Help for cat not acting right

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As far as meter's go, everyone has a preference. I happen to love the Relion Micro that you can get at Walmart. Margaret doesn't care for testing in the least and that meter requires a very tiny drop of blood. With her last test, her ear was ice cold. I went for it anyway and did 2 tiny pricks instead of one to make sure I had enough blood. I had twice the amount I needed since the drop needed is so tiny.

Margaret still has to be held by someone when I test her. Then she get's her treat afterward. She is one of the cats that never got used to the testing. However, that does not change the fact that I will continue to test her as needed (we're off insulin right now-diet controlled). Ultimately, a few seconds of discomfort for the health of the cat made the decision easy for me. It will get easier. It may, also, be that Sasha is having a hard time of it because he's not feeling well. Many (though not all) cats I read about on here get used to the testing after a bit.They'll show up at their "testing spot" when it's time. Some will go to the testing spot even when it is not time just for a treat. Hang in there. It's definitely not easy in the beginning but it will get better.
 
Just pipeing up that I also love the Walmart Relion meter, so easy to use and the strips are so affordable.

I don't recall seeing anybody answer the question - although somebody probably did. But yes, if you switch to Lantus it will still be 2x a day dosing and you'll need to be very vigilent about the blood testing. While you dose twice a day it lasts awhile in the system so if they start to go hypo it can last a lot longer then with a different type of insulin. On the plus side, many cats go into diet-controlled remission after using Lantus, Yittle did.
 
Sheryl, if you're still struggling with testing, let know later in the week and I can come over Thursday PM or this weekend and show you how I did it with a Vulcan death grip on the ear. :-D It was an easier way for me to do it alone that my vet showed me.

Also...try tying the testing to treats. (low carb) some give a treat at the beginning to occupy them while they go in for the poke. I always gave mine after as a reward. Within a couple of weeks Winston would come running and offer to let me test everytime he wanted something to eat.

You really ARE doing well. These are stille arly days since diagnosis. it is overwhelming at first. We keep telling you, but I know you can believe us yet, it really does get easier~!! Swear!
 
seamist said:
I will call a vet tomorrow that Carolyn recommended. There is some concern that having untreated ketones in his urine may still be causing problems for Sasha. I don't know if the insulin type may need to change. Also, I am intersted in knowing what type of meter is easiest to use, with the fewest wasted strips and fewest pokes. Sasha's ear bled pretty easily today, it was the meter that was the problem. I asked my husband to do it himself, but he refused. I hate to have to do it myself, because I hate needles, blood, and causing pain. Also I seem to be responsible for everything in this household, and with a toddler to take care of, I have more to do each day than I can get done.
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Why is it that 'caring for' is almost always done by women?
Here I'm taking care of Spacey almost on my own as well.
I feel for you. Really...
Hang in there!

Meter: I have the GlucoCard meter. It's easy, uses very tiny spot of blood, the lancets are small so the cat doesn't have huge holes in her ears. I like it. But I don't know if it's available in the US. :sad:
 
Jsat adding my 2 cents in for the ReliOn meter and strips. I have the "Micro" and the strips about about $21 for 50. I had the One Touch which required about DOUBLE the blood and the strips are about DOUBLE the price of ReliOn. I switched and the cost of buying a new meter and new strips was about $20 LESS than one box of strips for the One Touch - it was a no brainer. :razz:
 
I brought Sasha to the new vet today. His blood glucose had not improved since his diagnosis 3 weeks ago, still 444. However, his urine did not have ketones, so that is an improvement. The vet switched him to Lantus 2 units every twelve hours.

Thank you again everyone. I feel blessed to have found this message board and all the help we have received from you all.

Sasha's mom
 
I took a deep breath and tried doing the blood glucose test myself. I poked the cat 40 times.. He did bleed, but it was never enough to satify the Contour monitor. Yes, I used the warm rice sock and massaged the ear. The cat was fine and let me do it, but I gave up because I was wasting test strips and seeing no result other than error code for not enough blood. :sad:

Sasha's mom
 
seamist said:
I took a deep breath and tried doing the blood glucose test myself. I poked the cat 40 times.. He did bleed, but it was never enough to satify the Contour monitor. Yes, I used the warm rice sock and massaged the ear. The cat was fine and let me do it, but I gave up because I was wasting test strips and seeing no result other than error code for not enough blood. :sad:

Sasha's mom
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You'll get there. Many times the ear has to "learn" to bleed. And for us, we can only test the right ear as the left ear refuses to bleed.
 
seamist said:
I took a deep breath and tried doing the blood glucose test myself. I poked the cat 40 times.. He did bleed, but it was never enough to satify the Contour monitor. Yes, I used the warm rice sock and massaged the ear. The cat was fine and let me do it, but I gave up because I was wasting test strips and seeing no result other than error code for not enough blood. :sad:

Sasha's mom
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Where are you located? Maybe someone can help?
 
