Boy Cat 1st day of testing

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Majka

Majka

Member Since 2017
Hello,

I hope this is the right place to post. Boy Cat was diagnosed this week with his glucose testing at the vet's office at 450 and glucose in his urine. All other labs were normal. He had been acting strange the past few days and was stumbling and urinating suddenly for no apparent reason. He had also been sitting with his head at a strange angle as if he wasn't seeing well and walking weird on his back legs. We thought he would be coming home from the vet with insulin after a 2 day stay. Thankfully not, but we are giving him Purina DM food provided by the vet at this point. Boy Cat loves the food so that is great. I've started home glucose testing last night and today is the first full day. The vet would like to see if Boy Cat can be controlled with diet since while at the vet for 2 days the smallest dose of insulin was causing very low glucose levels. He was not sure it would be safe to start Boy Cat on home insulin because of that reason. The first glucose test at 8:30 a.m was 265 and Boy Cat would only eat 1/4 of the recommended food after that check. We checked his glucose again at at 12:30 p.m. and it was 112. By 2:30 p.m I fed him 1/4 can again because he seemed to be shivering and meowing for food. He started meowing again for food an hour later so we fed him 1/4 can of his food at 3:45 p.m. At 5:45 p.m. we checked his glucose and it is now 131. Any tips of what I should be doing or is this all a learning experience until things calm down? I am the one who needs the calming as it is so very new to me. I took the recommendation to feed him twice a day so I wasn't sure I should have fed him early, but he was starting to act a little strange and it was clear to me he was hungry. Thanks for any comments or recommendations for this newbie and Boy Cat. I am trying wholeheartedly to keep him healthy and adapting to testing an unwilling patient.
 
Squeaky and KT (GA) said:
Hi and Welcome! Am I understanding correctly that Boy Cat isn't on insulin yet? If not, his pancreas is working....
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Yes you are correct. He was on insulin during his stay at the vet for 2 days and we were told we would be giving him insulin at home. When we got there they said they wanted us to test at home for the week and see what his levels are without insulin because they felt his reaction to it was too dangerous for us to administer it at home right now. They said the syringe lowest level of insulin was too much for him and worried that if we were even a small amount off in dosing him we could do him harm. So I really don't know what the issue is with all this. Thanks for responding.
 
So what's happening with his numbers and them going up after feeding and down as hours pass is how the pancreas and natural insulin work. The other stuff isn't normal for diabetes - the walking down on hocks COULD be one but in this case, he's secreting and using the insulin so it's not likely that it's 'diabetic neuropathy'. Stress, pain, confusion - all that makes the glucose levels zoom up naturally as the body's defense mechanism. Those high numbers that the vet was seeing as well as the ones you're seeing are possibly transient. I have a cat with lots of medical issues - when he's not feeling well and in a flare, his glucose is high for several days but goes back down when the flare is over. I agree with your vet's assessment - he doesn't need insulin right now. Diet change to a good low carb food is a good thing. Is the Purina DM the canned pate? The 'always hungry' is one diabetic thing but that's by far not the only thing. Just in my humble opinion, the vet needs to search for other things that may be causing these issues.

BTW, he's BEAUTIFUL!
 
Thank you. Yes the Purina DM is the canned pate. His normal weight was about 11 lbs over the past two years is now down to a little more than 7 lbs. I do appreciate your thoughts and I will see where this takes me after we get some readings sent back to the vet next week. I've been trying to read a lot the past few days to educate myself a bit. I do remember the vet saying something about sometimes a cat can get a growth of some sort on their pancreas that secretes insulin and causes fluctuations. :cat:
 
Majka said:
They said the syringe lowest level of insulin was too much for him and worried that if we were even a small amount off in dosing him we could do him harm.
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Just curious if they told you what that lowest dose was on their syringe? I am hoping Boy Cat can be diet controlled :), he's a cutie :cat:. With the 2 feedings a day, does your Vet know that he should put a little weight back on? 2x daily meals is a little "old-school of thought" and a lot of kitties are not very happy with that schedule. You could also just divide his meals in half and feed 4 times a day ;)
 
He's a gorgeous kitty!!!
I'm by no means an expert on here, but with a underweight as he is, I'd feed him as much as he wants, of low carb food, until I got him to a healthy weight. If that meant a higher glucose level and insulin, so be it. Did they teat for ketones at the vet? The presence of those in the urine could explain the weight loss, although with the lower BG levels I'm not sure that would or could even happen. At any rate, he is 13, and I'd rather see him full and happy than skinny and hungry on a restricted diet, if that makes sense. (But I'm sort of becoming a pro at ignoring my vet's advice so consider that before taking my offered opinion.:))
 
