Introducing Blaze

[Theresa Shaw]

We are new to having a cat with diabetes. Blaze was diagnosed with stomatitis and has had 3 Depo injections, the last being on 7/13/19 which lead us to taking him to the ER on 7/21/19 and he was diagnosed with diabetes. We are having trouble understanding how much food he to needs to eat before he gets his injection. Our cats, there are 20, eat strictly dry and are free grazers. We have since switched Blaze to Fancy Feast pate which he likes. Our issue is the vet wants him to eat a 3oz can or half a 6oz can of W/D before his 7am and 7pm injections. We can not get him to eat that much food in one meal, period. The vet said to then just give him 1 unit instead of 2 if he eats at least 3/4 of the food. He refused to eat this morning so we took him to our regular vet and his BG was 134. We will be unable to monitor his BG at home because he FIGHTS having hands near his face. Today they tried to get the blood from his paws with no luck so the blood was taken from his leg. Ear pricks will be a no go obviously. Basically I am trying to understand that if we are only able to give him 1 unit all of the time will his diabetes be regulated.

 

[Idjit's mom]

Welcome Theresa and Blaze. I'm glad you found FDMB and hopefully we can help answer your questions about his diet, how much he needs to eat, and how much he is willing to eat at a time. Fancy Feast Classics and Friskies pates are all below 10% carb content, Hill's W/D is 25% carbs (Food Chart from www.catinfo.com) and is too high for a sugar cat.
Dr. Pierson from the catinfo website recommends " start with protein minimum of 40, fat maximum of 50, carb max of 10, and for cats with kidney issues....phos less than 300."
It's important to note, that changing from a higher carb food to a low carb food can significantly lower the BG, and you should be testing before doing so to prevent any hypoglycemic events. Especially in view of that 134 BG you got at the vet.

Most of us feed more frequent small meals to our diabetic cats, as unregulated diabetics can't utilize the food as well, and they are very hungry. With Lantus you do not have to have an entire meal on board before injecting because it does not cause a fast blood sugar drop.

Lantus is not dosed on a sliding scale, it works better used consistently, and depending on the lowest BG of the cycle between shots, then adjustment can be made by 0.25 U. Dosage is not based on pre-shot numbers.

It will be helpful for you to visit the Lantus forum HERE and read the yellow tagged stickies at the top of the page. This information will help you understand how Lantus works, as it's a depot insulin and works differently than the older insulins that have been used for dogs and cats. Many vets still provide instructions that would apply more to the older "in & out" insulins, particularly dosing and food requirements. It's so hard for our vets to address all the different pet types/breeds/issues that come to them, and keep up with all the new information too.

I'm sorry that you think home testing is not going to be something you will be able to do, and there may be some members that can also help with that. It's going to be very difficult for you to tell if it's safe to inject the insulin each time, as well as determine how well it's working for him. I am going to search out some information I remember reading from one of our members that was finally able to test a feral cat that didn't tolerate any human touch when he was diagnosed. I will be looking for that information and get it to you ASAP.

Ok, I found that in Djamila's signature, it's interesting reading
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1HXYL4-YAz6-yWNxEoqlRkp4aqJaAT6X_qYQ1ypgQpHw/edit

We do have some members that use the paw for testing and here is one YouTube video showing that. How to check your cat's blood sugar from their paw

 

[Sarah&Soph]

I really hope you will reconsider home testing. I felt the same way when I first started. My girl is a DEMON and would fight, bite, scratch, run, etc. every time. I thought there was no way I would ever be able to do it. But with lots of practice and good old operant conditioning I am now able to test her at least 3-4 times a day. She now comes running when she hears me open the test strips

It really is so important to test their blood sugar at home and before every injection. Not doing so nearly killed my girl and cost me over $1600 at the vet from a hypoglycemia incident

The w/d is really bad for diabetics so you would be better off sticking to only the fancy feast. It’s also not necessary to feed him quite that much at testing time, as long as he eats something and eats throughout the day. My girl only eats half of a 3oz can at insulin time and she’s on a harsher insulin where’s it’s more critical for her to eat, and she’s perfectly fine!

