Casey's first Home Test...

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my Casey bear

my Casey bear

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Hi evryone,

Thought I would share my first Home Test w/Casey.

She must have been feeling better since she started eating the wet, low carb food verses the dry; she was not as dosal as she was on Sunday (or was it Monday) night. Casey would not sit still...nudging my hands even as I was petting her, batting at every item I had in my hand(s), and kept flattening her ears...And that was just with the test/dry runs (un-opened lance).

I finally attempted the real deal.... She was not a happy camper! She meowed when I pricked her, was antsy while I was rubbing the ear to beed the blood, tried to bolt while trying to collet the blood, and after I let her go she started hissing. I hope this will get easier for the both of us!!

Despite the struggle, I got my first Home Test reading...280. This compares to the reading of 445+ when she was diagnosed as a DC w/a UTI.

Practice HT this weekend, and hopefully start the insulin sometime this week. :razz:

Roberta
and Casey
 
Congrats on the first home test, and welcome to the vampire club!!!!

And that is a really nice number for a newly dxed kitty that hasn't started insulin yet! With just a little help from a nice low dose of insulin there is a very good chance you are going to end up with a diet controlled kitty. :-D Especially once that UTI clears as infection will raise her BGs.

And yes it does get easier and easier. Musette has only been with me two weeks and now all I have to do get out the testing kit and call her and she runs and gets in my lap to be tested.

One of the biggest keys to success is TREATS, whether you get blood or not, Casey gets her treat. Pretty soon she will associate, testing with treats and will look forward to those tests...Maxwell has been in remission 8 months and he still comes at testing time wanting his treat too. :lol: For us treats are bites of boiled chicken, and the added perk is I am never short of chicken broth for cooking...lol

Mel, Maxwell, Musette & The Fur Gang
 
Congratulations!!! That's a terrific milestone. It does get easier. It really does. As you practice more, you'll get more confident and the more confident you are, the faster you'll be.

I feel your pain. A couple of tips to help speed things up:
- Fill a sock with rice or beans and nuke it in the microwave for 20-30 seconds. Some people suggest 20 so that it's not too hot but I find it with my kitty I need make it a little hotter so that his ears will warm up faster. When the ear is warmed up, the blood will surface and bleed alot easier.

- When you see the blood pool up, you can scrape it with your fingernail or thumbnail and then take the reading off of that. Warning -- if you use Neosporin to help bead the blood, this technique might not work so well. But try it and see.

I also made a video this week for people who might need to restrain their cats and the link is in my signature. I'd use the towel burrito as a last resort since cats usually don't like to be restrained. First try putting your cat on a counter and use your elbow to restrain. If that doesn't work, then put her on the floor and straddle over her. If that doesn't work, then try wrapping her in a towel and straddle her as I did in the video. It took about 2 weeks and my cat has (mostly) learned to be calm now. Just a note, freehand might hurt the kitty more and a lancet device might hurt less. The device didn't work when I first did home testing but I started using it this week (after I videoed my cat) and now love it.

Always give lots of treats no matter how successful you are.

Good luck!!!
 
MommaOfMuse said:
And that is a really nice number for a newly dxed kitty that hasn't started insulin yet! With just a little help from a nice low dose of insulin there is a very good chance you are going to end up with a diet controlled kitty. :-D Especially once that UTI clears as infection will raise her BGs.

Mel, Maxwell, Musette & The Fur Gang
Click to expand...


Casey's UTI had already cleared prior to my home test.
 
Still a great number with no insulin.
I see good things in your future Roberta,,,,and in yours too Casey.
Is this with the 13% carb?
And Roberta....Welcome to the Vampire Club. You will really never see a drop of blood in quite the same way.
Wonder how you could get maybe just one pen of insulin rather than the whole 5 pack.....
Lori
and tomtom
Proud of you!!!!
 
lori and tom said:
Still a great number with no insulin.
I see good things in your future Roberta,,,,and in yours too Casey.
Is this with the 13% carb?
And Roberta....Welcome to the Vampire Club. You will really never see a drop of blood in quite the same way.
Wonder how you could get maybe just one pen of insulin rather than the whole 5 pack.....
Lori
and tomtom
Proud of you!!!!
Click to expand...

Yes it was...and a little kibble too :oops: My appt took much longer than I planned and the canned food dish got empty before I even got to the store to get more. (My brother had come home and did not know Casey was no longer allowed to eat dry...he said she very little of it). What was funny was that a little while after I tested her, she started to walk a little on her hocks again. I do not know it it was the little bit of kibble catching up to her, or the stress from the first HT. hmmm

I think I will test her again this morning/early afternoon...or do I have to always do it the same time each day even thought I have not yet started to shoot her yet? And, do I have to time it before/after her eating?

Roberta
and Casey
 
Roberta it would be nice if you could get an empty tummy test...maybe first thing in the a,m. before breffis, and then later in the day after she's been eatting. But no mandatory testing until she's getting insulin. Keep us posted on whatever numbers you do get tho' :-D
Lori
 
Well, we got our 2nd reading.... This attempt make the 1st one seem easy. Either we had no luck getting blood and/or she would not stay still long enough get a prick on her ear ( :lol: I got my finger instead of her ear 1 of the times). (treats after and breaks between attempts, of course) Finally, w/my brother's help, we got blood....but she moved and instead of hitting the sweet spot I think we got the vein. :o We got more blood than necessary, and (per usual) as soon as she go pricked she turned her head & flicked her ear...wound-up getting blood drops on Casey's head and on my shirt. I coagulated the blood, and all was good...except she was in the same mood as she was after the 1st HT...hissy. My brother reminded me that our sister works in the medical field (medical receiptionist) and may be able to find a blood lancet that would work better for my (physical) needs.

2nd reading #...285 about an hour after she ate.
 
nice number....still needs insulin tho'.
she is so close roberta. i think if you start treatment you could get her diet controlled.
many of us started as i told you in the 5-600's
don't delay too long.
every day that the pancreas is overworked is a little more damage to it.
 
I'm glad to hear that I am not the only one struggling with a hissy-kitty. Let's hope both of our kitties finally decide to cooperate.
 
Jessie's mom said:
I'm glad to hear that I am not the only one struggling with a hissy-kitty. Let's hope both of our kitties finally decide to cooperate.
Click to expand...

Good news...I did my third reading tonight and it was not a huge event, and no hisses!! Her BG reading was 286...
 
Great job!!
I feel so blessed. My Callie Mae has ALWAYS allowed her momma to do whatever. She just sits wherever I put her to be subjected to whatever. And she likes to talk to me. When sitting with her to prick her ear, it's like she's telling me how to do it or something.
Now that she's in remission, she really likes to tell me off. I'm pricking her ear and not even giving her any insulin. And I know she knows it too. She used to start *chirping* as soon as I started rolling the insulin vial. And she would stand so still during her injections. Even though it was only a second, she would just "freeze'. It was always so funny. I never rolled the syringe in my fingers to warm it first, hadn't read about that until after she was OTJ, so I think she equated the cold sting with feeling better.
She liked it. But, she's goofy anyway. :lol:
 
Just thought I would share todays BG reading...219....and it is still 2 days before I can start giving her the insulin shots.
 
all i can say Roberta, is thank god you did'nt go with 5 unit Humulin bid. that's all i'm gonna say.... ohmygod_smile
 
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