Out of remission. New dose?

Tina and Gracie (GA)

Tina and Gracie (GA)

Active Member
Ok, my last post didn’t get any comments. I am posting again in hopes of someone can guide me.

I feel like I know what to do, but I guess I need some confirmation from others who are more experienced.

After how many high numbers is it OK for me to start giving insulin again? I really don’t want to wait much longer, but I also don’t want to be quick to shoot. I just know the longer I wait the harder it will be to kick her into remission again.

My SS needs to be updated. What I can tell you is that her BG has been in the 200-300 the last week. She is refusing LC food.

She is only eating wet-gravy HC food or some dry kibble.

I have tried countless ways to get her to eat LC food. I’m exhausted and obviously frustrated. My assumption is her lack of appetite could be due to increased BG and not feeling well. Water intake has increased as well.


@Djamila @Rachel @Kris & Teasel @Noah & me (GA)
 
Tina R said:
Ok, my last post didn’t get any comments. I am posting again in hopes of someone can guide me.

I feel like I know what to do, but I guess I need some confirmation from others who are more experienced.

After how many high numbers is it OK for me to start giving insulin again? I really don’t want to wait much longer, but I also don’t want to be quick to shoot. I just know the longer I wait the harder it will be to kick her into remission again.

My SS needs to be updated. What I can tell you is that her BG has been in the 200-300 the last week. She is refusing LC food.

She is only eating wet-gravy HC food or some dry kibble.

I have tried countless ways to get her to eat LC food. I’m exhausted and obviously frustrated. My assumption is her lack of appetite could be due to increased BG and not feeling well. Water intake has increased as well.


@Djamila @Rachel @Kris & Teasel @Noah & me (GA)
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How long has she been eating the high carb food?

Maybe that's all you need to change to bring her back down?

When my guys have been given too many treats and turn their noses up at the LC food... if I crumble one of those purebites treats on top of their LC food they eat it right up.
 
About a week and a half. I have tried everything under the sun to get her to eat LC food. Including her freeze dried treats. I’m not exaggerating. I have tried so much.

Obviously if I could get her to eat LC food we would be in better shape.
 
Tina R said:
About a week and a half. I have tried everything under the sun to get her to eat LC food. Including her freeze dried treats. I’m not exaggerating. I have tried so much.

Obviously if I could get her to eat LC food we would be in better shape.
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Personally... since she's at 13.5 lbs... I would let her skip a meal or two to see if she'll start to come around and eat the LC before going back on insulin.

Our guys are being super picky right now too because there was "The Great Too Much Chicken Debaucle of 2019" recently... sardines... and the "Let's Experiment With Higher Carb Foods To Help Gain Weight" disaster. Which got them (his brother kept sneaking some off his plate) thinking that gravy food is going to be a regular thing now!

As long as they think there is a better option, and there is for her because she can smell it and she knows she gets it if she demands it...she isn't going to eat the LC stuff.

We literally had to hide the dry kibble in two bags ..upstairs...in a closet... for them to stop smelling it and believe it was no longer an option worth holding out for.

The treats too... the tiny little bag of freeze dried treats... they can smell it.

Someone once told me cats have such a strong sense of smell they can even smell the canned food in the can in a cabinet. I don't know if thats true but I know it is for the dry stuff in bags! lol


I know you've probably tried all this but just in case ... sardines are zero carbs and feel like a treat if they're not used to it, same with plain chicken. If you give her the "treats" of zero carb sardines (which has b12 and omega 3s which are good for diabetic cats) or zero carb chicken, that might be enough to wean her off of the kibble and gravy foods and introduce lc back into it? Or then she'll just hold out for sardines/chicken lol ... but I think that the kibble is the hardest thing to get them off of becuase they literally add stuff to that stuff that is additive to cats. Tuna juice on lc food, sprinkled anything on lc food like a piece of crushed kibble or treats, mixing a tiny tiny bit of gravy lovers gravy into it cause again, they smell it even if its a tiny bit.

The dry kibble our cats were getting... I tried to figure out the carbs on it the other day with that carb calculator thing just out of curiosity what was I doing to my boys...I am terrible at math but I think it came out to about 33% carbs and the carbs from the dry stuff sticks around longer too right? :( I would withhold that stuff at all costs.

(sardines aren't the mercury risk tuna is because sardines are a tiny tiny fish and tiny tiny fishes don't have the mercury risk big fishes do :D Oh and they must be the boneless skinless kind in water , there are other kinds with oils and mustards that are no bueno)
 
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Just to be clear, is Gracie eating a normal amount of food when given the HC or kibble or is her appetite diminished? Asking because you mentioned lack of appetite in your original post. I notice she had dental work done back in Dec. Is it possible she is having some problem with her mouth that makes her reluctant to eat the pate preferring a soupier food with the gravy? You could try adding water to the LC to try making a "gravy" like consistency and see if that helps get her back on the pate.

