I love a cat with diabetes...

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rainperimeter

Member Since 2012
My 10 year old best friend got diagnosed with feline diabetes last week. His b/g was 487 last week before he started his insulin (ProZinc) regiment of 1 unit twice daily. Sam has been on Hill's c/d for the past 7 years at least for urinary tract issues. Over the weekend I was getting a b/g reading of 180 (6 hrs after medicating) and 320 (12 hours after 1st shot). Last night and this morning I gave him significantly less Hill's c/d and substituted it with boiled chicken and medicated him as instructed. This evening now I am getting consistent readings near the 80's since I have changed his diet a bit even since I fed him again tonight (1/4 can c/d + 1/2 oz chicken). I've decided not to give him a shot this evening yet because his b/g is so low and will continue to monitor him. At what point would it be ok to give him a shot if his b/g begins to rise? It seemed that before I substituted part of his diet he had a consistent curve of a 180 low to a 320 high. I really can't help but be inclined to believe that his c/d for his urinary issue is sending his b/g through the roof!
 
There are foods that work with cats with urinary issues that are wet low carb. See this page by a vet: Dr. Lisa’s Urinary tract page I would see what wet low carb foods might work for him. As you have seen, getting rid of the dry can really reduce the blood glucose levels. A diet of just chicken is not completely nutritionally and shouldn't be fed long term, so if you can find a different food and eliminate the dry, it would really help.

We suggest that new diabetics do not shoot under 200. If you get a number around 200, wait 20 minutes without feeding (food raises bg levels) and retest. You want to make sure he is over 200 and that the number is rising, not falling.
 
Thank you for your advice. I was thinking that myself that considering how much I have seen his b/g drop from an injection that I wouldn't feel comfortable dosing him if he was any where below 200/220. He's pretty much been exclusively on the c/d cans, he rarely gets any dry food ever. Like I said, I gave him less c/d in his diet this morning then gave him his morning injection. That was at 6:30 am. It's now 10:00 pm and 4 hours after his dinner of the same and I'm still only getting readings of 132 at the highest.
 
C/d canned is still high carb. Check out this food chart: http://binkyspage.tripod.com/CanFoodNew.html

It looks like C/D is 22%carbs. We try to stay in the 8% range.

If you skip tonight, you probably will see a high number in the am. But it won't be a "true" number; it will reflect the 24 hours since the last shot. Even if you get a number in the higher ranges, I would reduce the dose. You want a number that you can shoot twice daily; if you avoid skipping, that is best. Reducing the dose will likely do that.
 
24 hours after his shot yesterday and even after his breakfast he was only reading 143. I didnt feel comfortable medicating him until I speak with his Dr. No one will be home to monitor him until later so giving hin a shot made me feel uneasy about him being unattended. I hope I made the right decision. I have much to learn!
 
Hiya,

Wow! You really are getting a handle on this feline diabetes malarky pretty quickly! Well done!

Yes, you were right not to give the shot. As has been said already (but hey, no harm in repeating this!) the standard advice given here to people who are new to treating their cats is to NOT give a shot if the number is below 200 (11 outside of the US), and to ensure that the number is rising and not still falling before giving the shot.

Do also see this info on glucose monitoring, especially Q4.4 about what to do if your cat's pre-shot BG is lower than the normal value:
http://www.felinediabetes.com/fdmb-faq.htm#glucose

You are an excellent care-giver. Your kitty is very lucky. :smile:
 
Hello there!

It looks like a diet change will be the best thing to happen to Sam since sliced bread :lol: !

Here are some sites that have better food choices for your cat:
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/ccc ... hYXc#gid=0 (called Hobo's List)
http://binkyspage.tripod.com/canfood.html (called binky's list)
http://www.catinfo.org/docs/Food%20Char ... -22-12.pdf (new list from CatInfo.org)

You want to look for under 10% carbs on these lists.

Adding water to the canned food will help with the urinary problems. Think of dry cat food as peanut butter. How much water is in that? If a cat doesn't take in water what does he pee out then? Trouble! Add water to the canned food- start with 1/4 of the food served and add more until you get to 1/5 or even more. My Sneakers gets equal amounts canned food and water. This will lessen what they need to drink out of the bowl.

Good luck and good to see you are home testing.
 
He is still peaking at around 180s and his low was 60s/70s now that I have eliminated the seafood cans from his diet and given a lower carb meal. The dr. wants me to bring him in to do a curve tomorrow but it's really getting tough on my wallet this week...he literally was only given insulin fri-mon morning. Monday am was the last time I injected him. Should I be concerned about keotones in his urine? I think I might try a home test kit today. He drinks a lot and pees a lot.
 
Aside from being a regular pin cushion, he is a otherwise very happy and really not acting abnormal at all. He is a little slow to eat in the am but his appetite is normal.
 
A ketone test is always wise. Just another tool in your toolbox.

There is no reason to have the curve done at the vet. If I were you, I would tell your vet that you will be glad to do the curve at home and send him the results. The possibility of vet stress raising the glucose levels artifically can make it a complete waste of money. It is hard to go against your vet. It was easier to me when I realized I was the one that cared most about my cat and could be his best and only advocate, and that I was the customer. Just politely decline and offer to do the work for him at home. :-D
 
My two cents- I would do the curve at home and save your money. Vet curves can be misleading because of the stress Sue mentioned.

The one time I tested Sneakers before an after the vet she was 100 pts higher after the vet- not something you would want to base your dosing on at all.
 
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