Egypt, my 8 yr old cat was recently diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes about 4 months ago. The vet put her on Lantus and after numerous trips to the vet she is now up to 4 units twice daily. I have done extensive research on this and found the website catinfo.org by Dr. Lisa Pierson on feeding a raw meat diet. She has been on canned food daily for the last 4 months as she had to have 7 teeth pulled due to the diabetes. I have bought everything that Lisa has recommended including the grinder and the antibiotic, hormone free poultry. I am planning on starting this introduction slowly into her canned food this weekend and am performing her 2nd at home glucose curve. My concern is I don't know if when feeding her at her a.m. feeding should I give her the full 4 units or what in the world do I do? I am so scared of sending her into hypothyroidism. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.
EGYPT MY NEWLY DIABETIC CAT
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Deb & Wink
Member Since 2013
Hello and welcome to the message board. You introduced your cat but forgot to share your first name with us. Would you be willing to do that?
Well, what food are you feeding your kitty Egypt now? Be specific as to brand and "style" (pate, grilled, roasted, etc) and we should be able to figure out the carb content. Then, we can find the difference in the carb content between the old food and the new raw food and determine a possible dose change.
Do you keep a spreadsheet (SS) of the BG readings? We use this handy dandy colored coded one to track the BG readings. Having this SS would help us make better recommendations.
Well, what food are you feeding your kitty Egypt now? Be specific as to brand and "style" (pate, grilled, roasted, etc) and we should be able to figure out the carb content. Then, we can find the difference in the carb content between the old food and the new raw food and determine a possible dose change.
Do you keep a spreadsheet (SS) of the BG readings? We use this handy dandy colored coded one to track the BG readings. Having this SS would help us make better recommendations.
Oops sorry 'bout that. My name is Carol. Egypt eats Friskies Classic Pate. If I did the carb content correctly I came up with 3% carb count. Please correct me if I'm wrong. I will be making the raw diet Saturday during the day so I can start Egypt on it Saturday night. No Ma'am I don't have a chart all I did last weekend was write down every 2 hours what her test reading was. That was my first time to do a home curve.
Deb & Wink
Member Since 2013
Thanks for introducing yourself Carol. Yes, the kitties name is key, but we like to know the beans (human beings) name too. 
:shock:
Well, most of those Friskies classic pates are in the 6 to 11% carb content range, not 3%. Got that info from this food chart by vet Dr. Lisa Pierson. We use that food chart here a lot!
The raw diet is going to have no rice in it, unlike the Friskies pates. So the carb content on the raw diet is going to be pretty low, I'm guessing in the 1-3% carb range. Since I don't know for sure, I'm going to PM a raw food user and ask if she'll come comment on your post.
I do think you might need to tweak the insulin dose down a bit so you don't get a too low drop in the BG levels and cause hypoglycemia.
Do you home test? We strongly recommend home testing, especially if you are switching to a lower carb food.
:shock: Well, most of those Friskies classic pates are in the 6 to 11% carb content range, not 3%. Got that info from this food chart by vet Dr. Lisa Pierson. We use that food chart here a lot!
The raw diet is going to have no rice in it, unlike the Friskies pates. So the carb content on the raw diet is going to be pretty low, I'm guessing in the 1-3% carb range. Since I don't know for sure, I'm going to PM a raw food user and ask if she'll come comment on your post.
I do think you might need to tweak the insulin dose down a bit so you don't get a too low drop in the BG levels and cause hypoglycemia.
Do you home test? We strongly recommend home testing, especially if you are switching to a lower carb food.
BJM
Member Since 2010
Fyi: you won't send a kitty into hypoTHROIDism (low thryoid function) from a low carb diet. however, hypoGLYCEMIA (low blood glucose) can happen if you switch to low carb food and are giving insulin without adjusting based on home testing. Some cats dropped 100 mg/dl on a human glucometer after a diet change and insulin needs may drop as much as 2 units.
Yes I meant hypoglycemia, thank you for bringing that to my attention. No, I have never home tested before. I am new at all of this. My vet is very sweet and understanding and is encouraging me to go through with all this at home and has heard of the raw diet and how to make it but doesn't give me any info on home testing or how often or anything. Uh....I just don't know where to begin with all this and introducing a little of the raw diet to my cat. I hate sticking her ears but I just couldn't get it to work from her arm. I do have the Relion Confirm GM and she beads up very easily thank goodness.
