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Midazmi

Member Since 2021
Good morning from the UK. Firstly, background.

Cats Name: Fifi
Age: 12
Colour: black domestic shorthair (mum was pedigree Siamese)
Previous medical history: asthma, allergies to beef, lamb, dairy, pollen, house dust, grain. Has IBD on Vitamin B12 shots four weekly. Seems well controlled.

So my question is. Fifi is off all steroids only having an inhaler twice daily which seems to keep her asthma at bay. IBD also seems controlled with grain free, high protein food. She is currently loving Thrive wet food, Carnilove and Natures Menu. No dry food whatsoever as they cause her IBD.

She has lost 2.5kg. And yet she is eating 5-6 sachets a day. Vets did a blood test. Her fructosamine was high but not awful (his words not mine) and her normal lab results were normal apart from sugars which was 26! The reason they are all flumaxed is because she isn’t showing any signs of diabetes. Not drinking excessively, or peeing loads. She has a litter tray and she uses it once to twice a day.

Otherwise very happy cat, just losing way too much weight. Vets are worried about starting insulin incase she goes into a hypo. They are currently waiting for us to drop a urine sample off and they are making decisions after that. Anyone got any advice? I’m going out of my mind. She literally is my heart

oh and her thyroid is completely normal.
 
Midazmi said:
Good morning from the UK.
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Good morning from Surrey!
And big reassuring (((HUGS))) to you. :bighug:
Midazmi said:
So my question is. Fifi is off all steroids only having an inhaler twice daily which seems to keep her asthma at bay.
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Steroids can induce diabetes (injected and oral steroids in particular; my understanding is that inhaled steroids do not raise blood glucose in quite the same way).
So, it's 'possible' that Fifi could have steroid induced diabetes.

Midazmi said:
She has lost 2.5kg. And yet she is eating 5-6 sachets a day.
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There are a number of possible reasons for weight loss (some of which you've already looked into).
But diabetes itself can cause weight loss. That is because diabetes can make it harder for the cat's body to get all the nutrients from its food. This can mean increased appetite and/or weight loss.

Midazmi said:
lab results were normal apart from sugars which was 26!
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It's not unusual for newly diagnosed diabetics to have blood glucose levels in the 20's.
However... Blood glucose may often be elevated at the vet's clinic just because of the stress of that environment. It's 'highly possible' that the blood glucose would have been lower if you'd tested it yourself at home.

Midazmi said:
The reason they are all flumaxed is because she isn’t showing any signs of diabetes. Not drinking excessively, or peeing loads.
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You're right in that those are very common symptoms of diabetes, so it is a bit unusual that these symptoms aren't showing IF her blood glucose really is very high...
It's possible that her blood glucose isn't usually as high as the test done at the vet's clinic...
Cat's will usually noticeably start to pee more and drink more once their blood glucose exceeds the 'renal threshold'. This is the point where the blood glucose is high enough for some of the glucose to be excreted in the urine. When glucose is excreted in the urine it pulls a lot of additional water along with it. So, the cat loses water and needs to drink more. The higher the blood glucose the more the cat will need to pee and, hence, to drink.
The renal threshold for a cat is 'approximately' 12 - 15mmol as measured on a human glucose meter. But it's not a fixed point and can vary quite a bit from cat to cat. It's 'possible' that Fifi's blood glucose isn't actually that far above her renal threshold, and so there is not a great need to pee or drink more. Since she is on a wet diet she will be getting most of her water from her food.

If Fifi does have steroid induced diabetes then the good news (yes, there is some) is that cats with steroid induced diabetes have a much higher than average chance of going into diabetic remission (becoming diet-controlled diabetics).

It would be great if you could find out a bit more about what her blood glucose levels are at home, in her normal environment.
Is there any chance I can persuade you to have a go at testing her blood glucose at home? It's much easier than it sounds, honestly. It just involves pricking the outer edge of the ear to get a tiny weeny drop of blood then touching that to a test strip in a glucose meter. Many of us use ordinary glucose meters made for humans. The test should not hurt the cat at all. And this is the most accurate way to find out what is going on with Fifi's blood glucose.

