Looking for some guidance..

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Courtneyk

Member Since 2017
Hello,
I am looking for some guidance. My cat, Wiggles, was diagnosed with diabetes one month ago. I am not sure of her exact age, but she has been with my family since 2007 when my mom adopted her as an adult cat, and I have had her since 2008. I am guessing she is around 12-13. I brought her in because she was drinking and eating more than usual, and she seemed to be losing weight. She had been to the vet just a month prior, and at that time her glucose level was somewhat high but the vet attributed it to a stressful visit. When I brought her back a month ago, her blood glucose level was in the high 400s. At that time, she was on a wet and dry diet, and she was eating a lot (about a half cup of dry food and one can of wet food every day), about double what she normally ate. Her weight was about 7.5, down about a pound from her normal weight. She has always been a very slim cat. My vet prescribed Lantus and started her at 1u, 2x/day. On that same day, I removed the dry food from her diet, as recommended by my vet. She has been eating about 1 can/day of Purina DM since she was first diagnosed, and since then she always seems to be hungry. On her second visit, about 3 weeks ago, her blood sugar was in the low 400s. Her insulin was upped to 2u, 2x/day. At the third visit, her level was in the high 300s. She seemed to me to be less hungry and drinking less water at that time. My vet told me to start giving her 2.5u. When I went back to the vet this past Saturday, her blood sugar was back up in the high 400s, and the vet raised her insulin to 3u. Over the past few days, she has been hungrier than ever and showing behavior that I have never seen. She knocks over my garbage cans every day in search of food, and earlier today when I left a container of leftover spaghetti on my kitchen table for a few minutes unsupervised, she had chewed through the takeout container and was eating the spaghetti. She has never been interested in human food like that, so I know she must be starving.

I have been reading through threads on this board over the past month, and it seems that the collective experience of the members here indicates that insulin dosages should not be increased like this based on one blood test every week. At the last vet visit I requested that they do a curve, which is now scheduled for Monday. I ordered a glucose meter and ketone test strips a couple days ago and am waiting for their delivery. I am growing very concerned and I am starting to question my vet.. Wiggles means so much to me, and seeing her like this is killing me. I will really do anything to help her. Can I get some feedback about the treatment that she has received so far, and maybe some advice?

Thank you!!
 
You actually seem to have learned a lot just by reading!!

Yes, your vet has increased too quickly.....We only do adjustments in .25 to .5 unit increments so we don't bypass what could be a "perfect" dose.

How often are you feeding Wiggles? (I LOVE that name!!) Most vets will tell people to only feed twice a day, but most of us feed multiple mini-meals several times a day.....Not only does this keep the blood glucose more stable, it helps with those cravings.

Until she's better controlled, she's going to be very hungry, so although you shouldn't just feed her constantly, she will need more food until her numbers start to come down.

Also, since you're not testing, it's possible that she's going too low!! It's part of their survival mechanism that if their glucose goes too low, they need to eat!! By learning to home test, you'll be able to find out what's really going on with Wiggles

Another thing....the DM (canned) is OK, but for what it is, it's very expensive!! Most of us feed plain Fancy Feast Classics or Friskies pates....they're under 10% carbs and not only a lot cheaper, give the cat some variety in flavors. The ingredients in "prescription" foods aren't any better either (and there are a lot better foods at that price out there!!)

The good news? Your vet has you on an excellent insulin....and you're here!!! This is the best place you never wanted to be if you have a sugarcat!!!

Keep asking questions!! You're learning fast!!
 
Welcome Courtney! Home testing is the way to go. Try to recall the past days/times of all the vet readings and days you did insulin increases so you can input those numbers to a spreadsheet if you decide to create one which will be helpful for the more-experienced folks here to look at. Here are instructions on creating a spreadsheet which will appear at bottom of you signature when you post: http://www.felinediabetes.com/FDMB/threads/fdmb-spreadsheet-instructions.130337/
 
Welcome! You've arrived here very well informed and with good instincts. We can help and Chris&China has already given you some good advice. :)
 
Yes, home testing is the way to go. Even if you keep the dose the same. The kitty can respond to the insulin and then you could be giving a "regular" dose that ends up being too much. At one point I was dosing but not testing. Now I can't imagine why I ever did that.
 
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