just found out my blacky has diabetis
- Thread starter Gilda
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Cat Ma
Member Since 2015
Hi and welcome to FDMB!
What insulin is Blacky on and how many units?
Are you testing Blacky's BG (blood glucose) numbers at home?
What food are you feeding Blacky?
Does Blacky have any other medical issues besides diabetes?
By getting more information, we'll be able to better assist you.
What insulin is Blacky on and how many units?
Are you testing Blacky's BG (blood glucose) numbers at home?
What food are you feeding Blacky?
Does Blacky have any other medical issues besides diabetes?
By getting more information, we'll be able to better assist you.
Gilda
Member Since 2015
He is taking lantus twice a day 3 units his gluco levels came down from 28 to 20 he is on a prescription diet , he went in to have dental surgery this is how i found out that he had diabetes
Cat Ma
Member Since 2015
Which prescription diet is Blacky on?
Are you using a glucometer to test Blacky's glucose numbers at home? You are in Australia, correct?
Glucose levels tend to be higher at the vet, especially with a stressed cat. That's why home testing is important.
We have an excellent Lantus forum with expert members to help assist you with Lantus-related questions such as dosing here: http://www.felinediabetes.com/FDMB/forums/lantus-glargine-levemir-detemir.9/
It will help if you can add the following information to your signature line: Name of cat, date diagnosed, insulin, units, food feeding, meter using, and any other medical conditions, if applicable. If you are from Australia, it will also help to put that in your signature line.
To add this information to your signature line, click on your profile then click on Signature, add the information, and click on Save.
Are you using a glucometer to test Blacky's glucose numbers at home? You are in Australia, correct?
Glucose levels tend to be higher at the vet, especially with a stressed cat. That's why home testing is important.
We have an excellent Lantus forum with expert members to help assist you with Lantus-related questions such as dosing here: http://www.felinediabetes.com/FDMB/forums/lantus-glargine-levemir-detemir.9/
It will help if you can add the following information to your signature line: Name of cat, date diagnosed, insulin, units, food feeding, meter using, and any other medical conditions, if applicable. If you are from Australia, it will also help to put that in your signature line.
To add this information to your signature line, click on your profile then click on Signature, add the information, and click on Save.
Gilda
Member Since 2015
He doesnt have a infection but needs to have 2 of his teeth removed to avoid it, we started with 2 units twice daily the last glucose check i was told to increase it to 3 because of his size and weight.
we have a check up again on the 9th of this month to see how this has worked. The vets told me that ones he gets down to a exeptable level they will then remove those bad teeth.
Bron and Sheba (GA)
Member Since 2015
Hi,
Welcome to FDMB ....I live in Sydney too.
You have come to the best place possible for your cat..
I am a bit confused, is your cat called Blackie or Skrinkle?
I agree with BJM .....you might need to get the teeth fixed because they could be the reason the glucose is staying high. A bit hard I know when the vet wants to wait until the blood glucose drops....but it could be the cause.....
I would highly recommend you do home testing of the blood glucose levels......it is not hard....just a matter of learning to do it. It is much better for your kitty....takes all the guess work out of it. As Cat Ma says, cats get very stressed at the vets and their numbers are higher there......even if you think your cat is fine....he is probably stressed.......they are very good at hiding things. A good glucose monitor to get out here in Aust is the Abbott Freestyle Optium. It costs about $40 or45 dollars at the chemist. You might have to shop around to find a chemist that sells it. There are many monitor on the market but you need to make sure you get one that is reliable and the test strips for it are easy to get and not too expensive.
Re his sleepiness......Is he a bit deyhdrated do you think? Pull up his skin on the scruff of the neck? Does it fall back easily or does it stay there? Also check his mouth...are his gums nice and moist or tacky?
Have a look at BJM's Secondary Monitoring Tools which are at the bottom of her condo in the signature line.
I have just noticed that the vet has recommended Hill MD dry food..........the dry food is too high in carbohydrates....it is about 15% and could be part of the reason he is staying so high. Diabetic cats need low carb....under 10% carbs.......and moist food.....so canned food.
However now that you have started the insulin and the dry food, it is going to be harder to swap over to the canned food....the reason being that the blood sugars could drop A LOT when you change over from dry to moist food. And we need to get him down safely and avoid it going too low. That is why it must be done slowly and only while monitoring.
Don't try and do it without testing the blood sugars. It could be dangerous especially with his insulin already increased.
What you need to do first of all is buy a glucose monitor and start testing. Then we can start the transition over to the correct moist canned food slowly and safely. It will make a difference in his numbers!
It is great you are treating your kitty....he is a lucky boy........there are just a few more things you can do to help him.
Ask lots of questions and good luck
Welcome to FDMB ....I live in Sydney too.
You have come to the best place possible for your cat..
I am a bit confused, is your cat called Blackie or Skrinkle?
I agree with BJM .....you might need to get the teeth fixed because they could be the reason the glucose is staying high. A bit hard I know when the vet wants to wait until the blood glucose drops....but it could be the cause.....
I would highly recommend you do home testing of the blood glucose levels......it is not hard....just a matter of learning to do it. It is much better for your kitty....takes all the guess work out of it. As Cat Ma says, cats get very stressed at the vets and their numbers are higher there......even if you think your cat is fine....he is probably stressed.......they are very good at hiding things. A good glucose monitor to get out here in Aust is the Abbott Freestyle Optium. It costs about $40 or45 dollars at the chemist. You might have to shop around to find a chemist that sells it. There are many monitor on the market but you need to make sure you get one that is reliable and the test strips for it are easy to get and not too expensive.