Or...if you don't feel up to that at this point then another thing you could do is to get some urine test strips and test her pee for glucose... A urine glucose test won't give a lot of info but it will show you if the cat's blood glucose is above or below the 'renal threshold'. And it will give a rough indication of how much sugar there is in the urine.
'Diastix' (or generic equivalent) test strips should be available from most pharmacies for about £5 - £6..
But, it could be good to get urine test strips that test for both glucose and ketones (ketones can be dangerous for diabetics)... So, if you can get the dual purpose 'Keto-Diastix' that would be even better. These cost about twice as much but do twice the work...

Eliz
 
Welcome to FDMB!

While excessive thirst and excessive urination are common symptoms of diabetes, so is weight loss.

I was going to provide an explanation but Eliz beat me to it. She's a great resource for our members who live in the UK.

If the vet does think insulin is needed, please try to convince them that Prozinc is a better option than Caninsulin. The latter really can drop blood glucose hard and fast.
 
Oh my goodness, I could actually cry. Your responses have been amazing, thank you all so much.

Unfortunately, I don’t know the fructosamine level as he said he couldn’t remember off hand but that it was bad but not awful.

I’m actually a midwife so things like urine sticks and blood glucose monitoring aren’t scary to me I just had never thought about it. Do you all just order one online, etc? My mum is diabetic, she may have a spare one.

I really love this plan. The weight loss is getting out of control so if vet is completely confident it will help her then I’m happy. Just don’t want her having it unnecessarily and having a hypo.

The vet has recorded on her notes that it is steroid induced diabetes. She has been off steroids since August now, just her inhaler. And she’s been on low carb food since then too.

So one last thing. I just use the same prick for humans on her outer ear to collect the blood is that right?

Thank you everyone, truly
 
We have links and FAQs about almost everything you may need to or want to know. This is a link to several posts and videos on home testing. They are on a section of the board titled, Health Links and FAQs about Feline Diabetes. There is a lot of information there and the posts are a great reference.

You are correct about where to poke your cat. You do not want to aim for the vein; aim between the vein and the outer edge of her ear. It can take a bit of perseverance to get your cat's ear to bleed. The more you poke, the more the capillary bed will build up and it will become an easier process. At the outset, you want to use a wider gauge lancet (e.g., 28 gauge). Once Fifi's ear is bleeding more easily, you can shift to a 30 gauge.

One other aspect of home testing. Treats! Offering a reward regardless of whether the test is successful or not will help your cat associate testing with something positive. Many people here use freeze dried chicken or other freeze dried protein but it really depends on what Fifi considers a treat. Ideally, you want something that's low in carbs so even cooked or raw chicken, etc. will work. Some member's cats adore being brushed. Like I said, whatever works for your cat.

At least in the US, many of us order supplies online. We tend to need prescriptions for many things you don't need prescriptions for in the UK and the online suppliers will often hold on to the prescription indefinitely.

If your vet prescribes Prozinc, you will need U40 syringes. Your vet may supply these or they are likely to be less expensive online. However, you want to source syringes with half unit increments. We make dose changes in 0.25u amounts (vs 1.0u amounts).

One last request... This is a link to a post on helping us to help you. It provides some basic information about what to have on hand as well as how to set up your signature and a spreadsheet. Once you start home testing, the spreadsheet is a good means of keeping track of Fifi's progress. It also allows us to view her progress and offer input. The comments section may also serve as a good place to track her weight and there's a tab to track her lab work. The signature contains basic information about your cat so we don't keep asking you the same questions repeatedly and pester you.

Please let us know if you have questions or how we can be of help.
 
