Looking for reassurance

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Kris & Rasmus

Kris & Rasmus

Member Since 2019
'evening!

So, I'm the slave of Rasmus, a 12-year-old, part-Burmese neutered male. Yes, he ticks ALL the boxes for likelihood of developing diabetes, which he was diagnosed with a couple of weeks ago.

I, of course, panicked which in turn led me to this group and reading all the information I could get my hands on. Thank goodness you exist - you've been pivotal in getting to grips with this illness. Husband is away on a business trip for a couple of weeks, so I'm having to deal with this new situation mostly on my own. He (husband) doesn't do well with needles or blood so apart from the emotional support, he's not dealing with it the same way I am. Before he left, he had to give Rasmus a couple of the injections and got very woozy and had to sit down. Took and hour before he recuperated.

Anyhow. Injecting Rasmus is fairly painless and fine. I've mostly got that down. However, I've started to do home testing and he does not like it at all, at all, at all. I don't blame him. Who wants their ears pricked all the time by an incompetent owner/slave. He panics because I haven't gotten the hang of the testing quite yet as it appears I've been piercing his ears - poor thing!!! Stupid lancet device. I've changed it down to the middle setting now (3) after doing some rather painful testing on myself. Setting 5 does *not* feel like a mosquito bite. I'm hoping the readings will go down as they seem a little high.

When he was first diagnosed and went for the (very expensive) blood glucose curve at the vet, he was boarded or a couple of days. He's on Prozinc. He was so stressed and his coat looked rubbish when we got him back. BUT, he was on 1u and we were told to up it to 1.5u when we took him home. I didn't have a glucometer to begin with, so I was shooting blind. He seemed very "flat" and a bit lethargic, not our bouncy cuddly cat at all. I phoned the vets several times over the next few days because something was not right and you have to trust your instincts. They agreed for me to lower it back to 1u for the weekend and take him in for another (very expensive) bg curve on the Monday morning. We'd agreed to stay on 1u until I do a bg curve at home in a week's time. He seems like a totally different cat, back to his normal self.

BUT, his numbers seem a bit odd and high, right? I am putting some of that down to him being particularly displeased with me for a couple of days when I took the bg readings. I mean, stabbing his ears like that. My heart still breaks thinking about it. What setting do you people use on the alphatrack2 lancet device so you don't pierce your cat's ears?

Another thing that I've realised is that he is on Felix "As good as it looks" food which apparently can raise bg. He eats twice a day, before/with injection. 200g each time. I am trying to get him off the Felix as good as it looks but he does not want to eat the other food I bought him, the more expensive Simpsons Premium. I mean, even I think that new food smells good but he is not convinced. I will need to get him onto other pouchy foods.

He weighs 4 kgs and his weight hasn't gone down since we started on insulin (yes, I bought a set of baby scales for him). Hooray!

Yes, I've got aquarium gravel and keto-diastixs coming so I can check for ketones in case those numbers remain high. Just wasting for Amazon to deliver. I've got a hypo toolkit. As he has a bit of weaker hind legs, I've ordered some B12 methylcobalamin (Doctor's Best). He used to urinate a lot and drink a lot but seems to have reduced this week.

I *think* I'm doing OK and it will only get better from now on. But I would really like some reassurance. when can I expect for him to get more regulated and when will those readings drop? Maybe I need to up the dosage once I've done the bg curve. Is anyone around for some sound advise? I'd love to hear from you. Especially if you are offering reassurance :)

Again, thank you so much for all the information on this website and for the advice!

Best,
Kris
 
Hi Kris, just a very quick post from a blustery Surrey!
The board can be quite quiet at weekends, and remember also that the vast majority of members are in the US so in a different timezone to GMT.
You seem to be doing fine generally - it does take a while for any dose to settle, as the cat's system adjusts. There's no set time as to how long it takes, you just have to keep plugging away. Every cat will respond in a different way so there's no pat answer, unfortunately.
The more data you can collect the better, obviously. And when it comes to dosing, you may get more replies posting on the insulin-specific forum, in this case Prozinc.
Sorry can't write more at present.
Good luck!

Diana
 
Ok so defenetely change his diet. Have you seen the post of food recommended for diabetic cats?
Fluffy was very high when diagnosed but once her dry food was taken out and her diet changed to exclusive wet (fancy feast pate kind) it went down a lot!
The insulin takes her down 120-to 170 points, your kitty seems to go down about 100 when given the dose. Change the diet using the post about switching your cats food, at remember to test first, feed, shoot.
I would recommend checking how his glucose his at +4, and +7 for fluffy that is the time when she gets to be the lowest.
You are doing great! ;)
 
Athenaglaukopis said:
Ok so defenetely change his diet. Have you seen the post of food recommended for diabetic cats?
Fluffy was very high when diagnosed but once her dry food was taken out and her diet changed to exclusive wet (fancy feast pate kind) it went down a lot!
The insulin takes her down 120-to 170 points, your kitty seems to go down about 100 when given the dose. Change the diet using the post about switching your cats food, at remember to test first, feed, shoot.
I would recommend checking how his glucose his at +4, and +7 for fluffy that is the time when she gets to be the lowest.
You are doing great! ;)
Click to expand...

