thread is getting very long. I'm so glad your kitteh is better. I sure hope you can find help for your furry friends. You are a good person for caring so much.
 
Idjit's mom said:
Mary, you might consider starting a new thread with a different title ,since the initial emergency has resolved and this thread is getting very long. I'm so glad your kitteh is better. I sure hope you can find help for your furry friends. You are a good person for caring so much.
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Thanks will do
 
If you call the vet, ask if urine was tested for glucose. The diagnosis for FD is made by showing persistent hyperglycemia and glucosuria. A fructosamine test can be helpful in distinguishing between stress hyperglycemia and true diabetes, but is not always needed.

You can test the urine at home for glucose. If you are getting repeated high BGs and can show persistant glucose in the urine, the FD diagnosis is correct.
 
Janine & Floyd said:
If you call the vet, ask if urine was tested for glucose. The diagnosis for FD is made by showing persistent hyperglycemia and glucosuria. A fructosamine test can be helpful in distinguishing between stress hyperglycemia and true diabetes, but is not always needed.

You can test the urine at home for glucose. If you are getting repeated high BGs and can show persistant glucose in the urine, the FD diagnosis is correct.
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Thanks
 
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