Thank you, that is amazing advice. I will take a look and start doing all of the above. I need to get my head around the pricking and the needle sizes for insulin. If she isn’t showing signs of diabetes any idea why she’s losing weight? I suppose that’s not a question for here. She has been tested for lymphoma but she’s clear, so far
 
Also, I can’t see a ‘range’ table anywhere. Is there such a thing? When I take her blood is there a chart where it’ll give me normal/abnormal ranges?
 
Thank you. They have done thyroid panel twice. Both completely normal ranges. Thank you for response. And I’ll look into the pancreas information.
 
Welcome! Pearl and I are waving hello! Pearl is also a Siamese with asthma and FD! She actually was able to achieve remission with both conditions!

Pearl was also a likely case of steroid induced diabetes. We had a very tough go of the asthma 2019-2020 so she was on oral Pred quite a bit. I’ve weaned her down to every 4th day now and she can do that while still being in remission so I’m thankful. And she gets her inhaler meds daily, and Albuterol for attacks.

Some information - the inhaler steroids won’t likely affect BG. You can give the Flovent every 12 hours every single day without worry. And please also Albuterol during attacks to stop them, that is also great. This will also help the FD by keeping her lung inflammation down! In time I can help you test and determine that these things aren’t affecting BG.

Oral Pred will likely raise BG, but if at times that is additionally needed to keep the asthma stable, I wouldn’t hesitate to do it. Primary issue is that the kitty has to breathe. Insulin can be adjusted as needed. (Some very wise folks on this FDMB provided me that encouragement when I needed it myself!)

The other thing that will raise BG is asthma attacks. I make sure to note on Pearls spreadsheet when the attacks happen bc they can skyrocket BG - for Pearl, up to 15 hours post attack and sometimes right before the attack happens.

I personally think it’s a blessing to have the asthma diagnosis FIRST and already know how to treat it, it’s easier than having to figure out that plus FD together.

I hope this encourages you that both conditions are treatable together and that you can have success with both!

I am happy to help and answer any questions you have about asthma.
 
Margaret (and Pearl) said:
Welcome! Pearl and I are waving hello! Pearl is also a Siamese with asthma and FD! She actually was able to achieve remission with both conditions!

Pearl was also a likely case of steroid induced diabetes. We had a very tough go of the asthma 2019-2020 so she was on oral Pred quite a bit. I’ve weaned her down to every 4th day now and she can do that while still being in remission so I’m thankful. And she gets her inhaler meds daily, and Albuterol for attacks.

Some information - the inhaler steroids won’t likely affect BG. You can give the Flovent every 12 hours every single day without worry. And please also Albuterol during attacks to stop them, that is also great. This will also help the FD by keeping her lung inflammation down! In time I can help you test and determine that these things aren’t affecting BG.

Oral Pred will likely raise BG, but if at times that is additionally needed to keep the asthma stable, I wouldn’t hesitate to do it. Primary issue is that the kitty has to breathe. Insulin can be adjusted as needed. (Some very wise folks on this FDMB provided me that encouragement when I needed it myself!)

The other thing that will raise BG is asthma attacks. I make sure to note on Pearls spreadsheet when the attacks happen bc they can skyrocket BG - for Pearl, up to 15 hours post attack and sometimes right before the attack happens.

I personally think it’s a blessing to have the asthma diagnosis FIRST and already know how to treat it, it’s easier than having to figure out that plus FD together.

I hope this encourages you that both conditions are treatable together and that you can have success with both!

I am happy to help and answer any questions you have about asthma.
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Hello Margaret and Pearl and thank you for this valuable information.

Firstly, you say during an attack to give inhaler. I am always tortured with this one as she is struggling to breath to to have a small mouth piece placed over her nose and mouth she starts to panic as she’s struggling to take breaths in. Do I just persevere?

Fifi has always been on 6 weekly steroids, but I’ve already told myself that if we need to go down that route I will demand oral and not give her them daily, only when she’s struggling.

I also never knew about the blood sugars being increased after an attack. That’s invaluable.

