7/12 - Oliver Should I be worried about this?

[FluffBunny]

Oliver has been doing really well OTJ. However, he is still getting a small dose of prednisolone every other day in the evening. I have noticed that his BG invariably goes up after his pred. Last night I tracked it and it peaked at 137 6 hours after I gave him his capsule. I think I can assume that Oliver goes into blue numbers for 4 - 6 hours on his pred days. Should I be concerned about this? He was back down to 69 this morning and he never goes into blue numbers otherwise. I am wondering if this spike every other day is likely to injure his pancreas. Should I pursue getting him off the pred entirely? I don't want his IBD to flare up, but I also don't want to do any long-term damage to his pancreas.

 

[Camille and Cyclone]

As long as it's only a mild rise for a few hours every other day, I wouldn't think it's a problem. Worth keeping an eye on it, though. In general, other conditions have to take precedence over diabetes.

Do you give him a little food with the pred? A snack may help bring his numbers down quickly.

 

[FluffBunny]

I guess I should make a conscious effort to feed Oliver just before his pred. I mostly feed him small meals throughout the day - whenever he tells me he is hungry. He tells me that by pushing things off the kitchen counter. He pushes something, then stops and stares at me. If I don't react, he pushes something else onto the floor. Then he stares at me some more.

Oliver weighs 14.25 lbs, but he is a big cat - part Maine Coon - so he can carry a lot of weight. He weighed 17 lbs. in his prime and he was not at all fat. I have been trying to get him to gain weight over the last 6 months, so I try to feed as often as he will eat.