My newly diagnosed kitty has skipped 2 meals :(

[Gage's Mommy]

My nearly 2-year-old diabetic kitty has been diagnosed for just over a month. All has been well he eats his wet Friskies food, I check his bg before giving him his next dose and then yesterday I decided to give him a snack. He was just sitting there being all cute and wanting a raw piece of steak like he used to eat so I gave in and said just giving it to him once won't hurt. He gobbled it up like he used to. Then about 4 hours later was dinner time and insulin time. He didn't really feel like eating but I influenced him to eat about 1/3 of what he usually eats. I figured it was because he was still full. His BG was at 264 and if you look in my chart you will see we are finally getting in the yellows so that was awesome. I gave him his insulin and then on to today.
This morning I woke up and he was hiding in my son's window. Not a big deal I figured he just found the morning sun, but he never came out like usual and when he did he kinda acts like he isn't feeling the best. I took his BS and it's 273 still in the yellow but he only took maybe 4 licks of his food and he was done. I'm worried about him now and just looking for assurance. Did I mess up giving him raw food being diabetic? It didn't seem to change his numbers but definitely changed his appetite or is something else going on?

 

[Sharon14]

Has he eaten anymore?

 

[MrWorfMen's Mom]

You did NOT mess up giving him a piece of raw steak. Raw meat is fine barring it being contaminated in some way which assuming this was part of your meat is highly unlikely. It sounds like you gave one piece which probably wouldn't be an issue any way.
Are you checking Gage for ketones? Ketones can occur in diabetics and can lead to diabetic ketoacidosis which is very serious. I would strongly recommend you get some ketostix from the pharmacy and check Gage's urine for ketones. Ketones can occur if kitty is dehydrated, is not eating well, has an infection or inflammation and/or isn't getting enough insulin. Not all of these issues have to be present for ketones to occur. Any reading over trace is cause for concern and a vet call/visit.
Gage has to eat so give him anything he will eat like deli meat, tuna, steak or all meat baby food with no onions or garlic added. Add some water to his cat food to keep his water intake up. If he has not eaten in 24 hours, a vet visit is definitely needed.
The other thing I would suggest is to get some mid cycle tests to see how low Gage's BG is going on the 2u dose. You need to know how low the BG is going to know if the dose is safe and whether the current dose is adequate for Gage.

 

[Celle]

You did NOT mess up giving him a piece of raw steak. Raw meat is fine barring it being contaminated in some way which assuming this was part of your meat is highly unlikely. It sounds like you gave one piece which probably wouldn't be an issue any way.

Raw meat would be the main part of a cat's diet in the wild. It contains protein and fat, and no added carbs. I don't see that you did anything wrong in giving Gage some steak. Maybe he'd like some more?
I give my Sophie about 50% raw meat and 50% Fancy Feast wet food with a little water added. She gets a couple of pieces of Royal Canin diabetic cat food (dry) as a treat after testing.

 

[Gage's Mommy]

Gage's BG dropped to 80 and I really started to panic because he was acting kinda lethargic and I have never seen it this low. This was just about 45 minutes ago and he still hadn't eaten. I tried another flavor of food and nothing, but then I remembered I had that awful diabetic food the vet made me believe I needed and I whipped that out and he started eating. Maybe he is getting sick of mushy food and the steak reminded him? But we are now up to 98 BG and although he still isn't acting like himself completely I'm keeping a close eye on him to see if we need to go to the vet tomorrow.

 

[Gage's Mommy]

You did NOT mess up giving him a piece of raw steak. Raw meat is fine barring it being contaminated in some way which assuming this was part of your meat is highly unlikely. It sounds like you gave one piece which probably wouldn't be an issue any way.
Are you checking Gage for ketones? Ketones can occur in diabetics and can lead to diabetic ketoacidosis which is very serious. I would strongly recommend you get some ketostix from the pharmacy and check Gage's urine for ketones. Ketones can occur if kitty is dehydrated, is not eating well, has an infection or inflammation and/or isn't getting enough insulin. Not all of these issues have to be present for ketones to occur. Any reading over trace is cause for concern and a vet call/visit.
Gage has to eat so give him anything he will eat like deli meat, tuna, steak or all meat baby food with no onions or garlic added. Add some water to his cat food to keep his water intake up. If he has not eaten in 24 hours, a vet visit is definitely needed.
The other thing I would suggest is to get some mid cycle tests to see how low Gage's BG is going on the 2u dose. You need to know how low the BG is going to know if the dose is safe and whether the current dose is adequate for Gage.

