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cecile & bella

cecile & bella

Member Since 2021
Hello! My name is Cecile and my cat is Bella. she's 9 years old and has been diagnosed with diabetes in October. I had her for 5 years and had been trying to have her lose weight, and when she finally started to, it was actually due to the diabetes.
She is on Lantus and we cannot get her glycemia stabilized. Our vet started her on 1U twice a day back in October, then we (I mean her vet) kept increasing. her numbers typically get better for a week or two then start increasing again. Now she's at 4U twice a day, and I'm doing a curve today and it's the highest she's ever been: 414, 452, and 312 just befre her meal at 12. It's discouraging!
I started reading this forum and it's great, thank you for having it, I learned a lot already.
 
Hi welcome to the forum. There is a lot helpful information and people here. You are already home testing that is great to see. Here is a link for people starting out.

https://www.felinediabetes.com/FDMB/threads/new-how-you-can-help-us-help-you.216696/

Sometimes it takes a while to get the right insulin dose for your kitty, it requires patience. Experienced members here can help you with dosing advice but they will need some information from you to get the big picture so the above link is important.

To start with, what are you feeding Bella, and how often do you feed.

How much blood glucose testing data do you have, we keep spreadsheets here (you can find it in the above link) it is really helpful in seeing trends and patterns.

Also does Bella have any other medical conditions or on any other medication which may complicate things?

Sorry a lot of questions but the more we know the enter we can help:D.
 
Hello Chris and Checkers, thank you for your answer! I am doing the spreadsheet, I will start filling it. I did a glucose curve every week since we started her on insulin.
I am feeding her Purina DM as her vet recommended, she was eating only Woody's raw food before but our vet feared that the raw fod might be dangerous. She eats the DM morning and night, half a can each, and has a can of Tiki Cat chicken at noon, so she eats 3 times a day. she also likes to have a little bit of yogurt or kefir at night.
She does not have any other medical condition, the last blood test that was done when she was not well in November (she was vomiting) showed elevated liver enzymes, but her fructosamin was lower than in October and she had no ketones. Our vet wanted to do an abdominal ultrasound, we waited a bit because she was doing much better after a few days and her glucose levels were actually great that week. They went up since (that was 3 weeks ago now).
Thank you so much!
 
That is great you are doing curves and filling in your spreadsheet. I am sure someone with more experience with dosing will be by soon. Though is a bit quiet around here because of the holidays.

Most people here don't feed the prescription food, but if your cat likes it that's okay (my cat wouldn't eat it:p) . The important thing is that it is low carb. Tiki cat is great. Actually, raw food is really good too.

When you get around to it ther is some great information here on Lantus, how it works and the dosing methods we use here.

https://www.felinediabetes.com/FDMB/threads/the-basics-new-to-the-group-start-here.18139/
 
Thanks! I just finished filling the SS.
She likes new foods, usually. Did not like the one from hills, but she does not mind the Purina. I want to go back to Woody's but I wanted to wait until she's lower, for no specific reason actually.
 
I don’t know why the vet said raw food was dangerous. It is low carb and as long as it is nutritionally complete, it’s a great food for diabetic cats. I feed my cats a raw diet.

Try and always test before every shot to see it is safe to give the dose. And if you get a lower BG than normal, test again to see if it’s going lower. You have had some blue BGs so Bella is responding to the insulin. She could be bouncing from the blues at the moment. I would not increase the dose yet. when you do increase, We recommend only increasing in 1/4 unit increments so you don’t go past your best dose

Do you think you could set up the signature please? Information how to do it is in the first link you were given by Chris. Can you note in it what type of glucose meter you are using please.?

Are you giving low carb snacks during the first half of the cycles as well as the main meals?

Have a look at the two dosing methods that are at the top of the LLB page in the yellow stickies. If you can follow one of these you will be more likely to have success.
Keep asking questions and posting each day. We are here to help you.
Bron
 
She said since they are immunodepressed because of the diabetes, they are more prone to infections.
I just set up the signature while you were posting :-)
As for snacks, she likes cheese so we give her some but it's usually more at the end of the cycle, I think.
I will read the links you suggest, thank you!
 
Hi Cecile
Thanks for setting up the signature. We look at that and the SS every time we help you.
A lot of vets don’t like a raw diet (remember they don’t get much education about feline diets during training, except from the big manufacturers of cat food) Many of us feed a raw diet and have no issues. It is the best food fir cats. If Bella is well apart from diabetes and you don’t leave the food down in hot weather you should be fine to feed a raw diet. But of course it’s up to you.
For the snacks I would suggest feeding normal low carb food. I would keep the cheese for treats.
I would suggest a snack at +3 and 6 then no more snacks (unless she is dropping low) until the PMPS. Feeding later in the cycle tends to shorten the duration of the insulin effect.
 
Thank you! I think I was confused between snacks and treats. I feed her 3 times a day, so maybe the middle meal would be considered a snack? I give her treats when I test her, that's when she gets cheese, typically a small piece of mozzarella. She also loves butter so I let her lick the paper when I open a new bar to bake.
Sometimes she acts very hungry a short time after her meal, so maybe I should add snacks and lower her big meals. Our vet told me to do the shots and wait 30mn to one hour before I feed her, but I stopped doing that since she was acting so hungry, now I feed her right after the shot.
Again, thank you so much, that is so nice of you to help like that.
 
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Lol, she really likes her dairy. Yes, by snacks we mean her regular wet food. We just divide the amount of food into smaller portions and spread it out within the first 6 hours.

AMPS and PMPS just mean the AM PreShot bg reading and PM Preshot reading. We basically test-feed-shoot in that order when it is time for her insulin dose. It is also important not to feed her snacks or treats 2 hours before you take the preshot bg reading so that it is not influenced by food.

Sorry there is a lot to take in at first but you'll get the hang of it :).
 
cecile & bella said:
Our vet told me to do the shots and wait 30mn to one hour before I feed her, but I stopped doing that since she was acting so hungry, now I feed her right after the shot.
Click to expand...
With Lantus insulin you need to test first, feed next, and then give the insulin. Always test before you feed. Or you can give the dose as she is eating.
My Harry loves cheese and butter as well. He always runs to the kitchen when he hears me open the cheese and if I am silly enough to leave the butter out without the top on, he helps himself:rolleyes::banghead:
 
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I think that Bron meant that you want to test (your pre-shot test) before your feed your cat. (What she has in bold is correct.) You don't want your pre-shot test to be influenced by the effect of food.
 
Hello Cecile, our cat was also diagnosed at the beginning of October. He has gone hypo once and had two emergency admissions with probable pancreatitis. He is a trooper. We are bommeranging around a bit with readings. Back to vet tomorrow for check up, on phone with them today to give curve information. I am trying to use all the help available here. Best wishes for Bella's progress.
 
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