Cat Colds and Raised BGL Dosing Question

[Steve and Blue]

I know that a when a kitty gets some sort of infection such at a UTI or URI, their BGL will usually go up. Blue Cat just hit the highest he's been in over two weeks @ 179 with or w/o insulin. He has not had a dose in over 100 hours now and I am likely to shoot him a .5 or so. He has FHV and/or allergy symptoms - sneezing mostly. He has also been itchy and scratching much more than usual. Other than that, he is acting fine and hungry. He is taking an antihistamine and just finished up his script of Clavamox. Edit: He's also taking 250mg L-Lysine bid.

I would think that non-diabetic cats also have raised levels of glucose when slightly ill, so am considering letting 'nature' take it's course to see if he can bring the numbers down on his own since he has had decent pancreatic function the last 4 days. I would certainly give Blue a boost if he hits 200. His shoot/no shoot threshold is/was 130/140.

My questions:

Is it common practice here @ FDMB to shoot when they reach the shoot threshold (whatever that number may be for that particular cat), even though it is 'normal' to get higher numbers during times of illness?

Is there a downside to shooting at this stage of the game? I know there are some theories of not letting the pancreas get 'lazy' and letting the pancreas attain full function on it's own. Also, if it is 'normal' to get higher glucose levels when kitty is sick, will the extra insulin boost even have much of an effect?

To sum up: I am very curious as to what other members here have done in similar situations where their kitty had a mild infection while either OTJ or at a low dose of insulin - and what worked and what didn't. Thanks!

 

[Hillary & Maui (GA)]

I've seen cats that are in remission have their Bg's go up due to infections, illness, dental issues, etc. usually when the problem is resolved the Bg's go back to normal range. However, sometimes, they do need help with some insulin during the "illness" and for a short time after.

this is why knowing thy cat and testing bg's is still important when in remission. It's a great way to learn if something else is going on and to know if a little insulin may be needed.

hope this helps.

 

[Steve and Blue]

Thanks for responding. It was a big question with me on whether to shoot him when his BG rose up. I decided not to - and it thankfully worked out. I would like to know how cats close to r******** respond to these illnesses, but have not been able to see many SS's or much info on it as a lot of cats that are OTJ no longer have SS's up.

At least I gained some insight on how to possibly handle this in the future.

I've seen cats that are in remission have their Bg's go up due to infections, illness, dental issues, etc. usually when the problem is resolved the Bg's go back to normal range. However, sometimes, they do need help with some insulin during the "illness" and for a short time after.

this is why knowing thy cat and testing bg's is still important when in remission. It's a great way to learn if something else is going on and to know if a little insulin may be needed.

hope this helps.