BJM
Member Since 2010
We call it a sugar dance. Learning the steps takes time and practice. Once you get it, it can become automatic and seem easy. Have patience with yourself.
While you work on home glucose testing, take a look at my signature link seconday Monitoring Tools for other assessments you may wish to make. These can be valuable adjuncts to evaluating how your cat is doing and are useful to share with your vet.
While you work on home glucose testing, take a look at my signature link seconday Monitoring Tools for other assessments you may wish to make. These can be valuable adjuncts to evaluating how your cat is doing and are useful to share with your vet.
Thank you BJM. I did look at your secondary notes. Very helpful!!!! I'm supposed to do a glucose curve this weekend according to my vet to see where she is on 4 units of lantus 2x daily. I want to start Egypt on a little of the raw meat diet mixed in with her canned food to see if she really does need to stay on the 4 units prescribed. What I don't know how to do is..... do I test her first, then feed her and wait? Or do I test her first, feed her, then shoot her immediately with the 4 units. That's what I'm afraid of is that maybe the 4 units may be too much during the curve. What do I do? In other words what steps do I take to start this? And how often do I glucose test her without doing the curve?
BJM
Member Since 2010
Test, feed, and shoot within about 15 minutes for Lantus.
Always test before you shoot to make sure the glucose isn't too low for safety. For new folks, we suggest any thing below 200 mg/dL is too low to shoot until you have data.
When possible, test around the nadir - between +5 to +7 hours after a Lantus shot - to see how low the glucose is going. You want it to stay above 50 mg/dL.
Snag a before bed test for peace of mind to make sure the glucose isn't diving low quickly; that gives you a chance to intervene if necessary.
Always test before you shoot to make sure the glucose isn't too low for safety. For new folks, we suggest any thing below 200 mg/dL is too low to shoot until you have data.
When possible, test around the nadir - between +5 to +7 hours after a Lantus shot - to see how low the glucose is going. You want it to stay above 50 mg/dL.
Snag a before bed test for peace of mind to make sure the glucose isn't diving low quickly; that gives you a chance to intervene if necessary.
BJM
Member Since 2010
The starting dose for Lantus is calculated as follows:
How much does she weigh?
How much should she weigh?
Take the lower weight.
Convert to kilos (pounds / 2.2) if needed.
Multiply by 0.25
Round down to the nearest quarter unit.
Unless your cat is huge, has glucose so high it isn't measurable, or you're feeding high carb food, 4 units is exceptionally high and could lead to hypoglycemia. I would suggest using the formula above.
How much does she weigh?
How much should she weigh?
Take the lower weight.
Convert to kilos (pounds / 2.2) if needed.
Multiply by 0.25
Round down to the nearest quarter unit.
Unless your cat is huge, has glucose so high it isn't measurable, or you're feeding high carb food, 4 units is exceptionally high and could lead to hypoglycemia. I would suggest using the formula above.
Deb & Wink
Member Since 2013
Just wanted to make sure you saw these 2 great links on home testing.
TheHow-to's of Home Testing
Ear Testing Psychology (ETP) by member Kpassa or how to get your cat to accept the process. Bribes, many, many bribes. ;-)
If you are having any issues with the home testing, let us know and we'll try to figure out if you could make any changes in your testing routine to make it go smoother.
TheHow-to's of Home Testing
Ear Testing Psychology (ETP) by member Kpassa or how to get your cat to accept the process. Bribes, many, many bribes. ;-)
If you are having any issues with the home testing, let us know and we'll try to figure out if you could make any changes in your testing routine to make it go smoother.
RobinCot
Member Since 2013
I have been raw feeding with Dr Pierson recipe for a couple of years now. Please let me know if you have any questions. I had two young boys who took to it right away but it took my older females about 4 months of being offered healthier canned foods to get them to realize how good the raw is. Now they are my best raw eaters. I sprinkle parmesan cheese on top for two of my civvies. I am thrilled you are trying this. It has truly made a huge difference in all my cats' health. I wish you the same success.
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