Thank you! Yes, he's on just wet food (has been for a couple of weeks now) but today I've also bought some new wet food for him as the previous brand contains "various sugars" and "vegetable protein extracts" which the post mentions can increase bg. My plan is to slowly introduce him to this new food and then during Mon-Fri this coming weeks I will test PSAM, +4 and +7 and then PSPM to get a mini curve and determine nadir. Then I'll do a full curve on Saturday and possibly adjust dosage depending on outcome. You are all being so very helpful, thank you so much!
 
Hi Kris.
I'm new here too, with Jack having been diagnosed just 2 weeks ago. The testing was sooo hard to get used to. For quite a few days, I was completely unsuccessful at drawing enough blood to get a reading. But I trusted what I heard here, that the ears will learn to bleed. They did, in fact, learn to bleed. But that didn't stop Jack from shaking his head or simply walking away from me. So his pokes were becoming multiple at each attempt at testing. It was not fun for Jack or for me. But I can say, with a gigantic exhale of relief, that it has gotten easier already. There are a few things that have worked well for me, and have made the difference between getting a BG reading and not getting a reading.
1) I cannot use the lancet device. I have no control over the spot that it hits, and I feel like it takes away my ability to "see" anything. It's cumbersome. And I think it may pierce right through the ear, which isn't necessary at all. I tried with the lancet device a few times, and it never worked. Now, I just hold the little plastic lancet in my hand, and poke on the outer edge of his ear alongside the vein that runs there (avoid poking the vein). I hold the lancet at an angle, and go in at an angle when I gently poke his ear.
2) I find that warming up the ear makes a huge difference in the size of the bead of blood. If I warm his ear first, it simply bleeds easier. If I don't warm it up, it barely bleeds at all. I use a pill bottle filled with fairly hot water. I lay his ear around it (on bottom and then on top of his ear), and hold it there while I pet him and tell him how fabulous he is. He LOVES the heat (and the pets and the compliments).
3) This one has been a game changer for me... Once I get a bead of blood, I quickly use my thumb nail to scoop it right off the ear and onto my nail. Then I hold it on my nail while I push the strip into the glucometer. Then, I let the strip sip the blood off of my nail. I cannot stress how much easier this has made testing on both of us. Once I get that blood onto my nail, I let go of Jack. I rarely need to poke a second time. (And after the reading I tend to his ear.)
 
Daddy Jack's Mommy said:
Hi Kris.
I'm new here too, with Jack having been diagnosed just 2 weeks ago. The testing was sooo hard to get used to. For quite a few days, I was completely unsuccessful at drawing enough blood to get a reading. But I trusted what I heard here, that the ears will learn to bleed. They did, in fact, learn to bleed. But that didn't stop Jack from shaking his head or simply walking away from me. So his pokes were becoming multiple at each attempt at testing. It was not fun for Jack or for me. But I can say, with a gigantic exhale of relief, that it has gotten easier already. There are a few things that have worked well for me, and have made the difference between getting a BG reading and not getting a reading.
1) I cannot use the lancet device. I have no control over the spot that it hits, and I feel like it takes away my ability to "see" anything. It's cumbersome. And I think it may pierce right through the ear, which isn't necessary at all. I tried with the lancet device a few times, and it never worked. Now, I just hold the little plastic lancet in my hand, and poke on the outer edge of his ear alongside the vein that runs there (avoid poking the vein). I hold the lancet at an angle, and go in at an angle when I gently poke his ear.
2) I find that warming up the ear makes a huge difference in the size of the bead of blood. If I warm his ear first, it simply bleeds easier. If I don't warm it up, it barely bleeds at all. I use a pill bottle filled with fairly hot water. I lay his ear around it (on bottom and then on top of his ear), and hold it there while I pet him and tell him how fabulous he is. He LOVES the heat (and the pets and the compliments).
3) This one has been a game changer for me... Once I get a bead of blood, I quickly use my thumb nail to scoop it right off the ear and onto my nail. Then I hold it on my nail while I push the strip into the glucometer. Then, I let the strip sip the blood off of my nail. I cannot stress how much easier this has made testing on both of us. Once I get that blood onto my nail, I let go of Jack. I rarely need to poke a second time. (And after the reading I tend to his ear.)
Click to expand...

Morning Carolyn!

Thanks for the advice. Yesterday I had a bit of a meltdown and ended up crying on the floor, which was not good for me or the cat :) Rasmus was so fed up with me trying to get a sample from him that he was being the worlds most uncooporative cat. In the end, I stopped trying and decided just to let him be. The same this morning. I wanted to give him (and most definitely me) a break.
Amazingly, he's now jumping up on to my "vet station" and sitting waiting for treats. I've given him lots of fuss and massaged his ears and we are now friends again. Aided by the treats, I'm sure. Back on the home testing tonight. And I'll ditch the lancet device and freehand it.

