I joined this site a few months ago- seeking more advice

Status
Not open for further replies.
N

nooopy

New Member
I have two diabetic cats. Both diagnosed within a week of each other. I will discuss Pepper first. She is 13 and very mean if handled. Her vet moved her up to one and a half units of humalin N twice a day after her last Futrosime (sp) test last month. I asked about Lantus as per this board and she said that a few cats in the practice had hypo'd on that insulin and she only prescribes it if humalin N does not work. She said something about Zinc insulin being discontinued. The vet is fine with me home testing but this cat is like a Tasmanian Devil. My brother is kind enough to come over Saturday and Sunday to do one BG test six hours after shot and feeding...And we can't always get that from her. Anyhow, She is on wet food ( Whiskas Pate and Friskies Pate) however when I go to give her the shot she runs...I give her a couple of spoonfuls of Whiskas Purely Chicken pouch food ( I think it maybe high carb) to stay still long enough to shoot the insulin. Her BG numbers have been running in the 250 - 310 range at the six hour mark with her eating . She looks like she is gaining a little weight and appetite is decreasing only slightly . I took her today for a futrosime (sp) but will not know results till Monday. Also,she had not played with cat toys in months and now takes part in the nightly play sessions and romps around with the much younger cats. I free feed the cats wet cat food with water added so there is food out 24/7. I think I may want to go with a PZI insulin because I think it may have a longer duration of lowering their BG. I am fearful of the Lantus because I Cannot test the cats often enough to feel safe using it. Am I thinking correctly ?

Second cat Diamond is an older girl and she sees a different vet in the same practice. Diamond is on one unit of Humalin N twice a day. Her last futrosime (sp) test was last month and vet felt she should stay at the one unit. Diamond gained two pounds in two months and looks great.her numbers have been in the 250's for weeks However she has an upper respiratory infection right now and her numbers have been higher up to 400's . The vet feels that numbers will go down as the infection gets wiped out by the clavamox she prescribed for Diamond. This cat is not as hard to test but I cannot do it alone so she only gets tested twice a week.

Any thoughts or advice would be great Thank you.
 
My vet also said they'd had quite a few hypos on lantus and therefore preferred caninsulin. Part of the problem was that the vets did not understand how lantus works and did not leave a new dose to settle in before increasing. They would wait one or two cycles and say it's not enough and must be increased meanwhile the lantus shed would still be building up and the result would be way too much insulin and a hypo. The vets are now learning from me how to use lantus properly as I am learning from the board.

Infection will usually cause BG numbers to be higher vet #2 is quite correct about that.

PZI is a good insulin but there is a risk of hypo with all insulins and the only way to minimise that risk is by taking BG tests at every pre shot and at the nadir of the insulin so the best advice I can give you is to persevere with the blood tests. Do you give a low carb treat everytime you do one or attempt to do one? Do you have any trouble getting sufficient blood or is it just that the cats are un-cooperative? Have you tried making a 'kitty burrito' to get the blood test, i.e. when you wrap kitty firmly in a blanket or something like that first?

Also it is good that you have food available 24/7 while you are not able to get too many blood tests, a cat that has low BG will want to eat and eating will help push the BG back up again.
 
Thank you for your advice. The one cat Pepper, goes crazy even when "burritoed" I cant burrito her and test her by myself she goes into a bucking spitting rage. I give boiled chicken breast before and after test whether we get blood or not. We just tested her and sadly she is at 454 !!! I am so worried about her...After I get her results from the futrosime ( sp ) I may insist that we be switched to something else...

The second cat Diamond, is a doll but just runs away at testing time and it frightens her to be wrapped in a towel she does much better with my brother holding her on his lap while I work the ear and meter. With time I think I will be able to test her myself.
 
I think you would be better off to give 1u of Lantus twice a day than N which is a harsh insulin..

you may want to talk to your vet about something to calm the cat; some cats do well on prozac, or even try rescue remedy or a calming collar and phermone spray.

just wondering how you are able to give shots but cannot test... I recall another person also having the same issues, but with repeated trying to test, it's become easier as the cat knows what to expect.
 
nooopy said:
Thank you for your advice. The one cat Pepper, goes crazy even when "burritoed" I cant burrito her and test her by myself she goes into a bucking spitting rage. I give boiled chicken breast before and after test whether we get blood or not. We just tested her and sadly she is at 454 !!! I am so worried about her...After I get her results from the futrosime ( sp ) I may insist that we be switched to something else...

The second cat Diamond, is a doll but just runs away at testing time and it frightens her to be wrapped in a towel she does much better with my brother holding her on his lap while I work the ear and meter. With time I think I will be able to test her myself.
Click to expand...

One thing to remember about Pepper's BG result is that if she's just gone nuts when you test her chances are there is stress in that test and the number you get will be higher than when she is realxed. Will be interesting to see her fructosamine result.

Diamond's responses to the testing are going to be much easier to deal with. Do you think there is any chance Pepper will start to relax about the tests once Diamond does, are they close?

In the case of Diamond - what many cats hate about testing time is not actually the testing but being restrained for it so if you can avoid restraining them you can avoid them getting stressed and no more hating of testing time. With Diamond I would start to make a habit of rubbing her ears (gently rub the edge where you test) whenever you think of it with no restraint at all and telling her what a good girl she is if she tolerates it and paying no attention if she doesn't and just trying again later so she gets used to your new found obsession with her ears. After a few days, or however long it takes for her not to be bothered about you touching her ears, starting clicking your lancing device near her ear after you have rubbed her ears for 30 secs or so - still with no restraint and then cuddling/petting her afterwards and telling her what a good girl she is. Once she pays no attention to the clicking you are pretty much ready to try for the test on your own without restraint.

Another key element is to make sure you are relaxed, if you are stressed your cats will feel it and respond with stress of their own. You should have a chance to start feeling more relaxed about it yourself following the above procedures! And don't worry if you don't get the test by yourself the first time or even the first few times just relax and try again later. Most cats and beans do get the hang of it in the end and many cats (probably hard for you to believe right now but it's true) even end up enjoying their testing time because of the treat and the special time that they spend with you. Vyktor usually starts purring when he sees me coming with the tester now, that or he pretty much sleeps through the whole procedure.
 
Hello and thanks for all the advice. Yes there is extreme Stress getting the test on Pepper. Im sure it makes her number higher. One person asked how is it that I am able to give her shot if I cant test.... Pepper loves the whiskas purely chicken packets so I wait till she has ate her regular meal and then she gets a spoonfull of that and I shoot the insulin quickly. Still at times she strikes me and runs ... This cat was a street cat for years and people messed with her so she is always on guard.
 
Testing more while giving insulin is the safest by all means, but we do what we can.

Getting on to a better insulin will definitely help. If your vet won't prescribe Lantus because it appears they don't know how to treat with it, PZI would at least get you to a better, long lasting insulin. N is just not a good insulin for cats, it is short acting and harsh.

The bad thing about a fructosamine test being used and not home testing is that the fructosamine test gives the average BG over time. The poor kitty on N is on a rollercoaster ride, not a flat road and so the fructosamine test may show improvement, it is showing an improved average and isn't showing how many swings the cat has to endure. Without the home testing, you aren't able to see how much N swings the BGs up and down in a day.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top