Meet Sweetie and his mom

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Sweeties-Mom

Sweeties-Mom

Member Since 2013
My cat Sweetie was just diagnosed with feline diabetes last week. The symptom that brought me into the vet was non-use of litter box, but I suspected something was up back in November when he suddenly started drinking and urinating A LOT. He has also always been a "big" cat: 17-18 pounds, and free-fed dry food exclusively until last May when we added a kitten Flynn (who Sweetie hates) who prefers canned so I started 1/2 can for dinner for both.

In December I did some internet research and found this board and Dr. Lisa's website. I realized his lifetime diet of IAMS hairball & weight control dry food was very bad, and I certainly did not want to have to deal with giving shots to a cat! In December I switched him and his little "brother" Flynn to 100% Friskies classic pate canned (I can get it at Costco and these flavors are 10% or less calories from carbs).

The PD and PU got better right away (though not back to his old normal amount) and his coat got smoother. Both cats gobbled down their allotted 1/2 can 3 x day with no leftovers. Sweetie slimmed down pretty quickly, perhaps too quickly I now know. After 2.5 months of canned-only he weighs just under 14 pounds. But in the last month the out-of-box inicidents started ramping up. The night he walked by the brand new litter and box, jumped on my bed and peed was the last straw. He spent several days outside only coming in to be fed. Finally I took my head out of the sand and went to the vet.

Tests: BG 403 plus glucose in urine, no ketones, liver enzymes elevated.
Treatment: Lantus 1u 2x day

I bought the Target Up & Up glucometer based on the low cost and high Consumer Reports rating. The vet says I'm the only patient/owner of theirs wanting to do home bg testing; they don't recommend it in general.

His appetite suddenly crashed just 3 days before he started the insulin. His first treatment day at the vet they gave him dry food (!?!?!?) because he wouldn't eat any canned. Happily his appetite has returned as of yesterday and is eating about 80% of his previous amount, plus he loves the new treats he gets.

He doesn't much care for the pokes with needles, and the second morning of treatment when he woke up with only growls for me just about broke my heart. But I'm going to keep at it. Today I can take some bg readings throughout the day which will be informative since I don't work weekends and don't have a lot of data points for a good curve yet. You can see from my spreadsheet that my first home attempt was a fur shot and I think I got a false low bg reading 2 nights later, but with his poor appetite I didn't want to make him hypo so I just skipped those.

Thanks for being here to encourage and support cat owners like me!
 
Hi Cathy and Sweetie. Welcome!

As far as the growling and testing issues, tell us a little more about the process you are using. Where are you poking? (You want to aim for the little capillairies that run along the side of his ear. You can use a flashlight to find them.) Are you sure giving him a treat he loves after each poke? (That's the secret to this thing. They associate the poke with a treat they like so they put up with the process.) Do you get blood each time or have to poke several times? You are exactly right; you have to grimace and do this thing. It is the only way to keep him safe.

I don't know your meter; maybe others do. I don't use Lantus but others should be along with dosing ideas. A curve today will really help them see the whole picture.

You have done an excellent job researching on your own, changing the diet and testing at home. Hopefully we can help you fine tune the process.
 
Thanks for your interest!

I've mostly been testing on the ear. I'm probably going closer to the edge than into the vein itself, and have to massage to get the blood drop big enough. So far I like holding the lancet directly best; when I use the pen I don't get as much blood, and sometimes if it goes through the ear the cotton behind absorbs too much of the blood.

I've poked the back paw with the pen 2 or 3 times; the first time I got a good drop, second didn't work, and the third had to be massaged but worked. He doesn't like me holding his foot though I so went back to the ear.

I'm experimenting with various treats, and yes he always gets them. He gets too excited over the Pounce treats (probably high-carb so I'll wean him off that but he LOVES it) and moves so much it is hard to keep the drop. He initially didn't like the freeze-dried chicken but now enjoys it. And I've used the Fancy Feast chicken appetizer - I open it just a bit so he can lick the juice and get bits of meat while I work on the ear.
 
