Suzanne & Darcy
Very Active Member
Are you warming her ear?
1 week into prozinc and my cat is now hates the shot's what do i do?
- Thread starter Fidget and family :)
- Start date
Suzanne & Darcy
Very Active Member
Just give her a break. Try to get the PMPS test. If she is similar to or higher than this morning then shoot 1 unit and get a before bed test.
Fidget and family :)
Member
shee was ay okay! infact she just sits on my lap and purrs while im trying. didnt try the ear warming thing so ill try that later....just got my pre test without her eating...ill feed her now and you sure one unit is enough for tonight? ive nevr seen hee hit past 450/27.0
update: ended up just going 1 unit till we feel comfortable giving a higher dose
Last edited:
Fidget and family :)
Member
i did see some videos but didnt find the ''how to'' link in the forum...in the videos they are half the time using a syringe to poke and also the make it look super easy by ''poking once'' and the drop appears.. -_-
Suzanne & Darcy
Very Active Member
Many people use a rice sock that they microwave to warm it - and hold it against the cat’s ear for a few minutes. I used warm/hot water in a small glass bottle that I happened to have. Some people will use an empty pill bottle with warm water in it. After a while my cat’s ears bled a lot more easily. This happens as they build up their capillary bed. It does get easier, I promise.
Also the size of the lancet that you are using makes a difference. At first, it’s easier to get blood using a larger lancet. After her ears start to bleed more easily, you can switch to the ultra-fine lancets. I also never used the lancing device because it makes that loud (next to the ear) clicking noise. I would not use a syringe because the small “handle” of the lancet is easier to manipulate. Try to go into the ear at a 45 degree angle with the lancet.
Another thing that can help in the beginning is to put a small amount of vaseline (petroleum jelly) on Fidget’s ear. This can really help the drop of blood to bead up instead of flowing into the fur on her ear. Then your test strip can “sip” up the blood drop. And I think I may have mentioned “milking” the ear to gently squeeze a drop of blood after you poked it. And another thing I just thought of (sorry this is so rambling) is that you can scrape the blood drop onto the top of your thumbnail and hold the test strip to that drop (as long as your hands/nails are really clean, of course.). These are just a few of the things I just thought of that may help you. You will find what works for you, and Fidget sounds like the sweetest cat ever!
Also the size of the lancet that you are using makes a difference. At first, it’s easier to get blood using a larger lancet. After her ears start to bleed more easily, you can switch to the ultra-fine lancets. I also never used the lancing device because it makes that loud (next to the ear) clicking noise. I would not use a syringe because the small “handle” of the lancet is easier to manipulate. Try to go into the ear at a 45 degree angle with the lancet.
Another thing that can help in the beginning is to put a small amount of vaseline (petroleum jelly) on Fidget’s ear. This can really help the drop of blood to bead up instead of flowing into the fur on her ear. Then your test strip can “sip” up the blood drop. And I think I may have mentioned “milking” the ear to gently squeeze a drop of blood after you poked it. And another thing I just thought of (sorry this is so rambling) is that you can scrape the blood drop onto the top of your thumbnail and hold the test strip to that drop (as long as your hands/nails are really clean, of course.). These are just a few of the things I just thought of that may help you. You will find what works for you, and Fidget sounds like the sweetest cat ever!
Suzanne & Darcy
Very Active Member
I am glad you only shot one unit. We can’t base doses off of the preshot numbers (except when we may need to shoot a little less is preshot numbers are low and we don’t have data to support shooting the full dose.). We largely base the dose on the nadir because that’s the most important number we need in order to keep Fidget safe. Now that you are getting tests, I would like a little more data to see where he nadir is on 1 unit. If it looks like she needs more insulin based on her nadir, then we can move to 1.25 units.
Fidget and family :)
Member
yeah my gut just said to stay on to 1unit even though her PMPS number was a ''teeth grinder'' of a number... but you did say it was better to be sitting on higherBG then lowerBG. (plus i needed more tests done)
she didnt care for a warm washcoth lol ... so ill try the rice sock sock next test. I was just rubbing her ears to get the blood flowing (that helped a little bit) for her AMPS
Im using the ''microlet next'' and the ''click'' has never ever bothered fidget its quite silent (knock on wood)
I've never heard of using the vaseline but i do think i have some plain unscented jelly i can try and see how that fairs for her. the nail idea i might try last if all else fails. But mostly all i would be is poke and kinda manipulate the ear/milk out the drop.
so doing this wont affect the vaule/numbers of the test?
