SierraNevadan
Member Since 2013
Hello again.
In 2013 I used the help on this forum to get my diabetic cat Fat Louie off of insulin. Just by changing her diet to very low carb wet and home testing she was only on Novalin N for 3 weeks. And she has been fine ever since, 7-1/2 years in remission! I am eternally grateful for the help here and that she is a great cat and will eat anything that's put in front of her.
I just found out another of my cats, Spider (7 yr old neutered male) has diabetes. He is my only hardcore dry food eater (though he ate wet as a kitten.)
Within about a 3-day period he suddenly became lethargic, not interested in food and I tested his blood sugar out of curiosity and it was 242 on the Relion Premier Classic which alarmed me because he seemingly had no obvious diabetes symptoms-- he's been healthy and it was my first time testing him. Looking back at my records, he has lost 12 oz in the past 2-1/2 yrs, but I haven't noticed any excessive hunger, thirst or large urine clumps. I'm aware that stress, other illnesses, dental problems can cause bumped up glucose numbers. I feel horrible that I missed this.
Vet on Thurs confirmed diabetes and ketones after blood work and x-rays to check for a blockage etc.
They wanted to keep him for a few nights get him started on insulin and get the ketones down.
At his Fri AM update, they revealed they couldn't get him to eat, and they wanted to start glucose and insulin IV. I dropped off some food from home.
On Saturday AM. they revealed his glucose was down to 70, his ketones were way down he was more alert, but he was stressed, trying to hide in his compartment. They put up a curtain for privacy but he was just not eating anything. They wanted me to take him home Saturday eve and see if I could get him to eat. then bring them back Sunday AM for a recheck.
Before we left the vet, he had 2U ProZinc around 4:00 p.m and we were also given an appetite stimulant. We discussed different insulins, vet likes Lantus a lot, but they don't keep it in house, and since Spider had already started on Prozinc, I agreed to stay with that. I'll also say that in the course of his visits over the past 4 days he was treated by 3 different vets at the clinic!
At home, he ate some kibble almost immediately. I was able to ck ketones and they ranged between trace to small on the stick. He continued to eat a bit here and there throughout the night about a half a cup in total.
Sunday morning I tested him about 6:00 a.m. (+14) and he was 252. Back to the vet for his retest and to pick up our insulin and syringes.
At the vet about 10:00 a.m. (+18) he was 430 on their meter. He got 2U ProZinc, and back home. They thought that was a good amount to keep him at for the first week, concentrate on getting him eating. They knew I home tested and didn't have any objections whatsoever to that.
Info about our first disappointing home cycles in my next post on the PZI section.
In 2013 I used the help on this forum to get my diabetic cat Fat Louie off of insulin. Just by changing her diet to very low carb wet and home testing she was only on Novalin N for 3 weeks. And she has been fine ever since, 7-1/2 years in remission! I am eternally grateful for the help here and that she is a great cat and will eat anything that's put in front of her.
I just found out another of my cats, Spider (7 yr old neutered male) has diabetes. He is my only hardcore dry food eater (though he ate wet as a kitten.)
Within about a 3-day period he suddenly became lethargic, not interested in food and I tested his blood sugar out of curiosity and it was 242 on the Relion Premier Classic which alarmed me because he seemingly had no obvious diabetes symptoms-- he's been healthy and it was my first time testing him. Looking back at my records, he has lost 12 oz in the past 2-1/2 yrs, but I haven't noticed any excessive hunger, thirst or large urine clumps. I'm aware that stress, other illnesses, dental problems can cause bumped up glucose numbers. I feel horrible that I missed this.
Vet on Thurs confirmed diabetes and ketones after blood work and x-rays to check for a blockage etc.
They wanted to keep him for a few nights get him started on insulin and get the ketones down.
At his Fri AM update, they revealed they couldn't get him to eat, and they wanted to start glucose and insulin IV. I dropped off some food from home.
On Saturday AM. they revealed his glucose was down to 70, his ketones were way down he was more alert, but he was stressed, trying to hide in his compartment. They put up a curtain for privacy but he was just not eating anything. They wanted me to take him home Saturday eve and see if I could get him to eat. then bring them back Sunday AM for a recheck.
Before we left the vet, he had 2U ProZinc around 4:00 p.m and we were also given an appetite stimulant. We discussed different insulins, vet likes Lantus a lot, but they don't keep it in house, and since Spider had already started on Prozinc, I agreed to stay with that. I'll also say that in the course of his visits over the past 4 days he was treated by 3 different vets at the clinic!
At home, he ate some kibble almost immediately. I was able to ck ketones and they ranged between trace to small on the stick. He continued to eat a bit here and there throughout the night about a half a cup in total.
Sunday morning I tested him about 6:00 a.m. (+14) and he was 252. Back to the vet for his retest and to pick up our insulin and syringes.
At the vet about 10:00 a.m. (+18) he was 430 on their meter. He got 2U ProZinc, and back home. They thought that was a good amount to keep him at for the first week, concentrate on getting him eating. They knew I home tested and didn't have any objections whatsoever to that.
Info about our first disappointing home cycles in my next post on the PZI section.