Are you sure heating the ear? In the beginning, it really helps to bring the blood to the surface. You can use the rice sack or a prescription bottle filled with very warm water. Heat for several minutes before poking. You can use the sack or bottle behind the ear to poke against. What size lancet?
 
Yes I'm using rice in a sock heated for 30 sec. But I'm probably not holding it on long enough - maybe just 30 sec because he doesn't care for me holding his ear so long. I just did a test. Tried the paw again first but just didn't get enough blood. So went back to the ear, and still it took 3 pokes - the first ones were probably not deep enough.

Should I be aiming to go directly into the vein for now? I'm trying to go between it and the edge of the ear.

I'll be more patient with the ear warming next time. Thanks!
 
Welcome to the boards! Looks like you've done plenty of research and are headed in the right direction. Here's a great little summation of tips the Marje and Gracie put together:

http://www.felinediabetes.com/FDMB/viewtopic.php?f=9&t=85113

Your lancet size seems good, although you could even go a little bigger at 26g if you want. Personally, I wouldn't aim for the vein unless Sweetie has gone low and you're in more of a desperate kind of situation. The ears will learn to bleed after a bit. You could try putting a very small amount of Neosporin + pain relief ointment on the ear - it helps the blood bead and might help a bit with the poke.

Hang in there! You're doing great!
 
Good idea - I'll get the neoporin+pain relief now and use it before the next test. And look for the bigger lancets.

What a wonderful community this is!
 
Hello. I had a nice long post earlier and my laptop crashed so I lost it all... :evil:

but other's have come in and filled some of that...

My cat was one to growl in the beginning.... even fight a little... it really helps to find the treat that gets their attention... and earns their cooperation....Mine didn't like the freeze dried chicken but she really liked the freeze
dried turkey... ( can't imagine they are that different but it made a difference to her )

and on the appetite issue... I would suggest trying some other brands to see if that makes a difference.

Here's a shortcut list I made for myself and share with others. shortcut shopping list
I keep trying to get my girl to accept the "higher quality" foods ... Her appetite issues seem to be boredom with what I am serving.... I hate it when I have to open several different cans and then try to get her to eat them with
little additives...
The best food is usually the one they "will" eat. Eating is important with giving insulin.
 
Hi, Cathy, I just want to welcome you and your cutie-pie Sweetie. You're in good hands here, and we love questions!

It's hard to imagine now (as it was for me back in November), but testing will get easier, I promise! The ears do 'learn' to bleed, and your kitty will soon associate tests w/getting treats & affection.
You're doing a great job!

~Josie (& Ripley, who was on the same exact Iams food for many years. She now eats Wellness Turkey and some Merrick Cowboy Cookout.)
 
Used the neosporin on the ear before the latest poke and it worked well! The blood beaded up nicely. And he jumped up on the bed willingly when I came in with the test kit and treat. Wish the numbers had stayed lower though - it is almost up to the AMPS level already at +6.

I've starting looking into all the great links you folks have sent and there are still more to open - but now I need to trim some trees while the sun is out! It is really easy to spend hours learning all the details of managing FD. Glad to have all the information though; I'm in IT (software) so I like knowing the details.
 
Welcome to the board..

here are some more testing tips to take a look at - see if there is anything on there that you havent tried. http://docs.google.com/document/d/13c_CPZVKz27fD_6aVbsguadJKvjSrSAkD7flgPPhEag/pub

Also can I suggest you start posting on the Lantus Tight regulation forum regularly? http://felinediabetes.com/FDMB/viewforum.php?f=9There are some experienced eyes there that can keep an eye on Sweeties chart and how he is getting on and advise accordingly and help you through this.. For your first post please mention you are new and they will be pleased to welcome you!

Wendy
 
Also- Lantus is a long lasting insulin and builds up in the body before getting to it's full dose. Don't expect great numbers the first day or two (or three) when you use it as it isn't full strength in Sweetie yet. Give it a good 3 days before you think about going up.

