Behaviour change, eating less,

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So what kind of test did your vet run to get the BG reading? Glucometer? Pet or human meter? Lab test?

How long was it from the time you gave the insulin until the vet did the test?
 
She said she will prick his ear. She took him to different room though, so I don't know what meter she used. But then he came back with a shaved patch on his paw, I only noticed it when got home, so maybe she couldn't get blood from his ear... she didn't explain

It was 11 hours since insulin shot. He gets his shot at 6am and we were at vets at 5pm
 
Ok, thanks for that information.

Caninsulin (marketed as Vetsulin in the US) starts to 'wear off'. The duration of Caninsulin in cats is often 8-12 hours. So with your vet testing at +11 (11 hours after you gave the insulin shot), the test was done at the end of the duration of the 12 hour dosing cycle.

Hope your cat stays safe on the increased dose to 3U. Do you have a plan in place, in case your cat exhibits hypo symptoms? Location of nearest 24 hour emergency vet? Hypo kit ready to go?

Please review this Beginner's Guide to Caninsulin (Vetsulin) It will help you understand Caninsulin better and treating feline diabetes better.

What we call the 5 P's (purring, peeing, pooping, preening, playing) plus appetite is a good gauge of how Chucky is doing. So how is Chucky doing with the 5 P's? Still peeing lakes in the litter box? Preening or grooming himself again? Fur in good condition or a bit oily and greasing? Hair matted or falling out?
 
Just a little update on Chucky

We went to vets today and his BG dropped from 34 to 14 in 12 days, so that's good and he's put on 600 grams
She said to keep him on 3 units for another 3 weeks and then come again for a blood test

So I'm really happy he's better, hopefully we can get him regulated

:)
 
Thanks for the Chucky update! How is his appetite and the 5 P's (peeing, pooping, purring, preening, playing). It's a nice visual assessment you can do.

So what kind of test did your vet run to get the BG reading? Glucometer? Pet or human meter? Lab test?

How long was it from the time you gave the insulin until the vet did the test? Caninsulin only last about 8-10 hours in cats, so if your vet tested after the middle of the insulin cycle (a cycle is a 12 hour period) your cat may have been much lower during the day (and at night during that cycle).

Asking because the time of day, when you gave the insulin, and then when the test was done at the vet could tell us alot.

Is your vet taking a single Blood Glucose(BG) reading? Or doing a Fructosamine test? Is Chucky really relaxed and chilling out during the car ride and while visiting the vet, or is he anxious and stressed? Anxiety and stress can increase the BG readings by 80 mg/dl (4.4 mmol) basis points or more.

A single BG test is only telling you what the Blood Glucose is at that specific point in time.

Hope your cat stays safe on the Caninsulin dose to 3U. Do you have a plan in place, in case your cat exhibits hypo symptoms? Location of nearest 24 hour emergency vet? Hypo kit ready to go?
 
He still has quite a big appetite, but not as bad as before.

He pees and poops less, he has more energy and he is downstairs with us a lot more. He also started sleeping with oldest cat again, as them 2 love each other and used to sleep and groom each other. After Chucky got sick, he wanted to be left alone. Overall I can see he is feeling better.

She took him behind the door, so I only know she tested with glucose meter. He got his injection 6am, test was done 11am.
He seems to be getting used to going to vets now and he's less stressed than before

Yes I have everything ready for the hypo

Not sure what I think about staying on 3 units for whole 3 weeks, as if his BG dropped alot in 12 days, he might go too low if we carry on with such a high dose. Testing at home is not an option, tried, got bitten and ended up in hospital with infection to my finger haha

I'm happy he let's me do injections, as we had very tough start...
 
Ewa Michalczuk said:
Yes I have everything ready for the hypo.......... I'm happy he let's me do injections, as we had very tough start...
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Good you have everything ready for a potential hypo. Do you know the signs to look for?

Not sure what I think about staying on 3 units for whole 3 weeks, as if his BG dropped alot in 12 days, he might go too low if we carry on with such a high dose. Testing at home is not an option, tried, got bitten and ended up in hospital with infection to my finger haha
Click to expand...
Me neither, about staying on that high dose of insulin for 3 weeks with no testing. Kind of scary to give insulin if you don't know what the BG (blood glucose) reading is. If you were diabetic, would you give yourself insulin and then not see your doctor for 3 weeks?

You said your vet used some kind of glucometer to test. Do you know if that was a pet specific meter or a human meter?

Ok, so this time the vet tested more closely to the middle of the 12 hour insulin cycle. Last time at was at +11, or 11 hours after insulin was given. This time, the test was done at what we would call +5 or 5 hours after insulin is given. Since we have people from all over the world, we use a system that states the hours in + format.

For instance, your pre-shot (and pre-shot test time for those folks doing that) is hour 0

0 time of insulin shot. AMPS is the morning 12 hour cycle. PMPS is the evening pre-shot time
+1 1 hour after insulin
+2 2 hours after insulin
and so on and so forth until +11 hours after insulin. Then you roll into the next insulin/testing cycle. (yes, you aren't testing, got bitten, badly and got infection.)

What did you do to get Chucky to accept the insulin shot?
Have you tried bribes? Pure meat food treats are a good option. Many cats like a tiny bit of plain cooked chicken or other meat or tiny piece of fish, or some pure meat freeze dried treats.

Or being the 'cat whisperer'? for home testing. One of our other members Kpassa wrote this up many years ago.
•Ear Testing Psychology•

Video here on How to Hometest A Fractious Cat (Video from Bonnie and Junior)

Simply brainstorming here. Suggestions only, see what ideas you can use. Ask for more ideas if these don't work.

p.s. I knew someone who used heavy duty fireplace gloves to do the testing, ones that stretched all the way up her arm to her elbow. Or I've heard of people using motorcycle leather clothing to keep kitty's claws from sinking into them.
 
Ewa, Please remove your time zone and country from your user "signature". I mistakenly asked for you to include that info and it should not be there. Thanks and apologies for the confusion.
 
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