Am I doing the right things? Advice = awesome!

[Kristin Fiore]

Hi all,
I've done a ton of research the last 9 days and here's what I've come up with. Please let me know if anything sounds amiss.


EMERGENCY. Hypoglycemia kit: can or packet of high carb cat food, 4-6 drops of karo/glucose syrup (always follow with cat food). An emergency use needle-less syringe up rectum w/syrup as last resort.

LEVELS. Glucose should be between 80 and 170 mg/dl on human Arkray meter (range estimates vary). Human readers are lower than pet readers. Spreadsheet is for human meters. <40 (give syrup). >300 (test urine, monitor). Non-insulin normal cat range is 60-120.

TESTING. Warm dry ear. Hold lancet with longest side on bottom. Prick between vein and end-of-ear. Squeeze blood out. Pinch with pad to stop blood, then put Neosporin.

INSULIN. Pump a unit of air into vial air before flipping over to avoid vacuum suction. Don't put air into fluid. Draw a bit more than a unit, withdraw needle, and push out extra for exact dose. Flick syringe a few times to get air bubbles out. Spread fur on flank with finger to expose skin. Put in Needle at 45 degrees. Pull syringe end out a bit and see if it goes back toward skin by itself -- this means you're in deep enough (per vet). Remember the post-insulin freeze-dried treat!

PRODUCTS. Walmart 100 pk lancets (Trueplus 28 - 30ga), cotton rounds,

Arkray Glucocard Vital Blood Glucose Monitoring System, Arkray Express test strips (6 pk of 50). Neosporin ointment with pain relief. Solostar Lantus pen from Mike's Marine Pharmacy in Canada. 5 pack of 3 ml should last up to 2 years unopened. Opened pen or vial lasts 6 months in fridge. Sure Comfort u-100 syringes 31 gauge 3/10cc 100/box from ADW Diabetes. Caliper measures how many millimeters in 1 unit for a particular syringe.

FEEDING: Fancy Feast Chicken Pate (or the Purely FF high-end), for high-protein, low-fat, zero carb option. Instinct and Wellness grain free also good, but higher in carbs and fat. 1 oz per desired weight's pounds.

As needed: Zobaline methylcobalamin from Mark's Marine Pharmacy for neuropathy. Kit4Cat Ketone and glucose urine test non-absorbant litter for cat urine sample collection, One Step 1 X pet urine test strips. Both on Amazon. Use box lined with plastic bag for litter box, or put strip under tush when she's peeing.

Thanks so much for reading!! I'd love to hear any comments. I know some ideas are different, but this was the best amalgamation from hours and hours of research over the past many days.

Love and hugs to all of your furries!
Kristin

 

[Erin & Scott]

Wow - you have done your research! I'm not the most experienced here, but it sounds like you've ticked all the boxes. I'm not familiar with all the brands of meters & supplies you mention, so I can't comment on that. I may have one bit of advice regarding syringes - if you can, get the kind with 0.5 unit markings. Often we'll make adjustments in 0.25u increments, so the 0.5u markings make it easier. Of course, you mention calipers, which is another way to measure tiny doses.

Welcome to the Feline Diabetes Club - one that no one wants to join, but once you're here, you're glad you found us!

 

[Squeaky and KT (GA)]

can or packet of high carb cat food, 4-6 drops of karo/glucose syrup

3-4 cans of high carb is much better, just get a small bottle of Karo to keep in the cupboard. If you want to put some in a 'kit', put in more along the lines of a good couple of teaspoons and make sure the cap seals TIGHT TIGHT. It will draw ants.

Spread fur on flank with finger to expose skin. Put in Needle at 45 degrees. Pull syringe end out a bit and see if it goes back toward skin by itself

Just pull up a 'tent' in the skin and shoot into the base of the 'tent'. Your goal is to shoot into the fat layer beneath the skin and not muscle.

Fancy Feast Chicken Pate (or the Purely FF high-end), for high-protein, low-fat, zero carb option. Instinct and Wellness grain free also good, but higher in carbs and fat. 1 oz per desired weight's pounds.

There's a HUGE selection of food that's as good as those. Anything under 10% carbs on this list by Dr. Lisa Pierson, DVM:

Food Chart 2017 - CatFoodProteinFatCarbPhosphorusChart.pdf

Some of those things such as the Zobaline can be put off until needed.

You've done a lot of reading!

 

[Kris & Teasel]

Zobaline methylcobalamin from Mark's Marine Pharmacy for neuropathy.

Welcome! Wow to all the research you've done. Being prepared (and that includes mentally) will get you ahead of the game quickly.

One thing: I don't think you can get the Zobaline B12 supplement for cats from Marks Marine Pharmacy. It's an online human pharmacy that many US members buy their Lantus insulin from at about half the cost of in the US. Zobaline can be ordered from this website:
https://www.ilifelink.com/zobaline-for_diabetic_cats-3_mg_x_60_tablets.html

For urine ketone testing you can buy human ketone test strips in any pharmacy.

 

[membeth]

FYI, if it turns out your kitty is offended by urine testing for ketones, there are monitors that test for ketones as well as blood glucose.

The urine strips are cheaper and work fine for many people, but my kitty peed on the carpet to avoid being tested.