I'm not clear on how the HC food and kibble got back into the picture when it appears Gracie was eating FF, Friskies and raw before. I may have missed some info in my quick scan of prior posts so sorry if that's the case.

While I have to wonder if it is the high carb food keeping her BG up, there is also the possibility of some other issue like a bladder infection or dental issues could be at play.

When you say her BG has been 200 to 300 for the last week, was that sporadic tests here and there or have you been consistently tracking her daily and getting fasting BGs?
 
@Jasper Blue and Jay I had to walk away from your reply for a bit, so I’m hoping this doesn’t come off rude.

First off, that is a low weight for my feline. She WAS 15.5. Nobody on this thread is credible enough to state that is an optimal weight for my cat. If you don’t know my situation, or cat I would prefer you not make assumptions. I would prefer you ask.

I have let her skip meals, but this is also dangerous if it goes beyond 24hrs. You think I don’t know how to play food protest? I do, but I also care about the health of my cat too.

She has freeze dried treats. She eats those and not the rest of the food.

Gracie is NOT a kibble addict, as stated in my post she wasn’t eating it with gusto. It was easy to take her off of it, but when she protests I know she will eat it. I don’t give in right away. I have to be at my wits end and gone through about a dozen cans.
I think you are missing the point of my post. I’m not struggling to take her off kibble. I am (but not in the way you are thinking).
Finally, Gracie WAS in remission. I’m not new to this group or feline diabetes for that matter.

I appreciate your suggestions. It just seems like you are confused with my situation and what I am looking for?

Please ask and don’t assume.
 
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Here we go again . . .

No, her appetite has decreased in general. If you looked further at my previous posts you would notice she just had a dental done.

She will NOT eat any wet food if there is water mixed in.

The HC food was added due to her not eating any of the LC food options, as you can see in my signature her normal diet is LC.

The HC food is most definitely what is messing with her BG.

200-300 is NOT sporadic. I am in the process of updating SS.

Why would I test daily if she was in remission? I wouldn’t. When I notice high numbers I assume to test like I would before I would shoot. So, yes, this means no food 2hrs prior to test.
 
Tina, when you ask for responses, please try to accept what is offered with a little grace. Those might not be the responses you were hoping for, but neither Jay nor Linda were at all unreasonable in what they said or asked. If everything is as you describe it, then it sounds like you need to take Gracie to the vet to find out what's going on.
 
I'm very sorry if my post upset you but I make sure I have my facts straight before I provide an opinion/suggestion. Yes I might have missed some info. I admitted that up front and made it clear in my post. It also was not evident to me how often you have been testing Gracie because the spreadsheet has not been updated. We are very data oriented here and with good reason....the safety of your kitty. I don't make suggestions based on assumptions. I understand you are concerned about Gracie but taking that concern out on those of us trying to help is not productive.
I agree with Djamila that a vet visit would be your best move to figure out what is going on.
 
I’m fully aware that I my have came off a bit harsh. It was not my full intention, but I was a little irritated at some of the assumptions.

As stated . . . If they are confused I would prefer they ask questions and not assume I’m giving Gracie kibble for giggles.
 
Seriously Tina. No one was suggesting you were "giving Gracie kibble for giggles." There is absolutely no excuse for treating people the way you are in this thread. Anyone who posts here is doing so out of the kindness of their heart. Accept their posts or walk away. There's no need to be rude and disrespectful.
 
Tina R said:
@Jasper Blue and Jay I had to walk away from your reply for a bit, so I’m hoping this doesn’t come off rude.

First off, that is a low weight for my feline. She WAS 15.5. Nobody on this thread is credible enough to state that is an optimal weight for my cat. If you don’t know my situation, or cat I would prefer you not make assumptions. I would prefer you ask.

I have let her skip meals, but this is also dangerous if to goes beyond 24hrs. You think I don’t know how to play food protest? I do, but I also care about the health of my cat too.

She has freeze dried treats. She eats those and not the rest of the food.

Gracie is NOT a kibble addict, as stated in my post she wasn’t eating it with gusto. It was easy to take her off of it, but when she protests I know she will eat it. I don’t give in right away. I have to be at my wits end and gone through about a dozen cans.
I think you are missing the point of my post. I’m not struggling to take her off kibble. I am (but not in the way you are thinking).
Finally, Gracie WAS in remission. I’m not new to this group or feline diabetes for that matter.

I appreciate your suggestions. It just seems like you are confused with my situation and what I am looking for?

