8/3/2022 New member, new diagnosis

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Jill R

Jill R

Member Since 2022
My cat Templeton ("Toots") was diagnosed on 7/29/2022, the vet said his blood sugar was 350. There were no ketones in his blood fortunately. Started glargine insulin 1 u this morning with breakfast.

My biggest problem is that he is a very difficult cat when it comes to handling and medical issues. He's terrified of the vet (we have an at-home vet) and barely allows handling. I was able to do the first insulin shot this morning when he had his head in his food bowl, it was no problem, he didn't even notice. I cannot for the life of me get a blood sugar on him though. That seems to be the key to really knowing where his blood sugar is at and it's the one thing I can't do. I'm trying and would appreciate any tips. I've done all the "give him treats when you do X" stuff and he's never gotten better with being touched. His vet knows this and said I can check his urine but I know that's not an immediate blood sugar.

We are changing his food slowly from Purina EN (gastroenteric) to Purina DM (dietetic management), both wet and dry. I know wet food is recommended. The vet recommended two meals a day, I feed him a half can twice a day and he free feeds kibble. I was thinking about trying doing some of it frozen, he eats the whole half can right away but he might not as he starts feeling better and less ravenous. We are switching slowly because he has IBS and can get very irritated from changing foods too quickly (found this out the hard way when Hills w/d became unavailable)

A big question I have is about hypoglycemia. I'm home with him for the next week, but after that I work in the office two days a week. When is the hypoglycemia most likely to happen? I'm afraid of it happening when I'm at work (or asleep at night).

I've spent the whole weekend reading this site and other references. It's a bit overwhelming but I will do whatever I need to to keep him healthy. I appreciate any help I might get from this forum. I think I've followed all the rules and suggestions. I have set up a spreadsheet but it has no values yet.
 
Hello and welcome! I love Templeton's photo... those eyes!

Keep reading... I think I've read through the stickied posts a half dozen times and each time I have an 'a-ha' moment that connects. It is a lot to learn but the folks here are fantastic and walking you through the unknowns. One of the veterans will likely be along soon with more advice.

For testing, it does take practice and finding what works. I and my cat were so nervous in the beginning but now I shake the bottle of testing strips and he comes running to the spot on the couch where we test. Have you considered a Libra while you get the hang of it?
 
I got a blood glucose reading!! After watching a bunch of videos I decided to just go for it. It was 325 at +5 hours.
He didn't like it, but he didn't run away.
 
Sugar’s Mama said:
Hello and welcome! I love Templeton's photo... those eyes!

Keep reading... I think I've read through the stickied posts a half dozen times and each time I have an 'a-ha' moment that connects. It is a lot to learn but the folks here are fantastic and walking you through the unknowns. One of the veterans will likely be along soon with more advice.

For testing, it does take practice and finding what works. I and my cat were so nervous in the beginning but now I shake the bottle of testing strips and he comes running to the spot on the couch where we test. Have you considered a Libra while you get the hang of it?
Click to expand...

Thank you, my vet did mention the Libra, I'm going to ask her more about it, but I was able to get a successful blood glucose reading at +5 hours today!
 
Welcome Jill and Toots ,love what you call him :cat:
Congrats on getting your first, it does get easier
Always aim for the sweet spot warm the ears up first, you can put rice in a sock and put it in the microwave, test it on the inside of your wrist to be sure it's not to hot, like you would test a babies bottle. You can fill a pill bottle with warm water and roll it on the ears also.Just keep rubbing the ears with your fingers to warm them up
c2b8079a-b471-4fa6-ac36-9ac1c8d6dcca-jpeg.57072
fec17d29-5ab4-44a8-912b-3a91944c3954-jpeg.57073

6. As the ears get used to bleeding and grow more capilares, it gets easier to get the amount of blood you need on the first try. If he won’t stand still, you can get the blood onto a clean finger nail and test from there.
When you do get some blood you can try milking the ear.
Get you finger and gently push up toward the blood , more will appear
You will put the cotton round behind his ear in case you poke your finger, after you are done testing you will fold the cotton round over his ear to stop the bleeding , press gently for about 20 seconds until it stops
Get 26 or 28 gauge lancets
Take a look at the lancets ,you will see one side points up, that's the side you want to poke with
A lot of us use the lancets to test freehand
I find it better to see where I'm aiming
You can also put a thin layer of vaseline on the ear ,to help the blood bead up
A video one of our members posted
VIDEO: How to test your cat's blood sugar
 
Try giving Toots a freeze dried treat before testing and after, so he will associate getting a treat when you test
Freeze dried treats
https://www.chewy.com/halo-liv-littles-grain-free-100/dp/29214

You can give her any freeze dried treats for a snack
most members give freeze dried treats , they are low carb, you can probably find them in some local pet stores also
I did a search for you on here and copied what some members said they use,

When testing you can give them a treat so they will associate after testing they will get a reward, any freeze dried treats are ok such as
PureBites Freeze-Dried Cat Treats with Chicken Breast 2.3 oz ()https://www.amazon.com/dp/B071P

Also chewys has freeze dried treats also


The freeze dried treats you can get at petsmart, petco and order from chewy. Purebites is popular (cheaper if you buy the dog food ones). My crew like vital essentials it's dehydrated freeze dried raw comes in flavors

freeze dried minnows, made by Vital Essentials. I also buy the ones made for dogs. They're the same as the freeze dried minnows for cats. just cheaper. They also carry other freeze dried treats. I ordered mine through Amazon.

