Is my cat in remission?

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Meogden

Member Since 2015
My cat was diagnosed with diabetes about 4 months ago. I was fortunate enough to find the catinfo.org website by Lisa Pierson that mentioned your message board which has been a tremendous wealth of knowledge!! I believe my cat (Kitty Boy) may now be in remission, but fear now that his numbers are going to low. I have not given him a shot in 3 days now. His numbers the first day I did not give a shot were between 115-120 and have since kept dropping. This morning he was at 87. Is this too low? and if so what should I do? again he has not had any insulin in 3 days.

Thank you!!
 
The 87 is not to low. I'm not experienced enough to answer your question. I sure hope he is or least giving it a good try.
 
87 is a non-diabetic BG. My Dulce was only on insulin for a month and not his BG are typically between 70 and 90. I test about once a month.
 
Meogden said:
This morning he was at 87. Is this too low? and if so what should I do? again he has not had any insulin in 3 days.
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87 is a perfectly healthy number for a kitty. Since he has not had any insulin in 3 days you do not have to worry about a hypo episode. You should continue testing several times a day..for instance before breakfast and at mid morning and same in the evening to see if he holds these ranges
 
There is a write-up for trying OTJ trials, but I can't find it right now. (been here over a year and still get lost :( ) Hopefully someone else can post the link. It gives you a guideline for testing etc when taking your kitty off of insulin
 
OTJ Trial Instructions
Here are the OTJ trial instructions so you have the info:

Start the trial on the next green pre shot.

If he/she is green at your normal test times, no need to test further until the next "PS" time; just feed small meals and go about your day. If he/she is blue at your normal "PS", feed a small meal and test again after about 3 or 4 hours. If his/her number is lower 3-4 hours after a meal, then the pancreas is working!

Post every day so we can monitor your progress and see if any tweaks are needed. He/she may have a sporadic blue number. Don't panic but post before you decide whether to shoot so we can have a discussion.

After 14 days of no insulin, we have a party!!

Sometimes the trial doesn't work the first time and we have to give a little more support in the form of resuming insulin. It's not the end of the world if that happens; we just give him/her the support needed. Our goal is a strong remission and it's better to take our time to get that than to rush into remission just to have it fail later on.

Good luck with the trial!!!
Once he/she is through the trial successfully, you enter a new phase. Your cat is still diabetic but has now become diet-controlled. Continue feeding low carb food in the manner successful for your kitty. If you decide to change his/her feeding schedule, let your meter be your guide to the best times to feed. Avoid medications with sugar in them and steroid medications unless they are medically essential. Continue testing blood glucose weekly for the first month and then monthly forever. It's a good idea to weigh him/her monthly. Weight should remain stable. If he/she seems "off" or sick, or is showing signs of diabetes (excessive drinking, eating, urinating, weight loss), test his/her blood glucose right away. Keep the teeth and gums clean and healthy; dental issues can bring a cat out of remission. If you see rising blood glucose numbers, it's time for a visit to the vet!
 
Merlin I am not familiar with the terms you are using. I am assuming green means good? what does PS time mean? sorry I am a newbie :) I am so very thankful to you all for your wealth of information that I did not get from the vet. He told me it was not possible to get blood from a cats ear, but after reading here I knew it was possible. I know there have been times that had I not been testing I could have potentially killed him by giving him is normal dose of insulin. I am truly grateful for the wealth of information you have given me that has allowed me to take care of "my family member".
 
Whoops sorry. PS means pre-shot and OTJ means off the juice. Hopefully everything else made sense. Greens are good because it is in a cat's normal range (under 100). On our spreadsheets, number 99 and below show up green. Please continue to test for two weeks to make sure the numbers are in the normal range and does not need insulin. Sometimes, kitties that are near remission need a little boost of insulin every now and then. Holler if you have any questions.
 
We have a spreadsheet that's color coded that we use here .....when the blood glucose numbers are between 50-99, the color is green..which is perfect!!!

PS means "Pre-Shot"...the test we always get before shooting insulin to make sure they're high enough to give it at all

For a cat to be considered "In remission", we want their blood glucose to stay mostly in that 50-99 range for 2 weeks with only occasionally going above to 120

Normal blood glucose for cats is 40-120 but when they're on insulin, we don't like them dropping below 50 because it doesn't leave any "safety net"
 
Understanding the spreadsheet/grid:

The colored headings at the top are the ranges of glucose values. They are color-coded to clue you in as to meaning.

Each day is 1 row. Each column stores different data for the day.

From left to right, you enter
the Date in the first column
the AMPS (morning, pre-shot, test) in the 2nd column
the Units given (turquoise column)

Then, there are 11 columns labeled +1 through +11
If you test at +5 (5 hours after the shot), you enter the test number in the +5 column
If you test at +7 (7 hours after the shot), you enter the test number in the +7 column
and so on.

Halfway across the page is the column for PMPS (evening, pre-shot, test)
To the right is another turquoise column for Units given at the evening shot.

There is second set of columns labeled +1 through +11
If you snag a before bed test at +3, you enter the test number in the +3 column.

We separate day and night numbers like that because many cats go lower at night.

The nadir is the lowest glucose between shots. There is a general period when it will happen which is specific to the insulin being used and testing then helps make sure your cat doesn't go too low.

It is merely a grid for storing the info; no math required.
 
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