Having trouble giving shots-have to control by diet

Status
Not open for further replies.
O

Ohio_Dawn

Member Since 2012
Hello,
My sugar baby, Rocky, is a former feral. He is very skittish and does not like me to approach him. When he comes to me, he is a love bug and lap kitty, but only on his terms.

He was diagnosed over a year and a half ago and I can count on both hands the number of shots I have given him. I changed his diet to low carb high protein and he seems to be doing well. I discussed this with the vet and they said I could do it the diet way if needed because they know how Rocky is.

Earlier this year he caught a virus and this caused neurological damage-he has bells palsy now, but he is ok thank goodness. When he was really sick and could not move as fast, I was able to successfully give him shots twice a day like the vet recommended. However, once he started to feel better it became more difficult to give him his shots. Once I let him out of isolation, it became impossible.
I hate to stress him out, but in order to give him a shot I have to chase him around the house, freaking him out and my other cats so it is easier to just control by diet like I used to.

However, I feel guilty and like I am a horrible pet parent. I know the insulin is the best thing for him but he is such a difficult patient! :sad:

I have tried so many different ways of approaching him and nothing is working. Can't do it while he is eating or just chilling out.

IF I could I would keep a syringe near at all times and try to get him when he gets in my lap, but I can't predict the timing of that and even if I could, it would only be one shot a day since I work all day for one and for two, who knows when he is going to wander over for some attention.

So my question is, do any of you control by diet because you have a difficult cat? And if so, what do you feed them food wise? Do you find it good at controlling the diabetes?

So far it is ok for me, of course I can't do blood glucose readings readings either but I watch him like a hawk.

I am sorry for rambling, I just need to vent. :oops:
 
Hello and welcome to the board,

sorry to hear you are having issues.. here are some suggestions though

1. Diet - what food are you giving? you want something under 10% carbs - in your case lower the better - like fancy feast classic pates or friskies pates

2. testing - does he use an indoor litter tray? If you buy urine glucose strips ( even better keto-diastix) you can test his pee to see how high his urine sugar and so how high his blood sugar has been. Its not the most accurate method but better than nothing.

3. Insulin - what kind were you giving? If you can manage it, I would shave a few patches on him to make it easier to see. What syringes are you using? If you get short syringes you dont really need to tent much and you might be able to shoot him while he is eating because it will be quicker because you will better see whats going on without the fur and wont need to tent. (go in at a very shallow angle). And practice on something like a pear.

Wendy
 
Hi Wendy

I feed Friskies Pate and Iams Pro Active Multi Cat Dry Food, which has the highest protein of the Iams food that could find. I have 9 cats and of course one of them refuses to eat canned food of any kind!

I do have the strips you mentioned. I totally forgot about them! Next time I spot him in the box I will try to test him.

He is on Lantus and short syringes. I have already tried to sneak a poke in while he was eating (didn't shave him though) but I failed and now he is even more cautious when eating. If I approach him he will move away.

Do you think even one shot a day is better than none? Or do you think I will mess him up by doing it only once? I am afraid he will be very up and down with his levels if I do this and it may be harder on him than no shots at all. I asked the vet if I could give him both of his doses at the same time (his dose is very small, .5) but they said no so I have not even tried it.
 
One thing you want to do for sure is get rid of ALL the dry food and treats.
Are you able to test him at all? Testing in his urine will tell you some info, but if you are not giving any insulin, it will tell you that he needs insulin, so maybe you can get a method where he comes to your lap to eat, and you can be holding him. If you have the shot all ready, that's the time to shoot.

Gayle
 
It would really help him if he didnt get any dry - it might bring him low enough to not need the insulin. Can you try to transition the one cat to the friskies? or prevent him from getting to it? We have tips for transitioning. it takes patience but it works.. .
http://www.catinfo.org/docs/TipsForTransitioning1-14-11.pdf

Here are some urine testing tips: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1quta5WLEjdO0Y_t2dAYSwN84h-LNZWxOdtVsJDKZ16A/pub

Once a day is better than none at all... and your vet is right - you cant give both doses at once. Lantus only lasts 12 hours and it might take him down too low.