I have not checked his keytones in fact I have never heard of this but I have Keytosis strips for me, would that be the same thing? How do you check just run up to the litter box and let him pee on the stick? Id love to know if this is happening, I just want my happy Gage back.

 

[Gage's Mommy]

Raw meat would be the main part of a cat's diet in the wild. It contains protein and fat, and no added carbs. I don't see that you did anything wrong in giving Gage some steak. Maybe he'd like some more?
I give my Sophie about 50% raw meat and 50% Fancy Feast wet food with a little water added. She gets a couple of pieces of Royal Canin diabetic cat food (dry) as a treat after testing.

My Gage loves raw meat and his little eyes were like please give me some. I couldn't handle it and maybe gave him more then I should have he was really enjoying it and I was cutting it up for fajitas so he did eat quite a few pieces. Luckily I read your comment and remembered I had that dry food from the vet here and he just ate quite a bit of that. He was really starting to worry me.

 

[MrWorfMen's Mom]

Good to know he is eating something and don't worry about giving him more of the raw steak than one piece. That is fine...as Celle pointed out that is actually a more natural diet than the canned food we usually feed them. 80 is a totally normal BG not too high or too low so no need to worry there. Not sure when you usually give insulin but his pre-shot may be a bit lower tonight or it may be elevated from that lower reading. (impossible to say for sure due to lack of mid cycle data). Don't know what your vet told you but we generally don't recommend giving insulin for any pre-shot readings below 200 with Vetsulin until you have more data about his mid cycle readings. The drop from 273 to 80 is substantial and may cause Gage to bounce which is an elevation of his BG. It's totally normal and there is nothing you can do to stop it. Just keep the course as long as his Pre-shot BG is high enough to warrant giving insulin.
ETA The dry food may also cause an increase in his BG tonight.

 

[Gage's Mommy]

Good to know he is eating something and don't worry about giving him more of the raw steak than one piece. That is fine...as Celle pointed out that is actually a more natural diet than the canned food we usually feed them. 80 is a totally normal BG not too high or too low so no need to worry there. Not sure when you usually give insulin but his pre-shot may be a bit lower tonight or it may be elevated from that lower reading. (impossible to say for sure due to lack of mid cycle data). Don't know what your vet told you but we generally don't recommend giving insulin for any pre-shot readings below 200 with Vetsulin until you have more data about his mid cycle readings. The drop from 273 to 80 is substantial and may cause Gage to bounce which is an elevation of his BG. It's totally normal and there is nothing you can do to stop it. Just keep the course as long as his Pre-shot BG is high enough to warrant giving insulin.
ETA The dry food may also cause an increase in his BG tonight.

I really thought 80 might be low I really started panicking. Im glad to hear that it is not to low. I need to start taking mid-cycle readings I was kind of hoping to not do it because honestly my money is exhausted but it looks like this is needed so I will just have to credit it and move forward. I'm really happy to find this group with such knowledgable individuals that always love to help

 

[MrWorfMen's Mom]

By mid cycle testing, I mean grabbing one test everyday sometime between shots. Randomly test between +2 and +8 with the majority between +3 and +7 and you will figure out how low the dose is taking Gage. Once you figure out when Gage hits peak insulin action (his nadir) then you can concentrate on testing around that period of time during cycles. The strips are definitely the most costly of the supplies for our sweet kitties and if that becomes a problem, there is an organization that might be able to help.

 

[Daddy Jack's Mommy (GA)]

I have Keytosis strips for me, would that be the same thing? How do you check just run up to the litter box and let him pee on the stick?

Yep, those are the same ketone strips you need for Gage. And although you can stick it under him midstream while he pees, many members use a long-handled ladle or spoon, or holding a jar lid underneath him can also work. Also, you can try laying some plastic wrap on top of his litter, so it could catch his urine.