Ernie

[Mikeg954]

Ernie was just diagnosed this week. We are on day four of giving the shots to him. He is 10 years old. We love him.

His eye started watering yesterday and he has a cold today. I called to see if this should change his dosage but have not heard back yet.

He is catching on that he is getting two shots a day after his meal and he is not happy about it. He is not hiding under the bed, but he is mad and not the same cat and I am afraid he never will be.

We are supposed to be gone for five days the first week of January and I am afraid to leave. We have an excellent pet sitter who vet tech and knows how to administer shots. I am afraid though that the stress of our leaving for five days will be a problem.

We have the house up for sale and I am afraid if it sells and we have to move the stress will put Ernie over the edge.

 

[j_o]

welcome to the board just a few questions that will help everyone help you. Are you home testing if not you really should be to keep your kitty safe an human meter from the drug store works great and there are videos on here to help you learn how. Also what type of insulin and how much per dose are you giving? Also what is Ernie eating? I know lots of quetions but they are helpful to know.

 

[Sue and Oliver (GA)]

Jen has excellent questions. Knowing your insulin and how he was diagnosed (fructosamine test or just blood glucose test in the vet's office) especially will help us comment on your dose. We feed wet low carb food and know that it makes a downward trend in bg levels so what you are feeding will help us also. (With our Oliver, we switched from Science Diet dry to Fancy Feast and he came down 100 points overnight. Others new members have had their cats go off insulin with just a diet change; it doesn't work for everyone but does for some.)

We all will nag you to start testing at home. It brings such peace of mind to know where Ernie levels are before you shot every morning and evening, so you know the dose you are planning to give is safe. And know how low the insulin takes him midcycle lets you see whether the dose is working or is too high or too low. We believe that most cats are stressed at the vet and we know stress raises levels so we rely on numbers from home, rather than numbers from the vet. We have taught hundreds of people how to do it over the internet and would love to show you how.

As far as the shots, what size needle are you using? Sometimes the needle is large and hurts. Are you warming the insulin for a few seconds in your hand before shooting? (A cold flu shot really brought this hint home for me - ouch!) We gave Oliver his shots while his face was deep into breakfast or dinner and he didn't blink.