Wendy
 
Hi Dawn,

Is there a low carb treat that Rocky absolutely loves? You could possibly give him his shot 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 cannot 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. The first week was horrible, I was like you, 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! You can practice the injecting to make yourself a bit quicker and more comfortable with that aspect of it (I used a stuffed animal).

I have done "chicken and shot" 2x a day now for well over a year with success. It's now routine. And she has a "shot spot", meaning I give her the treat in the same area of the house (the counter) each time, and now she waits there for it. Hope this helps and works for you.

BTW, I am in Ohio also, where in Ohio are you?
 
Thanks everyone for the tips, I will have to start again and keep trying.

As for one shot a day, I assume it is best to give it to him at the same time? The inconsistency is what I am afraid of. I don't want to be giving him a shot at 7pm one day and 10pm the next because he did not come sit in my lap until later.

He does love turkey so I can try to poke him while he is eating that. As I said, I have tried before and he runs but if at first you don't succeed....

I just need to find a routine that works. When he was sick I had no problem poking him twice a day, I just need to get something going for him now so he can be healthier and so I can stop worrying as much! :smile:

I swear, if it was one of my other cats, I would have no problem, but of course my scaredy cat is the one that gets sick :roll:


Katiesmom, I am near Cleveland, but originally from Northwest Ohio near Toledo. Where are you at?
 
Dawn,

Oh yes, keep trying....bribe him with the turkey. Even after all this time, I still wouldn't be able to walk up to Katie and just give her the injection...I always have to distract her with the chicken. If he runs, don't chase him and stress him more, just try again in a bit and try to to pick a good spot to entice him to and keep that area as the "treat" spot.

I am in NE Ohio also, in the Lake/Ashtabula County area (I say both that because I live 1 mile from the county line In Geneva). I am about 45 miles NE of Cleveland. Are you anywhere near me?
 
Thanks Katiesmom, I will keep trying!

I am in University Heights which is an eastern suburb of Cleveland so I am not that close to you :( but it nice to know someone from the same area is on here :)
 
Hi Dawn,

Would you be willing to put some information in your signature? Totally optional but it does help us to help you better. It only takes a couple of minutes. Here are the instructions if you would be so kind. Thanks.

Would you please provide us with some more information and put this in your user control panel? It helps us to help you better. This will take about 5 minutes of your time.
Think of this as having some very useful information at our finger tips for those that are replying to your posts. One reason we like to see this information in your signature is because if there is ever an emergency situation like a possible hypoglycemic episode, we don’t have to ask a lot of questions like what meter you are using to give you the best advice. Doing this signature update is totally optional, but it does help us to help you better.
If you are willing to do this, would you please do those updates when you get a chance? Thanks.
Go to the upper left corner of your screen and click on the words, User Control Panel
On the next screen, a row of tabs is presented. Select the Profile tab
On the next screen, there are a number of choices along the left hand side. Select Edit Profile.
Go down to the location field and enter your country, state/province, and city if you are willing to share that info.
Click on submit to save this change.

Still in the User Control Panel, Profile tab, this time select Edit Signature from the left hand list of options.
A free form text box appears.
We like to see information like your name, your cats name age and sex, the diagnosis date for the diabetes like this (DX 4/30/13), what meter you are using for testing, what insulin you are using , what you are feeding (wet or dry, what brands/style of food), any complicating health issues your cat may have, any additional medications your cat is receiving. If you are using a pet specific meter like an Alphatrak or Ipet, please change the font size on that text from Normal to Large (using the drop down arrow list in the middle of the editing commands)

Click on submit to save this information. Now, this will appear at the end of every post you make. You can update the info when you need to.

There is an additional document you can create to provide even more information about your cat. This is also optional to create this google document and link it into your signature. The profile is in addition to the synopsis info in your signature. See this link on the how to's of profile creation. http://felinediabetes.com/FDMB/viewtopic.php?f=6&t=79123
Click to expand...
 