I usually sit Fifi on my lap when giving her the inhaler as she likes to put her paws on my wrist for comfort. She takes the inhaler so well, never had a problem but during an attack I’m so worried that I’m blocking her lungs?
 
Midazmi said:
Hello Margaret and Pearl and thank you for this valuable information.

Firstly, you say during an attack to give inhaler. I am always tortured with this one as she is struggling to breath to to have a small mouth piece placed over her nose and mouth she starts to panic as she’s struggling to take breaths in. Do I just persevere?

Fifi has always been on 6 weekly steroids, but I’ve already told myself that if we need to go down that route I will demand oral and not give her them daily, only when she’s struggling.

I also never knew about the blood sugars being increased after an attack. That’s invaluable.

I usually sit Fifi on my lap when giving her the inhaler as she likes to put her paws on my wrist for comfort. She takes the inhaler so well, never had a problem but during an attack I’m so worried that I’m blocking her lungs?
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Can you share what medications she is all on for asthma? 6 weekly steroids?

And yes, you need to give Albuterol during attacks using the mouthpiece. The Albuterol is designed for episodes when kitty cannot breathe, it opens their airways to take them out of distress. You’ll be impressed how well it works! I gently put it on Pearls face and cup the back of her head with my hand to make sure it stays on. You want Fifi to get 10-15 good breaths with the puff you put into the Aerokat.
 
Ok, I will start right away, she had an attack earlier but hasn’t had one for at least 12 days before that. She’s only on Flixotide 125 mcgs twice daily 12 hours apart. I give two puffs each time and she takes about 20 breaths. And then she has the albuterol. She isn’t on any steroids, her last intramuscular injection was 16th September. Vet doesn’t want to give her them unless asthma not controlled which so far it has been. She then has Vit b12 every 4 weeks and I give her a sachet of fortiflora probiotic daily for her IBD.
 
Midazmi said:
Ok, I will start right away, she had an attack earlier but hasn’t had one for at least 12 days before that. She’s only on Flixotide 125 mcgs twice daily 12 hours apart. I give two puffs each time and she takes about 20 breaths. And then she has the albuterol. She isn’t on any steroids, her last intramuscular injection was 16th September. Vet doesn’t want to give her them unless asthma not controlled which so far it has been. She then has Vit b12 every 4 weeks and I give her a sachet of fortiflora probiotic daily for her IBD.
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And just for background, the only reason she was originally put on steroids was to help her IBD, I feel we’re seeing light with that since we stopped her having grains??
 
Midazmi said:
Ok, I will start right away, she had an attack earlier but hasn’t had one for at least 12 days before that. She’s only on Flixotide 125 mcgs twice daily 12 hours apart. I give two puffs each time and she takes about 20 breaths. And then she has the albuterol. She isn’t on any steroids, her last intramuscular injection was 16th September. Vet doesn’t want to give her them unless asthma not controlled which so far it has been. She then has Vit b12 every 4 weeks and I give her a sachet of fortiflora probiotic daily for her IBD.
Click to expand...


I think this all sounds awesome! The Flixotide and Albuterol should be able to manage the asthma. Pearl has used Pred in the past for seasons when those inhaled steroids were not enough to keep the asthma under control.

You mention the oral steroid was only for IBD and not asthma - which one was it? Prednisolone or Budesonide? And how is Fifi doing with the IBD now? If you haven’t tried Budesonide for IBD, lots of cats can tolerate it without it raising BG. (Pearl is one of the smaller group of cats where the Budesonide does raise BG, but for a lot of cats it’s a great option for IBD because it plays nice with their FD).
 
Oh I didn’t know that either. I’m ashamed to say I don’t know what she had. I assume it was the prednisolone but only because I know that drug. I will definitely Italy find out. Her IBD, since going grain and biscuit free is so much better, no attacks for months. She has had two episodes of feeling sick but I actually don’t think that was the IBD. All the vets keep saying (and I’ve seen 3) ‘she’s got us all flumaxed, she’s very complicated’. I just want to get her absorbing nutrients. She’s such a happy girl otherwise. Heartbreaking.

