4/24 Jag, AMPS 353

[chrisb3127]

This is my first post! I've been reading the forums since last week, and am learning a lot in just under a week.

My black cat, Jag, is 7 years old and was diagnosed last Thursday. He is a big cat in terms of size and weight, 21.13lbs. He developed a skin rash (looks like blotches all over his back's skin, and very dry), where when I brushed him, his fur literally peeled right off. I took him to the vet to see what was going on, and they recommended lab work. (No real solution to this rash/skin issue was given, other than a dose of Convenia.)

The lab work came back with high glucose (395) and they ran Fructosamine to confirm, which came back at 895. Trace ketones, and glucose found in urine.

They wanted to start insulin right away. He was put on Lantus. Dose is 2U every 12 hours.

I tried transitioning him off of dry food (was feeding Fromm GF Game Bird). He used to eat Tiki Cat cans without an issue, but when trying to feed wet food for every meal, he seemed to no longer want it, maybe because of the texture.

I tried the Tiki Cat Velvet Mousse, and he seems to like that, so I've been feeding him solely this since Saturday night.

While he wasn't eating much Friday & Saturday, consistent Lantus doses didn't start until Sunday evening. Since Sunday, he gets the dose every 12 hours, after eating a pouch of food.

They want him to eat 335kcal/day, to try and shed some weight. They said to feed only 2 big meals, but to me this seems like too much food at once. This would be roughly 2 pouches of food per serving. Is it ok to split it up into 4 meals a day, spread out across the day, or should I do the 2 big feedings only?

His levels have not gone down much, if at all, yet. The vet sold me the AlphaTrak, but I will probably switch to a Relion after reading these forums, since the strips on the AT are super expensive.

I guess my questions being new to this, is how long does it take to notice a change in glucose levels? Does it take several days for the doses to impact?

Also, is the Tiki Cat Velvet Mousse a good option? Are the fish/tuna/salmon ok to use? I've always been a fan of premium foods. I emailed Tiki, and they said:

"The carbohydrates of the Velvet Mousse Chicken, Chicken with Egg, Chicken & Wild Salmon, and Wild Salmon are all 3%. The Tuna & Chicken is 2% and the Tuna & Mackerel is 1% carbohydrates."

I think that is all for now! I put the spreadsheet in my signature, record starts today, but I did include the full lab results in it as well. His labs have quite a few things high, but not sure if it's just because he's not regulated yet.

 

[Carol in Chicago]

Welcome! Congrats on getting up and running with your spreadsheet!

One thing that might help you is the food chart. You are right to be looking at low carb wet food. One thing to be careful of initially is starting insulin while transitioning off dry food. Because dry is higher in carbs there is a 2 factor impact by dramatically reducing the carbs and also starting insulin so it is great that you have made the decision to monitor.

Lantus is a depot insulin, so it should take a few days for that depot to be established. Consistency is your goal right now, get yourself and Jag used to a regular schedule of test, feed, shoot on a 12 hour schedule. I agree that serving just 2 big meals is goofy. Most vets recommend this to make sure there is some food onboard with the insulin injection, however, you will see many of us serve multiple small meals / snacks through the day.

Don't be discouraged if you don't see his numbers move right away, it will take another couple of days for the depot to be established. I know you have been reading, so I will recommend another link for you regarding the insulin depot. This is an important concept and useful to understand even after he has been on insulin for awhile. It is one of the reasons we suggests holding a consistent dose for multiple cycles. Hope this helps. Please continue to ask questions, we were all new once and eager to help.

 

[Tracey&Jones (GA)]

Hello, welcome! Great job at getting everything up and running!

I would give it a few more days for the depot to build up and then go from there. With food changes in the mix you might see a big drop quickly so watch for that.

 

[Wendy&Neko]

Hello and welcome to you and sweet Jag.

We have two dosing methods here, one called the Tight Regulation Protocol and the other Start Low Go Slow. Take a read of the two sticky notes describing them, and see what fits your life style. Generally you'll hold the initial dose for 5-7 days (depending on dosing method and numbers) to let the depot build.

Good job getting the labs data set up too. I noticed there were some trace ketones. Are you testing regularly for urinary ketones? You can buy Ketostix at most pharmacies for testing. Anything above a trace should be dealt with by a vet.

You don't need to feed two big meals at once. Several small meals throughout the day are OK. We have quite a few kitties here that are grazers. While you are new, try to not feed the last couple of hours before shot time. That's so that the preshot numbers won't be influenced (higher) due to food. As for types of food, I'd try to limit the amount of food with larger fish in them. Those fish tend to have higher levels of PDBE's in them, and they may be a link to thyroid disfunction and also pituitary tumours. Avoid fish as part of the daily diet, though a couple times a week may be fine.

 

[chrisb3127]

Thank you all for the suggestions and tips!

I'm going to get the urine strips today to see if Jag still is throwing ketones, and also get the human meter. I'm almost out of the AT strips, and even online they are $50 for a new pack of them. So unless the vet wants a curve (I know next week they will, but they only told me to do it on Monday & Thursday, 2x each day.. that's not enough readings I think to really paint a picture of his numbers) I'm going to use the human meter. That way it's more affordable, and I can even test him more often without worrying about how much each strip is. I've been trying to test him at least 3x per day. I feel bad for his ears with all the poking.

His levels still aren't going lower, but it's also not a full week yet of consistent dosing. Today at +8, he's already at 414, before feeding him his wet food. It seems he doesn't go below 300. The only time I saw his reading in the 200s was on Friday when he refused to eat much of his food.

He is still eating the Tiki Velvet Mousse. Been using the variety packs to start to see which ones he likes. So far, he likes all of them. Next time I get more food, I will stick with the Chicken ones and get a few fish ones to throw in here and there so he won't get bored with the same flavor.