I know how frustrating this is. We spent a entire weekend poking poor Oliver before we ever got a drop of blood. Two things I think really help--

Find exactly where you are going to poke. You are aiming for the little capillaries that come off the vein running down the edge of the ear. If you put a flashlight behind Sasha's ear, you can see the vein and the capillaries. Then put a spot of vaseline there. It will help the blood bead up after your poke.

It always helped us to have something to poke against. We used a small makeup sponge; others use the rice sack or a folded piece of kleenix.

Give up for a while. Give Sasha a treat and Mom a treat. Breathe. It will work eventually. Somehow the ears "learn to bleed".
 
You may have better luck at the start with a meter that uses a really tiny sample size. The Contour is .6uL, which is pretty small, but there exist meters that require less. For instance, the Freestyle Lite only needs .3uL. Same for the Freestyle Freedom Lite and the ReliOn Micro. WaveSense Presto needs .5uL. And I'm sure there are others. Check around to see what is available in your area.

After you get the knack of testing, the Contour probably will be fine. Right now a smaller sample size may reduce your frustration.
 
Thank you for your kind words. Sasha started Lantus 2 units twice a day last night, and this morning he seemed healthier than I have seen him in a while. I just wish I could test his blood glucose to confirm my observations.

Sasha is a male, by the way. Our hunter. In Russia, Sasha is the nickname for Alexander, and I named him this because he reminded me of a Siberian Tiger.

Two questions:

1. Which glucose meter requires the least amount of blood and is still accurate? Is it the Freestyle Lite? I would like to hear more about people's favorite meters.

2. Which lancet is best at getting a good drop of blood from the cat's ear?

Sasha's mom
PS, I really have not thought of myself as Sasha's mom until now, since he is my husband's cat. However, now that he needs help, I guess I am his mom.
 
seamist said:
Thank you for your kind words. Sasha started Lantus 2 units twice a day last night, and this morning he seemed healthier than I have seen him in a while. I just wish I could test his blood glucose to confirm my observations.

Sasha is a male, by the way. Our hunter. In Russia, Sasha is the nickname for Alexander, and I named him this because he reminded me of a Siberian Tiger.

Two questions:

1. Which glucose meter requires the least amount of blood and is still accurate? Is it the Freestyle Lite? I would like to hear more about people's favorite meters.

2. Which lancet is best at getting a good drop of blood from the cat's ear?

Sasha's mom
PS, I really have not thought of myself as Sasha's mom until now, since he is my husband's cat. However, now that he needs help, I guess I am his mom.
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I have to tell you I am extremely impressed with the teeeny amount of blood the Walmart Relio Micro takes. And it is so much more afforadle. (It's the only thing I will buy from Walmart, but rock ahrdplace you know)
 
I started out with the Relion Micro (.3uL), and it was definitely the easiest of the meters I've tried to use! I can't imagine starting out with anything other than the micro back when Bandit fought me tooth and nail. I switched to the Aviva (.6uL) once I became more of a pro at testing because I was able to get some free strips from a friend, but testing with it is definitely harder. I had to switch to a bigger lancet gauge, and even then I have to squeeze the poked spot sometimes to get a big enough drop of blood.

I would highly recommend the Walmart Relion Micro. The strips are probably some of the least expensive you can buy in the store. I established a spot in the house where every test is performed (a basket that I've lined with fleece blankets) and made sure that Bandit got a treat (I use Beefeaters freeze dried salmon from petsmart) after every test regardless of how he behaved. After a while, he started running to the basket when he heard me open the test strip container.

Another thing that made a big difference for me was Neosporin+pain relief. I put some on Bandit's ears after every test. He didn't fight me nearly as hard once I started using it.
 
I use the Walmart Relio Micro too, I found that when I bought the Reli On 26 Gauge Lancets - it was a bit more difficult to get blood.
I then bought the Accu Chek Softclix Lancets & have no issues getting blood (I seem to get too much blood)
So either I have become better or the different Lancets helped. Just wanted to throw my mention in.
 