By the way, happy new year everyone xx
 
Midazmi said:
Oh my goodness, I could actually cry. Your responses have been amazing, thank you all so much.

Unfortunately, I don’t know the fructosamine level as he said he couldn’t remember off hand but that it was bad but not awful.

I’m actually a midwife so things like urine sticks and blood glucose monitoring aren’t scary to me I just had never thought about it. Do you all just order one online, etc? My mum is diabetic, she may have a spare one.

I really love this plan. The weight loss is getting out of control so if vet is completely confident it will help her then I’m happy. Just don’t want her having it unnecessarily and having a hypo.

The vet has recorded on her notes that it is steroid induced diabetes. She has been off steroids since August now, just her inhaler. And she’s been on low carb food since then too.

So one last thing. I just use the same prick for humans on her outer ear to collect the blood is that right?

Thank you everyone, truly
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I have a video in my signature showing how I tested my cat CC at home. Monitoring is the real key to avoid hypo. And starting with a low dose (1 unit twice a day is the recommended starting dose) and if needed, raising in small 0.25-0.5 increments. Many vets like to raise in whole units which is often too much. Always have some higher carb food and syrup or honey on hand in case the numbers go too low. You got this and we are here to help. Diabetes is not a death sentence and they can live long healthy lives with it. Plus catching it early you have a great shot at remission.

While she's losing weight, feed her AS MUCH AS SHE WANTS AND is willing to eat. Once the bg is controlled the hunger will get back to normal and the weight should be easier to maintain.
 
Thank you. Great advice. Unfortunately she is completely off her food today. They are such a worry
 
Hello and welcome. You definitely have your hands full with the different things you are treating. Fifi is a lucky girl to have you as a caregiver.

There are a couple of things besides diabetes that can cause weight loss. Hyperthyroidism is not uncommon in older cats. Do you know if her recent bloods tested her T4 levels? The second condition that can cause weight loss is small cell lymphoma. Sounds scary, but that is something that the majority of cats go into remission with the right treatments. My girl Neko had small cell lymphoma. She was getting budesonide instead of prednisolone because her heart couldn't handle pred. The bonus was that for a good number of cats, budesonide acts locally on the GI system, so didn't cause her blood sugars to increase.

If she's off her food, do you have any antinausea medications for her. Ondansetron is my favourite for helping with nausea in cats.
 
Hello and thank you for your post. She is literally my world. I know most of us love our Furbabies, that’s why we are all here, but honestly my heart is complete mush when I’m near her. She’s such a sweet soul. I feel so sorry for her.

She has just eaten a sachet of food and she’s now sat grooming herself. So am keeping an eye on her.

yes, she was tested for hypothyroidism for the second time on Wednesday, I don’t know the exact result but vet said it was completely normal. Also they suspected small cell lymphoma because of her IBD but all tests and scans were negative and that was very recently. Vet did say that’s it’s likely she will get it tho but they don’t suspect that presently.

I’m wondering if it is her pancreas and today she was in a bit of pain. Normally when she feels sick she sits in a specific way and licks her lips a lot, she looks depressed when she feels sick but today she was lying quite happily, washing, purring and sleeping soundly. Just not interested in food.

I do have ondansetron for humans? But not for animals.

Honestly, everyone THANK YOU for helping. You really have given me so much to consider. I just want her comfortable for as long as possible. I’ve ordered a BG machine and dia-sticks, they won’t be here until Monday tho.
 
Hi there, you’ve gotten some amazing advice already, but I wanted to add my two cents on the Fortiflora. It tastes great and can get an inappetant cat to eat, but it only contains a single strain probiotic so it’s likely doing nil for your cats GI symptoms. Try a human probiotic instead. They are subject to more rigorous testing standards than ones for pets, and you will want to find one in the UK that has the highest number of bacteria. Can you get NOW brand probiotics there? I would get them in capsule form, and introduce mixed into food with just the tiniest sprinkling at first, 1/32 tsp, and work your way up to one capsule per day. This will avoid any tummy upset. We have lots of complicated kitties here, many of whom have GI problems in addition to diabetes, so you’ve come to the right place!
 