Deb & Wink said:
You might want to read this, written by member Kpassa for her feral kitten Michelangelo.

Making your cat more comfortable with the testing and shot process. ear testing psychology
Click to expand...


Thank you Deb & Wink, I read this and it does have some good tips. I am going to start developing a routine this weekend. I realize a big part of this is my lack of consistency in the past so I need to make sure I make more of an effort and take it slowly. I was able to get Rocky to trust me using patience and time and I realize that I need to do the same thing when it comes to administering his shots and testing. Recent adjustments to my schedule will help me accomplish this.

I will be sure to provide updates.
Thanks again everyone for your suggestions and tips. :-D
 
Thanks for the signature updates. They will help us to help you better.

Keep us posted on how the shots and testing process goes with Rocky. Your part of our FDMB family and we like to keep in touch with family.
 
Please see my signature link Secondary Monitoring Tools for some additional assessments which may help in monitoring. Most of them are observational and non-invasive, which may make tracking them consistently more possible. There is an older protocol which uses indirect assessments to monitor control and adjust dose here.
 
Ohio_Dawn said:
So my question is, do any of you control by diet because you have a difficult cat? And if so, what do you feed them food wise? Do you find it good at controlling the diabetes?
Click to expand...
Hi there--has anyone suggested to you the Young Again Zero Carb Catfood? It is extremely low carb (company claims 0% carbs; 7% based on guaranteed analysis, which is not exact); I believe the lowest on the market. As far as diet-controlled? Well, it would be much, much better than the commercial dry catfood. I suppose if you can't get insulin in your cat, I would think that this food would keep his numbers lower than commercial dry food.Truth be know, there are a good handful of members here who use it in a variety of ways. It can be given as a treat or a supplemental feeding. It is quite pricey though: I believe about $49 for 8 pounds (free shipping)--but that would last a long time OR you can email the company and they should send you an ample sample. I bought some for my cats months ago and keep it in the freezer due to the high moisture content and that I feed so little of it (I have 3 cats). So long as his diet is almost exclusively wetfood, IMHO, the Young Again is not a bad idea. I mean, the cat has to eat enough calories per day to sustain their weight. AND there are some cats who absolutely will not eat canned food. Ever. So it is a very good alternative to the high-carb commercial food and a good replacement for the Iams (roughly 25% carbs based on guaranteed analysis, so probably not exact). It is also handy for cats that are in danger of high ketones/DKA who refuse to eat--many will. Some members use it to transition their cats to wetfood. Should you consider it, here's a link: http://youngagainpetfood.com/10browse.asp?category=cats&ProductCode=92100 .

Slight chance I might get some rebuttal about this response :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol:
 
Since it sounds like you have dry for your other cats.... maybe you could get them all eating Young Again. Then if Rocky accidentally gets some dry, it won't have such a negative effect.

here is an example of a ss for a cat who wouldn't eat wet food. Ninja's ss

You can see it didn't take long after Ninja was switched from Evo dry ( 9%) to Young Again... (0%) for her bg #'s to drop to normal range.


I have an outdoor cat that I feed the Youngagain. He would be difficult to hold down if he ever needed anything.
 
rhiannon and shadow said:
...here is an example of a ss for a cat who wouldn't eat wet food. Ninja's ss

You can see it didn't take long after Ninja was switched from Evo dry ( 9%) to Young Again... (0%) for her bg #'s to drop to normal range.


I have an outdoor cat that I feed the Youngagain. He would be difficult to hold down if he ever needed anything.
Click to expand...
Wow Rhiannon--I didn't know about Ninja's FD journey. What a success story! It is easy to see that Ninja went OTJ about 2 months after switching to the Zero Carb food. Thank you for sharing this :-D
 
hey there

I am just following up to see how things are going since we haven't heard from you for a while.. is everything ok?

Wendy
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top