Please ask and don’t assume.
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I'm so sorry. I totally get where you are coming from.
I've had people insist I increase my cats dose, literally trying to diagnose and prescribe...without even bothering to look at his ss, ignoring what I literally just told them, let alone read all my past messages... so I totally get where you're coming from. I've almost left this forum a couple times, I mean literally there was like a two day period where it seemed like all anyone was saying to me was "give him more insulin!" without even listening to or trying to understand what I had literally just written to them about why I could not. I've had people seem supportive but then as soon as I didn't do what they insisted I do, just completely stop responding at all. But I'm desperate to help my cat so I just try to ignore those and focus on the ones that are trying to be understanding of a newbie in a stressful situation or just commiserating about what they did in situations like mine. Which is what I thought mine was. I'm sorry it wasn't. I wasn't trying to dictate, diagnose or prescribe anything for your kitty, I was just trying to share with you what I am experiencing in case there were any similarities or in case some of the ideas I mentioned might trigger an idea you hadn't thought of or some treat that your cat liked in the past but you'd forgotten about, etc.


I have a lot of guilt over knowing a long time ago that my guy had slightly elevated blood sugar and he needed to get off the dry and I didn't do it. I tried, a lot, and failed, a lot, and ultimately stuck with the dry and only gave a can of wet once a day. I have a lot of regret and guilt over that, and I think about it every day, if I had just stuck to my guns and withheld that stuff he wouldn't be going through this today. So , I think that clouded my understanding of your situation and my response. I apologize.



I'll take how I came off into consideration and try to make sure I make it clearer I'm only trying to commiserate, not dictate, in the future.

Again, I apologize and I'm sorry my words contributed in any way to an already stressful situation. :bighug: to you and Gracie.
 
Tina R said:
I’m fully aware that I my have came off a bit harsh. It was not my full intention, but I was a little irritated at some of the assumptions.

As stated . . . If they are confused I would prefer they ask questions and not assume I’m giving Gracie kibble for giggles.
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No need to apologize, I just saw this message after I wrote my novel apologizing to you, lol.

Again, I'm sorry. I would be annoyed too. This is stressful stuff. :bighug:
 
No one suggested you were feeding Gracie kibble for giggles. My "assumption" was that something had occurred/changed that made the diet change necessary and I wondered what that was. I noticed a pet sitter was involved not long ago and wondered if Gracie had gone off her food at that time leading to giving her the HC and kibble again to get her eat. An assumption.....yes....but one I chose to ask be clarified.
Tina, those of helping here are as concerned for your kitty as we are for our own. Please understand that we are not mind readers and sometimes we miss info in prior posts. Double checking of the facts by those trying to help should be appreciated not spurned.
 
Djamila said:
Seriously Tina. No one was suggesting you were "giving Gracie kibble for giggles." There is absolutely no excuse for treating people the way you are in this thread. Anyone who posts here is doing so out of the kindness of their heart. Accept their posts or walk away. There's no need to be rude and disrespectful.
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The kibbles for giggles comment was a bit sarcastic.
I’m not saying my behavior was appropriate, but I don’t think I was completely out of line either, but there is no point in arguing over this.
I know you are coming from a good place when you say this stuff, but understand I became defensive for a reason. Not to be rude.
 
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Jay, I appreciate your novel of apology. I really do. Hearing your struggle/story made me a feel a little better. The other day when nobody responded to my first post I about left. I was flustered. Many of the people who were active when I was new here are busy. I get it. I left for awhile too. They were almost my comfort. I knew I could post and get an accurate response. They knew Gracie and my story. It was a little overwhelming having two people respond today that I didn’t know/wasn’t familiar with them. Before I responded I actually turned off my iPad and said I was going to comment tomorrow. Obviously that didn’t last long.

Don’t guilt yourself over the diagnosis. Feline Diabetes sucks. Carbs are the devil. No sense in beating yourself over it.
 
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MrWorfMen's Mom said:
No one suggested you were feeding Gracie kibble for giggles. My "assumption" was that something had occurred/changed that made the diet change necessary and I wondered what that was. I noticed a pet sitter was involved not long ago and wondered if Gracie had gone off her food at that time leading to giving her the HC and kibble again to get her eat. An assumption.....yes....but one I chose to ask be clarified.
Tina, those of helping here are as concerned for your kitty as we are for our own. Please understand that we are not mind readers and sometimes we miss info in prior posts. Double checking of the facts by those trying to help should be appreciated not spurned.
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She was actually giving Melissa trouble with eating as well. Not as bad, but she had to bring out the dry kibble once I think. She HAD a cat with feline diabetes. She knows carbs are a big no no for cats like ours.

I assumed her eating issues then were linked to her dental, but after the dental things just never bounced back fully.

All I ask is that if you have questions ask and not assume.
 
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