Oh that’s fabulous. I happen to take some myself that I could try her on, I’ll take a look at the brand you recommend too, yes they do it on Amazon (trusty old Amazon) I use Bioglan and they have 20 billion live cultures. So as long as she copes I’ll start her on them tomorrow but very slowly, as you recommend. Thank you.
 
Also, the only way to know if it’s SCL and not IBD is with a biopsy as they are impossible to distinguish from one another via ultrasound. Was that done? Even a biopsy can be inconclusive but thankfully with my Ruby the diagnosis after biopsy it was definitively SCL so no further diagnostics were needed.
 
Midazmi said:
No, she only had the ultrasound scan. What other symptoms was Ruby having?
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She was not eating well and threw up a lot. She never had diarrhea much, but is chronically constipated, even now that she is on prednisolone. It was a struggle to get her weight up. Thankfully by that point she was tightly regulated and was on the smallest doses of insulin, but it always worried me when she would not eat and I had to give her injections. It took some time and two ultrasounds over a three month period to convince her internists that she needed a biopsy but it was a great relief to me to have something definitive to work with, even if it meant giving her a steroid that would knock her out of diabetic regulation. We are doing ok now on 3 units of Lantus, but her BGs fluctuate according to how well/poorly she might be feeling,
 
I think that’s the struggle as Fifi is fine since I changed her food except from the weight loss and the blood sugars. She has normal poops, only feels sick when she’s eaten something she shouldn’t. It’s just the weight loss. I’ll revisit the biopsy discussion with the vet tho. I’d do anything to get her weight up. Thank you. I’m glad Ruby is better controlled and most importantly happy.
 
Can I ask someone? Excuse me if I’m posting this in the wrong place. Fifi’s BG monitor has arrived. Found the whole process quite simple and could only do after she’d eaten. She ate 30 mins ago and her reading was 26.2mmol/L should we be getting her seen????
 
Hi there, we speak in US numbers here, so the 26.2 would be 472, which is indeed high. It's partly a bump from food, but food should not make glucose levels go that high. Also, you said that she eats well but what are you feeding her? Is it low carb food, i.e. food where the percentage of calories from carbohydrates is less than 10%? Here is a list of diabetic friendly foods available in the UK: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1J5JpMe6TDXrHq_aTl9hUtHy6Gs9oRBqlz4nPGKxtySA/pubhtml

Have you been able to test for ketones? How is she acting otherwise? I would get her started on insulin right away, either Prozinc that I know is available for cats in the UK or Lantus if you can get it. Not an emergency situation, but I would definitely call the vet to ask for a prescription for insulin today.
 
It’s unfortunately a bank holiday here in the UK. I can indeed phone the emergency vet but she’s extremely happy, content and playful. Yes she is on completely low carb, high protein food. The last think she are was 3% carbs. We don’t give her anything else. Have had her litter tray near her all day. She got out earlier where I presume she did her business outside as she’s no interest in weeing and she’s definitely not drinking to excess. She’s sat beside me now grooming herself after a nice play. It’s so hard to know what to do.
 
Cats can seem totally fine while hyperglycemic but I believe someone mentioned in a post above that renal damage can be an issue if too much glucose is going through her urine. The damage is long term, so I would at least try to get her on insulin to try to keep her below renal threshold, which would be under 250.
 
Midazmi said:
Fifi’s BG monitor has arrived. Found the whole process quite simple and could only do after she’d eaten. She ate 30 mins ago and her reading was 26.2mmol/L
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Well done you for testing! Great job! :bighug:
Midazmi said:
her reading was 26.2mmol/L
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That is high. And I think she is already eating a low carb diet? So, yes, it is time for insulin.
But, since you can test blood glucose at home (yay!) that can make the diabetes much easier to manage, and can help reduce the risk of hypo too.