Things to be on the look-out for- if his bg's are still all over the place, say, after a month, check his food to see what the carb count is. Some cats are very carb sensitive and will react to a 1% increase or decrease in carbs. my Sneakers was one- she would easily be 100 to 250+ points higher unless I fed her all one carb %. Once i did that she was more normal. And the lower the carb % you can get them to eat the lower their bg will be. I just took Sneakers off of 5-7% carb and on to 1-2% carb and, while her numbers are regulated, the numbers dropped 50 pts easily with that change. So file this tidbit away for future use and hopefully it won't take you 3 months to figure it out :oops: :lol: .

Great on the testing- it took Sneakers ears a full week to learn how to bleed and we do free-hand- holding it at a 445 degree angle with the bevel edge facing up really helps. And warm the ear really well- if he doesn't like the rice sock- will he let you massage his ears?

heather
 
To Wendy -
should I post on both the "tight regulation" Lantus forum and the "relaxed" Lantus forum? I can't do all of the frequent BG testing for the tight protocol because I'm gone for 10 hours during the day. I do feel reassured after reading and viewing all of the help on home testing that Sweetie and I will get the hang of it very soon.

To Heather -
Thanks for the info about needing to wait until drawing any conclusions about his BG numbers. I'm not going to rush moving up the dose since occasionally I see some lower numbers even now (not sure if it is just insufficient blood for the test though). Also good to know that I may need to look for lower carb food than Friskies. I'll wait for a week or two and see if his numbers even out on this diet. Then I might try something like Wellness or something 5% or less to see if that helps.

To All - thanks again for all the help!
 
I would post in tight regulation. there are more eyes and its more active. The amount of testing you are doing right now is more than good enough for that forum. I think it gets a bad rap for that actually. Some people there test a lot but thats not expected or practical for many people.

What you do now is good enough although I suspect looking at his BG numbers you may want to try setting the alarm and getting a reading somewhere in PMPS + 8 to +10 next time you get a blue at PMPS+4.. just to see how low he is going.

Wendy
 
Either Lantus forum is fine to post in...Relaxed is a little more quiet but there is help available either place. What I usually recommend if you choose to post in relaxed and aren't getting an answer that is time sensitive quickly enough it to post over on either Health or Tight.

Mel, Maxwell, Autumn & The Fur Gang
 
Welcome Cathy and Sweetie! :YMHUG:

I'm still a newbee too, barely over 7 weeks in, so I can vividly remember the frustration with testing. :-x It took Lucian and I about 10 days, and throwing the lancing device across the room, to get it down.....freehand. :lol:

Testing was, by far, the hardest part for us, but it's so important to know where his Blood Glucose levels are, to keep him safe.

Just want you to know, the vast amount of knowledge, support and caring you will find here can be overwhelming, but in a good way. :-D

Don't hesitate to ask any questions that might pop up, there is almost always someone around with the experience to help you out. Lord knows, Lucian and I would have not made it this far without all the big hearts, experience and help here. :-D

Wishing you and Sweetie all the best! cat_pet_icon
 
Thanks for the support Debbie! I hope Lucian gets regulated soon.

With all the testing I did this weekend it is going more smoothly now. The ear is working out best for us and the drop of neosporin on the site BEFORE the poke really helps to get the blood to bead up and not get lost.

I've suddenly become an evangelist for moving cats from dry to canned food: talked about it with 2 neighbors today plus my ex-husband who has Sweetie's sister "Tabby". I did a BG test on Tabby just for fun - she was a perfect lady! Didn't even stop purring when I poked; her BG was a perfect 73 too.

I feel like protesting the cat food manufacturers somehow. There should be a large warning label if the carb % is over some threshhold, like on cigarettes: CAUTION: THIS FOOD MAY CAUSE FELINE DIABETES IN YOUR CAT.
 
Thats great! you are doing a good job! I tell everyone about dry food now too although not everyone is willing to change ;(

I would suggest the tight regulation board if you are able to post regularly just because they have more eyes there to help advise on dose etc
 
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