Evie's diabetic adventures

AliceL

AliceL

Active Member
Previous post for ref: https://felinediabetes.com/FDMB/threads/evies-numbers-continued.278775/#post-3083188

Tagging @Suzanne & Darcy @Shelley & Jess @Charlie (Evie's Dad)


Suzanne & Darcy said:
Evie never gave us much time to settle into a routine or get “set in our ways,” did she?
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Shelley & Jess said:
She's certainly on a mission and not giving us much of a chance to figure her out!
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Case in point - was looking forward to trying Shelley's slow the drop method but Evie has decided to wake up with perfect numbers and another no shoot day today :cool:
 
I was going to say let’s see what she does today - but you are well into the cycle now - and I see she’s in blue. Let’s see what the remainder of the day brings, but it’s looking like she still needs a tiny bit of insulin support. You can have a great day now though!

Oh, tell me about these meow cameras? You get audio from the cameras on your phone? And so you don’t have to be nearby to hear the cats meowing?
 
Suzanne & Darcy said:
Oh, tell me about these meow cameras? You get audio from the cameras on your phone? And so you don’t have to be nearby to hear the cats meowing?
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https://www.tapo.com/us/product/smart-camera/tapo-c210/
We have these smart cameras, they are the best! We have a few set up around the home to watch the cats when we are out.
They track movement & sound and send alerts to your phone.
You can view the cameras live at any time via an app on your mobile phone.
The footage can also be recorded and stored on the cloud or SG card so you can playback at any time.
It detects meowing as a baby crying but that works well enough for us.


Suzanne & Darcy said:
it’s looking like she still needs a tiny bit of insulin support.
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I need to determine a new no shoot number.
 
Well now! Our first green PMPS at @83. I'm going to sleep soooooo good tonight!

I was wondering, does the heat affect a cat's glucose levels like it does with humans?
Portugal is in the midst of a heatwave and it's been so hot here the last few days, temperatures above 40C/104F.
Could that be responsible for those higher numbers during the day?
 
Some people report that their cats are higher when it's hot -- but it's if they have no air conditioning. Do you have air conditioning?

And how about that! Green preshots AM and PM. I would still try to get a test to see what she does tonight (I mean, don't knock yourself out or anything, but it would be beneficial if we knew what was happening between now and tomorrow morning.)
 
Suzanne & Darcy said:
Do you have air conditioning?
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Definitely not. We live in an old Portuguese country house. We have fans that push the hot air around but no AC :p

Suzanne & Darcy said:
I would still try to get a test to see what she does tonight (I mean, don't knock yourself out or anything, but it would be beneficial if we knew what was happening between now and tomorrow morning.)
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I'll definitely get a couple of tests in!
 
AliceL said:
Definitely not. We live in an old Portuguese country house. We have fans that push the hot air around but no AC :p


I'll definitely get a couple of tests in!
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And usually you don't need air conditioning? The only places I've ever lived where we did not have air conditioning was England and then in Ventura County California, quite near the coast and it almost never got hot there.
 
Well, we are certainly discovering air-conditioning might have been good to keep in mind when house hunting in Portugal haha :smuggrin:
We didn't have AC back home so we didn't think about it.

A lot of the older Portuguese houses don't have AC, they have shutters that are supposed to keep the heat out ...but it's still very hot inside.
 
AMPS is 76 today. Day two of good numbers and no insulin :cool:

An interesting thing happened this morning.
Charlie & I have been a bit worried about our other cat Zara because she is a total kibble addict who loves drinking water from the basin tap.
We have been trying to transition her to a wet food diet for more hydration but she is having none of it.
She is extremely skittish but this morning she was sitting on the bed looking very interested while I was prepared Evie's lancet and strip so I just grabbed her, pinned her down and managed to get in a test - Zara is 70 AMPS, so completely normal :)
Can you just imagine if we had two sugar cats? What a relief.
 
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She is 69 at +3. That's after big breakfast but not food influenced because she ate over 2 hours ago.

I also did a little experiment with her food this morning.
I have been feeding her Lily's Kitchen pate for the last two days which is really low carb at 2-3%.
Today I gave her a different brand pate, slightly higher carb at 5-6%.
But her body handled it like a pro because glucose is lower now at +3 than pre shot!
I just find that so exciting because breakfast used to give her a big bump up in her glucose levels.
 
