Dosage help without home testing

Jackie is doing well. We have gotten used to the shots, they're not always easy but most of the time they go off without a hitch. And she's really come out of her shell with all the extra attention! We found a freeze dried liver treat she likes but she really prefers a good petting and grooming session rather than food treats.

She has so much more energy than I've ever seen her with. I bought the Relion Micro and planned to start home testing but she will have none of it. She won't stay still long enough.

In January I took her back to the vet for a test, at 2 hrs past her shot she was at 53 with a human meter. With such a low number the vet recommended dropping her dosage to 1/2 unit am and 1 unit evening or just 1 unit, once a day. I dropped it to 1/2 u am, 1 u pm and she seemed to be doing fine. I went through a period where I had trouble shooting in the evenings and her behavior seemed normal so I've wondered about sticking with 1 u/ day.

We are planning a vacation and wanted to try the young again dry food to see how she does to make it a little easier on our pet sitter, so I just ordered some. Planning to free feed YA and meal feed canned together. Thinking I should stop the shots and see how she does with the young again and have vet test after a week with no insulin. I don't want to shoot with such a low carb change and no BG numbers.

Anyone have any thoughts on this? I've been trying to watch her energy levels, urine output and water intake but it's difficult with two cats plus I'm not home 24/7.

 

Can you give some specific examples of the problems you have/had when injecting or attempting to do a blood glucose test? Maybe we can make suggestions that could help.

You've seen the problem that can arise (that 53) when insulin is given without a testing routine. It's very hard to know what dose is a good dose without testing. Once a day dosing doesn't work well for kitties because they metabolize insulin quickly. There would be no BG control for 12 out of every 24 hours.

A diet of low carb food can be very helpful but that can't be judged without BG data. Kitties can look and act fine even as they teeter on the brink of a hypo episode.

As you can see it all comes back to testing blood glucose. I suggest you give it more thought and ask any questions you might have about getting over the difficulties of doing it.

 

My difficulties are the cat. Sometimes she doesn't let me close enough to grab her skin for a shot. Sometimes she gets spooked by the other cat and runs away just as I go to shoot (once with the syringe hanging off her). If I were to close the other cat in another room she'd become suspicious immediately. I was trying to do it always in one location and doing well but then I tried to hold her for testing and she decided she was not going to come to that spot anymore. No amount of treats petting, Or coaxing would get her back to that spot with me there. We've started using a different location but she doesn't sit still, always squirming and walking back and forth. I grabbed her the other night when I was having trouble giving th shot and since then she's been hesitant to let me near her. A burrito is out of the question. We used to try that to clip her nails when she was much younger, she is terrified of it. the vet refers to her as semiferal.

 

I should note in my signature that original dosage was 1u 2x/day

 

I can see that she's a challenge for sure. I don't know what to suggest but others who see this post might have ideas. You can also post in the main health forum where more people will see it.

As far as dose goes, you could try 0.5 unit twice a day and hope for the best. Do you take her weekly to the vet to have BG checked?

 

I have only taken her back the one time.

 

A challenge for sure! Luckily my sister cares as much about my fur babies as I do because she pet sits for us when we go on vacation - shots and all!

 

My other reason for stopping the insulin while starting the YA is because they recommend not giving to a diabetic cat that receives insulin shots unless home testing, and since I can't home test it felt safer.

 

That's because the YA is very low carb and that can drop the BG levels much lower in kitties that are close to being diet controlled. The testing is needed to avoid hypo numbers caused by giving insulin to a cat with lowered BG.

 

Has she always not liked or let you grab or pick her up?

 

Yes, she has always been this way. My sister has two other cats from the same litter and they are very similar. None of them like to be picked up or held.

 

Desensitization exercises may work but it does take time. I'm not good at explaining but I found this short video of a lady showing little steps, each one done for a few days. Try to stay calm and be aware of your mindset as kitties can pick up on this.

 

Thanks! I will make more of an effort On this. Right now the only place she will let me approach is on her window perch about waist height. She doesn't like it when I approach her on the floor, from standing, kneeling, sitting, none of it. I am able to pick her up for 30 second or so from her perch but only if I'm constantly petting, so no opportunity to use my hands for testing.

 

And she only lets me approach her on the perch in the morning for the most part

 

Sounds like she is intimidated when you are higher or over her. Even non-feral cats can be uncomfortable with this. Sometimes so I don't disturb Maury, I will test him on his kitty condo. The window perch is another area you could do small steps to desensitize her as a testing area / shot area.

 

Yes, I've come to the same conclusion, however if I don't pet her continuously she runs away. I'm not sure how to transition from this stage to being able to test. She lets me rub her ears, and I suspect she might let me lance her (is that the right term), but I fear she will just run away after that. I was clicker training her to come to a spot and then I was clicking the lancing tool near her ear and she wasn't bother d by that but then she stopped coming to that spot. I feel like I need a few more hands to keep her distracted with the petting while testing.

 

Take out the patience pants, they're stylish allllll year . Any idea why she stopped? I might not be able to check your response until tomorrow, Daylight Savings is taking an hour away lol.

 

Hi Lisa! Doing this is a real risk for a week. Insulin isn't a chemical medicine like a pain med, thyroid med, etc - insulin is a hormone that the body requires to turn food into energy. A diabetic's pancreas isn't making it so it must be given via shot. If the insulin isn't there, the body can begin to feed on it's fat stores instead causing nasty things like fatty liver, ketones developing and DKA. I know you've got a difficult situation on your hands...I just wanted you to be aware of this. I'm also not trying to be mean...

HUGS,

 

I don't remember what was going on as that was a while ago and work has been so crazy I've lost track of things. Could be when I tried to test that one time, could be I had trouble shooting and tried to grab her.

 

I understand and I appreciate the advice. I thought with such low numbers last vet visit I'd rather have her high for a few days than risk hypo.

 

Hi Lisa! I have a feral kitty too. He lived here for almost a year before he would let me pick him up. I still can't pet below his neck - and he's lived here for a long time now. He just doesn't like being touched on his back or haunches- but he LOVES having his head scratched. He's still inclined to bite (hard enough to draw blood and leave scars) if he feels threatened at all - which means I can't burrito him, or hold him down in any way. I definitely understand how challenging this can be with a kitty that doesn't trust humans.

I think since your vet has been managing the dosing so far, that he/she might have the best advice about what you should do during your vacation.

And as for home testing, if you want to start doing that at some point, there is great advice around here on how to move in that direction. It may be a slow process for you and Jackie, and that's okay. We're all happy to help, or just lend a listening ear. When my cat was first diagnosed, I thought there was no way he was ever going to let me poke his ear and get a test. It took awhile, and a lot of failed attempts, but we got there. This afternoon he went to the testing spot and was pawing at the BG meter and begging for a test because he knows he gets love and treats there. If you decide this is something you want to do when you're finished with your vacation, just know that there is lots of love and support and understanding to be found here.