I’ll have to look into this one a bit because he’s back to refusing to eat anything but fancy feast salmon and shrimp and merrick rabbit so I don’t really have any food around (aside from my other cat’s food). I THINK some Snappy Tom flavours were slightly higher but still under 10% carbs, but that’s only using approximate numbers based on the back of the package.
Yeah, that’s true.
He’s a nightmare when it comes to food lol.Oh. Okay. He’s being picky, too! That boy!
How is he doing with his paw?
I was just asking about his paw. How invasive would the biopsy be? I mean, would they just take a small sample? I would stop the Atopica since it hasn’t helped. Do you have any veterinary dermatologists around? Maybe your insurance would pay?
Yeah, that would be ideal.I had recommended that the dose be held for 7 days only because of the way Emmett is prone to diving occasionally and go into lime. Certain cats sometimes need their doses held a little longer than we would like (because we get anxious to raise the dose back up again because we want to see better numbers.). I hope he will not go lime on the 2.5 dose and that you will be able to consistently shoot his full dose. I would like him to be at a dose where he can get the full dose and not have reduced doses due to lower than expected preshot numbers. I think shooting the reduced doses may be kind of messing him up. Let’s see how he does on the 2.5 units. So far no limes
His insurance would cover any diagnostics… not sure about a derm. The vet’s office is closed this week but I can ask the vet more next week.
It looks like the 1 unit was not enough, but I totally understand your dilemma. It’s just good information for next time, right. Try a little more when he has a similar preshot. You did well to shoot some insulin because that’s a much better choice than skipping. He’s definitely a challenging diabetic, and you really keep good tabs on his BG. It always comes down to that — whether you can monitor and, as you said, you didn’t have time to stall and shoot late.
Okay! I debated doing 1.5 units or something, but I really couldn’t afford losing sleep to monitor because I had to be up early for work.
Yeah I keep hoping he’s going to level out a little bit, but so far those preshot numbers keep staying high.
If he were my cat, I would try Lantus (or a generic glargine insulin.) I used ProZinc and Lantus and also Levemir (those last two being depot-type insulins.) Some cats do great on ProZinc, but he’s not getting good duration. The depot effect should, in theory, provide some overlap from one cycle to another and will keep him from going too high, hopefully. I say hopefully because… well… it’s Emmett!
Okay, thanks. I think this gives me the push I need to just make the switch. My other cat is going back to the vet next week to get his tail checked out, so I’ll talk to the vet about making the switch then. Hopefully this will help Emmett, but yeah I think most people agree he’s a bit of an oddball lol.
Okay, great. I haven’t done too much reading on Lantus, just the basics. Hopefully it’ll go smoothly.
So, my other cat (J) likes to sleep on the top of the fridge. I have some wicker baskets up there that have a wire pattern around the rim of the baskets. One time he was up there I heard a lot of shuffling around and thought that was weird because he’s usually quiet. About an hour later he jumps down from the fridge. Immediately after that, I could tell he was injured… basically didn’t want to lift up his tail, didn’t want to put his butt down when he would sit or lie down, wouldn’t jump at all, was very careful climbing. He was fine after a few days but then started biting the end of his tail. I think he feels the pins and needles sensation, rather than a total loss of sensation because sometimes he’ll jump and spin around like something bit him. I’m hoping there are less intrusive interventions we can try first.
Wow you were right on the money. Although Jasper did legitimately injure his tail, the vet thinks the tail biting is hyperesthesia. She said it’s possibly a sequela to the injury but not necessarily *because* of the injury, if that makes sense.
I will be excited to see how he does on Lantus. Paws crossed!
The vet suggested Emmett start on 1 unit of Lantus, but my understanding is that you can keep them on the same dose?
Neither of them are outdoor cats, but they are harness trained and go for supervised walks
Okay! Thank you for the info. It’s hard for me to imagine 1 unit will be enough in the end, BUT maybe switching is going to give him a strong reaction. I didn’t test Emmett the first week he started insulin back in March, but I remember the 180 switch he did from lethargic to high energy following starting insulin… only to go right back to lethargic until we found the right dose for him.
So, I ended up deciding to start him tonight instead of this morning. I had to be in the office today, and wanted to start him on a cycle I could test him. My mom was also nervous watching him right after starting a new insulin since she can’t test him on her own in case of emergency.
I think these are the ones at Walmart? I’m wondering if his insurance will cover them if I buy them from Walmart… maybe if I get a script. If he stays on Lantus I’m going to start getting his insulin from Costco instead of the vet.
Yeah, I think so. I do think it’s interesting that his preshot numbers are just slightly lower than his previous mid cycle numbers… it doesn’t seem like much but if it continues, that’ll add up hopefully.
Also, I’ll take the pinks over all the reds and blacks lol
Yeah, I just asked in the other group what I should do. It’s only day 3 of Lantus so I’m not sure how to handle a low preshot right now. Delay?
