low bg

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keekeekitty

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i cant figure out whether or not to run to the vet....again. Kee kee went off insulin on tues....i use the ReliOn blood tester......his numbers are around 52--78....is he ok? or should i feed him again? He is eating fancy feast chicken or beef, the small cans, one in the morning and one at night......these are tiny cans and he weighs 19 lbs...vet said he is too fat but i'm worried he isn't getting enough food....please help. He looks good and seems to feel good. At first he was getting 8units of humN 2xs a day. When i, against two vets suggestions, switched him to the wet food numbers started going down to where he was getting 2units 2x a day.....#s were so low i just stopped giving him the insulin on tues. Hope i've done this right and i love your board...just getting started, but you have helped me so much....so much more than the vets have.
sherri
 
Glad you made it to the right spot.

If you havn't given insulin since Tuesday he is just fine. Bg's of 52 to 78 are perfectly normal levels for a non diabetic cat.

You have made very good decisions. Thank goodness you stopped giving him insulin. Isn't it amazing what changing their food can do?
 
If you haven't given him any insulin since tuesday and you are seeing numbers anywhere from 40-100 he is showing you non-diabetic numbers. Congrats he is more than likely OTJ!!! My civies randomly run between 50-70. I also have some pretty big boys and they tended to eat about 2 to 2.5 cans of FF when I was feeding it to them. (with 11 we switched over to 9-lives for the economics).They range in weight from 15 to 19 lbs.

FWIW If he was one of mine (and I have 2 that I'm trying to take a few pounds off of) I wouldn't increase is diet anymore than a half of can. But if possible spread out the feedings in smaller meals more often. I tend to think of it for my overweight boys like a human going on a diet, you can eat smaller overall calories without feeling like you are starving, if you eat smaller meals more often.

Mel
 
Thank you so much for soothing my mind....i've tested him every morning before he eats....this morning was the highest with 84. My vet doesnt know i've taken him off the insulin yet. He was diagnosed first week in july........was going back and forth to the vet alot.....untill i found this board, i wish the vets would take a min and read all the great advice. They insisted on dry food....so glad i made the change to wet. I will give him a little more and break it up into smaller feedings for him. Thanks again
sherri and Kee Kee
 
If the highest you are seeing is this morning at 84 and he hasn't had a drop of insulin....I would say congrats you have a diet controlled diabetic!!!! Welcome to OTJ land. :RAHCAT

I know just from personal experience about how much a cat's overall health can be improved by a wet diet. Not only in my own sugarcat that is also OTJ thanks to a low carb wet diet, but how much more lovely and energetic all 10 of my civies are on it. Its a shame that your vet won't come here to learn from those of us that have lived with this disease day in and day out. But at least when he does go back to the vet's they aren't going to be able to argue with you when you can physically show them the results in your boy. :-D

Mel
 
thank you all so much, i'm testing him every morning before he eats....hes had no insulin now for 11 days and the vet still doesnt know. I stopped because his numbers were getting so low with only 2units of humN...35 was the last with insulin.
His #'s have been, 72,78,63,79,75,84,57,70 and this morning...72....what i dont understand is why it goes down after he eats...i thought it was supposed to go up...is this ok and can he still go into a hypo if not getting the insulin? I'm not very computer literate, so thanks for all your patience.
Does anyone know about the food from Purina called ProPlan? The lady at pet smart said it was lower in carbs than the classic fancy feast chicken i've been feeding and let me know she 'really disagreed' with my feeding the wet fancy feast food, I just looked at her and said well i've been going through this and you should be studying about cats more. My question is whether it would be best to give the ProPlan as its on sale right now for 50Cents a can. Normally its 84....she assured me would be better for KeeKee than the ff....what do you think and anyone tried this food before. I hate to change whats working but want to give him the best i can afford. Also how often should i be checking him now....he has almost bloodless ears!! Do you think its better to do the back of the ear? I've been sticking him in the front. thanks again for all the great reading on this site.
sherri
 
It should go down after he eats because that is his pancreas kicking in. His highest numbers should be in the morning after fasting. That is why a vet will ask you to bring them in first thing in the morning after not feeding them the night before when they want to run a curve.

Congrats you definitely have an OTJ kitty with those beautiful numbers!!!! Time to party! party_cat

Mel
 
First of all, congrats on having a diet controlled diabetic kitty!

You have proven that the food suggested was wrong; dry is bad. I know for a fact that it raises BG from Shadoe stealing just a mouthful from my civvie. Her numbers soar to the 400s. Stick to the wet, and ff is fine, but you can check for others in Binky's list. The list is also good for other values than just the carbs, so if you are looking to shave a few lbs off...
Binky’s Food Lists
Feeding Your Cat: Know The Basics of Feline Nutrition

The insulin you were giving apparently is very old school and harsh; if you are to find in the future that you need to start giving insulin again, you would do much better with one of the more longer lasting and gentler insulins like Lantus Levemir or PZI.

I have tried Proplan for mine and they ate it, but prefer their friskies and some of the ff. How about if you get just a couple cans to try and see what flavors he likes.

As for not telling the vet yet? Excuse me but whose cat are we talking about here, and whose action got him off insulin?
The vet's directions? NOPE.
Your actions? YESSIREE!

You can tell the vet that the vet's instructions were causing your cat to go hypo because your cat needed only a diet change. Vets make money off that food they push on their clients, but they need to become more educated I think.

The food you are feeding could be split up into smaller feedings if you like because you want to keep the BG smooth during the day so more frequent eating will help there. You could us an auto feeder, or if you are home, just split the 2 cans into 4 or more meals. Most people don't eat just twice a day so cats should be treated the same I think.
Petsafe 5-meal Auto Feeder

Bottom line: you have done a fine job for your kitty. He's off insulin and doing just fine ... thanks mostly to you
 
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