My Cat Archie - I am Sam

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ArchieNEdith

ArchieNEdith

Member Since 2021
Hello my name is Sam and my cat's name is Archie. Archie was diagnosed with diabetes recently on 5/11. Vet recommended Vetsulin insulin with 4 units twice a day. When I took Archie to the vet, he was walking with flat feet but seemed happy and just being himself. I had noticed him drinking lots of water and urinating a lot which is why I took him in. Today, this morning I gave him his dose of insulin, and after he finished eating I let him out and I noticed that his hind legs were wobbly and he tried urinating and he was peeing all over himself. I called the emergency vet immediately as my vet is closed on Sundays and the nurse over the phone told me to give him a little more food and some corn syrup. I did as I was told but he looks very sad and can't even walk a few steps without falling and he stays laying there. I have been monitoring and seems like his hind legs are giving out completely. I am a messed wondering what is going on with my cat. I feel like he was doing much better without the insulin and I feel like the insulin is just making things worst for him. I can't take him to the vet until tomorrow as the nearest emergency vet is over an hour away and I am afraid that the trip will just cause him even more stress. Please help.
 
4 units is a huge starting dose for Vetsulin. 1 units is a better way to start. I suspect he might be overdosed. Keep giving him some food with honey and/or karo on it.

Are you home testing his blood sugars? It'll tell us what is really happening.
 
Hello, Wendy&Neko that is the dose that the vet prescribed. And no I don't check his blood sugars at home. I live out in the country so it makes it hard for me to get to the store and all I had at home for sugar was condensed milk which he loves. I gave him a little of the condensed milk and I have been feeding him sporadically. He is still having a lot of trouble walking. Seems like his hind legs are getting worst. I have been monitoring him. He is normally a very happy cat and he seemed fined yesterday up until today when I gave him the dose. I strongly feel like I shouldn't give him his dose tonight just for fear of him getting worst.
 
I gave him the dose this morning at approximately 7:00 a.m. and he should be getting another one at 7pm tonight but I am concerned about giving it to him and just skipping it.
 
Hello Holly and Sunny Bear, I just finished talking to an emergency vet and she confirmed that the dose was too high. She recommended that I keep feeding him small amounts of food with the condensed milk and keep monitoring him. She also said not to give him his dose this evening but to give him half of the dose tomorrow morning and take him to the vet tomorrow morning. She did say that if he gets worst in a few hours then I will have to take him into the emergency.
 
I agree, skip the shot tonight. Next time you are at the store, or order on line, get some karo/syrup or honey to have on hand. If you can get some Fancy Feast Gravy Lovers line, they are higher carb and might help too. What food does Archie normally eat?

You can buy blood sugar testing kits from places line Walmart or other stores that you can get online and have shipped to you. I'd tempted to go to 1 unit in the morning, not 2. Cats that have had a symptomatic hypo (like you saw) can be more sensitive to insulin at first.
 
Wendy&Neko said:
I agree, skip the shot tonight. Next time you are at the store, or order on line, get some karo/syrup or honey to have on hand. If you can get some Fancy Feast Gravy Lovers line, they are higher carb and might help too. What food does Archie normally eat?

You can buy blood sugar testing kits from places line Walmart or other stores that you can get online and have shipped to you. I'd tempted to go to 1 unit in the morning, not 2. Cats that have had a symptomatic hypo (like you saw) can be more sensitive to insulin at first.
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I did find some honey in my pantry. I have never given him honey and the condensed milk has been working but I will definitely try the honey. He normally eats Friskies wet food and then Iams for hairball control dry food. He gets one can of wet food a day and then a cup and a half of the dry food. He normally snacks on the dry food throughout the day. The problem is that he eats his sister's food and she won't eat without him and then she lets him eat her food. I have switched him to boiled chicken which he loves and put a little bit of water in it. I am not giving him the wet food anymore. And the vet did prescribe him the diabetic dry food which I am gradually switching and mixing with the other dry food. Yeah and I was thinking the same thing too about just giving him one dose. You know he was doing just fine with the doses up until today this morning so I don't know what changed. The thing too is that I was giving him his normal wet food and mixing a little bit of the diabetic food in it, so not sure if that was a problem too. The vet didn't say anything when I told her I was doing that however she did say to preferably mixing it with his normal dry food. She also said that the boiled chicken is really good for him in small amounts like an ounce which what I've been giving him. He seems to be doing a little better.
 
Friskies classic pates are perfectly fine for diabetics to eat. Many varieties of it are low carb, which is what you want him to eat. Fancy Feast pates are also popular with some people here. Boiled chicken is not a complete meal, but fine as a snack. The diabetic dry food is oddly enough, not good quality or low carb enough for diabetics. For a list of acceptable foods, check out this food list, for products below 10% carbs. One thing to note, if he is eating higher carb dry food, like the hairball control food, and you switch to lower carb food, his insulin needs will drop sharply. It could be the "diabetic" dry is lower carb than his hairball dry. I would only make the switch once you are home testing his blood sugars. Tips on how to do that are in this link: Hometesting Links and Tips
 
Wendy&Neko said:
Friskies classic pates are perfectly fine for diabetics to eat. Many varieties of it are low carb, which is what you want him to eat. Fancy Feast pates are also popular with some people here. Boiled chicken is not a complete meal, but fine as a snack. The diabetic dry food is oddly enough, not good quality or low carb enough for diabetics. For a list of acceptable foods, check out this food list, for products below 10% carbs. One thing to note, if he is eating higher carb dry food, like the hairball control food, and you switch to lower-carb food, his insulin needs will drop sharply. It could be the "diabetic" dry is lower carb than his hairball dry. I would only make the switch once you are home testing his blood sugars. Tips on how to do that are in this link: Hometesting Links and Tips
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Thank you so much for your advice and suggestions. Archie is doing much better. In fact, I gave him a can of wet food and he seems to be doing a lot better. He is walking now and he even jumped up on the couch without using the step-on. He is definitely a lot more alert. I will look at the food list you provided. Again thank you so much.
 