I think the vital essentials are more of a crunchy texture than the purebites

If you cat likes any of these you can buy the bigger bags for dogs they are the same ,you will get more for your money just break then up into smaller pieces
.

You can Google freeze dried treats and see what other ones there are and different flavors
Just make sure that is the only ingredient in them meaning turkey, chicken, minnows etc

Here is another one , I see you can get these in different flavors also just look
You may have to break any freeze dried treats in half if they are too big
https://www.amazon.com/Vital-Essent...ocphy=9003521&hvtargid=pla-630511512365&psc=1
 
Diane Tyler's Mom said:
Welcome Jill and Toots ,love what you call him :cat:
Congrats on getting your first, it does get easier
Always aim for the sweet spot warm the ears up first, you can put rice in a sock and put it in the microwave, test it on the inside of your wrist to be sure it's not to hot, like you would test a babies bottle. You can fill a pill bottle with warm water and roll it on the ears also.Just keep rubbing the ears with your fingers to warm them up
c2b8079a-b471-4fa6-ac36-9ac1c8d6dcca-jpeg.57072
fec17d29-5ab4-44a8-912b-3a91944c3954-jpeg.57073

6. As the ears get used to bleeding and grow more capilares, it gets easier to get the amount of blood you need on the first try. If he won’t stand still, you can get the blood onto a clean finger nail and test from there.
When you do get some blood you can try milking the ear.
Get you finger and gently push up toward the blood , more will appear
You will put the cotton round behind his ear in case you poke your finger, after you are done testing you will fold the cotton round over his ear to stop the bleeding , press gently for about 20 seconds until it stops
Get 26 or 28 gauge lancets
Take a look at the lancets ,you will see one side points up, that's the side you want to poke with
A lot of us use the lancets to test freehand
I find it better to see where I'm aiming
You can also put a thin layer of vaseline on the ear ,to help the blood bead up
A video one of our members posted
VIDEO: How to test your cat's blood sugar
Click to expand...

Thank you so much, this is so much helpful information, I really appreciate it. The ear stick doesn't seem to bother him much at all, it's more that I keep touching his ear (I had to massage to get enough blood). I did it by hand because I thought the click of the lancet pen would scare him. It does seem much easier to aim.
 
Diane Tyler's Mom said:
Try giving Toots a freeze dried treat before testing and after, so he will associate getting a treat when you test
Freeze dried treats
https://www.chewy.com/halo-liv-littles-grain-free-100/dp/29214

You can give her any freeze dried treats for a snack
most members give freeze dried treats , they are low carb, you can probably find them in some local pet stores also
I did a search for you on here and copied what some members said they use,

When testing you can give them a treat so they will associate after testing they will get a reward, any freeze dried treats are ok such as
PureBites Freeze-Dried Cat Treats with Chicken Breast 2.3 oz ()https://www.amazon.com/dp/B071P

Also chewys has freeze dried treats also


The freeze dried treats you can get at petsmart, petco and order from chewy. Purebites is popular (cheaper if you buy the dog food ones). My crew like vital essentials it's dehydrated freeze dried raw comes in flavors

freeze dried minnows, made by Vital Essentials. I also buy the ones made for dogs. They're the same as the freeze dried minnows for cats. just cheaper. They also carry other freeze dried treats. I ordered mine through Amazon.

I think the vital essentials are more of a crunchy texture than the purebites

If you cat likes any of these you can buy the bigger bags for dogs they are the same ,you will get more for your money just break then up into smaller pieces
.

You can Google freeze dried treats and see what other ones there are and different flavors
Just make sure that is the only ingredient in them meaning turkey, chicken, minnows etc

Here is another one , I see you can get these in different flavors also just look
You may have to break any freeze dried treats in half if they are too big
https://www.amazon.com/Vital-Essent...ocphy=9003521&hvtargid=pla-630511512365&psc=1
Click to expand...

Thank you so much! The freeze dried treats seems perfect for him! I was doing Greenies hairball control, he really liked those but he'd love these
 
Jill R said:
Thank you so much, this is so much helpful information, I really appreciate it. The ear stick doesn't seem to bother him much at all, it's more that I keep touching his ear (I had to massage to get enough blood). I did it by hand because I thought the click of the lancet pen would scare him. It does seem much easier to aim.
Click to expand...
You can also try to test him at a different place and see if that helps. Also, turning off the beeping sound on the meter is advisable.

After some trial and error, I settled on testing him where I feed him, I put his freeze dried treats into a vitamin bottle.
I put the bottle in front of him, he lays down and purrs cause he knows he's getting a treat. He seems much better about testing now.

Also, this vaseline tube from Walmart makes it easy to get a drop of vaseline on your finger:
https://www.walmart.com/ip/Vaseline-Lip-Therapy-Lip-Balm-Tube-Advanced-Healing-0-35-oz/11046978?
 
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