Help, newly diag cat now in remission

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slybele

Member Since 2020
Wally tested for diabetes three weeks ago so I got the insulin kit from my vet. His dosage was changed 10 days ago. He started vomiting and not eating. I called the vet and was told to hold off insulin and see how he does. The next day, he perked up and was eating, happy, affectionate so I've not dosed him. Four days now and he's still fine. I can order a glucose test kit on the 3rd but am not able to go out with my health condition.

Can someone tell me what to look for in the meantime to know if or when I should dose him again until I can test his level?! Thank you for any help or suggestions.
 
JanetNJ said:
what was his bg at diagnosis? Was a fructosimine test done? what insulin and dose was he originally told to take?
Click to expand...

Thank you for the reply!
The vet tested him as he needed a couple of teeth pulled. This was a semi-feral cat that my son tamed. He was missing three fangs and a couple teeth were abcessed. They did a test as a precaution and found the diabetes.

His first result was 500 so was at 3 units 2x per day (12 hours apart). That next Friday, he tested at 300 so it was upped to 4 units per. He was fine with that and gained weight, looked great and still does.
 
You are posting in the wrong forum. I'll ask the moderators to move this post over to Feline Health.

This forum is for problems with the message board itself. All cat questions should go in Feline Health first.

@Wendy&Neko Another post that needs to be moved.
or @Sienne and Gabby (GA) since you're signed on

Please. So more people see this in the correct forum. Thanks.
 
Deb & Wink said:
You are posting in the wrong forum. I'll ask the moderators to move this post over to Feline Health.

This forum is for problems with the message board itself. All cat questions should go in Feline Health first.

@Wendy&Neko Another post that needs to be moved.
or @Sienne and Gabby (GA) since you're signed on

Please. So more people see this in the correct forum. Thanks.
Click to expand...

I apologize and thank you.
 
Yeah! Moderator moved your post.

No apologies needed. I look for people posting in places where they are not expected, and try to get them in the right forum here.
 
Thank you again. Wink looks just like my tuxedo cat, Blingx. Beautiful.

b46D3m2.jpg
 
So, you are using Prozinc insulin. Or you were before your vet had you stop the insulin.

Would you set up a few things for us please? Information in your signature is important, as is a spreadsheet to track the BG (blood glucose) levels, once you get your blood glucose monitor, test strips and lancets.
You did order lancets didn't you?

Sticky New? How You Can Help Us Help You! Gives you some basic information about feline diabetes, as well as instructions on how to set up your "Signature".

Some things you can look for, are how much water your cat is drinking, how much he is peeing, how active he is, purring, preening, appetite.

So how are all those things with your cat?

6 units a day of insulin is a really high starting dose. Increasing that to 8 units a day (4 in AM, 4 in PM) was a HUGE jump in the dose. Most cats only need 1U of any insulin to start.

High BG levels could have been caused by the infection/inflammation going on because of the bad teeth.
Vet stress can also cause elevated BG (blood glucose) levels.

Hypoglycemia symptoms to look out for are in this document.
Sticky How to treat HYPOS - THEY CAN KILL! Print this Out!!
Evidence of ketones forming because your cat isn't getting enough insulin are in this document.
Ketones/Diabetic Ketoacidosis (DKA): Ketones, Diabetic Ketoacidosis (DKA), and Blood Ketone Meters
 
As I mentioned, I am unable to track his BG until I'm able to buy a kit, five days from now then a couple days shipping. If I was able to track his BG, I could simply call the vet, he's a great country doc and I've known him for almost 10 years. It was suggested by the vet to bring him in for a BG test but I'm immuno-compromised so need to stay at home. I posted the two tests he did have:

500 starting and put on 3u 2x per day (with food ofc)
next week it was 300 and put on 4u 2x per day.

He gained a lot of weight in that 8 days to look like a nice healthy cat. He became a bit "tired", vomited three times and was laying sphinx style under a table so I called and they suggested I stop the insulin and see how he was the next day. That night he perked up, ate food and drank water. His water consumption is good but not as much as prior to the first insulin. His appetite is back and great, he eats well twice per day and likes snacks. He was a starving stray when we got him and has been a snacker since (survivor mode probably). He is happy, wants affection, purrs a lot, chills by the window and stands his ground with the other male.

