My cat just got diagnosed with diabetes

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PoohBear

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Hello,

My name is Linda and my cat Poohbear was just recently diagnosed with diabetes. He had received steriod injections and sometimes Ventalog for hot spots for years and I think it finally got him. We also switched to dry cat food about 1- 1.5 years ago. From your articles that wasn't the right choice. The vet put pooh on Humulin N 2.5 units twice a day. I'm testing him at home with a glucometer. The first was 414 but I started feeding him wet food (Fancy Feast from your articles) and his BG has dropped significantly. In fact the second night I didn't give him his second dose of insulin because the BG was 84!
Should I feed him twice a day with wet and how much. He lost 2 pounds in 2 months. Pooh does NOT like having his ear stuck - I do fight with that. Right now I test at I believe the peak around 5-6 hours and right before insulin. Is it okay to get blood from the same area I stuck before? Any help would be appreciated. How often should I test? Thank you.
 
Right now, feed him as often as he wants to eat, and let him eat however much he wants. Newly diagnosed kitties aren't using their food effectively and need more than you might think. Later you can worry about exact amounts of food if he starts gaining too much weight.

Test before every shot for sure, and try to get one or two other tests between shots (at different times, so that eventually you get a full-day picture of how he is reacting to the insulin).

As you both get more accustomed to testing, your kitty will probably object a lot less. Mine objected a lot at first, but now she does fine. A little pretending to object, just to make it clear that *she* is in charge, but she comes readily for testing and purrs through it.

After you test, be sure to hold the spot for 10 or 20 seconds or so - however long Poohbear will permit. This will help keep bruises at the test spots from developing. Moving among several test spots is a good idea, but you don't have to be obsessive about it.
 
Thanks Megan's mom. Now I just basically cold turkey took Pooh off dry to Fancy Feast and we have 3 other cats. Should I leave out the wet food at all times? Also, Pooh gets 'hot spots' that he licks and the vet used to give him steriods but of course that is not an option. The vet mentioned Benedryl 1/2 of 25mg - do you know of anything else, cream, etc that could be used? Thank you!
 
Welcome. My kitties come to me for testing. I think it because they know they will get fed. At first most of mine resisted but they are OK now.

You were very right to home test. Just think of what would have happened if you gave 2 1/2 units with the BG of 84. For the next shot I would give no more than 1 onit of the N insulin. Maybe even less depending upon the measure BG at shot time. It sounds like the canned food is really helping.
 
Benedryl might work and is OK to administer. However, the 12.5 mg dose seems a little high. Plumb's Vet Drug Manual specifics , for cats, a dose of either 0.5 mg/kg everey 12 hours or 2-4 mg(total dose) every 12 hours.

PoohBear said:
Thanks Megan's mom. Now I just basically cold turkey took Pooh off dry to Fancy Feast and we have 3 other cats. Should I leave out the wet food at all times? Also, Pooh gets 'hot spots' that he licks and the vet used to give him steriods but of course that is not an option. The vet mentioned Benedryl 1/2 of 25mg - do you know of anything else, cream, etc that could be used? Thank you!
Click to expand...
 
Thanks Larry,

Does Benedryl come in lower dosages? Or should I give liquid or how would I break it up for 0.5 or 2-4mg. When I go to Walgreen's I'll check for kids Benedryl. Thanks.
 
Just wanted to say hi and welcome. And I had a Pooh Bear many moons ago. He was a black Manx with a kinky stubby tail and looked like a little bear. Welcome to you and PoohBear!
 
Thank you! It's nice to get extra information and have support. Question, how did you get your cat's picture on? I tried uploading under avatar and it stated it was too small. :)
 
Per Plumbs the liquid is very distasteful. It does not come in lower doses that I am aware of. You can just break one up and guess at the 4 mg dose

PoohBear said:
Thanks Larry,

Does Benedryl come in lower dosages? Or should I give liquid or how would I break it up for 0.5 or 2-4mg. When I go to Walgreen's I'll check for kids Benedryl. Thanks.
Click to expand...
 
How fantastic you are hometesting and caught the 84 before giving too much insulin! I would suggest free feeding all your cats with wet lo carb. I freeze it into cubes and leave it out for grazing.

If you put Humulin in your subject line and ask for dosage help, we have a few people here who used it. It is not a very popular insulin as it tends to hit hard and fast, and then the cat heads right back up - sort of like a roller coaster. But it does look like you might be able to get him off insulin pretty soon as he has really responded to the wet food. When you post, give us your numbers like this:

amps # 2.5 units Humulin (morning shot number with amount of insulin given)
+4 (this would be your number 4 hours after the morning shot, for example)
pmps 84 no insulin given (evening shot)

The trick will be to give just enough insulin so his numbers keep falling consistently, tapering off until he doesn't need any insulin at all.

Yes, you can poke in the same place- or move around some. It helps minimize bruising if you hold the spot for a few seconds after the poke. You can also put neosporin on it. Don't forget to give the treats after each poke!
 
My cat Goose (who was just diagnosed this week) was also put on Humulin. Did your vet mention why that one over another? I didn't know there were other options until I did my own research, and I'm worried that Humulin isn't the best choice. I'm going to ask my vet when I take Goose in next week, but wondered if yours gave any rationale.
 
My doctor also started on Humulin and told me it's just the normal one they start with. I read the articles and called her back and told her how the articles state it's not the best and she said we could talk about it at the visit next week. She just stated that it's what they first try...
 
8/29 Okay, I've been testing Pooh's BG and just on wet FF since 8/27 and I went down from 2.5 U Humulin (on 8/25) to 1unit Humulin (on 8/28 at 8am). Pooh was good all night, BG 100 at 3am but went down to 52 at 9am. He wasn't eating as much so I gave him a small amount of dry food and it went up to 67BG at 10am. Since he has 'hot spots' I gave him what I hope to be around 4mg of Benedryl (kept cutting the 25mg in halves). He wasn't having any symptoms and has been off the insulin since 8/28 at 8am. I guess what I'm asking is is the 52/67 too low or could it be okay if it just doesn't go down. Of course I'm not giving Pooh anymore insulin unless I get a higher reading. Thanks for the help!
 
Looks like the insulin and diet is working well.

If you would post your numbers like this, it is easier for us to understand what is happening:

8/28
amps # 1 unit Humulin
amps # ?
+6 100

amps 52 No insulin given
+1 67

I think this is right? So you got under 100s today so far. If you get a number over 200 tonight, come on and ask for specific Humulin advice. You will need to shoot a reduced dose for sure. Or maybe he is done with insulin and you will just have numbers under 100!! That would be great. The diet has really made a huge difference for him.

You are one of the poster children for the value of hometesting! So glad you stuck with it and got it done.
 
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