Lola - New Thread

Elohelay

Elohelay

Member Since 2025
Previous (Intro) thread.

We’re pretty new at this, so I want to make sure we’re okay.

My Lola tested at
115 for AMPS - no insulin given
117 at +1
81 at +4

I just gave her a can of FF Classic Pate Chicken Feast. Is there anything else I need to be doing/watching for? Do I need to do hourly spot checks or is 2 or 3 hrs okay?
 
Last edited:
If you did not give insulin you really don’t have to worry. But yes check her to see if she stays in the normal range.
I see she was only diagnosed about 10 days ago. Was she on any meds at that time like perhaps a steroid that she is no longer taking?
 
Lisa and little said:
If you did not give insulin you really don’t have to worry. But yes check her to see if she stays in the normal range.
I see she was only diagnosed about 10 days ago. Was she on any meds at that time like perhaps a steroid that she is no longer taking?
Click to expand...
She is tapering off Prednisone 5mg. She has a few pills left in her every other day taper.
 
Lisa and little said:
A steroid can induce high BG #s. How long has she been on ?
Click to expand...
She did her first round in Sept to bring her platelet numbers up. Her current round started 12/10/25.

Her platelet counts:
early Sept 2025: 34 (began round 1 of steroids)
Late Sept: 294
Oct: 291
Nov: 152
Dec 10th: 91 (begin current round of steroids)
Dec 23: 374
Dec 24: 493
Dec 25: 446
Dec 26: 335
 
It would be helpful to know how she is doing with the skipped shot today so if you can get a few more tests before PMPS, it would help me.
 
Elohelay said:
She did her first round in Sept to bring her platelet numbers up. Her current round started 12/10/25.

Her platelet counts:
early Sept 2025: 34 (began round 1 of steroids)
Late Sept: 294
Oct: 291
Nov: 152
Dec 10th: 91 (begin current round of steroids)
Dec 23: 374
Dec 24: 493
Dec 25: 446
Dec 26: 335
Click to expand...
I thought you said she was off the steroid at this point? Or am I mixing you up with someone else… no… you were going to start Atopica as I recall. We talked about it.
 
If she is still taking Pred, then add that to your signature. If she has stopped at this point then don’t add it to your signature. If/when you begin Atopica, add that to her signature and any other medications she is taking.
 
Please reduce Lola’s dose to .25 units for tonight (assuming she is high enough to give insulin) and this will be her new dose going forward (unless she earns another reduction.) Let’s try to get a test two hours prior to her shot time so we can have a heads up on PMPS.
 
Elohelay said:
Just took a +7 BG. She’s at 190.
Click to expand...
Okay so she is going up. That’s good to know. You can give her a break until PMPS if you would like to.
Still, she has earned a reduction today even with no insulin given so her new dose is .25. I also feel much more comfortable with the reduced dose considering she is still in the process of being weaned off of the Pred. I take it today was not a Pred day? I didn’t see anything in the notes on your spreadsheet about whether it was given today or not.
 
Suzanne & Darcy said:
Okay so she is going up. That’s good to know. You can give her a break until PMPS if you would like to.
Still, she has earned a reduction today even with no insulin given so her new dose is .25. I also feel much more comfortable with the reduced dose considering she is still in the process of being weaned off of the Pred. I take it today was not a Pred day? I didn’t see anything in the notes on your spreadsheet about whether it was given today or not.
Click to expand...
She will get it tonight. Her previous dose was 1/2/25.
 
Hopefully you have the half unit markings on your syringes so you can eyeball about halfway between the zero mark and the half unit mark.

How is Lola feeling today?
 
Suzanne & Darcy said:
Hopefully you have the half unit markings on your syringes so you can eyeball about halfway between the zero mark and the half unit mark.

How is Lola feeling today?
Click to expand...
Unfortunately I don’t have half unit markings. I’ll have to figure something out.
 
New dose was supposed to be .25 units as per my earlier posts and explanations as to why.

Doses are based on the nadir and not the pre-shot numbers. That is so you don’t risk her going hypo.
 
I used to buy these from Amazon
1767621797206.png
 
Elohelay said:
I did give less, but I don’t have the half-unit markings so I can’t be sure. It was just easier to put .5 in the spreadsheet.
Click to expand...
I don’t even know how you were measuring the half unit without the half unit marks. It’s hard to know you are getting the same dose each time. That’s tricky. You could put .5 S (which means a skinny .5 dose … so less than .5)
 
Hello!

So, I felt like I had a good handle on things. I got new syringes with the half unit marks. Lola is tolerating the ear pokes, and I'm checking as frequently as I'm able. She is also eating many small meals and has gained a little over a pound! 🎉

BUT, yesterday her +4 at about 11 PM was 107 and I freaked out a little bit. I worried that she may go too low and gave her about 1 tsp of a gravy FF. I realize I may have freaked out and overcorrected, but my brain immediately went to, "what if she goes too low and I'm asleep?!" I set an alarm and woke up to test her again at +6 (1 AM) and she was at 201.

I'm thinking now that I made a mistake in giving her the FF gravy. What *should* I do in the future if I get a reading in the 90s -110s?
 
Yes. That definitely was not the right way to handle it. A 107 is an excellent number in the normal healthy range for a cat. What you should do is give her a small meal of her regular low carb food. That is usually all that is required to stabilize the BG. I do understand because it was at night and you freaked out a bit. If you have an automatic feeder you can set it to dispense snacks during the evening. What time do you usually go to bed (I mean how many hours after her shot?)

We don’t recommend feeding high carb food unless the cat is below 50 (or possibly really close to 50 if it’s really early in the cycle like +2 or +3.)

You will be surprised how feeding a small amount of the regular low carb diet stabilizes the numbers.

It sounds like you are already giving the +2 and +4 snacks during the day? Any others?
 
Suzanne & Darcy said:
Yes. That definitely was not the right way to handle it. A 107 is an excellent number in the normal healthy range for a cat. What you should do is give her a small meal of her regular low carb food. That is usually all that is required to stabilize the BG. I do understand because it was at night and you freaked out a bit. If you have an automatic feeder you can set it to dispense snacks during the evening. What time do you usually go to bed (I mean how many hours after her shot?)
Click to expand...
Thank you. This is why I'm glad I asked, even if it was after the fact. Now I know for next time. We usually try to wind down at +2 of her nightly shot and hope to be asleep by +3.
Suzanne & Darcy said:
We don’t recommend feeding high carb food unless the cat is below 50 (or possibly really close to 50 if it’s really early in the cycle like +2 or +3.)
Click to expand...
Noted. How likely is it to drop from 100-ish to the 50s? Is there any reasoning behind it or does it just happen?

Suzanne & Darcy said:
You will be surprised how feeding a small amount of the regular low carb diet stabilizes the numbers.

It sounds like you are already giving the +2 and +4 snacks during the day? Any others?
Click to expand...
AM: I give a food with the AMPS, +2 (sometimes +3 if I'm running late), +5, and a +8.5 for the last snack before PMPS.
PM: I give food with the PMPS and +2

They're not full meals by any means, it may be like 1/4 - 1/2 a can of canned food or a tablespoon of Dr. Elsey's.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top