Calley going into remission???? can it be?

Status
Not open for further replies.
Kris10mo

Kris10mo

Member Since 2014
Please help. I don't know enough about diabetes to know what this means for Calley...but both her 7am and her 7pm bg numbers were low. Morning was 78 and evening was 69. No levels were taken during the day by the pet sitter....she works.

She has had low numbers in the morning for two weeks now, but higher numbers(220-300) in the evenings. She did not get insulin at all today due to her numbers being low so now she is going on 30 hours/no insulin.

She is eating about four times a day.

The pet sitter said she wasn't feeling well yesterday(Friday) but was back out and playful today. What am I to think of today's low numbers at both AM and PM? Is this a start to remission or do I need to worry that she is heading towards a hypo event?

Should I be worried that she is so low? When she does get insulin it is only .5 units.

Thoughts?

Thanks
Kristin and Calley
 
Hi Kristin,

If your kitty isn't receiving insulin then you don't need to be concerned about hypo. Those numbers are normal numbers for a kitty!
It could be that she is going into remission...
 
No insulin for 2 weeks and she will be officially Off The Juice (OTJ). You may be one of the lucky ones. :smile:
 
Is .5 unit of insulin once a day enough to make her go hypo at any time? Her AM BG was 129 this morning....is that ok?

What are normal numbers for a cat that is not using insulin? Is going as low as 54 ok if there is little or no insulin being given? I thought anything below 60 was considered hypo...????

Thank you

Kristin and sweet Calley
 
Hi Kristin,

Normal numbers for a cat are approximately (the info varies slightly depending on the source) 47 - 130. Some cats will run lower than that. My own non-diabetics usually test at around 60 - 76 on my One Touch Ultra meter.
If not on insulin, these numbers are good. The cat is 'self-regulating' and won't drop too low.

If on insulin though, a cat in these numbers would be considered 'tightly regulated'.

If a cat on insulin drops lower than these numbers then hypo becomes a risk. So caution must be taken when giving shots to cats in lower numbers.

If a cat's need for insulin diminishes there are different approaches to easing the cat into remission.
Some folks hold off from giving insulin to see how the cat manages without it.
Some folks (if their kitty is still at the higher end of the normal range, or just above) will wean the cat off insulin by giving smaller and smaller amounts of insulin. Sometimes the insulin dosage is measured in drops because the dose is so small.
What a person does will depend on their confidence and 'comfort level', and their ability to monitor carefully and hometest etc.
In either case feeding a kitty snacks or mini-meals (rather than large meals) will encourage the pancreas to produce insulin without overwhelming it at any one time. And keeping the food as low carb as possible can help too.

It may be that you'll need to learn to measure smaller amounts of insulin. We can give tips on how to do that. What strength is the insulin you're using? (U40 or U100)?

Eliz
 
Many folks eyeball measure 0.25 units. Others use calipers. Another option is to line up a ruler with fine markings to the syringe and use that as a reference..

Fat and skinny doses: a dose where you measure just a hair over or a hair under the line.

Drop method of dosing:
Practice by filling the syringe to the first non-zero mark using an easily visible liquid, such as coffee. Carefully squeeze out equal sized drops - you may find twisting the plunger helps - and repeat until you can get the same number of equal sized drops each time. Now, when you dose the insulin, you can disharge drops (into the sink) from the dose based on your cat's response.
 
I think the insulin I'm using is U100. I'm not at home to look at the bottle. She hasn't had 2x/daily insulin in two weeks. She is now going on 48 hours with no insulin at all with numbers below 100.

I'm not at home to know how her poos/pees are and to check to see how much she is drinking. I will be back home from vacation on the 22nd and i'll do an insulin curve on Wednesday and see how her numbers are running every two hours.

Presently she is getting four meals a day.....about a can and half of Friskees wet food.

I just hope she is doing ok.!!!

Kristin and Calley
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top