GA Fractious

[Nancy Mac]

Hello, new to this forum! After working with my excellent vet for a couple of weeks to attach a Freestyle Libre sensor to my newly-diagnosed cat, and to use the Freestyle sensor to monitor her numbers, it’s just a major fail! Works for a couple of days and then stops working! Has anyone ever done this successfully?

Now I’m worried that I will have to test her manually, and very worried about this as she is pretty fractious. I’m thinking that once I do it, she will hide and become even more difficult to handle.

Any tips or suggestions? Sedatives or something to calm her? Or should I just plan to take her to the vet every once in awhile for a day of testing.

She did get used to the insulin shots so that is not the problem.

Any suggestions/comments would be most welcome!

Photos attached!

 

[Sandi and Toby]

I only have a moment so i'll just point you to a thread that discusses this: www.felinediabetes.com/FDMB/threads/freestyle-libre-meter.204048/

She used something called a "Kitty Kollar" to help protect the sensor, but even then it only worked for 8-10 days max.

Hopefully others will come along soon that can provide you with some tips to help acclimate and desensitize your sweet kitty to home testing. If she got used to insulin shots, I think you have a good chance at being able to get her tested at home. Welcome!

p.s. The "GA" prefix on your thread means "Gone Ahead" or "Guardian Angel" to denote that your kitty has passed away, so you might want to remove that. It makes our hearts drop when we see it

 

[Kris & Teasel]

Lots of good info here: http://www.felinediabetes.com/FDMB/threads/hometesting-links-and-tips.287/

 

[Larry and Kitties]

Provide details what you mean by fractious. I ask because I adopted a diabetic cat, Nala, in August who was not being treated. Iwas able to test her when she arrived, it was relatively easy. Next morning it was impossible she was trying to bite and scratch. She even drew drew blood from a surface bite. When I took her to the vet Nala bite the vet lightly but drew blood. Nala is still very hard to test. Frequently when I pick her up to but her on my lap to test she scratch and tries to bite. I just keep my hands away from her heat as much as possible When she is in my lap she is not as bad but I still have to be careful. Sometimes when I am going to test her she hides under the edge of the bed (the middle part is blocked off. I have to use a cat/dog bed to get her out. If I try to use my hand she will bite. I find out I have to be persistent and not act scared of her.

 

[MrWorfMen's Mom]

After spending several days helping a member with a cat who had a Libre installed, I would caution you that in that particular case, we found up to a 60 point difference in readings between the Libre and a manual glucometer with the Libre reading higher. In the other case, had we not double checked the readings, the cat could have been seriously overdosed or worse. Reviews on some diabetic websites were rife with complaints from human diabetics saying they get significantly high or low readings at all BG ranges and ABBOTT has a disclaimer telling human diabetics that the Libre is not to be used as a replacement for regular routine blood testing. Unfortunately, the Libre does not appear to be the panacea human diabetics seek and IMHO it isn't for our felines either.

Your kitty's BG in the picture you provided appears to be running in normal range (albeit right near the top of normal on a human meter) and I caution you that if your meter is reading high, it could lead your vet to suggest a dose of insulin that is too high or even an increase of insulin when no increase and possibly a decrease is in order.

You might find these threads helpful reading. In this kitty's case it appears the diagnosis of diabetes may have been made in error.

http://www.felinediabetes.com/FDMB/...with-a-diabetic-cat-still-have-a-life.209797/
http://www.felinediabetes.com/FDMB/threads/nigel-and-i-need-help.210044/
http://www.felinediabetes.com/FDMB/threads/dosing-advice-for-nigel-asap.210161/#post-2328551
http://www.felinediabetes.com/FDMB/threads/2-3-nigel-ambg-88-pmbg-73.210284/#post-2330224
http://www.felinediabetes.com/FDMB/threads/02-04-nigel-ambg-87.210330/#post-2330664

Can you tell us a little more about your kitty like when she was diagnosed, what insulin and what dose is she currently on, what diet your cat is on and if she has any history of ketones or DKA (diabetic ketoacidosis).

You may be totally surprised by your cat when it comes to testing. Mine hated to be picked period so I freaked out when she was diagnosed. She surprised me totally because she turned into my admin assistant coming to tell me it was test time and we have a little dance routine she goes through before she plunks her butt down on the floor and presents her ear for testing. Much of the trick to testing isn't a cat issue.....it's a people issue because we are so darn afraid of hurting our little furry companions. They pick up on our anxiety and then they get nervous too. Once we relax they relax and start to accept the testing as some "attention" time rather than a negative activity. We can help you learn to test your cat and believe me, they don't feel anything close to what we feel when we prick out fingers. There are very few nerve endings in the outer edge of the ear where we test.

