? High Glucose, otherwise healthy 7 year old male

[Ivana R]

Hi all,
My 7 year old male tabby is otherwise healthy. His drinking and urination is normal. At the vet, he stresses out immensely and they told me he had 350 bg and that I immediately needed to change his diet and begin insulin shots. I began to read up on spikes in bg and decided I wanted a second opinion since he was otherwise healthy. I did change his diet from dry food and fancy feast cans to only Purina DM cans immediately which he was completely fine with. I think his rise in blood glucose was also hyperglycemia induced by stress at the vet so I had a vet do an at home visit which he freaked out for even more because the woman who was holding him down was extremely aggressive with him and the second time his bg read 358. I bought the home test kit, but have yet been unable to draw blood from his ear. I have accidentally pricked myself about seven times, but can't seem to get blood from him. Any tips or suggestions? I do not want to make him endure insulin shots if his insulin was either induced by stress or can be regulated by his diet.

Of course, if he needs the insulin I will definitely put him on it, but he is otherwise extremely healthy, active, etc.
I want to try to get a few days worth of his bg at home when he is calm. Again, does anyone have any suggestions??

Has anyones kitty BG dropped from diet and exercise alone?

 

[Chris & China (GA)]

Any tips or suggestions?

Make sure the ear is very warm before you try poking it. A small sock with some dry rice or oatmeal in it that you can microwave is a great little "heating pad". Just make sure you test how hot it is against your wrist before putting it on kitty's ear!!

Also, what size are your lancets? Most of them that come with kits are 31 gauge. If you get some that are 26-28 gauge, they'll poke a bigger "hole" and be easier to use at first. As you poke more and more, new capillaries will grow in and make it easier to get that blood drop.

Once the ears "learn to bleed", you can go back to the higher gauge lancets.

Another important tip is to always give a special treat when you test (whether you're successful or not) so he learns to associate the "fooling with his ears" with something good. Freeze dried chicken, a little tuna or even just a little piece of baked chicken can work wonders!

Try to test in the same place. Cats are creatures of habit and appreciate a routine. Decide on where you want your "testing spot" to be and take him there as many times a day as you can, give his ears a quick rub and then he gets his treat. Pretty quickly he'll learn to associate the "testing spot" with the treat and most cats will come running!

You can also feed better foods than the DM (especially for the price!!) Most of us feed plain old Fancy Feast Classics or Friskies pate's but there are lots of choices available! You just want to keep it under 10% carbs. Here's a food chart with lots of available foods.

 

[Ivana R]

Thank you so much for your help, I was finally able to do it! It still reads high however

His water consumption has decreased dramatically since I've done this, he's even peeing a fraction of what he was before. I took his bg a little while ago and unfortunately it is still high -361. I am very wary on beginning insulin shots. He shows no symptoms of diabetes. He eats regularly, not too much or too little and as I said he's not really drinking as much water since we've changed his diet and am so worried about him going into hypoglycemia.

Has anyone else's kitty gone into remission? What are signs to keep watch for to avoid hypoglycemia? I want to start him on the lowest dosage of insulin if necessary and I will take his bg before administering any shots.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated

 

[Larry and Kitties]

The signs are be observant. The BG for my Nala was typically about 100 before shot and want to about 60-70 between shots (human meter) with a does of about 1/2 unit Levemir. One evening Nala was not out for the evening treat. I found her in a cat tube making strange noises. I tested her BG and it was Lo (less than 20). I gave dry food and syringed Kero syrup. She recovered fine and has been w/o insulin since then (~4 months). She was on insulin for about 4 months. She was adopted as an overweight, non being treated diabetic. My Dulce who was alos adopted as a not being treated diabetic, only need insulin for 2 weeks amd has not needed it for 4 years or so.

 

[BBelshan]

There are other signs of diabetes besides excessive thirst and urination. (obesity, urination, thirst, poor appetites, weight loss, dandruff and oily coat, weak hind legs, jaundice, lethargic, ketoacidosis, depression, and vomiting) It might be that there are very little symptoms in the beginning. I didn't realize that dandruff or vomiting was a symptom. Beast had dandruff probably a half a year or so before the thirst and urination became obvious and vomiting for a lot longer. Home testing is the best way to make sure your kitty doesn't go hypo as some don't show signs until it is too late. Start low and go slow. It might not take long for your cat to go into remission / diet controlled. Beast is almost there and he hasn't been diagnosed long.