? 22/11 Mo - AMPS 304, +4 295 - Should I increase tomorrow?

[katy and mo (GA)]

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We are on our 5th cycle of 4 units. We were out all day yesterday and only just got back in time to do Mo's insulin in the evening. I'm trying to have him tested as much as possible today but Mo has started to associate me with sharp ouchie things and has taken to hissing and growling at me whenever i try to test him. Tim doesn't have that problem though and is able to test and give him his shot without a fuss. It's very upsetting tbh. I'll try test him when i'm home from work. Tim has done the two tests so far today.

Hope you're having a better time at this than me

 

[tiffmaxee]

Not having any tests yesterday makes me hesitant to suggest increasing after 6 cycles. Are you giving a special treat after each poke?

 

[katy and mo (GA)]

Not having any tests yesterday makes me hesitant to suggest increasing after 6 cycles. Are you giving a special treat after each poke?

Yes, every time. It doesn't make a difference

 

[tiffmaxee]

Are you having to stick him more than once? Instead of a lancet I used a very sharp Terumo needle 25 g. My vet preferred needles and taught me with them.

 

[katy and mo (GA)]

Are you having to stick him more than once? Instead of a lancet I used a very sharp Terumo needle 25 g. My vet preferred needles and taught me with them.

Yeah I often am having to stick him more than once because he moves and then we can't find the spot we just pricked. I wish we had something like neosporin over here that I could put on his ears to help them but we don't

 

[Butters & Lyla]

Can you try sticking him and immediately getting the drop of blood onto your fingernail before he moves? You can test the blood from there. A blood drop should form right after you stick him. If that’s not happening then I wonder if his ear is warm enough, or what Elise said about using a Sharp, higher gauge needle.

Any thoughts on why Mo lets Tim test and shoot him? Is there any difference in your techniques?

It took me a long time to get good at testing. And Butters would not let me give her insulin. It was soooo upsetting. I finally found what works for us....I spread three or four grams of tuna all over a plate and put it in front of her. That distracts her long enough for me to stand behind her and give her the shot. She never notices as long as she has those tuna shreds to lick up. I hope we can help you find something that will work for you and mo.

 

[Vyktors Mum]

Are you freehanding for the pokes Katy? If so I would recommend trying the lancing device. It’s personal which one works best for you but a lot of people that try freehanding first and aren’t so successful find the lancing device marvellous - check out @PerfumedCatMom ’s joy in today’s Ruby condo, my friend Rita had the same reaction when she started using the device and Lulu almost instantly got with the program. Most people can’t poke as quickly as the device and the quick sharp action is what make’s it pretty much painless.

@Butters & Lyla had some good thoughts for you too - except it would be a lower gauge needle/lancet that you want, the higher the gauge the smaller the diameter. I note that the lancets that come with the glucometer originally are usually too high a gauge (too fine) to use on new cat ears but you should be able to get a lower gauge (thicker) from the chemist. Many kitties start to get annoyed with multiple pokes.

We can’t get neosporin at the chemist but I believe you can order it online (you want the ointment not the cream) @Bron and Sheba (GA) knows about that and can give you advice on how to use it.

 

[Butters & Lyla]

Oops. My bad. I meant lower gauge, 25g like Elise suggested. Thanks for catching that!
I use a lancing device with 28g lancets. I had to learn how to test by myself with help from the board. I could never figure out how to freehand it with a needle or with a lancet.

 

[katy and mo (GA)]

Can you try sticking him and immediately getting the drop of blood onto your fingernail before he moves? You can test the blood from there. A blood drop should form right after you stick him. If that’s not happening then I wonder if his ear is warm enough, or what Elise said about using a Sharp, higher gauge needle.

Any thoughts on why Mo lets Tim test and shoot him? Is there any difference in your techniques?

It took me a long time to get good at testing. And Butters would not let me give her insulin. It was soooo upsetting. I finally found what works for us....I spread three or four grams of tuna all over a plate and put it in front of her. That distracts her long enough for me to stand behind her and give her the shot. She never notices as long as she has those tuna shreds to lick up. I hope we can help you find something that will work for you and mo.

Yah, I do get the drop of blood on my fingernail. He just gets so upset that we just can't hold him still long enough to get enough blood That's a fabulous idea with the Tuna. I used to do it while he was eating his meal so maybe I'll have to go back to that?

I think Mo associates me mainly with testing but Tim just told me that he has been hissed and growled at before, but it's not as regular as with me.

The worst time seems to be just before breakfast and dinner. Despite giving him meals in between he just gets so grumpy around those times. And he's not starved because he's put on nearly all the weight he lost when he had pancreatitis....

Are you freehanding for the pokes Katy? If so I would recommend trying the lancing device. It’s personal which one works best for you but a lot of people that try freehanding first and aren’t so successful find the lancing device marvellous - check out @PerfumedCatMom ’s joy in today’s Ruby condo, my friend Rita had the same reaction when she started using the device and Lulu almost instantly got with the program. Most people can’t poke as quickly as the device and the quick sharp action is what make’s it pretty much painless.

@Butters & Lyla had some good thoughts for you too - except it would be a lower gauge needle/lancet that you want, the higher the gauge the smaller the diameter. I note that the lancets that come with the glucometer originally are usually too high a gauge (too fine) to use on new cat ears but you should be able to get a lower gauge (thicker) from the chemist. Many kitties start to get annoyed with multiple pokes.

We can’t get neosporin at the chemist but I believe you can order it online (you want the ointment not the cream) @Bron and Sheba (GA) knows about that and can give you advice on how to use it.

