Marcus-HELP...no insulin in 2 years and now BG 446

Nicki & Marcus

Nicki & Marcus

Member Since 2018
Marcus has had nothing but Friskies pate for 2 years. We test him periodically and his numbers have been in the normal range since March of 2018 without his Lantus insulin injection.

Last week, we adopted an older adult cat who would not eat wet food. We kept him isolated and fed him IAMS dry. My daughter told me, though, that Marcus had gotten into the dry food yesterday. I did not know this. This evening, he did not come in when I put out their food to eat. When I lifted him, he hissed and growled--not normal. We checked his BG and it was WAY UP to 446. Our dilemma--it is 12:20 a.m. and my Lantus in the refrigerator is 2 years old at least. What do I do? I will gladly be late to work in the morning if I can get him to a vet. The vet who prescribed the Lantus never mentioned controlling his diabetes with diet and pushed the insulin only route 2 years ago, so I don't want him to go there. Vet 2 checked him not long ago, and I think I can get him there early in the morning.

Is there anything I can do for him tonight?


Nicki
 
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Hi Nicki!

that sounds stressful!! I had a couple theories pop into my mind when reading your post, you know Marcus best so take these theories with a grain of salt:

-Maybe the addition of a new cat might be stressing Marcus out more than you realize, this could potentially cause increased BG

- Potentially the carbs from the dry food could still be in his system if he really hammered a lot of dry food.... that could lead to higher BG

- is there a possibility that Marcus could have an infection? Infections can cause increased BG and might account for his change in mood, dental infections are often sneaky ones that can throw kitties out of remission.

I am not at all an expert or really experienced at all with a cat coming out of remission but I wonder if you should get a couple more tests tomorrow and the next day and confirm that Marcus’ BG is really consistently up that high before considering insulin.

I think the hissing and growling when you went to pick him up could potentially be cause to take him to the vet in case he is hurt or something. It also doesn’t hurt to have a check up :)

did Marcus end up eating at all tonight? If he’s eating and everything else is normal except BG, I don’t think there is any action you need to take tonight.

please keep us updated on what happens :)
 
He ate his wet food at about 6:00 p.m., but shows no interest now. The dry food is definitely NOT on his diet. He is lying down on the floor now--not typical for him.
In addition to adding another cat, we also have the stress of temporarily adding my 93 year old mother to our home for the last 2 weeks on and off since she broke 2 bones in her neck in a fall. She is going home tomorrow. The new cat is isolated since he wasn't showing good manners towards the other cats at the beginning. We planned on working on getting them together a little at a time.
I want to thank Amanda and Sandy for replying to me so quickly! I truly appreciate your input. I am sure other good people will respond with input as well. Just know that I am very grateful. I hope to get some rest tonight, and your answers have helped. I will keep you posted.
 
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He ate his wet food at about 6:00 p.m., but shows no interest now. The dry food is definitely NOT on his diet. He is lying down on the floor now--not typical for him.
In addition to adding another cat, we also have the stress of temporarily adding my 93 year old mother to our home for the last 2 weeks on and off since she broke 2 bones in her neck in a fall. She is going home tomorrow. The new cat is isolated since he wasn't showing good manners towards the other cats at the beginning. We planned on working on getting them together a little at a time.
I want to thank Amanda and Sandy for replying to me so quickly! I truly appreciate your input. I am sure other good people will respond with input as well. Just know that I am very grateful. I hope to get some rest tonight, and your answers have helped. I will keep you posted.
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Wow, you have a lot on your plate right now. I hope things settle down for you soon.

I’m glad to hear that Marcus ate this evening, because you’re mentioning him laying around which isn’t typical for him I had one other thought... do you have ketostix? It might not be a bad idea to test for ketones just in case.
 
Thanks again for your help. Nope, we don't have any Ketostix. We're going to recheck Marcus's BG in the early a.m. Hopefully it is down.
 
6:37 a.m. testing. It's down to 337 from 446 that it was just after midnight. It's still high, but he is more alert and showed some interest in his wet food. He gave us a bit of a struggle when we went to prick his ear. He is walking around and attempted to jump to the counter before we gave him his food--we stopped him from leaping. I am thinking I may wait until later in the day if he needs to get to the vet. I will test him again later. What do you all think? The dry food he munched on at least twice the past couple of days is out of his reach. The door is locked since he is able to open it on his own. (He can open doors with handles.) I'll keep you all posted. Thanks!
 
If he had recently eaten HC dry food, it could take a day or so for it to clear his system.

Could he be stressed out with the new cat being there ? Do you have any tests numbers right after the adoption? Maybe it’s a combo of stress and dry food.

I think I would give it until tomorrow and if he’s still high and you are positive he had no more dry food, I would have him seen by the vet. If it’s been a while since he was seen and had BW , then now’s a good time to rule out other things. By his hissing and growling at you, he could have pain somewhere and that would hike up his numbers also.
 
My guess is that Marcus' tummy didn't like the dry food. The dry stuff also takes longer to be fully metabolized. In addition, I'm sure he's not feeling great from the high BG numbers.

Between the stress and the dry food you may have your reason for Marcus' high numbers and behavior. I'd give him a bit of time to see if he's back to normal.
 
So, this evening, although he acts so much more himself, the BG number went up a bit--410--about an hour after he ate Friskies pate. Last night, he had no interest in wet food when he was at 447. Tonight, he jumped up on the counter to wait for the cans to be opened--very much like himself. He is presently over drinking water and grabbing another bite. He has been cleaning himself and doing his normal cat things. I was expecting his numbers to be in the normal range and was surprised when they were not. Should I test again before bed in an hour or two or wait until morning? How long should I wait before giving in and taking him to the vet. He just had bloodwork not too long ago and it all checked out fine, so I'm hoping he is able to get back to normal without resorting to more testing and insulin again.
 
Tonight it's 264. I am hopeful. If it is up in the 400's again in the morning, I will take him to the vet on my way to work. Or, do you think this is taking too long to get down to better numbers? Should I give him more time or not?

You are right. He is a diet controlled diabetic. Thank you so much for keeping track of us. I truly appreciate all of your help. This site and all of the wonderful people like you is amazing. You have always been here when I needed you.
 
I think if the BG’s were high because of getting into contraband, it would be cleared by now. If it were me I would take him to the vets to get some test it and get him back on insulin.


Just a thought: are your meter strips still in date ?
 
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It was 316 this morning, so I took him in to the vet. They are sending the bloodwork out, urine sample, fluids under his skin to flush things out...more info later. I pick him up in 2 hours.
 
It's good that you took him to the vet, if for no other reason than to get a new Lantus prescription. Make sure that you have test strips that are up to date. From what I understand, the meter/strip/syringe picture has changed quite a bit in the last 2 years.
I hope that getting the kibble out of Marcus's system will do the trick. Sending vines for continued diet control, but if you have to go back on insulin you have to do it (and in that case you know what to do).
 
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