Becki Orr with Rags

[Becki Orr]

I am Becki, my furbaby is Rags. He is 13 years old and was diagnosed diabetic March 2013. He has been on Lantus. His last dose was 3 units B.I.D. He has been on many other units and just cannot regulate him. He is a different furbaby. He does not react the way diabetic cats reacts. Everything is the opposite with him. He was 13 lbs. when he was diagnosed, he is now 17 lbs. and is having trouble passing his bowels. Which he has been to the Vet four times for. Her answer is, Miralax and Mineral Oil in his food. Nothing helps.
January I broke his Lantus bottle which I had just bought. My Doctor gave me a bottle of Levemir. I asked Vet if he could take it. She said 2 units B.I.D. and check his blood. I have checked his blood first couple if days and in P.M. He goes low at night. Tonite 65. He ate 1/2 can of F.F. I also gave him some treats and held his insulin. My question, do you think he may only need one injection a day ?
He used to eat three cans of F.F. now only one or one and a half.

 

[Sharon14]

Hi Becki, Levemir needs to be dosed every 12 hours. Since you are testing Rags' BG, it would help if you could record the numbers in our spreadsheet. That way we can see how well the dose is working and if he needs a decrease. It's really easy to do and we will help you in any way. Here are the instructions to set it up
http://www.felinediabetes.com/FDMB/threads/fdmb-spreadsheet-instructions.130337/
If you need help, like I did, just ask and we'll do it for you.

Also you should remove the GA from your title, that is for kitties that have passed on

 

[Dyana]

Becki,
I'm glad to see you posting about Rags. And I'm glad you are home testing.
If his blood sugars are better he will eat less, more like a normal non-diabetic cat. Do you think he is eating too little for him? He probably ate more when his blood sugars were higher because he didn't have enough insulin to get the nutrition from his food.
My cat J.D. had a good reaction when we switched from Lantus to Levemir and soon needed less and less insulin.
Yes, Levemir should be given every 12 hours, but we don't encourage giving insulin at low numbers unless you have lots of data to know how he does on a given dose, so you did the right thing holding his dose tonight. Please know that he may go higher tomorrow because of the skipped shot and because his liver will probably overreact to the 65 if he is not used to such low numbers and make him bounce.
Read the stickies at the top of the Lantus and Levemir forum when you have a chance. When you are ready, you can start posting in that forum, which is specific to those insulins. They would appreciate if you have the spreadsheet started, but there are people I know who can help you out with that, just let us know.

 

[Larry and Kitties]

Welcome.
Could you please edit the Subject line on your initial post to delete the "GA". GA stands for Guardian Angel, Gone Ahead; the cat has passed away

 

[Becki Orr]

Becki,
I'm glad to see you posting about Rags. And I'm glad you are home testing.
If his blood sugars are better he will eat less, more like a normal non-diabetic cat. Do you think he is eating too little for him? He probably ate more when his blood sugars were higher because he didn't have enough insulin to get the nutrition from his food.
My cat J.D. had a good reaction when we switched from Lantus to Levemir and soon needed less and less insulin.
Yes, Levemir should be given every 12 hours, but we don't encourage giving insulin at low numbers unless you have lots of data to know how he does on a given dose, so you did the right thing holding his dose tonight. Please know that he may go higher tomorrow because of the skipped shot and because his liver will probably overreact to the 65 if he is not used to such low numbers and make him bounce.
Read the stickies at the top of the Lantus and Levemir forum when you have a chance. When you are ready, you can start posting in that forum, which is specific to those insulins. They would appreciate if you have the spreadsheet started, but there are people I know who can help you out with that, just let us know.

Rags is now 17 lbs. He was 13 lbs. when he was diagnosed 2013. He ate more then than he does now. He is the exact opposite as far as eating as a diabetic cat.
We are now taking 1 unit B.I.D., Doc wants me to do a curve in two weeks, no testing now which I do not like. Rags is a very different cat. Out of 23 kitties I've never had a kitty like him!!!! He will now only eat 3/4 of a can of FF in a.m. in p.m. maybe 1 and a 1/4 can. He does not co-operate at all. Another problem I'm having with him is going to potty. he used to go everyday. Now hardly ever. Had him to Vet four times for this. She says Mirilax and Mineral Oil which I put in his food, but no help. Of course I worry about a bowel obstruction. He HATES the litter box because he is long haired and Polidactal. Litter gets stuck in his paws and back side and he sits over the back edge of the box. One day I had litter and feces all over the bathroom Vanity, tub, walls, toilet etc. It was a mess !! He adopted Me. Sometimes I wish he had adopted someone else ! lol!! The Vet shaved his backside to help him and in the Spring I get him shaved, not this Spring he is just getting it cut.
I was hoping we would also have good results on Levemir.

 

[Dyana]

When J.D. got older, and had arthritis, he would get all four feet inside the litter box, and hang his butt over the edge and pee or poo right outside the box. I found puppy training pee pads at my grocery store for the cheapest price, and used to put some in front of and around his box. It made cleaning much easier. Is Rags a Maine Coon? He sounds big. I bet he is beautiful, and would love to see a picture of him
My kitties are both 11 pounds..something (girl and boy) and eat about 2 cans of Fancy Feast each, per day.
Testing helps to keep Rags safe. I wouldn't follow your vets advice about not testing. Ask him, if his daughter or son were diabetic, would he shoot insulin into them twice a day without knowing if it was safe to give them insulin? I didn't think so.

 

[JanetNJ]

Try adding some plain pumpkin (about a teaspoon) to each meal, as well as some extra water in addition to the Miralax.

 

[Becki Orr]

Try adding some plain pumpkin (about a teaspoon) to each meal, as well as some extra water in addition to the Miralax.

I always add water to all the food he eats. Tried that, he will not eat the pumpkin.

Welcome.
Could you please edit the Subject line on your initial post to delete the "GA". GA stands for Guardian Angel, Gone Ahead; the cat has passed away

Welcome.
Could you please edit the Subject line on your initial post to delete the "GA". GA stands for Guardian Angel, Gone Ahead; the cat has passed away

I did not put the GA on Rags post. I do not know how to do that or delete it. There are people moving my posts to a different forum.

 

[Becki Orr]

I always add water to all the food he eats. Tried that, he will not eat the pumpkin.





I did not put the GA on Rags post. I do not know how to do that or delete it. There are people moving my posts to a different forum.

I finally figured out how to remove it. How did it get on there?