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jhk515

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Hi everyone - I'm Judy and my newly diagnosed diabetic kitty is Spooky. We live in Canada. Spook's a 12 year-old domestic shorthair and has always been healthy. Until now.

Spook has always loved water - her entire life - she'll stick her head under any tap she possibly can, and uses her paw to scoop water out of the dog's dish. She'll splash in any excess water that flows into containers under plants after they're watered. So, we didn't really notice that her water dish (which is shared with Teddy, a 12 year old Devon Rex) was getting very, very low every day. We slowly started to realize that the pee balls in the litter box were very large. Then I started to notice how much weight she was losing - she's always been on the low end of being overweight, and we've had to watch her food. She was fine at her March check up at the vet. She was eating ravenously, but losing weight. We decided it must be checked out. Last Wednesday, we took her in. The result was diabetes. Luckily, there was no mention of ketones. I don't do needles very well, so luckily my husband has taken on the task of administering the insulin (Lantus) - 2 units once a day. We got a glucose meter on Sunday - on that day, there was no way I could get a blood sample (somehow, those needles don't bother me). I did some more research online and tried the very warm facecloth - success! Yesterday and today, got readings. We've been told to put her on Purina DM, but I'm not crazy about the by-products in the ingredients. Did more research and discovered high-protein canned food is just as good. Currently trying a few different ones. Spook loves the canned stuff, despite both of them eating kibble all their lives (I had no idea!) Teddy, on the other hand, is going to be more difficult to switch - if anyone knows Devon's, you'll know their unique personalities. We want them both on the same food and want to make sure Teddy doesn't end up with diabetes, too!

So, doing the glucose tests, I thought I'd test Teddy, too, just to see what his levels are. What are that cat's ears made of?!?! I poked him a dozen times, I'm sure - front and back of the ear. I used the lancet without the pen, freehand - still no luck. Was afraid to try any harder as I didn't want to pierce the ear - any tips? It's really not that urgent, as he's not the sick one, but thought it might be good to have some idea.

Thanks, all. So glad to know there are others out there to discuss this with!
 
It sounds like you are doing a great job with Spooky, Judy. Good insulin, good food and testing at home- fantastic!

Have you seen the Lantus support groups yet? It would be good to read the stickies. They explain a lot about how Lantus works in cats, how to dose, etc. They are the starred topics under the grey line:

http://www.felinediabetes.com/FDMB/viewforum.php?f=9

As for your other kitty, it may be that one of his ears will bleed better than the other, or it could be that his ear needs more heating than Spooky.
 
There's a bit of cartilage under the skin, among other things.

When you absolutely, simply must get a blood test, you may aim for the actual blood vessel that you can see. Be prepared to get the test quickly and then blot with tissue or cotton, because it will bleed freely and the cat will flick the ear or shake its head and blood drops will go flying ... which is why we don't normally use it.

Warming the ear with a rice sock (a thin sock filled with rice, microwaved until comfortably warm to the touch) helps dilate the blood vessels, making it easier for them to bleed. Another option is to take a small pill bottle, fill it with warm water, and use it to support and warm the ear. Some times, brisk massage will warm up the ear.
 
jhk515 said:
Hi everyone - I'm Judy and my newly diagnosed diabetic kitty is Spooky. We live in Canada. Spook's a 12 year-old domestic shorthair and has always been healthy. Until now.

Spook has always loved water - her entire life - she'll stick her head under any tap she possibly can, and uses her paw to scoop water out of the dog's dish. She'll splash in any excess water that flows into containers under plants after they're watered. So, we didn't really notice that her water dish (which is shared with Teddy, a 12 year old Devon Rex) was getting very, very low every day. We slowly started to realize that the pee balls in the litter box were very large. Then I started to notice how much weight she was losing - she's always been on the low end of being overweight, and we've had to watch her food. She was fine at her March check up at the vet. She was eating ravenously, but losing weight. We decided it must be checked out. Last Wednesday, we took her in. The result was diabetes. Luckily, there was no mention of ketones. I don't do needles very well, so luckily my husband has taken on the task of administering the insulin (Lantus) - 2 units once a day. We got a glucose meter on Sunday - on that day, there was no way I could get a blood sample (somehow, those needles don't bother me). I did some more research online and tried the very warm facecloth - success! Yesterday and today, got readings. We've been told to put her on Purina DM, but I'm not crazy about the by-products in the ingredients. Did more research and discovered high-protein canned food is just as good. Currently trying a few different ones. Spook loves the canned stuff, despite both of them eating kibble all their lives (I had no idea!) Teddy, on the other hand, is going to be more difficult to switch - if anyone knows Devon's, you'll know their unique personalities. We want them both on the same food and want to make sure Teddy doesn't end up with diabetes, too!