Yeah I'm free handing. I tried using the lancing device that came with my glucometer but he wouldn't sit still long enough for me to do it, so we just freehanded it again. I need to do some research on some good ones, I think. I'll have a look into ordering neosporin online!!

Thank you for your support <3



Even though we haven't seen any blues since the 17th, we haven't seen any reds either *touch wood* so that's definitely a bonus. He seems more stable? Not jumping up or down.

I might look into buying an automatic feeder as that would make it easier to do feeds during the day when we aren't home. I wish he would graze but he eats as though he's never going to see food again. Which i know is a good thing really for a cat with diabetes. Oh well. I'm just feeling a bit disheartened by the lack of progress tbh. It's been 2 months since his diagnosis and we still haven't found a good dose for him

Are people able to let me know how long it took them to get their cat regulated???

Hope you're all doing well. I'm going to do the dishes and have a rest on the couch

 

[Butters & Lyla]

Try not to get too disheartened over not having Mo regulated after two months. Feline Diabetes is a marathon, not a sprint (nor a race). It took me four months to find a good dose for Butters. That doesn't really matter though. Regulation takes way, way longer with some kitties, and way shorter with others because Every Cat is Different (ECID). I had just over four weeks of her being tightly regulated and then she became de-regulated in less than a week and I have no idea if or when she will be regulated again. It's a journey, a dance, a marathon....whatever you want to call it, it takes time and an ocean's worth of patience.

I urge you to click on everyone's kitties' spreadsheets and look through them. We all have links to them in our signatures. Review as many as possible. The people who are on the board helping whose kitties have passed keep active links to their spreadsheets...they have years' worth of data to explore. Regulation is not easy nor does it happen fast for many cats. Diabetes is a complicated disease.

There is no possible way that I could give Butters her insulin shots without distracting her with some stinky tuna. She won't even let me give them to her while she eats her meals.

I know you may not want to go this route, but I'm positive I have read that some people burrito their kitties for testing. You may want to consider that, but if you do then I'd recommend trying a lancing device also. I'm speaking from my own experience, but I cannot poke Butters' ear free hand with a lancet or needle as quickly as the lancing device can. She would meep loudly when I tried to freehand, whereas she doesn't flinch when I use the device. But if you are comfy freehanding, then that's wonderful.

 

[JOJI and Kit]

some people burrito their kitties for testing.

we burritoed routinely in the beginning and always in the same spot in the kitchen. now we only need to full burrito if kit is being fussy and we can test her almost wherever she happens to be when it’s test time. so it’s definitely an evolution. thinking back to those earlier times it was always such a stressful drama. it’ll get easier.

 

[Sienne and Gabby (GA)]

Let me also chime in. If Mo is associating you with testing, you need to change the association. If you have a testing "spot," bring Mo there, scratch his ears, give him pets, attention, etc. and give him a treat. Do not test. Keep repeating the process of giving treats without a test at random times. Ideally, you are intermittently reinforcing the association of the testing location, fiddling with his ears, and treats. It may help to change the association between you and a poke in the ear.

 

[katy and mo (GA)]

Thank you thank you thank you! This all gives me so much hope.

Try not to get too disheartened over not having Mo regulated after two months. Feline Diabetes is a marathon, not a sprint (nor a race). It took me four months to find a good dose for Butters. That doesn't really matter though. Regulation takes way, way longer with some kitties, and way shorter with others because Every Cat is Different (ECID). I had just over four weeks of her being tightly regulated and then she became de-regulated in less than a week and I have no idea if or when she will be regulated again. It's a journey, a dance, a marathon....whatever you want to call it, it takes time and an ocean's worth of patience.

I urge you to click on everyone's kitties' spreadsheets and look through them. We all have links to them in our signatures. Review as many as possible. The people who are on the board helping whose kitties have passed keep active links to their spreadsheets...they have years' worth of data to explore. Regulation is not easy nor does it happen fast for many cats. Diabetes is a complicated disease.

There is no possible way that I could give Butters her insulin shots without distracting her with some stinky tuna. She won't even let me give them to her while she eats her meals.

I know you may not want to go this route, but I'm positive I have read that some people burrito their kitties for testing. You may want to consider that, but if you do then I'd recommend trying a lancing device also. I'm speaking from my own experience, but I cannot poke Butters' ear free hand with a lancet or needle as quickly as the lancing device can. She would meep loudly when I tried to freehand, whereas she doesn't flinch when I use the device. But if you are comfy freehanding, then that's wonderful.

Yes this is so true. I will definitely be having a look over everyone's spreadsheets tonight when I'm not busy at work. Thank you so much for this, Lyla

we burritoed routinely in the beginning and always in the same spot in the kitchen. now we only need to full burrito if kit is being fussy and we can test her almost wherever she happens to be when it’s test time. so it’s definitely an evolution. thinking back to those earlier times it was always such a stressful drama. it’ll get easier.

It's funny because whenever I use the zip to open the testing kit, he always comes running because he knows that he is going to get a treat! But he just doesn't enjoy what he has to do to get a treat lol. Thank you

Let me also chime in. If Mo is associating you with testing, you need to change the association. If you have a testing "spot," bring Mo there, scratch his ears, give him pets, attention, etc. and give him a treat. Do not test. Keep repeating the process of giving treats without a test at random times. Ideally, you are intermittently reinforcing the association of the testing location, fiddling with his ears, and treats. It may help to change the association between you and a poke in the ear.

That's a really good idea! I will start doing that tomorrow when I'm home from work. Thank you so much

I am so grateful for all of you