 

[Lisa and Witn (GA)]

Rewarding your kitty with a favorite low carb treat every time you test, even it is not successful, helps a lot. A couple treat suggestions are freeze dried chicken and freeze dried tuna flakes. Then your cat will begin to associate testing with the treats.

 

[Larry and Kitties]

After spending several days helping a member with a cat who had a Libre installed, I would caution you that in that particular case, we found up to a 60 point difference in readings between the Libre and a manual glucometer with the Libre reading higher. In the other case, had we not double checked the readings, the cat could have been seriously overdosed or worse. The Freestyle Libre website is rife with complaints from human diabetics saying they get significantly high or low readings at all BG ranges and ABBOTT has a disclaimer telling human diabetics that the Libre is not to be used as a replacement for regular routine blood testing.

Was that difference with a human or pet meter?
Where on the The Freestyle Libre website are you seeing the complaints from humans?

 

[katiesmom]

Like others, I let food help me with testing and shots. Is there a low carb treat that she absolutely loves? You could possibly give her a shot & tests while eating a special treat. Have you tried freeze dried chicken? I have never seen a cat that didn't go crazy for freeze dried chicken.
My girl is a lovebug also but quite fractious, and I could not do her injections any other way. I call it "chicken and a shot"

When she was first diagnosed, I never thought I would be able to get the shots into her, much less test. The first week was horrible, chasing her around, trying to find a good time, place to do it, and every time I touched her to would swat at me, scream and run off. Add the anxiety never giving injections before and unsure if I was even doing it right...oh what mess!

I manage Katie's 2x daily injection (by myself) with this routine- before her meal and after her test, I announced it's time for "chicken and a shot".
I prepare the shot, crumble up freeze dried chicken on a plate and set it on the counter (our "shot spot). WHILE she was eating her treat, I do the injection.
It became a routine and she expects it. I do the same for tests (different spot, the living room chair is the "test" spot)
I always choose the same shot for shooting, the same spot for testing, and don't chase her around. On the rare occasion she refuses to get up to the "spot", I placed her there and immediately give her the chicken and shot or test. Most of the time she waiting in the "spot" for it. I think having a "shot spot" and /or "test spot" (giving the shot in one place of the house w/treat) all the time is better. They begin to learn that's the only place it happens and they get a treat, and they aren't fearful of you every time you get them near in between shots & tests. If you inject them in random spots, they never when to expect it and become fearful. It becomes an unpleasant experience. You want it to be pleasant, and the treat makes it a much happier experience...a reward of sorts.

Again, she fights me for a simple nail clipping, so I never dreamed she would be this good about it. I still cant clip her nails though..lol. Poking with a needle, yes. Clipping nails no. She's a character.

Hope this helps. Try using a treat she absolutely loves and cannot resist.

 

[MrWorfMen's Mom]

Was that difference with a human or pet meter?

That difference was with a human meter.....Relion Prime which I believe is known to read a bit low but regardless 60 points is still significant. At a reading of 65 on the Prime, the FL gave a reading of 105....which in our world would translate into totally different levels of vigilance and action. My thinking is that the difference might not be as stark with a pet meter but we'd then be dealing with more variables and unknowns because the FL is calibrated for humans not cats. We know cat blood is different from humans in where the majority of glucose is transported but we don't know if the cat interstitial tissue and the components being measured to arrive at BG in that fashion is the same or different from a humans.

Where on the The Freestyle Libre website are you seeing the complaints from humans

My Bad. The reviews were on several other diabetic sites I found when I did a search for the Freestyle Libre not on FS Libre site. I will correct my previous post.

 

[Larry and Kitties]

I found same bad reviews on the FreeStyle Libre FB page, that is the page run by Abbot. I also found some info about how well the Libre BGs are compared to a capillary blood measured with hand-held meter. While the average difference is OK there is a lot of spread. See the graph in the following:
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/28263665
If you move and hold your cursor over the small graph it will enlarge.
The following shows comparison of Libre with venous blood and with two other continuous glucose monitoring system.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK476439/table/flash_glucose-diabetes-01-13.t1/
The column "error grid analysis" is easy to understand. Zone A is within 20% of compared BG measurement method.

 

[majandra]

The others have covered everything pretty well.
I just wanted to comment on the lovely coat colouring your kitty has

 

[jayla-n-Drevon]

I am super lucky with my boy but I got my pom poms out and rooting for you!!
its generally do not like the ears touched but a thin layer of (I use young living essential oil animal scents). 1 bottle lasts forever.
anyway it lessens the poke-I don't actually even poke I press down with a teeny needle until I see red and stop. Then I wait a sec and allow the blood to flow and gently push more out if needed. You will find what works for you--dont get frustrated just take it 1 day at a time.