Cat is hiding...

My cat was just put on insulin Friday and I thought she was feeling better but yesterday and today she's been rather reclusive. The shots shouldnt be hurting her but she's running from me. Did anyone elses kitties go through a period of hiding and running from shots? I think she's upset that I'm handling her more than usual. I have given her 6 shots so far. She didnt react about half the time. The other times she ran. She doesn't act hypoglaucemic but I'm a teeny bit concerned. Should I give her time?

 

She actually seems to be in pain-the whole reason I took het to the,vet in the first place Friday. She has a transient limp. The vet palpated all four limbs,and got no real pain response. Seems her right front leg is hurting. She got a joint injection friday ( adequan I think ). Vet wanted to send her home with oncior tabs but I said no because I think that same med caused one of my cats to go into sudden fatal kidney failurw. I'm goingcto have to see if there are other pain med options or take a deep bteath, cross fingers, and give her the oncior.

 

There are definitely other pain med options-- I would absolutely talk to your vet about that, and about the hiding behavior. It is possible that it is from the insulin-- in addition to problems regulating BG levels, sometimes a particular insulin doesn't "agree with" a cat and they grow to associate the shot with feeling yucky. What insulin are you using? What is the dose? Are you hometesting her blood glucose to monitor how she does on that dose? It is really the only way to ensure that you are giving insulin safely.

 

What insulin is your kitty taking? There are specific forums you can also post on for advice. I tend to post on the Prozinc forum since Smoky is on that insulin now.
He ran and hid when I started giving him insulin. It turned out that the vet had started him on too high of a dose of vetsulin(2 units)and it make him feel really crappy. Once the dose was reduced to half a unit he started feeling better and stopped hiding and running from me.

 

She is in 2 units of prozinc twice a day. I havent yet tested her at hime this week. It has been hard enough to catch her for the shots. Her BG reading at the vets office was 450. 1000mg/dL in the urine. I may reduce that dose temporarily and see if it helps, but I will definitely call the vet about that. I do have a Relion meter here at home also.

 

HI!
I don't know if your vet explained how adequan works....
There is a "loading" dose which is a shot every 4 days for 8 shots and then anywhere from very 4 days to 1x a month.
My boys started on it years ago and now they are almost 18 and 19 and they get a shot about every 5 days (once upon a time it was 1x a month)
as they age they need it more often to slow the progression of arthritis.
They run and play like youngsters!
I give the shot sub q at home-
I hope kitty is feeling better!
FYI adequan is fine for diabetics

 

Thanks. She did say adequan was once a week for a month or so, then once a month. Maybe I'll ask about doing them at home. Vet visits stress her out quite a bit. At least she is out of hiding for the monent. She just got her prozinc an hour ago. I gave her a handful of temptations and a few pieces of pirk loin as a reward. LOL. She needs to figure out I am more than just the shot giver.

 

I agree.... the less we have to go to the vet the better! and who doesn't like treats??

If you are cool with giving a sub q shot there is no reason to bring kitty in for it-if you have time check around for the price of the vial, I have seen it from $70-$140 for the same vial
(I personally get the equine version because there are no preservatives in it)

You can get it online with a script and you will need 1ml syringes. (easier than 3cc)

Dosing is easy too.... my Dre is 20 pounds
I multiply by 2
2x20=40 he get 0.40 on a 1ml syringe
Rico is 15 pounds which x2 is 30 so he gets 0.30
my vet always tells me to round up if is a odd number

 

I'm already doing the insulin, so it shouldnt be amy different I wouldnt think.

 

Just a different syringe and dose-
you got this!
(extra treats always welcome)

 

When Smoky was first diagnosed his BG was stuck in the high numbers, 500 to over 600. I know how worrying it is when your kitty is running in high numbers.
I didn't do home testing for a month or two so you are not alone in waiting for that.

 

I have talked to the vet this morning. My cat, in additiin to hiding, has begun throwing up a little while after her insulin shot. (2 units prozinc twice a day) i took her off yesterday and no vomiting. Im not certain if it's a reaction to the prozinc or something else. We are going to keep her off the insulin through the weekend and if no more vomiting, start her back on 1 unit monday morning. If she again vomits we will have to make a decision regarding the prozinc. The vet said reactions are rare but you never know. She will also prescribe compound gabapentin for the limp. I am afraid of nsaids like onsior, since one of my other cats went into catastrophic kidney failure after an Onsior injection.

 

If you are going to withhold insulin through the weekend, please make sure to test your kitty for ketones.