Here are the instructions for doing an OTJ trial:
Instructions for starting the OTJ trial
Start the trial on the next green pre shot.
If he/she is green at your normal test times, no need to test further until the next "PS" time; just feed small meals and go about your day. If he/she is blue at your normal "PS", feed a small meal and test again after about 3 or 4 hours. If his/her number is lower 3-4 hours after a meal, then the pancreas is working!
Post every day so we can monitor your progress and see if any tweaks are needed. He/she may have a sporadic blue number. Don't panic but post before you decide whether to shoot so we can have a discussion.
After 14 days of no insulin, we have a party!!
Sometimes the trial doesn't work the first time and we have to give a little more support in the form of resuming insulin. It's not the end of the world if that happens; we just give him/her the support needed. Our goal is a strong remission and it's better to take our time to get that than to rush into remission just to have it fail later on.
Good luck with the trial!!!
Once he/she is through the trial successfully, you enter a new phase. Your cat is still diabetic but has now become diet-controlled. Continue feeding low carb food in the manner successful for your kitty. If you decide to change his/her feeding schedule, let your meter be your guide to the best times to feed. Avoid medications with sugar in them and steroid medications unless they are medically essential. Continue testing blood glucose weekly for the first month and then monthly forever. It's a good idea to weigh him/her monthly. Weight should remain stable. If he/she seems "off" or sick, or is showing signs of diabetes (excessive drinking, eating, urinating, weight loss), test his/her blood glucose right away. Keep the teeth and gums clean and healthy; dental issues can bring a cat out of remission. If you see rising blood glucose numbers , it's time for a visit to the vet!
 
These numbers are so low I'm beginning to wonder if my glucometer broke :smuggrin:
Do you think I have any reason to be concerned that she is getting naturally low blood sugar? She was 42 today at PMPS before dinner.
I took away all food two hours prior to get a reading that wasn't food influenced, but before that she has been eating her 2-3% carb food all day.
In all seriousness, I think I am going to dig out our second monitor which is a pet monitor and just double check next time what reading I'm getting on that device.

Mood wise, she is super active, playful and cuddly, obviously feeling so much better.
Still very hungry all the time but now gaining weight nice and steady. I would say she must be close to her target weight now.
She and Zara are due for a vet visit for shots next week so we will weigh her then. In the meantime I am keeping a close eye on it.

Edit: I checked her now an hour after eating and she has gone up to 64
 
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40s are normal for a lot of non-diabetic cats that are not on insulin. She can’t hypo since she’s not on insulin. It’s just that with insulin we do not want them below 50 — but on their own a lot of cats spend time in the 40s.
 
That’s good to know because this morning she was 36 and she woke me up meowing for food loudly. Evie never wakes us up.
I know she is 100% safe without injected insulin but naturally occurring hypoglycaemia is problematic too. I will just keep an eye on it as always.
 
AliceL said:
That’s good to know because this morning she was 36 and she woke me up meowing for food loudly. Evie never wakes us up.
I know she is 100% safe without injected insulin but naturally occurring hypoglycaemia is problematic too. I will just keep an eye on it as always.
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Yes. I know that you will keep a close eye on her! 36 wow! I would be hungry too.
 
Suzanne & Darcy said:
Be sure to introduce the new food slowly to try and avoid digestive upset.
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Well you are right again Suzanne.
Evie woke me up at 3am by vomiting on the rug. It wasn't bile from hunger, it was actual food.
I gave her a little of her regular low carb food afterward to settle her stomach so her reading was a tiny bit higher than usual this morning...it's still completely normal at 57, but I have been seeing a pattern of around 50 or lower in the morning due to the overnight fast.

In other news Zara bit me this morning when I gave her medicine.
It is just a single puncture mark which drew a drop of blood but I think I will have to go get it seen to by a doctor.
Funny enough, Evie accidentally bit me a few weeks ago when I handed her some boiled chicken.
I didn't go to a doctor for that one but Evie is a house cat and my cat's vaccines are all up to date.
However Zara is a roaming outdoor cat who has been a bit ill lately so I'm thinking I'll definitely need a tetanus shot, even possibly a rabies shot for this one :arghh:
 
AliceL said:
Well you are right again Suzanne.
Evie woke me up at 3am by vomiting on the rug. It wasn't bile from hunger, it was actual food.
I gave her a little of her regular low carb food afterward to settle her stomach so her reading was a tiny bit higher than usual this morning...it's still completely normal at 57, but I have been seeing a pattern of around 50 or lower in the morning due to the overnight fast.

In other news Zara bit me this morning when I gave her medicine.
It is just a single puncture mark which drew a drop of blood but I think I will have to go get it seen to by a doctor.
Funny enough, Evie accidentally bit me a few weeks ago when I handed her some boiled chicken.
I didn't go to a doctor for that one but Evie is a house cat and my cat's vaccines are all up to date.
However Zara is a roaming outdoor cat who has been a bit ill lately so I'm thinking I'll definitely need a tetanus shot, even possibly a rabies shot for this one :arghh:
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Zara doesn’t have her rabies shot? I didn’t think they would let her into the country without it?? I would be more concerned about infection. How deep did the bite go? I know you cleaned it well. Cat bites are notorious for causing infection. Treatment is usually Augmentin (what we call Clavamox or Amoxi-Clav when we give it to cats). And that drug really is hard on the GI tract of people too! Let us know how you make out.
 
