Introducing Mitty!

Status
Not open for further replies.
MittysMommy

MittysMommy

Member Since 2013
Greetings to all! I'd like to introduce myself and my man MItty. (No, he's not named after a former presidential candidate! :lol: )

We've just gotten home from receiving our first injection of insulin. Mitty has been diabetic for a while, but we tried to manage with a homemade cat food regimen for a while, but he grew tired of it. Now we've jumped on the insulin train and tonight we've started him with 2 units. Last week, when I first took him to the vet, his BG was 537. Since then, I've changed his diet to the low carb Friskies pate, and just since doing that I noticed his peeing decreased considerably. Next week we'll do a curve check.

I wanted to thank everybody who participates on this board for your invaluable advice and experience. Already I've spent a lot of time here and learned a lot. I'm just looking forward to getting the boy feeling better and getting back to his energetic self. I'm still researching the glucose meters because I really want to stay on top of that.

I'll keep you posted on our progress as we get the Mitty-man regulated!

Sincerely,

Alice & MItty
 
Hello alice and Mitty (lol)

Are you home testing? It's safer for Mitt (keeps watch for hypos) and will give you a much better idea or what's going on.. And is more accurate than curves at the vet which are inflated due to the stress a cat feels at the vet.

I would strongly recommend it.
Wendy
 
Hi Wendy!

I will be home testing just as soon as I get a meter! I'm reading up on those now and hope to pick one up tomorrow!
 
Welcome Mitty and Mitty's Mom!

This is a great place, isn't it?! Good luck with the insulin -- it is rewarding when you see that your cat is feeling better -- keep working toward that! I originally thought my cat was just getting older, more tired, etc., but now that he's feeling better, he has a lot of playfulness left in him!

And I definitely second the suggestion that Wendy made -- skip the lancets that come with the WalMart meters -- they're too small for beginners. Get the larger ones (28 or 29) and save yourself a lot of frustration!

Let us know when you're up and testing -- and if you need anything in the mean time!
Sarah and Jackson
 
Welcome Alice and extra sweet Mitty!

I 'third' the PLEASE TEST! I use the ReliOn Confirm - the one that's about $16, they didn't have the Prime when I got ours. I can buy 100 strips for $36.

I 'fourth' the PLEASE TEST too because if I hadn't tested YESTERDAY and had shot his regular dose, I wouldn't HAVE my cat today. We've been doing this dance for over 1 1/2 years and this STILL happens. I get REALLY REALLY scared when I see people giving insulin without testing - humans would NEVER do it, our fuzzy feetz are no different.

CHEERS to your getting one TOMORROW!!! No your cat's not going to hate you, no he's not going to pack his bags, no it doesn't stress him and yes he'll soon come TO you when he hears sounds of case/strips/meter beep...'cos it means TREATS too! Don't forget those. It doesn't have to be a food, it can be special brushing, cuddling whatever is a treat to Mitty!!!

BIG HUGS!!!! Glad you found us!!!
 
I agree. Testing is pretty easy with a little practice. Treats are a must for us. Chester knows the phrase "Test and Treat!" and he will come and wait for me to get everything ready. He's such a good boy...I freehand the testing lancet. The clicker thing was hard to get used to and the "Click" in his ear bothered Chester. Big lancets (28 gauge) virtually guarantee a blood drop for us. It doesn't hurt much (I've stuck myself a few times on accident) and it's all over so quickly. Just breathe and don't let yourself get too flustered.

Home testing is probably one of the most important things I can do while giving insulin to make sure my boy is safe. I have an Arkray Vital meter from American Diabetes Wholesale. Strips are cheap and shipping is really fast. One of the better online shopping experiences I've had, really.
 
what kind of insulin are you using?
how often are you dosing?

Normally, we suggest a lower starting dose of 1 unit or even 1/2 unit. Why, because it is hard to determine what the cat really needs and if the dose is based off a test done at the vet, the test could be skewed by 100 points or more, due to vet stress (white coat syndrome).

Starting with the start low, go slow approach is the best way to find the ideal dose for the cat. You can always give more insulin, but you cannot remove it, once it is given. Since you are not yet home testing, you are shooting blindly and will have no way of knowing if the insulin is too much and the cat hypos.

