Need help with plan to get Nanner off the dry..

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nannersfriend

nannersfriend

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Not a total emergency, but I need some info today. As of about 30 minutes ago Nanner is being fostered in my home. Nanner is a shelter cat I have been helping care for since he came to the shelter where I am a volunteer about two weeks ago. At this point I'd have to say he's not regulated at all. He's on 7 units of pro-zinc twice a day and has been on 1/3 C science diet w/d twice a day as well. We've noticed he's been drinking too much etc. and have been concerned so got all the testing supplies together for today. This morning when my husband and I went to give his shot and test his numbers were too high for my meter to read. At that point I knew something had to give. We went ahead and gave Nanner his shot and about half the dry he was supposed to have and half a can of some low carb canned. At that point we came home to discuss what we could/should do, and the short version is we are now fostering him at least until he is regulated. We are meeting with the vet who has been treating him tomorrow morning and I want to have a plan ready to talk to her about for getting him off the dry and on low carb canned. I'm diabetic and I know that something THAT high carb just isn't good for a diabetic, sorry but it would be like me being told to eat half a cake twice a day and use insulin rather than watching the carbs, sticking to a healthy diet with lean meat, lots of green veggies, and little processed carbs, with a measured amount of whole grains etc., and not needing insulin.

What would be a good plan for getting him on the canned? He doesn't seem to be a picky eater so I don't think we've got a problem there. When we checked at about 12:30 he was under 75 so we gave him a little dry, maybe 1/4 of a cup or less. At what BG level should I skip the shot? I sure don't want him going hypo. I forgot the W/D at the shelter, I can go back and get it, but we've got some Iams digestive formula dry, Fancy Feast ground turkey and giblets, and ground chicken. and some lower carb 9 lives canned.

Paula and Nanner
 
Hi and welcome.

Is Nanner that beautiful kitty with the blue eyes and bent ear? So handsome.

Please cut the dose of insulin down. I just adopted a shelter cat yesterday, he was driven 12 hours up to my place, was on ProZinc 5 units BID and since arriving last night has not needed any insulin yet. BGs are in the normal range so far. At shelters cats are stressed, when eating dry food with high carbs BGs are higher.

Switching to canned is wonderful and I'm so glad you're doing that, but you really need to cut the dose to keep him safe.

Catinfo.org, Dr. Lisa Pierson's webpage can give you all the info you need on transitioning.
http://www.catinfo.org/

You're hometesting it looks like? Since he's new to you and you don't have any data to shoot low numbers, I would probably not give insulin unless I had a number of 200 or greater, especially if you're transitioning to canned.

He might not be well regulated because 7U is a high dose, he could be rebounding. Only collecting data will tell us what's going on. Did the shelter do any bloodwork? Any infections going on?
 
Hi and Welcome Paula and Nanner,

Switching to low carb wet food is the way to go BUT not before you lower your dose. 7 units of Prozinc is a whopping amount of insulin and a cat's blood sugar can drop 100 points overnight once you switch the food and then 7 units will probably be way too much insulin for Nanner.

The starting dose of Prozinc from the Prozinc website it 1 unit twice a day. If I were you I would go with that on your next shot and then start switching the food.

If you want to read a testimonial from someone who was in your shoes about a month ago, read the posts from Totallybeachin and her kitty Callie Mae, she arrived here shooting 8 units twice a day and her vet had just recommended she go to 9 units. The night she shot the 9 units there were alot of really scared people here very worried about her and her kitty. The next day she dropped her insulin dose to 1 unit twice a day, then switched to wet low carb food, tested vigilently and her kitty Callie Mae has not needed any insulin for almost 2 weeks now. A success story.

Once you switch to 1 unit twice a day we can help you get Nanner switched over to the low carb, we have lots and lots of helpfull tips and tricks for you.

Keep coming back and ask any questions that you have, we are here to help you through this.

Robin
 
WELCOME. So glad you understand the importance of Low carbs and testing. They are usually the biggest hurdles for newbies. Yes, do drop the dose. If you can test a few times during the day, it will give a better picture. Most of us are told by vets to start at 2units 2 times a day. Lots of us start at 1 unit and very gradually work our way up if needed. You were given great links and lots of us have success stories - see recent remissions. Here and on PZI link. You already understand lots. :-D You'll find lots of help and information here, just post. If Nanner isn't a fussy eater, you also are ahead of the game. If necessary, adding cheese or a few broken up pieces of kibble, I use catnip. Sometimes just adding a bit more water also helps. You know things are going lots better when they stop hugging the water sources and tinkle lots less - hockey pucks instead of volleyballs.
 
Sounds like you have a good handle on what you need to do!

Normally the starting dose for ProZinc is 1u BID. Typically if someone is switching to low carb food, we recommend you simultaneously drop the dose to 1u and do some testing to see where you are. We had a kitty here just a few weeks ago who was also on W/D, was at 9u (landed here b/c she had just started testing and the #s were low), and once she switched to LC and went down to 1u, her kitty was off insulin and diet-regulated within a couple weeks.

For ProZinc we generally suggest setting 200 as your no-shoot level. If you get a preshot test (PS) under 200, wait 30 minutes or so, then retest, and once the BG is over 200, then go ahead with the shot. If it close to 200 on the initial test, you might shoot a tiny bit less instead of waiting - at least 3/4 of the regular dose, and gather data to be sure that amount was safe. That way you gradually lower the no shoot to 180, then 150, which is where most stop with ProZinc. Under that you would retest until above that level, or if you need to skip the shot (but that's usually not ideal).

When you post the #s and times, you can use this terminology:

+n 75

where n is the hours past the shot. So if Nanner was at 75 four hours after you gave the shot, it would be:

AMPS bg dose (fill in whatever the preshot was and what amount of insulin you shot)
+4 75

etc

p.s. good for you taking Nanner home & trying to get his diabetes under control... you are a diabetes hero! :-D
 
Welcome Paula and Nanner. So good that you are fostering and keeping Nanner safe by home testing. You are way ahead of the game, the majority of people who come here don't know how to test yet. You have gotten lots of good advice. Keep posting and asking questions, we like to be helpful.
 
Thank you all. Yes Nanner is the little guy with the floppy ear. We had a sugarcat a few years ago, Flash (ga) who was diet controlled for about five years after having initially been put on insulin - humulin n of all things. We've been thru this before, but it was our own cat. We'll start with 1u and see where we're at. Hopefully I can get his medical records tomorrow.

Paula and Nanner
 
Ditto that you are a hero for fostering Nanner! He is so lucky that someone like you found him and is willing to help. You've gotten lots of good advice already so I'll try not to repeat that too much. Can't help a little repeat cause I'm a PZI success story. My cat Max was diagnosed in January and for the next 4 weeks, he made little progress, testing in the 450's week after week on more and more insulin. I was becoming increasingly discouraged, but then I found and followed the great advice on FDMB. Diet change made a huge difference. Max's need for insulin literally dropped over night once I switched him to only the low carb wet food. Keep asking questions as you get to know about Nanner and diabetes and keep us posted on how he's doing.
 
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