Yes, both Evie and Zara’s shots are up to date. I’m just worried because their annual shots are on Thursday this week, it’s been almost a year since their last rabies vac. It’s probably fine, I’m just being paranoid because it’s a new country and Zara is an outdoor cat and she has been a little ill this week from eating heaven knows what in the countryside. I’ll definitely keep watch for infection. I’m seeing the doctor on Wednesday so I’ll keep you updated.
 
AliceL said:
Yes, both Evie and Zara’s shots are up to date. I’m just worried because their annual shots are on Thursday this week, it’s been almost a year since their last rabies vac. It’s probably fine, I’m just being paranoid because it’s a new country and Zara is an outdoor cat and she has been a little ill this week from eating heaven knows what in the countryside. I’ll definitely keep watch for infection. I’m seeing the doctor on Wednesday so I’ll keep you updated.
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I would not worry. Those rabies vaccines last way longer than one year. I’ve known vets who tested titers on their own cats many years after their last rabies vaccine and their cat had good strong immunity. But because rabies is such a nasty disease, it’s always good to be cautious, of course. So see what the doctor recommends. I hope Zara will feel better! I don’t like vaccinating sick animals as their immune system are already stressed. So hopefully by Thursday she will be back in good form.
 
Day 10 and she is doing so well!

We are taking the cats to the vet tomorrow for their shots.
Evie hates car trips and the vet is 20 mins drive away.
I am a little worried at how the visit is going to affect Evie's blood sugar, and if she will be able to bring the level back down herself without help from injected insulin.
I think she will do ok but it's such a precarious time with her OTJ trial and I don't want anything to mess it up.
Unfortunately I can't delay the visit any longer because 8 July is our deadline for annual shots to keep their titre tests valid.
I am going to use some calming aids, catnip, Feliway spray etc and just hope for the best.
 
I’m sure Evie will handle it okay with her blood sugar (not too sure about her demeanor at the vet - you didn’t say.) Best wishes for a successful (and relatively calm) visit!
 
Sorry for disappearing, it's been a busy few days.
Every 4 years our little town has an amazing 10 day festival where all the streets are transformed with loads of colourful paper flowers and decorations so we stole away for a few hours yesterday to walk through the pretty streets and watch some of the processions where ladies walk with massive flower trays balanced on their head. It's absolutely gorgeous, you should google it - it's called Festa dos Tabuleiros in Tomar, Portugal.

We had our vet visit yesterday morning and Evie did just fine with bringing her glucose back down. I'm just so pleased at how this is all going.
Evie didn't put on as much weight as I thought - she now weighs 4,5kg (10lb) up from 4kg (8.8lb) when she was first diagnosed.
She is not looking so skinny anymore. The vet says to keep her between 4,5-5kg so for now I am still letting her eat as much as she wants but I have noticed a slow down in her voracious appetite the last few days as she slowly reaches her ideal weight. So it's all good.

By the way, both my kitties didn't need a rabies shot after all because the last one is valid until 2025, I thought it was an annual shot.
They got the other annual shots - FeLV and feline distemper - and also a deworming + tick & flea dose. Both look in great health.

Zara has been worrying us the last few days with not wanting to eat breakfast in the morning but she usually comes around and starts eating at lunchtime. She is not acting lethargic. Litterbox behaviour is normal. The blood tests show nothing is wrong so we'll keep watching her to see how this evolves.
I suspect she is getting more snacking in out there in the countryside...it's not ideal but it's unrealistic to keep her locked up in the house all day. She is a true outdoor cat and an avid hunter. She wears a collar with a bell and still catches so many unsuspecting little creatures. When we rescued her in 2019 she was approximately 1,5 years old and had apparently been abandoned and was surviving by herself for a few months living on birds and mice so that semi feral instinct in her is still very strong.

With regards to my cat bite the doctor said they don't give tetanus for cat bites and Portugal doesn't have rabies so I should be just fine with my vaccinated cat biting me.
She inspected the wound and commented that it's healing up just fine, no signs of infection and I should watch myself to see if I get swollen lymph nodes in which case I'll need to get some antibiotics.

Sunday will be day 14 of the OTJ trial!
 
This is great! Almost day 14. Evie is a lucky girl. I’m happy things went well at the vet — and that is a pretty good weight gain for her. I hope she will even gain a little more. I’m glad they gave the three year rabies vaccine so you had no worries. The festival sounds beautiful. I will look for photos.
 
CONGRATULATIONS TO YOU ALL ON EVIE'S GOING OFF THE JUICE! I'M REALLY HAPPY ABOUT THIS. I WISH IT WOULD TURN OUT THIS WAY FOR EVERYONE! :otj::bighug::bighug: We will miss chatting with you though... I'm glad we got to know you a little bit. Best wishes in your new home of Portugal.
 
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