If you are able to get a meter today, that would be the best thing you can do. You can pick them up inexpensively at Walmart (relion brand) and Target (up & up brand).
 
Thank you everyone! You are all so lovely and gracious!

I'm heading out right now to pick up a meter at Wally World and I appreciate the tips (ha! no pun intended) on the lancets.

Poor Mitty Man! This morning I didn't do such a great job with our first unsupervised injection, but I got it on the 2nd go round, and yes, I used a different syringe. Hopefully this evening I'll have a steadier hand.

We started out with 2 units which I thought was too high. I'm not quite sure of the confidence I have in our vet at this point. Do you think we should go down to 1 unit? I sure don't want to have a bad episode. I asked her last night if she thought she should take another glucose level, but she deemed it unnecessary.

I have a meeting to attend the evening, but when I get home with the new meter, I'll give it a go and see if I can get a reading on the Mitty Man.

Again, thank you all for your tips!
 
hi Alice

when you say you got it in at the 2nd attempt, did you get any in at the first? Even get the syringe in at all?
If so, really try to test Mitty as soon as you can as its possible some went in from the first shot and so he could have had an extra dose. Hoping that's not the case.

We all screw up the shot sometimes - it just happens. We put that down as a 'fur shot' and don't give another until next shot time - just in case!

Let us know if you need any help with testing/shots - its tricky at first but does get easier.

Denise
 
hi Alice

when you say you got it in at the 2nd attempt, did you get any in at the first? Even get the syringe in at all?
If so, really try to test Mitty as soon as you can as its possible some went in from the first shot and so he could have had an extra dose. Hoping that's not the case.

We all screw up the shot sometimes - it just happens. We put that down as a 'fur shot' and don't give another until next shot time - just in case!

Let us know if you need any help with testing/shots - its tricky at first but does get easier.

Denise
 
Denise,
I did not get anything in him with the first prick. He was like "Oh hale no, I'm outta here." But tonight went much more smoothly.

I am keeping an eye on things tonight and unfortunately did not make it by Walmart to pick up the glucose meter. My meeting ran long and then I needed to scoot home to get Mitty's 2nd dose of the day done. First thing in the morning I'm off to pick up everything for the testing.

Thank you all again! :smile:
 
Welcome! :YMHUG:

It's great that you've found this place and are getting started on home testing with Mitty.

MittysMommy said:
Denise,
I did not get anything in him with the first prick. He was like "Oh hale no, I'm outta here." But tonight went much more smoothly.
Click to expand...

:lol: My cat does that sometimes as well. One thing that works really well (most of the time) is that I try shooting him while he's distracted eating.

Hillary & Maui said:
Normally, we suggest a lower starting dose of 1 unit or even 1/2 unit. Why, because it is hard to determine what the cat really needs and if the dose is based off a test done at the vet, the test could be skewed by 100 points or more, due to vet stress (white coat syndrome).

Starting with the start low, go slow approach is the best way to find the ideal dose for the cat. You can always give more insulin, but you cannot remove it, once it is given. Since you are not yet home testing, you are shooting blindly and will have no way of knowing if the insulin is too much and the cat hypos.
Click to expand...

I second Hillary's recommendation, especially because you've also switched your cat to low carb food, which can also lower BG by as much as 100 points or more and you're not yet testing. There's a saying around here: "Better high for a day than low for a minute."
 
Re: Introducing Mitty! Got the BG finally!

My poor boy --- I must say he's quite a trooper. I couldn't get the BG before he ate because he was getting upset, so I fed him, gave him his shot, let him digest and calm down, then reattempted the stick for the BG. After quite a bit of buffoonery and what I'm sure were some not so successful and slightly painful stabs at his ear (yes, I did the warm rice thing, the massage thing, etc), I finally got a wee drop of blood. Bless his little heart. It was 347. Which is considerably better than the 500-someodd it was at the vet week before last.

So, we've only been doing the insulin for 48 hours now, and I know it's going to take a bit to get in the groove. Now I need to read up on using the ketone strips!

Thanks again to all.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top