I also want to add a vote for the relion from Walmart. I use the 30 gauge lancet as well. When Milo was first diagnosed, I bought the Alphatrack recommended by the vet and wasted about 15 strips the first weekend trying to test him. I started out by putting him in a small bathroom so he couldn't get away with the determination that I was going to get a successful test. After watching several utube videos and taking a flashlight with me, I realized I wasn't hitting the right spot. Once I figured out the "sweet spot" on Milo, testing became a breeze...so much so that I ran out of the first 50 strips in one week! and realized that I was spending a dollar per test trip for the alphatrack meter...plus about this time Milo's numbers started really falling and I needed to test more than ever! so I ran to walmart and bought the Relion and 100 test strips. The Relion was $9 as the time and 100 test strips about $35. I have never looked back and Milo is now officially off of insulin-- today is day 17.

You are not alone in your struggle, and it will get easier. Once I had the testing down, I would walk up to Milo while he was sleeping and do the test. He barely woke up from his nap. I also found starting a routine worked great. Before each meal, I would place him on a rug we have in the kitchen and start petting him and talking to him...and rubbing his ear to warm it up. Then I would place a folded papertowel behind his ear and prick him. I then rub the ear to get a good bead of blood and test. After the test, he would get a treat...he absolutely loves the freeze dried salmon I purchased at petsmart based on someone else's suggestion on this board.. Now he actually sits on the rug and waits for me because he knows he gets to eat after! It really does get better. Two months ago, I wouldn't have thought all this would have been possible... he always called Milo our hell cat because he isn't the most friendly at all, but now it is a piece of cake. Just hang in there!!!
 
i love the freestyle meters. have used them since 2006. they require(d) the smallest blood sample for all this time until recently walmart's relion micro came out. i haven't used that one but i know it takes the same size blood sample as the freestyles. all the rest of the meters i believe take a little more.

now, the key to using the freestyles is to NOT buy your test strips at a walk in store. you want to buy them online. you can get them online at various stores for roughly half the price they are in your local store or you can get them on ebay for about a quarter of the price if you keep your eyes open and check regularly.
 
I use and like the Freestyle Lite. In the store, the strips are a *lot* more expensive, but online they are only a little more expensive (like $2-$8 more expensive for 50 strips, comparing to the Contour strips bought online - which again are a tiny bit more expensive than the Relion Micro strips in the store).

I have used both the Relion Micro and the Freestyle Lite. In tests on myself (I stay still better than the cats do :roll: ), the Freestyle Lite was more consistent than the Relion Micro. But it's not like I did a hundred tests to compare. In any case, both are well within the limits of accuracy and consistency needed for effective treatment of diabetes.
 
Ok, Sasha got his second Lantus shot of 2 units at about 9 am this morning. (HIs first ws last night.) I finally got enough blood for the meter to read at about 1 pm, so four hours after the shot. The result was 360.

I am considering trying the Freestyle Lite because it is supposed to use the smallest amount of blood. However, I read that it is not accurate for glucose readings over 300. Has anyone else heard that?

Sasha's mom
 
It might read a little lower than other meters at the higher numbers but IMO that isn't a big deal. I don't think it is statistically different and what is more important is to see your trends and catch those lows.
 
The Freestyle Lite is accurate enough to make treatment decisions, and that's all you need. It's a good meter. You don't need to worry about slight variations between one meter and another.
 
Just tested Sasha 6 hours after 2 units of Lantus. Blood Glucose 533 ! It has never been that high that I know of. What should I do? The cat seems fine.

Sasha's mom
 
I think the first step is to control test your meter to make sure it's OK, and then retest Sasha.
 
Sheryl, I don't know which meter you are using and if it uses Control solution. If so, follow the directions in the book to do a control test amd see if you get a reading in the accepted range.

Or test yourself and see what you get.

Usually, if you get a test result you really don't expect, people will do another test right away.

Have you been able to get preshot tests? It'd be interesting to know what he was before you gave the shot this am. 533 at a time when lantus should be peaking is highly strange. Without more data, it's hard to know if he's getting not enough insulin, or way too much...
 
I called the vet, and he said not to panic. He told me to keep track of the blood glucose, and let Sasha get used to the new insulin. I need to get some more test strips.
 
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