Yong said:
Just curious if they told you what that lowest dose was on their syringe? I am hoping Boy Cat can be diet controlled :), he's a cutie :cat:. With the 2 feedings a day, does your Vet know that he should put a little weight back on? 2x daily meals is a little "old-school of thought" and a lot of kitties are not very happy with that schedule. You could also just divide his meals in half and feed 4 times a day ;)
After seeing how hungry he was today I did wind up feeding him 4 times which he needed and was happy about. The vet said he was too thin and recommended 1 & 1/2 cans of food per day. So I plan to give him several meals per day instead of twice. I am not sure what the smallest dose on the syringe was, but I think he said just one line the smallest possible on the syringe and worried it was not easy to get exact and even so wound up being too much. I will check his paperwork tomorrow. His last test tonight was 136 so gave him food afterward. He is not crazy like he was about water all day long since he got home from the vet stay. Normally if he heard any water running he wanted it. Demanded it. Thanks again
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Frank's Mom said:
He's a gorgeous kitty!!!
I'm by no means an expert on here, but with a underweight as he is, I'd feed him as much as he wants, of low carb food, until I got him to a healthy weight. If that means higher glucose level and insulin, so be it. Did they test for ketones at the vet? The presence of those in the urine could explain the weight loss, although with the lower BG levels I'm not sure that would or could even happen. At any rate, he is 13, and I'd rather see him full and happy than skinny and hungry on a restricted diet, if that makes sense. (But I'm sort of becoming a pro at ignoring my vet's advice so consider that before taking my offered opinion.:))
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He was checked for ketones, but there were none in his urine. I do worry about how thin he's gotten and I won't let him be hungry at this point. I called the vet today because I wanted to be sure that feeding him more than twice was ok and didn't want to mess up when and how often to test. Since i am new to this I'm overly cautious probably and I don't want to stick him more than necessary. Thanks for responding.
 
From what I understand, you just don't want him eating those 2 hours prior to each preshot test. You don't want to give a shot based on a food elevated BG number, but it's OK for him to eat the rest of the time. Frank was eating 4-5 5.5 Oz cans a day to get him back up to weight after diagnosis. And he put on about 2 pounds in 2 weeks, with that and insulin.
Good luck! I hope Boy Cat is feeling better soon, whatever your course of treatment ends up being.
 
I've taken a few days of BG checks on Boy Cat. Since this is new to me is there any knowledge to be gained from the information so far? I used the spreadsheet to keep track of his numbers even though he is not on insulin. Thanks for any comments. I will probably speak to the vet tomorrow to see what he thinks.
 
He hit an 84 not on insulin? I think you may be able to get him regulated with just food.... I am not convinced he needs insulin.... Or if he does just a tiny bit on days over 200. Normal on alphatrak is 68-150. Are you making sure those first tests in the morning he hasn't had food for at least two hours?

Are you feeding dm wet or dry?
 
Thanks. Yes I am checking him before his first meal of the day and he is eating the wet DM. The other tests during the day are at least two hours after a meal or longer.
 
Majka said:
Thanks. Yes I am checking him before his first meal of the day and he is eating the wet DM. The other tests during the day are at least two hours after a meal or longer.
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What was he eating prior to diagnosis?
 
Yong said:
I think you may have a diet controlled :cat: *paws crossed*
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Thanks I hope so. He is hungry all the time now though. Is that normal with a switch to all wet food? Not drinking nearly the water he was before either, but I guess he is getting some from the wet food.
 
If you need to start insulin, I wouldn't start higher than 0.5 units. He drops to normal levels on his own most days.
 
Majka said:
Thanks I hope so. He is hungry all the time now though. Is that normal with a switch to all wet food? Not drinking nearly the water he was before either, but I guess he is getting some from the wet food.
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Cats with diabetes eat more because they don't utilize the nutrients properly. That will taper off as he's in normal range more. It's OK to feed several small meals a day. No reason to make him stay hungry.
 
Yong said:
How much is he eating now? The canned DM?
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About 1 1/2 cans of the Purina DM. One day 2 cans. He seems to eat a little and then come back within the time I pick it up to eat again. The vet said 1 1/2 cans so that is what I have been mostly doing. I switched from the twice a day to 4 meals.
 
Majka said:
About 1 1/2 cans of the Purina DM. One day 2 cans. He seems to eat a little and then come back within the time I pick it up to eat again. The vet said 1 1/2 cans so that is what I have been mostly doing. I switched from the twice a day to 4 meals.
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I always leave out lots of food because all of my cats are grazers. They will eat for a min, leave it, come back in an hour,... Float in and out all day.

Just pick it up two hours before tests.
 
JanetNJ said:
I always leave out lots of food because all of my cats are grazers. They will eat for a min, leave it, come back in an hour,... Float in and out all day.

Just pick it up two hours before tests.
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I will try that although my dog won't stay out of it so I have to be aware of him mooching the cat food. :) Yes Boy Cat is a grazer too, but I thought I needed to keep track more than I really do.
 
My dog doesn't stay out of the food either. I have a baby gate that has a kitty door, so I can put the food in there and keep the dog out. I don't think they are very expensive, although I bought mine at a close out store.
 
Walmart sells one for like $12, although I didn't consider you might have a tiny dog that can fit through the cat door.
 
I just spoke to the vet and gave her Boy Cat's past 4 days BG numbers. She said Boy Cat is doing great and we only need to spot check him and keep him on the wet food diet. We are going to check for awhile longer though because we decided on feeding him Fancy Feast (it's his favorite treat in the past) and want to be sure he truly is doing pretty well. I don't think the Purina DM was a good choice at least all at once because he wound up with diarrhea and some vomiting overnight. Maybe because he has been eating more of it and more often? This mornings BG check was 159. We will see how it goes from here. :)
 
Go Boy Cat Go! I'm SO happy to see beautiful boy's doing so great with just the food change. Even if not on insulin, the chart of his bg tests are telling you, the vet and all of us many things - good job!

We're all rooting for you!!
 
Squeaky and KT (GA) said:
Go Boy Cat Go! I'm SO happy to see beautiful boy's doing so great with just the food change. Even if not on insulin, the chart of his bg tests are telling you, the vet and all of us many things - good job!

We're all rooting for you!!
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:cat::cat::cat::cat::cat: Thanks to all of you and your kindness. Keeping up the good thoughts.
 
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