Suzanne & Darcy
Very Active Member
No. Vaseline won’t affect the BG test. We often advise new mementos on that as well as the thumbnail/fingernail thing. A lot of people find they have more control with the lancet free hand, but maybe you will be good with the lancing device.
Suzanne & Darcy
Very Active Member
Good blue 112 number today at +3. I am really hoping for a +5 test! Is it time yet? What time zone are you in and what is your shot time?
Fidget and family :)
Member
juuuust logged it a second ago and im on PST.
Fidget and family :)
Member
is there a reason/normal she swings like that? its like a tease when i see numbers low then shoot up like that
wait.......is it possibly the snacks i give her...? hmmm might need to investigate
Suzanne & Darcy
Very Active Member
Not if the snacks are all low carb. If it’s thatRC aging food then yes, that will spike her up and will also shorten the duration of the insulin.
Fidget and family :)
Member
no i gave her the royal canin can 1 time for the b12 in it... But after you showed it was 18% carbs i returned the rest. (kept one for emerg)
here is ALL the snacks she been getting (if your wondering) it was my understanding these should be ''safe''
https://www.orijenpetfoods.com/en-CA/dogs/dog-food/original/064992584320.html (is the same as the cat ones to the T...just bigger format and cheaper)
https://inabafoods.com/products/chicken-fillet-grilled-10pk/
https://inabafoods.com/products/tuna-recipe-4pk/
this is the fancy feast box that i buy from my local walmart 98% of the time. (this is the ONLY BOX i get this one because in canada the other flavors contain soy/grain/corn/carrangeenan/ect
https://www.walmart.ca/en/ip/fancy-...MZucDrja89x5YyvMPT8aAiT8EALw_wcB&gclsrc=aw.ds
i tried the tikicat ''silver'' and she hates it so i stopped that. lol
i try to mix something higher end waruva/wellness core/orijen in there one in awhile because i know FF pate isnt the best option out there (but most cost effective when trying to start up and get the finances in check after paying for the startup)
Suzanne & Darcy
Very Active Member
What did she eat at +2 today? She’s had a bit of an early nadir today. But that’s okay. She is having a blue nadir and that is good. Many cats who are just starting out will have pretty irregular cycles. Their body needs time to adjust to the lower numbers. The pink number at +5 is probably just her reaction to being in a blue number. She’s not used to being in those numbers since she’s been diabetic.
Suzanne & Darcy
Very Active Member
Most importantly, that blue nadir that you caught today means that we will not be increasing her dose at this time. I hate to think what 2 units would have done to her. So we hold this dose and ride out the high numbers for now— and you gather as much data as you can. Okay? We will hold for a full 7 days. If you get a very low preshot number we may want to reduce her dose slightly for that particular cycle- depending on the number.
Fidget and family :)
Member
i have her a nugget of the orijen freeze dried treats ( that is the main treats i use for her shots and BG testing after)
im guessing she goes low because im not feeding her treats the time im sleeping
yeah the first few weeks were not the best...now that she's unphased with the injections and pokes its much much easier for me. so i guess yeah ill just keep testing till the canvas if filled and hopefully we wont need to even raise the dose...i am getting low on test strips from all the dud tests due to a lack of experience... so ill have to see if i have enough to order some more here haha
Suzanne & Darcy
Very Active Member
It looks like she dropped a little more quickly than we would have liked — then she had an early nadir and went back up. I recommend feeding more tha just a freeze dried treat. The snacks at +2 and +4 should be a spoonful or two of low carb wet food (like the Fancy Feast Classics or similar). If she drops too quickly then it cause her to bounce up again too quickly.
Fidget and family :)
Member
yeah my guess is she'd be hitting reallly close to the ''danger zone'' if she got 2U and like the link said....''may i never need to open my karo syrup or honey''' so yeah ill hold the 1U for the week and see if her numbers can try to calm down on the SS.
when you say low preshot to decrease a bit what number/range you mean? like anything 5.0/92 or less kinda thing?