Cheerio,
Kris
 
Kris & Rasmus said:
Morning Carolyn!

Thanks for the advice. Yesterday I had a bit of a meltdown and ended up crying on the floor, which was not good for me or the cat :) Rasmus was so fed up with me trying to get a sample from him that he was being the worlds most uncooporative cat. In the end, I stopped trying and decided just to let him be. The same this morning. I wanted to give him (and most definitely me) a break.
Amazingly, he's now jumping up on to my "vet station" and sitting waiting for treats. I've given him lots of fuss and massaged his ears and we are now friends again. Aided by the treats, I'm sure. Back on the home testing tonight. And I'll ditch the lancet device and freehand it.

Cheerio,
Kris
Click to expand...
It was a wise decision, to take a break. Both of you needed that. It's hard to imagine, but it WILL get easier.
I found it very challenging to stay calm in those first few ear poking days. I know he can sense what I'm feeling and I may very well be the one who can control "the mood" for both of us, but it was tough! I sit on the floor with Jack for his testing. (He is not a lap cat, but he is very affectionate.) We sit in the bathroom (Jack's favorite place right now). On one of those early ear poking days, Jack ran away from me and ran over my ankle. He left me with a pretty good scratch on his way. Because I was already feeling so emotional, I wasn't able to keep my feelings hidden from Jack THAT time! So I understand...
 
Kris & Rasmus said:
Yesterday I had a bit of a meltdown and ended up crying on the floor, which was not good for me or the cat :) Rasmus was so fed up with me trying to get a sample from him that he was being the worlds most uncooporative cat. In the end, I stopped trying and decided just to let him be. The same this morning. I wanted to give him (and most definitely me) a break.
Amazingly, he's now jumping up on to my "vet station" and sitting waiting for treats. I've given him lots of fuss and massaged his ears and we are now friends again. Aided by the treats, I'm sure. Back on the home testing tonight. And I'll ditch the lancet device and freehand it.

Cheerio,
Kris
Click to expand...

So sorry I missed seeing your original post; Saturday & Sunday were both busy days for me, otherwise I'd certainly offered reassurance then!

Yes, it does get easier, as you're finding - and treats don't hurt! Benny's not fond of the low-carb treats we got him, but he's happy enough with the pets and cuddles he gets, and testing usually means that it's meal time, so he's very cooperative. If he's in one of his napping spots, I'll just go to him; otherwise he comes when I call. In the mornings, he jumps up onto our testing counter while I'm making coffee - it's so adorable and amusing, I just melt. I would never have expected it, but he's so good about it that sometimes when he's napping he actually sleeps right through the test.

But yeah, those first several times - yikes! We started out with my husband Scott holding him while I tested, and that was a disaster. Benny is daddy's baby, so it bothered him - alot - to think that we were hurting him, and he was so nervous that he shook, shaking Benny in the process, which did NOT make it easy to test. After a few tries doing it that way, I just said Fine, I'll do it myself, go away! At first I had to body block him while I did the poke and picked up the meter. I went through lots of test strips because I messed up one way or another. Finally we've gotten it down to a very quick and easy routine, which he tolerates very well. Unless dad happens to walk into the kitchen before we've finished because dad=food and he just wants to jump down and eat RITE NAO!! So we've trained dad to just sit still until we're done, THEN he can come feed his baby!

Yes, it sometimes feels like a 3-ring circus around here, especially since we have another cat with his own issues, but somehow we muddle through, and so will you - I promise!!
 
Erin & Scott said:
So sorry I missed seeing your original post; Saturday & Sunday were both busy days for me, otherwise I'd certainly offered reassurance then!

Yes, it does get easier, as you're finding - and treats don't hurt! Benny's not fond of the low-carb treats we got him, but he's happy enough with the pets and cuddles he gets, and testing usually means that it's meal time, so he's very cooperative. If he's in one of his napping spots, I'll just go to him; otherwise he comes when I call. In the mornings, he jumps up onto our testing counter while I'm making coffee - it's so adorable and amusing, I just melt. I would never have expected it, but he's so good about it that sometimes when he's napping he actually sleeps right through the test.
!
Click to expand...
It is really amazing to see how easily they adjust to it. I never thought that Jack would tolerate it, but he surprised me. In the beginning, he'd squirm and run away. But now, after such a short time of testing (8 days and many pokes), he seems to almost enjoy it. He LOVES having his ear warmed. And sometimes he even purrs the whole time. I recently lost two deeply loved cats - I lost Michael in Oct to congestive heart failure, and Wally died one week before Jack was diagnosed with diabetes. Wally died from a cancerous tumor that grew in his sinus cavity. I miss both of my little loves so much. Both required care at the end. Both of them seemed to love it. I've come to the conclusion that cats adore attention from their humans, and they'll tolerate so much just to get that attention. (Extra special attention.) I completely relate to your saying that "it's adorable and amusing." It really is. And like you, it just melts my heart. Those loving attention filled times with Michael and Wally were and remain to be precious to me. And now, I'm giving Jack special attention with his diabetes. Our sugar babies deserve it.
 
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