YAY Archie!:cat: So glad to hear that! FYI - I'm pretty new to all of this myself -- but i recommend buying the Relion Prime glucometer from walmart (super cheap) -- and a bunch of test strips, and get used to checking Archie's bloodglucose before each shot. Order of things: test - then feed - then shoot. Only give the insulin once he has eaten most of his meal, and only if his blood glucose is high enough to shoot. I'm not familiar with Vetsulin so you'll have to read up on dosing methods and familiarize yourself with it as much as you can. Here's the forum for that insulin type: https://felinediabetes.com/FDMB/forums/caninsulin-vetsulin-and-n-nph.19/
Read the sticky notes on this forum: https://felinediabetes.com/FDMB/forums/announcements-how-to-use-the-fdmb.33/
Get yourself set up with a spreadsheet and a signature as described in http://www.felinediabetes.com/FDMB/threads/new-how-you-can-help-us-help-you.216696/ (these are soooo helpful and make life easier)
And get used to using FDMB forums for any questions you have as you go along! The moderators here are a huge help especially when your vet is not available or giving you direction you don't trust. And it does sound like your vet doesn't have a lot of dosing experience. Many vets are not as knowledgeable about dosing as they should be. And they're not accustomed to their clients running frequent blood glucose tests at home. But it's imperative to avoid what happened today. Very glad you were on high alert and were there to take such good care of him!!!!
 
I took Archie to the vet on Monday morning. I demanded that an experienced vet take care of him and she did. They kept him all day to monitor him and she said that his glucose was between 300 and 400 all day and she checked him every other hour. She did lower his dose down to 2 units twice a day. I still think it is a little high. I have been giving him his shot while he eats but I think I will take your advice and wait until he is finish eating because it seems like as soon as I give him his insulin he struggles to walk. I did buy a Accu-Chek glucometer but haven't used it. Does anyone know if that works or should I return it and get Relien Prime glucometer.
 
I went and bought a Relion premier COMPACT glucometer. I tested his blood for the very first time and it read 372. However, I realized after I had done it that I tested him after I fed him and should have waited. I did give him his shot though. I am so new to this. Should I check him again tonight?
 
The Accucheck meter is a perfectly fine one to use if you still have it. Either one is OK. Whichever works for you. I would get a test before going to bed tonight, to get an idea how much the insulin is lowering his blood sugar.
 
ArchieNEdith said:
I went and bought a Relion premier COMPACT glucometer. I tested his blood for the very first time and it read 372. However, I realized after I had done it that I tested him after I fed him and should have waited. I did give him his shot though. I am so new to this. Should I check him again tonight?
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You should test before every shot of insulin, with no food for 2 hours before that test (if possible). Other tests during the 12 hour cycle are needed, so you know how low the dose of insulin takes your cat. That low is the nadir. Tests after the pre-shot test do NOT need to have food withheld. (Unless you are stalling.)

Signature information and a SS would be helpful. How to set that up is included in this link, which you should have received in an email when you signed up to become a member.
Sticky New? How You Can Help Us Help You!
 
Edith asked me this question in a PM, so I'm responding here so all can see the response.

ArchieNEdith said:
Hello, thank you for sending me the spreadsheet. I did create one but I am having trouble understanding how to complete it. I am still not very familiar with the terminology but willing to learn. I am a little confused with the Dosing Method and entering data in the column. Do I put the time I gave the insulin under AMPS and PMPS? So for example today I gave Archie his shot at 6 am. This afternoon I tested his glucose at 5:45 p.m. and it read 372 and then gave him his shot at 6 pm. I then tested him again at 7:30 p.m. and it read 324. How would I enter that information?
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PS = pre-shot

Pre-shot test BG's (the test you take before you give your cat the insulin), go in the xxPS column. AMPS is the morning BG pre-shot test. PMPS is the evening BG pre-shot test.

Each day has 2 sets of columns on the SS, one for the morning 12 hour dosing cycle, and a second set for the evening dosing cycle.

Any subsequent tests go in the appropriate columns, counting from when you gave Archie his shot. So 1 hour after the shot, is +1, 2 hours after the shot is +2, etc.

Since we live in different parts of the world and different time zones, we don't know when your shot time is in relation to where we live. That is why we use the + hour time format. Also, people have different schedules, and so they give insulin at different times of the day to fit their schedule. One person may give the shot at 7 am and 7 pm and another person gives their cat insulin at 10 am and 10 pm.

A more complicated explanation is in this thread. Sticky HOW TO USE THE SPREADSHEET
Simply click on the text in blue, and it will take you to that thread. Hope this helps.
 
ArchieNEdith said:
I went and bought a Relion premier COMPACT glucometer. I tested his blood for the very first time and it read 372. However, I realized after I had done it that I tested him after I fed him and should have waited. I did give him his shot though. I am so new to this. Should I check him again tonight?
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I am very very new here, but I switched my vet to get my cat off of vetsulin. I've been on his new insulin prozinc for less than 12 hours and I'm seeing a huge difference! If you can get off that vetsulin I'd recommend that. My vet started me on four units of vetsulin too, I only did that twice before cutting the dose down to one unit just to get by until I got my new insulin. The saying here is start low go slow and boy is it a great motto. Even 2u of prozinc was too much for my baby today.
 
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