 

[Diane Tyler's Mom GA]

I totally agree with @Sarah&Soph , it's so crucial to test and she what his pre shot is before giving insulin.Try taking Blaze to the same spot and rub his ears so he gets used to it and then give him a treat. Eventually he will associate that with getting a treat. My cat only eats half a can of the 3 ounce Fancy feast chicken Pate. Like Sarah said if you don't know what his BG is before you shoot can be fatal

 

[Myrtlesmum]

One. step. at. a. time. People on this board are very passionate about cats and you will get a lot of "if you don't...you will kill your cat". My cat was VERY resistant to being tested at first (and still is sometimes). If you feel you aren't ready to try testing, maybe do lower the dose to 1 unit (or even less) twice a day - that will keep your cat safer, especially while you transition him to a wet food diet which will probably bring his blood sugar down a fair bit anyway. As Diane Tyler's Mom mentioned, as part of cuddles start to play and rub his ears so he gets used to having them handled and maybe eventually he will allow you to try testing. Personally - and this is just me - I don't like to take her to a particular spot if I can help it because then she associates that with having her ears pricked and will fight me on it. I tend to wait until she looks very comfortable wherever she is, pat her and before she suspects anything, I test (sometimes it's a bit hard on my back - you wouldn't believe the positions I sometimes find myself in ). Everybody is different, is in different circumstances and only capable of or willing to go so far - that's OK. Do your best, that is all you can do. Feel free to ask as many questions as you like here, take the advice you can use, discard what you can't. Most of us are non-judgemental and will just try to help. Even the judgy ones have the best intentions for your cat, but you have to look after yourself too. Wishing you all the best.

 

[Sharon14]

When diabetes is the result of steroid use, the blood glucose numbers can come down once the steroid is out of the cats system, especially if you change to a low carb food. If you’re certain that you can not test, I agree with Myrtlesmum that you keep the dose low and watch closely for hypos. Be sure to have some honey or karo as well as some high carb food available. Maybe pick up some urine test strips to check glucose that way. Since blood testing is the best method, do read the link Idjit’s mom posted on how @Djamila taught her kitty to accept it, and ask any questions you have. Another member with a kitty that was hard to test is @Robert Vittetoe

 

[Robert Vittetoe]

Yes I was very concerned when Pinot was diagnosed. I always said our worst nightmare would be having to give him medication on a regular basis. I have to put on motorcycle gloves just to corner him and get him into a carrier for vet visits. We are very fortunate that right now the total wet diet is controlling him. We did go through a few days of insulin and a few weeks of testing. Now I’m testing once a week and soon hope to go to once a month. I would have never believed we would be able to test him. Our one saving grace was he would get in on my lap when he wanted to. We were able to find a treat he really liked. We are using the Purely Fancy Feast Chicken treats. We started by just giving him a treat. It didn’t take long before he recognized the treat and would jump on my lap when he saw it. We spent a few days of just rubbing his ears and giving him the treat. It was a slow process but worked. Eventually we were able to prick his ear. We have to quickly get the blood on our fingernail and test from there. Some days I spent several hours trying to get a test but it slowly got easier. My hands would just shake trying to poke him. Most times I just have to poke completely through the ear to draw blood. He won’t stay still enough for a slight poke. Many times I got no blood and a few times hit the vein and got blood everywhere. I learned to wrap medical tape around my thumb and index finger to brace behind his ear so when I poked through his ear it wasn’t so bad on my fingers. It sure not easy and is a slow process but it worth giving it a shot. Hang in there and follow the great advice from the folks here. They are very experienced and a blessing to folks like me.

 

[Djamila]

Hi there, and welcome! You've had some good advice from everyone already, and the link to the process I took to test my wild child . If you decide to read that, you can skip the whole first part and just scroll down - the desensitization/testing process is the last section. Please feel free to ask any questions you have. We are all here to help!