Fidget and family :)
Member
okay ill beef up her snack times a bit! and hopefully that will see better results...
Suzanne & Darcy
Very Active Member
Well so far you have shot 1 unit when she was at 160 so we can feel confident in that. If she goes into green numbers I would probably only shoot half a unit (.5) at this point. If it’s closer to 50 though, we would skip the shot. If it’s closer to 100 then shoot .5 units. This is just guidance for now, while we gather data. Shooting a lower number always is predicated upon your ability to monitor the cycle and intervene if necessary. If you were going to be away from home then I am sure I would not advise shooting a green at this point. Hopefully she will not present us with this problem.
When in doubt, you can stall for 30 minutes (or longer) and do NOT give food. Then retest the BG to see if she’s rising on her own without the influence of food. If she is, then you have more confidence in shooting. Also remember that she then has some more time to rise before the insulin onsets and starts to lower BG — and she also will then have food to help stabilize numbers.
Suzanne & Darcy
Very Active Member
So what time Pacific do you give her shots? I am on Eastern time.
Fidget and family :)
Member
just got the +7 filled and i fed her a spoonful of pate. on my time the shots are 10am( 1:00 p.m ET) and 10pm (1:00 a.m ET)
Fidget and family :)
Member
sounds good!
since she wasn't any of those numbers i just stayed the 1U this morning and i just fed her a snack of FF at the +2. will keep testing but i'm guessing that the +3 is her lowest point she goes after the shot? i can just assume after that low (nadir) she will slowly rise back up? (until adapted to inulin?)
Suzanne & Darcy
Very Active Member
She’s doing well. Get another test by +4. She does seem to have early nadirs right now. But we need to give her more time to adjust. I’m happy with the yellow AMPS and the subsequent blue. I hope she will stay blue for a while longer.
Fidget and family :)
Member
okay sweet! just got the +4. I was like ''huh...first time seeing her keep dropping like that'....... she mostly just sleeping around all day and i assume thats also a byproduct to her adjusting
ill try to get a +6
Suzanne & Darcy
Very Active Member
Awesome! I am excited. Get a +6, please. And again- no increase in dose as this is very good.
Many cats feel odd when they are first getting back into normal cat glucose numbers. It takes a while to adjust back to normalcy. Some cats sleep. Some cats hide.
Many cats feel odd when they are first getting back into normal cat glucose numbers. It takes a while to adjust back to normalcy. Some cats sleep. Some cats hide.
Suzanne & Darcy
Very Active Member
Oh, and I hope she got a snack at +4. LC wet food
Fidget and family :)
Member
haha yeah shes doing a bit of both sleeping and hiding but nothing really active unless i get the lazer pointer out.
i gave her a whole inaba chicken fillet for her +4 snack and ill have to go get some more FF cans and ill get the +6 logged!
Fidget and family :)
Member
also was able to pick up a bottle of 5000mcg of b-12 methyl. ill give her a caplet with her dinner tonight and should it be okay to give her another for her morning meal? like you said she just pees out what she doesnt need? no chance of some type of b12 overdose?
Suzanne & Darcy
Very Active Member
That was really a nice cycle today! She’s responding much more quickly than a lot of cats I see. She was nice and steady in blue with very little change from +4 to +6. With “meter variance” the +4 and +6 are considered flat. Things are going so well!
Suzanne & Darcy
Very Active Member
Is she having trouble with her back legs?
Fidget and family :)
Member
awesome! thats what i like to hear!
sounds like giving her proper/bigger LC snacks throughout the day also helps those numbers too!
ill try my best to duplicate what i did today (might not be able to test as much as today)
and yeah any info i find on it showed it being spot back to back same as the alphatrack
Fidget and family :)
Member
no shes walking perfectly fine! (i think) i mean she isnt walking on her hocks.
she is twitching in her face and arms every few seconds looks rough and very misrable for her (even when she sleeps) vets dissmissed it as issues with her tooth and that gabapentin would temp help her but it did squat...
