New Diabetes mom, please help (home testing)

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Artemisthecat

Artemisthecat

Member Since 2020
My cat Artemis will not eat his dinner tonight, it is likely due to his inflamed pancreas, he is probably feeling some nausea and has had a fever (103- 104 it keeps going up and down) from that. I am having so much trouble testing him. No matter what I do I can't seem to get enough blood for my Relion Prime meter. So I don't know what to do. I don't want to give him his 2.5 unit shot of vetsulin without him eating anything. For now I am deciding to skip it until I can get some smaller gauge lancets when the store is open in the morning. I really tried to poke him about six different times, with no luck. Any advice on getting enough blood? Have I made the right decision to go without the shot? He is hydrated, as I gave him some fluids and I tested his urine, negative for ketones. Not sure if that's entirely relevant, but I'm feeling so anxious and really can't afford to take him to the 24-7 hospital right now :(
 
Artemisthecat said:
My cat Artemis will not eat his dinner tonight, it is likely due to his inflamed pancreas, he is probably feeling some nausea and has had a fever (103- 104 it keeps going up and down) from that. I am having so much trouble testing him. No matter what I do I can't seem to get enough blood for my Relion Prime meter. So I don't know what to do. I don't want to give him his 2.5 unit shot of vetsulin without him eating anything. For now I am deciding to skip it until I can get some smaller gauge lancets when the store is open in the morning. I really tried to poke him about six different times, with no luck. Any advice on getting enough blood? Have I made the right decision to go without the shot? He is hydrated, as I gave him some fluids and I tested his urine, negative for ketones. Not sure if that's entirely relevant, but I'm feeling so anxious and really can't afford to take him to the 24-7 hospital right now :(
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just reading now and then I’ll reply
 
Yes very relevant that you tested for ketones and it’s good to know they were negative.
Does Artemis have pancreatitis?
Do you have any cerenia or ondansetron to give your kitty for nausea?
Re the ear testing, have you tried warming the ear with some warmed uncooked rice in the toe of a sock?
Or massaging the ear up towards the tip to encourage the blood?
A 26 or 28 gauge lancet are the ones you need.

I would keep encouraging him to eat if you can and continue the fluids.
Is there a history of ketones?
If you can’t get a BG reading and he won’t eat I would skip the dose (as long as there is no history of ketones in the picture) but keep testing for ketones and watch for lethargy.

if he’s nauseated he won’t want to eat but you may be able to try something from this link
https://www.felinediabetes.com/FDMB/threads/suggestions-on-how-to-stimulate-kittys-appetite.130770/
 
He was in the hospital Monday and Tuesday, brought him home Wednesday afternoon, and yes he had ketones then. He has pancreatitis and is prescribed cerenia. I'm not supposed to give him another dose until tomorrow morning. (every 48 hours by vet's prescription) Should I just give him his dose now? He is a little lethargic, but nothing out of the ordinary for how his behaviour has been all this week. (And still alert, if there's a loud noise outside or something) Should I maybe just give him a small dose of insulin? We've been feeding and giving his shot at around 9:20 pm, so it's way past time already. I didn't realize that I got too small of a needle for the gauge, the walmart near me closed at 10 pm, which is when I realized the smaller needle wouldn't work and went to try to buy the right kind. Out of desperation I even tried to use the insulin needle to get a larger prick of blood which didn't work either. I didn't have rice so I used a warm water bottle to warm his ear
 
I'm very new to this and doing this on my own, so I'm not exactly as prepared as i'd like to be, so thank you for your help
 
Yes I would go ahead and give another cerenia. They can be given once a day.
If he has had ketones it isn’t a good idea to skip the dose, but it is also hard if they are not eating.
How long has he been a diabetic and was he started on 2.5 units vetsulin?
have you been able to get any tests in so far?
Is he having anything for pain?
It is very hard to advise you on doses of insulin as you don’t have a spreadsheet. Would you be willing to set one up. If you have any trouble I will ask @Bandit's Mom to help you.
Here is the link but I think you need to concentrate on Armetis at the moment.
https://www.felinediabetes.com/FDMB/threads/fdmb-spreadsheet-instructions.130337/
 
I'm not sure exactly how long he's been diabetic, but I found out Monday, five days ago. That was the dose I was sent home to start administering to him on Wednesday. He is prescribed buprenorphine for pain, but when I saw the vet yesterday she recommended that I either stop giving it to him (no doses yet today) or just give him a tiny amount. She thinks it has been causing his fever possibly and the reason he's been nearly comatose after I give his meds. I tried for about an hour to get enough blood and really could not. I have a big needle for his fluids, but I'm really quite scared/ skeptial of using that in his back for the purpose of getting enough blood.
 
I intend to start testing and tracking his BG, so thank you for the resource. This is the first night I was going to try testing him and it did not go as planned.
 
Artemisthecat said:
I'm not sure exactly how long he's been diabetic, but I found out Monday, five days ago. That was the dose I was sent home to start administering to him on Wednesday. He is prescribed buprenorphine for pain, but when I saw the vet yesterday she recommended that I either stop giving it to him (no doses yet today) or just give him a tiny amount. She thinks it has been causing his fever possibly and the reason he's been nearly comatose after I give his meds. I tried for about an hour to get enough blood and really could not. I have a big needle for his fluids, but I'm really quite scared/ skeptial of using that in his back for the purpose of getting enough blood.
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So you are giving him sub Q fluids? Is that right?

Bupe can make them very dopey. I remember when I gave it to Sheba she was almost unresponsive for 8 hours, but if you give a small dose it should be ok. What dose was he prescribed.? I’ve never heard of it giving a fever before. Pancreatitis is very painful so he may benefit from a tiny dose.

2.5 units of Vetsulin is a very large dose to start with. 1 unit is the normal starting dose. I would give him 1 unit twice a day not 2.5 units.....if you are unable to get any BG results yet, giving 2.5 units is very risky.

Did you give the cerenia?
 
Artemisthecat said:
I intend to start testing and tracking his BG, so thank you for the resource. This is the first night I was going to try testing him and it did not go as planned.
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It takes a few days or a week to get it down pat for most people so don’t worry. Get the correct size lancet and some rice for a sock and it will be better. Are you offering a treat when you test? .....for him and for you!!
 
Okay, maybe i'll give him a tiny bit of the pain meds then, I was just worried about him taking it on an empty stomach but I don't want him in pain
I was just able to check his BG, it's 291 with the relion prime. (YAY finally, I really don't know what I did differently to make the blood appear)
Would you advise still giving him possibly 1 unit with his current BG level and an empty stomach? I'm gonna go ahead and give him the cerenia now.
 
Artemisthecat said:
Okay, maybe i'll give him a tiny bit of the pain meds then, I was just worried about him taking it on an empty stomach but I don't want him in pain
I was just able to check his BG, it's 291 with the relion prime. (YAY finally, I really don't know what I did differently to make the blood appear)
Would you advise still giving him possibly 1 unit with his current BG level and an empty stomach? I'm gonna go ahead and give him the cerenia now.
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Well done getting the BG!!!:)
I think you can give the Bupe now as it is absorbed directly from the mouth.
Why don’t you give the cerenia and wait for 1/2 hour and see if he will eat something. It doesn’t matter what he eats...even dry food would be ok at this point. Then I think you could give 1 unit of the vetsulin if he eats or 1/2 unit if he doesn’t eat.
Di you have any honey or Karo in case you need to rub some on his gums?
 
Yes, I have honey, I'll go ahead and give him the pain meds, he does seem a little extra irritable now that you mention it, and ill try to get him to eat, thank you for your help.
 
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