New and Confused

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MagsandCharles

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Hey all, I'm a newbie, like, a big time newbie. My cat, Charley, was diagnoses with diabetes back in, March, I do think. He's been pretty good since then, gets his insulin regularly, etc, but, then he had a pretty bad scare in June. His blood sugar dropped to about zero and he barely made it and- yeah. Since then it's just been going kinda down hill, his insulin will get low and then high and all that. The Vet thinks he's been going into remission but, we can't tell exactly for sure.

Since about, a week ago, he'll get real lethargic one day and then active the next. It's been really scaring me so, I've been looking into just about everything I can about diabetes in felines (my parents originally were taking care of Charley but, my Dad and I kinda tag team now) and now I'm just really confused. I was told we could test his blood sugar ourselves but, cats don't read well on human meters so we wouldn't be able to tell exactly and-

I'm just feeling really confused and overwhelmed. I've read most of the stuff suggested on here but, nothing's really helping.

I'm just kinda really scared, I guess, because he'll be super lethargic, not eating, not drinking, kinda wallowing in his pee for about three days straight and then, out of no where, he'll act as if he's all better.
 
Good morning and welcome to FDMB.

It sounds like you need to reduce the dose of insulin. Can you give us some more information such as what insulin is he on and his current dose? Also, what do you feed him. Insulin dose and diet can easily affect the blood glucose (BG) levels.

I highly recommend that you start hometesting immediately. This means testing his BG readings before every shot. You can use any glucose meter that people use. It also does not matter if it is a name brand or store brand meter. Many of us use Walmart's Relion brand meters and are very pleased with them. There are some links on the Health page for hometesting http://felinediabetes.com/FDMB/viewtopic.php?f=14&t=287.

By testing before every shot you will know if it is safe to give the insulin and learn when a insulin dose change is needed. Also it will greatly reduce the chances of your cat from becoming hypoglycemic, which sounds like what is happening.

Here is also some information on hypoglycemia http://felinediabetes.com/FDMB/viewtopic.php?f=14&t=1122. Please print these out and keep them handy.

Can you tell us where you are located (city & state only)? We may have members nearby that can show you how easy hometesting is. Also your vet can also show you.
 
MagsandCharles said:
I was told we could test his blood sugar ourselves but, cats don't read well on human meters so we wouldn't be able to tell exactly and-
Click to expand...

Most of us use a human glucometer on our cats. It is not the absolute number that is important to regulation, but the trend. As long as you use a glucometer that you trust and that fits your budget, that works. As Lisa said, many use Relion; they are reliable meters and the test strips are inexpensive and available at any Walmart. You can check out other brands with inexpensive strips (such as Maxima and Infinity) through the link (green ad) to Hocks.com at the top of the page.

Good luck with Charley. Well, you probably won't really need luck now that you have found us, because you will be empowered with knowledge if you start hometesting.
 
Good Morning and Welcome to the FDMB family!

You are now in the best place you never wanted to be to help you help Charley. As other have said we all test our kitties blood before shots and we even run our own curves at home where our cats are not under vet stress to see exactly how they are doing. Without home testing it would have been impossible for me to know that my own sugarcat Max was in remission on a diet change only.

Let me assure you that home testing is very easy. If I can do it with my Max you can do it with your Charley. This is why I say this, I adopted Max through this board as a diabetic, the very first time I tested him at my house he had only known me about 12 hours. He had no reason to trust me, let alone sit still while this crazy lady he had just met, jabbed him in the ear with a lancet and took a blood sample. But he did, nose in a pile of treats and purred like crazy. So just think how much easier it will be with Charley who already knows you and loves and trust you. Not that at first it is easy for any of us, you are going to feel clumsy and even frustrated at first, but it gets easier and easier as you get your technique down. Once I got into a routine with Max, I could get him tested, then feed everyone here (11 cats, 1 dog and a husband) have the 5 litter boxes cleaned and out of the house to take the husband to work in under an hour. Now I don't have to throw shots into that mix anymore since Max is diet controlled, but I do still test him at least once every couple of days just to make sure he is still in remission.

It does sound very much like either your Charley is trying to go into remission or at least needs his insulin reduced but your not going to be able to tell without testing him at home. But we can help you learn to home test and then once you start getting some numbers we can help you decide what is the best way to adjust his dosage or what else may help if you tweek this or that in his routine, i.e. diet, insulin etc.

Also like others have said if you give us a general location we might just have someone close that can drop by to help out. We have lots of members all over the world and almost all of us here are paying it forward for all the help we got when we first got here and were just as scared and over-whelmed as you feel right now.

You are not alone in this and we will hold your hand & paw through it all.

Mel & Max
 
Welcome to the BEST site on the planet for you and your sugar kitty. If you do anything PLEASE learn to hometest. Human meters work fine for cats and most everyone here uses them. PLEASE it is the ONLY way you will know how your dear Charley is doing.

There is a WEALTH of information here, as is a WEALTH of experienced people to help walk you through this. There are even a couple of Vet's that post and also some Techs.

Keeping you and Charley in my prayers,
jeanne
 
Thanks for all the help and support, guys. (:

Charley gets 2 units of insulin, twice a day and we feed him special diabetic wet food given to us by the Vet. We ended up having to take him there today, we were worried about his BG but, it turned out he was just severely dehydrated. My mother's slightly worried about his kidneys now, because he'll drink and drink but, doesn't retain the water.

Once again, thanks for the support, guys. (:
 
FWIW You don't need to feed Charley that expensive prescription wet food there is plenty of canned food on the commercial market that is actually better quality ingredients. For example we feed Max 9-lives (Bacon & Liver, Ground Chicken dinner, Super Supper, Seafood Platter, etc) from Janet and Binky's list. I just try to keep him between 4-6% carbs.

The excessive drinking and peeing is a result of Charley's diabetes not being regulated yet. Once you start seeing more normal numbers that incredible thirst & urination will decrease. Right now if you didn't know my Max was a sugar kitty you would never guess by the way he acts. He eats and drinks like any of my other civies (non-diabetics). Well he still eats slightly more but that is because we are still trying to get his weight up. So once your Charley is better regulated he will start behaving more like a normal kitty.

Mel
 
Welcome to the site.
Please answer a few questions so that you can get more help with your cat.

1. What is the insulin you are giving to Charley.

2. What city are you located in - there may be others close by who can help you.

3. What is the name of the food you are feeding to Charley, how much are you feeding and at what times. There is no need at all to feed that expensive vet food, and there are much cheaper foods that have much better ingredients.

OK home testing is going to help you save your cat from any other scary events - if you are testing and his bg is too low, you may not need to give him his shot. If you are not testing, he could be low but you are giving him a shot that he does not need!
Just go to any pharmacy as has been suggested and pick up a regular human glucometer and strips for the meter.

You are giving 2 units of some insulin twice a day - your cat may well need much less insulin. There are many cats on this site that still need a bit of insulin but much much less than 2units. By home testing you are going to see if you are giving too much or too little.

Once you get the meter, post online if you need help with testing. There are tons of short videos that can help you and everyone here will have tips for you to make it easy.
 
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