I'm mainly wanting to know if there's something to look for to know to give him maybe a couple of units? Will he suddenly go downhill fast or is it possible he's in remission for awhile? I will order the BG kit regardless of his situation on the 3rd of April.
 
Those 2 documents I linked for you, give you visual signs you can watch out for.
The risk of giving too much insulin, without testing, is hypoglycemia.
The risk of not enough insulin, is the formation of ketones.

I realize you do not have the test kit yet, haven't even ordered it.

So in the meantime, giving him a low carb food to eat could be very beneficial.
What food is your cat eating?
 
Thank you. Wally was never on any insulin until he went for his tooth problems. To answer the previous question, that was the first time he was given insulin. Right now, he's been without it for four days.

He is on what the vet said was a low carb diet, he only eats Friskies or 9 Lives wet food.

I have the test kit in my Amazon cart, is this a good one?

Care Touch Diabetes Testing Kit – Care Touch Blood Glucose Meter, 100 Blood Test Strips, 1 Lancing Device, 30 gauge Lancets-100 count and Carrying Case
$39.99

I would love to buy it now but I don't have an income until April 3.

I will read the documents you linked, thank you.
 
It is harder to see symptoms of hyperglycaemia than hypoglycaemia, hypoglycaemia is much more dramatic and life threatening. With hyperglycaemia your cat will probably drink and pee more and be more hungry because they can’t absorb the nutrients in food as well because of the lack of insulin.

The risk of not giving insulin if it is needed, is ketones developing. The only way to tell if insulin is needed is to test the blood glucose. You can also test the urine for ketones but you would need to get a bottle of Ketostix from a pharmacy, Amazon or Walmart. They are around $10 I think.

I would certainly not give more than 1 unit of insulin if you need to restart it when you get the meter. Testing is the only way to tell if you have the correct dose.

If you are stuck in the house and can’t get testing meter til next week I would feed him as much food as he will eat and often. It is really important he eats well. Any signs of lethargy or not wanting to eat could mean ketones are forming so be vigilant.
 
You might want to check on the price of a Relion meter from Walmart. Their meters are inexpensive as are the strips. I'm also finding that Amazon deliveries are backed up. At the very least, compare the price of the meter. you looked at on Amazon vs the Walmart meter.
 
slybele said:
He is on what the vet said was a low carb diet, he only eats Friskies or 9 Lives wet food.
Click to expand...
Which of the Friskies and 9 Lives foods? Some of them are higher carb than others.
If you could tell us what the cat food can label says, as far as flavor and style of food. that would give us lots of useful information.

It's been taking 10-14 days for Amazon to ship.
It's been a little less than that for Walmart. But still at least a week.

Plus, you want to know if the test strips for whichever meter you order are readily available and in stock, and ready for quick shipment.
 
Bron and Sheba (GA) said:
It is harder to see symptoms of hyperglycaemia than hypoglycaemia, hypoglycaemia is much more dramatic and life threatening. With hyperglycaemia your cat will probably drink and pee more and be more hungry because they can’t absorb the nutrients in food as well because of the lack of insulin.

The risk of not giving insulin if it is needed, is ketones developing. The only way to tell if insulin is needed is to test the blood glucose. You can also test the urine for ketones but you would need to get a bottle of Ketostix from a pharmacy, Amazon or Walmart. They are around $10 I think.

I would certainly not give more than 1 unit of insulin if you need to restart it when you get the meter. Testing is the only way to tell if you have the correct dose.

If you are stuck in the house and can’t get testing meter til next week I would feed him as much food as he will eat and often. It is really important he eats well. Any signs of lethargy or not wanting to eat could mean ketones are forming so be vigilant.
Click to expand...

Thank you very much! I also read that smelling the cat's breath and if it smells like acetone (nail polish remover) that can be a sign.

The pet food is Friskies Tender Morsels and 9 Lives Tasty Treasures, I buy both in bulk and they arrived a couple days ago 2 day delivery. We also boil chicken and he loves that as a change.

Last question, is it ReliOn Micro Blood Glucose Monitoring System? I just don't know if testing a cat is different than a human. I can see that it's cheaper than the kit I posted (and getting strips separately ofc). I will call the vet once I'm able to test Wally.

Thank you very, very much!
 