Suzanne & Darcy
Very Active Member
The low carb snacks can definitely help smooth the cycle, preventing steep drops (which can cause bounces into high numbers). In Fidgit’s case, I wanted to slow her down a bit with the snacks and let her nadir occur closer to +5/6 and it worked! She was nadiring too early and going back up too soon. A lot of the time, small amounts of low carb foods can help them surf — hopefully one day in the green numbers!
Suzanne & Darcy
Very Active Member
I used Zobaline for my cat 3 mg. Methylcobalamin plus 200 micrograms Folic Acid. It would be hard to overdose it, but once you have reached a therapeutic dose you don’t need additional b-12.
Fidget and family :)
Member
ahh okay i ended up just getting a tablet form one and crushed it into a really fine powder into her food. ughhh i didnt know i needed foilic acid too! okay ill pick some of that up aswell!
Fidget and family :)
Member
wait i was just on google....folic acid....? the ''prenatal'' vitamin(sometimes sold as)? does that help her absorb the vitamin b12?
i didn't seem to find any ''low dose''(500mcg or less) tablets so what ill do is pick up some of this stuff later and cut them in half or in quarters and add it to the food with her b12.
https://www.londondrugs.com/wellness-by-london-drugs-folic-acid---1mg---180s/L0904156.html
Last edited:
Fidget and family :)
Member
sorry with so many questions...but something ive noticed for a few days now is my cat is sorta ''standing'' when she pees also completely stopped burying it as well...this would indicate a UTI from the insulin correct? shes not in pain/straining from what i can tell but i didnt see much on how to help correct this..? ive been really on top of her litter box scooping to i can keep tabs her urine intake/outake but i recall seeing something about how to prevent this this but now i cant find it lol
Suzanne & Darcy
Very Active Member
First things first. I would like to see how low she’s dropping at night. Is there any way you can get a +2 and +4 tonight? The pink AMPS this morning makes me want to find out how low she’s going at night. Many cats do drop lower at night. Right now we are only getting half the picture.
Fidget and family :)
Member
i can certainly try to get the +9 and +2 and +4 time slots! yeah it was higher then i was expecting! and looks like its been kinda steady the day today even with the same snacks at the same time.
Suzanne & Darcy
Very Active Member
About this, I am not sure. I have cats who act like that, but if it’s a change of her normal pattern, I would suggest taking a urine sample to your vet or taking her in for a sterile urine sample to check for a UTI. but first, how long has this been going on? It would not be the insulin causing a UTI, but high glucose levels can definitely contribute to a urinary tract infection.
Fidget and family :)
Member
yeahh i dont think vet have been much help at the moment....
they would probably tell me it a uti (also not able to dish out another 100 for a urine test this month...she does have keytones so i mean that isn't working in her favor...figured id ask since this is a very weird to adjust process
Suzanne & Darcy
Very Active Member
Yes, very flat today so far — she could start dropping toward PMPS and into the evening cycle. We need to get a handle on her evening patterns as well. Normally a high AMPS like that makes me suspicious that she dropped too low — now “too low” can mean simply lower than she’s used to or lower than we want her to go. So we really need to make sure.
Suzanne & Darcy
Very Active Member
Oh, I totally understand about the vets not being helpful. She may not have a UTI. Unless she shows signs like going into the litter box frequently and squatting and then nothing comes out — or going in there and crying, I would probably just watch her.
Suzanne & Darcy
Very Active Member
What do you mean she has ketones? What kind of ketone readings have you been getting lately? She’s been seeing better numbers so hopefully ketones will go away.
Suzanne & Darcy
Very Active Member
If you really are concerned about UTI, you can try mixing D-Mannose powder (or from a capsule) into her food. It helps at least with E Coli bacteria, which are fairly common. It prevents the bacteria from adhering to the bladder wall.
Fidget and family :)
Member
yeahh i might have to migrate to a more caring one they are just either telling me not too or that they wont help and no super oter but always peeing not just like a drip or something...
Fidget and family :)
Member
like my GLU meter can tell me if they are keytones present (or not) also the day i found out she was diabetic the vet did a urine sample and her keyones were ''high''
Last edited:
Fidget and family :)
Member
Fidget and family :)
Member
okay ill try to pull my best all nighter and get some tests in... hopefully she will be okay