Re his sleepiness......Is he a bit deyhdrated do you think? Pull up his skin on the scruff of the neck? Does it fall back easily or does it stay there? Also check his mouth...are his gums nice and moist or tacky?
Have a look at BJM's Secondary Monitoring Tools which are at the bottom of her condo in the signature line.
I have just noticed that the vet has recommended Hill MD dry food..........the dry food is too high in carbohydrates....it is about 15% and could be part of the reason he is staying so high. Diabetic cats need low carb....under 10% carbs.......and moist food.....so canned food.
However now that you have started the insulin and the dry food, it is going to be harder to swap over to the canned food....the reason being that the blood sugars could drop A LOT when you change over from dry to moist food. And we need to get him down safely and avoid it going too low. That is why it must be done slowly and only while monitoring.
Don't try and do it without testing the blood sugars. It could be dangerous especially with his insulin already increased.
What you need to do first of all is buy a glucose monitor and start testing. Then we can start the transition over to the correct moist canned food slowly and safely. It will make a difference in his numbers!
It is great you are treating your kitty....he is a lucky boy........there are just a few more things you can do to help him.
Ask lots of questions and good luck
Gilda
Member Since 2015
Thank you for your feedback i really appreciated a lot
Gilda
Member Since 2015
His Name is Skrinkle but he answers to blacky also and talk back all the time
)
Bron and Sheba (GA)
Member Since 2015
You can definitely treat your cat yourself.!!!!
The blood is drawn from the ear.....just a drop, you don't have to go into a vein.
I can't add more at the moment as I am caught up with dinner for the family and giving my cat insulin etc, but I will get back to you a bit later this evening....sorry.
Really pleased you are going to test the blood sugars!
The blood is drawn from the ear.....just a drop, you don't have to go into a vein.
I can't add more at the moment as I am caught up with dinner for the family and giving my cat insulin etc, but I will get back to you a bit later this evening....sorry.
Really pleased you are going to test the blood sugars!
Bron and Sheba (GA)
Member Since 2015
Below are some links for you to read about testing the blood sugar with blood from the ear. The first three are pictures to show the area you will be getting the blood from and the last one has lots of links with ideas and suggestions. All well worth reading.
First of all try the monitor on your self to get the gist of it all.
It is going to take up to two weeks for you to be really comfortable with it all and for the ears to bleed properly.
It can be frustrating but I promise you, you will get there.
Find a spot in your house where you will test Blackie and always use this spot. He will learn to associate this spot with a treat. I always give Sheba something tiny to eat while I am doing the test to distract her....others wait til they finish.
Start off by just rubbing his ears and then give him a low carb treat like a bit of chicken or meat.
You may need to warm his ears to get the blood flowing. An old sock with rice in it warmed in the microwave does the trick. Try and remain relaxed( sometimes hard) and always reward Blackie even it the test was unsuccessful.
What we do on FDMB is we test, then feed then give the insulin, all within a quarter of an hour if possible.
Anyway first of all you need to concentrate on learning to do the blood sugars.
Try not to feel disheartened if it doesn't work the first few times......remember that happened to all of us!
Keep posting and asking questions
Good luck!!
Looking forward to hearing how you go with it allhere are the pictures and the links
http://s196.photobucket.com/user/dannylaur/media/Testing/Dannysears6-6-09.jpg.html
http://s196.photobucket.com/user/dannylaur/media/Testing/Dannysear6-6-09.jpg.html
http://s106.photobucket.com/user/chupie_2006/media/testingear/sweetspot.jpg.html
http://www.felinediabetes.com/FDMB/threads/hometesting-links-and-tips.287/
First of all try the monitor on your self to get the gist of it all.
It is going to take up to two weeks for you to be really comfortable with it all and for the ears to bleed properly.
It can be frustrating but I promise you, you will get there.
Find a spot in your house where you will test Blackie and always use this spot. He will learn to associate this spot with a treat. I always give Sheba something tiny to eat while I am doing the test to distract her....others wait til they finish.
Start off by just rubbing his ears and then give him a low carb treat like a bit of chicken or meat.
You may need to warm his ears to get the blood flowing. An old sock with rice in it warmed in the microwave does the trick. Try and remain relaxed( sometimes hard) and always reward Blackie even it the test was unsuccessful.
What we do on FDMB is we test, then feed then give the insulin, all within a quarter of an hour if possible.
Anyway first of all you need to concentrate on learning to do the blood sugars.
Try not to feel disheartened if it doesn't work the first few times......remember that happened to all of us!
Keep posting and asking questions
Good luck!!
Looking forward to hearing how you go with it allhere are the pictures and the links
http://s196.photobucket.com/user/dannylaur/media/Testing/Dannysears6-6-09.jpg.html
http://s196.photobucket.com/user/dannylaur/media/Testing/Dannysear6-6-09.jpg.html
http://s106.photobucket.com/user/chupie_2006/media/testingear/sweetspot.jpg.html
http://www.felinediabetes.com/FDMB/threads/hometesting-links-and-tips.287/
Gilda
Member Since 2015
thank you will pick up this gadget today and keep you updated, apologies for not responding sooner had some computer issues (Windows10) playing up.
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