If your cat's breath smells like acetone, or has that over ripe fruity smell to it, than ketones are really high and that is an emergency visit to a 24 hour vet to see if your cat's life can be saved. That will run you around $1000 per day for anywhere from 5 to 10 days. So you can expect to spend $5000 to $10,000 to treat your cat for diabetic ketoacidosis. (DKA)

Much less expensive to buy some ketone test strips for the urine.
Don't you have a friend, family member, neighbor who could help you by going to a pharmacy and buying some urine ketone test strips?

CVS has them for about $12.
 
slybele said:
The pet food is Friskies Tender Morsels and 9 Lives Tasty Treasures
Click to expand...
You want foods that are <= 12% carbs, per the (2018) AAHA Diabetes Management Guidelines for Dogs and Cats Here on the message board, the recommendation is for <= 10% carbs.

I think you meant the reverse. Friskies Tasty Treasures. 9 Lives Tender Morsels.
The 9 Lives Tender Morsels in Sauce are mostly >20% carbs. Save those for your hypo toolkit, as high carb foods.
The 9 Lives Tender Morsels has a few lower carb flavors. Flaked Tuna, Tuna & Cheese Bits, Tuna & Egg Bits are 4% to 10% carbs.
Per this cat food list. https://catinfo.org/docs/CatFoodProteinFatCarbPhosphorusChart.pdf
The 9 Lives Meaty Pate would be better, all <10% carbs and ok on protein, but could be a bit higher (You want 40% or more protein)

The Friskies Tasty Treasures are also a bit too high in carbs. A few of the "with cheese" flavors are ok, but not the ones that say "in gravy". Save those for your hypo toolkit. The Friskies Tasty Treasures with bacon are all in the medium carb range.

You want the Friskies Classic Pates.

Some of the food ingredients and formulas may have changed since that 2017 list was developed. But the Friskies Classic Pates are still good.
 
Deb & Wink said:
If your cat's breath smells like acetone, or has that over ripe fruity smell to it, than ketones are really high and that is an emergency visit to a 24 hour vet to see if your cat's life can be saved. That will run you around $1000 per day for anywhere from 5 to 10 days. So you can expect to spend $5000 to $10,000 to treat your cat for diabetic ketoacidosis. (DKA)

Much less expensive to buy some ketone test strips for the urine.
Don't you have a friend, family member, neighbor who could help you by going to a pharmacy and buying some urine ketone test strips?

CVS has them for about $12.
Click to expand...

Deb & Wink said:
You want foods that are <= 12% carbs, per the (2018) AAHA Diabetes Management Guidelines for Dogs and Cats Here on the message board, the recommendation is for <= 10% carbs.

I think you meant the reverse. Friskies Tasty Treasures. 9 Lives Tender Morsels.
The 9 Lives Tender Morsels in Sauce are mostly >20% carbs. Save those for your hypo toolkit, as high carb foods.
The 9 Lives Tender Morsels has a few lower carb flavors. Flaked Tuna, Tuna & Cheese Bits, Tuna & Egg Bits are 4% to 10% carbs.
Per this cat food list. https://catinfo.org/docs/CatFoodProteinFatCarbPhosphorusChart.pdf
The 9 Lives Meaty Pate would be better, all <10% carbs and ok on protein, but could be a bit higher (You want 40% or more protein)

The Friskies Tasty Treasures are also a bit too high in carbs. A few of the "with cheese" flavors are ok, but not the ones that say "in gravy". Save those for your hypo toolkit. The Friskies Tasty Treasures with bacon are all in the medium carb range.

You want the Friskies Classic Pates.

Some of the food ingredients and formulas may have changed since that 2017 list was developed. But the Friskies Classic Pates are still good.
Click to expand...
 
Honestly, I didn't post here to be judged. I am disabled and my son (who is my only family) doesn't drive. Further we live out in the country and I do not want to put anyone's life at risk. Again, thank you for the info and this is my last post. Take care and be safe.
 
Just trying to brainstorm for you @slybele. There was no judgement there slybele.

If you don't want to post anymore, that is fine.
Do take the time to read through other threads.
Look at the "Sticky" or pinned posts in the different forums.
Look in the Sticky INDEX: Health Links/FAQs
which can be found in the Health Links / FAQs about Feline Diabetes
forum for useful information about a lot of feline diabetes info.

Use the search function to find other threads that may be relevant to you.

Stay safe slybele.
 
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