The current recommendations from the RVC and the ISFM (International Society of Feline Medicine) are that longer lasting insulins should be prescribed for cats.
In the UK the only longer lasting insulin actually licensed for cats is Prozinc, so this is the preferred option for new cases of diabetes. However, many UK vets are still prescribing an older insulin, Caninsulin, which is typically shorter-acting.
...Some vets prescribe Caninsulin because it's what they're used to using, or they'll have it on their shelves because it's also used in dogs, or because they don't know about the current recommendations. Caninsulin is also prescribed where the caregiver can't afford the cost of Prozinc (Caninsulin is usually less than half the price of Prozinc). But do consider asking for Prozinc if you can...

Eliz
 
Katherine&Ruby said:
Hi there, we speak in US numbers here, so the 26.2 would be 472, which is indeed high. It's partly a bump from food, but food should not make glucose levels go that high. Also, you said that she eats well but what are you feeding her? Is it low carb food, i.e. food where the percentage of calories from carbohydrates is less than 10%? Here is a list of diabetic friendly foods available in the UK: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1J5JpMe6TDXrHq_aTl9hUtHy6Gs9oRBqlz4nPGKxtySA/pubhtml

Have you been able to test for ketones? How is she acting otherwise? I would get her started on insulin right away, either Prozinc that I know is available for cats in the UK or Lantus if you can get it. Not an emergency situation, but I would definitely call the vet to ask for a prescription for insulin today.
Click to expand...
Elizabeth and Bertie said:
Well done you for testing! Great job! :bighug:

That is high. And I think she is already eating a low carb diet? So, yes, it is time for insulin.
But, since you can test blood glucose at home (yay!) that can make the diabetes much easier to manage, and can help reduce the risk of hypo too.

The current recommendations from the RVC and the ISFM (International Society of Feline Medicine) are that longer lasting insulins should be prescribed for cats.
In the UK the only longer lasting insulin actually licensed for cats is Prozinc, so this is the preferred option for new cases of diabetes. However, many UK vets are still prescribing an older insulin, Caninsulin, which is typically shorter-acting.
...Some vets prescribe Caninsulin because it's what they're used to using, or they'll have it on their shelves because it's also used in dogs, or because they don't know about the current recommendations. Caninsulin is also prescribed where the caregiver can't afford the cost of Prozinc (Caninsulin is usually less than half the price of Prozinc). But do consider asking for Prozinc if you can...

Eliz
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Thank you, having chased the vets three times I’m still waiting for their call. Managed a urine test this morning ++++glucose, no ketones, specific gravity is normal but there are ++++leucocytes which is a sign of a UTI. She’s acting amazing, playing in the garden at present BUT her BG was 27.8mmol/k BEFORE food. I’ve chasing vets since. When they phone I’ll mention that insulin. Thank you so much. I just don’t understand why she isn’t oee’ing loads and drinking loads ‍♀️
 
Midazmi said:
Managed a urine test this morning ++++glucose, no ketones, specific gravity is normal but there are ++++leucocytes which is a sign of a UTI.
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Hi, the leucocyte test is not reliable on cats with these human test strips, and it can often give a false positive.
Great that the ketone test was negative.

I do agree - given the high blood glucose levels - that it's odd she's not drinking/peeing more. Bit of a mystery there... But if she seems happy and healthy then that is a very good sign indeed.
 
Excellent to know that. As a midwife that reading was my nightmare

Yes, she’s as bright as a button, still no call
 
Midazmi said:
Thanks to this wonderful group, and all your amazing advice they are Happy to start a Fifi on Prozinc. Going in this afternoon for a demonstration and advice. I feel a MASSIVE relief. Vet said it can take a while to get the correct dose but at least we are starting. A heartfelt thank you from you all.
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I have a video in my signature showing how I tested my cat CC at home
 
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