So, doing the glucose tests, I thought I'd test Teddy, too, just to see what his levels are. What are that cat's ears made of?!?! I poked him a dozen times, I'm sure - front and back of the ear. I used the lancet without the pen, freehand - still no luck. Was afraid to try any harder as I didn't want to pierce the ear - any tips? It's really not that urgent, as he's not the sick one, but thought it might be good to have some idea.

Thanks, all. So glad to know there are others out there to discuss this with!
Click to expand...

Hi Judy,
Welcome to the site. I am in Toronto; where are you located in Canada?
The dose of 2u twice a day is pretty high to start; usually it's good to start at a dose of 1u because some cats may not ever need a dose as high at 2u.

How great to hear you are home testing and not forcing your poor cats to eat the awful vet food; my cats refused to touch it.

When you tested, what numbers did you get?
 
Hi Judy,
Good work on the blood letting! Let us know what those numbers were, and we can also show you how to put them on a SS that anyone can see whether you are online or not.

Also, you mentioned a high-protein canned food? What brand/flavor would that be?
If you click the links under my name, you can see some great info on canned foods. We all use low-carb canned, and the "carbs" information is there on the charts. Best to keep it under 10% if possible. Let us know what you are using. When you feed low carb and they aren't used to it yet, it will drop their BG numbers, sometimes a lot. It's important not to drop too far as the insulin will be more effective when the BG is lowered.

Keep us posted! and welcome to the board,
Carl
 
Welcome to you Judy & Spooky!
Goood going with testing at home! Your food issue is the same I had with Bean when she was dx and I came home with that food ~ eeek! She did not like it after about the first can. Thank gosh for this place. I printed Binkys list and away I went to pet stores and bought what everyone here suggested and she loved them. I also bought some frz. dried meats: chicken, shrimp, lamb and venison and the enjoy those as well.
Wondering what Spookys bg numbers are??
Furry hugs to you!
 
Hi everyone - thanks for all your responses! I'll try to answer as much as I can remember:

-I'm in Halifax, NS (came from Toronto 12 years ago).

-We're giving her 2 units ONCE a day, not twice.

-I think I did something wrong on Monday, as her reading was 6.8, because then yesterday it was 13.2 (but she had just eaten), and 12.8 today (before feeding her). We're giving the insulin at about 7am, feeding her just before; then taking the reading about 6pm (timing around coming and going from work) and feeding again after the reading. The vet wanted us to come in for a curve in a couple of weeks, but since dropping over $400 at the vet, about $50 for food and another approx. $60 for test strips and syringes (the meter was free with purchase of the strips) last week, we're going to do it ourselves instead - they're going to call us tomorrow and let us know how. Her readings can still go lower, right? How long will it take for the food to kick in and lower the readings?

-I bought a few different foods to try - all of them high protein and low carbs - I was going cross-eyed reading the tiny print on many of the cans! BUT, our Devon Rex wouldn't eat any of them - he actually seems to like the DM, so we decided, for now, we'll get them both stabilized on the DM (to get used to canned), and then switch them to a better one - even the DM is better than the kibble, from what I've read (even though we went with higher end dry!) I bought BG (which looks really good), Nutrience sells just one that's organic and grain free (beef), Almo nature, tiki cat, and a couple of cheapos with by-products to mix if we're having problems until they're stabilized. Spooky's just been attacking the canned food - poor thing must've really been starving!

Thanks, all!
 
With a dose as high as 2 units, you will get better control if you split the dose in half and give 1 unit every 12 hours. More inconvenient for you, to be sure, but most Lantus lasts roughly 12 hours in the cat, so your cat's glucose is going to swing pretty wildly between the 12 hours covered by insulin and the 12 hours not covered by insulin.

When you have a moment, pop over to the Lantus forum and read some info on how Lantus works - the stikie notes just preceeding folks posts.
 
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