new and just did first glucose test today

[wplymale]

I have a cat named Scratch that found me in Oct 2009. I was not a cat person until he found me. He has had hernia surgery, all but his canine teeth pulled and then was diagnosed with diabetes over a year ago. The vet thinks he is 10 or 11. I started him on a new food that is low garb and grain free and the vet took him from 5 UI of insulin to 2 UI and suggested that I learn to do the glucose testing. So here I am. I did the first test today after reading about best meters etc. It took about 4times to get blood. I felt bad and cat was less than thrilled. The test was about 7 hours after insulin and food and was at 219. Questions...I plan on testing before his shot tonight. If he tests below 200 do I skip shot? Is there a guide that I could print out. I plan on confused_cat doing a 24 hour curve and doing documents but not sure about numbers and what to do with insulin based on numbers. We are using prozinc insulin.

 

[Sue and Oliver (GA)]

Welcome to the Vampire Club! We are thrilled you are testing at home - it will help you get control of this sugar dance and keep Scratch safe.

Here is a document with lots of info on ProZinc: http://www.felinediabetes.com/FDMB/viewtopic.php?f=24&t=32799 Yes, we tell new diabetics to not shoot under 200. If you get a number under 200, wait 20 minutes without feeding and retest. (Food raises glucose levels.) You want to be sure the number is rising and high enough to shoot. A number under 200 is also a good sign that you may need to reduce the dose. After you have some data and understand how Scratch might react to a given dose of insulin, then you might want to shoot lower numbers.

Just for general reference, we say a cat is fairly well regulated if he is in the 200+ range at preshot and in double digits at nadir (usually 6 hours after the shot) But not in the 40s - that is getting close to the hypo range.

Be sure you give him a treat every time you poke him - that is the secret of happy cats and beans. Here are some low carb treats: Lo carb treats

So your job is to test before each shot and get some mid cycle numbers. The more data you have, the better you can see how the insulin is working and know how to adapt your doses to help Scratch.

 

[Elizabeth and Bertie]

...the vet ... suggested that I learn to do the glucose testing...

Your vet suggested to you that you test your cat's glucose? Fantastic news! A lot of vets are not too keen on that... And well done you for giving it a go!

Your testing will soon improve with practice. It's something you and your cat will work out together. When people here first suggested I test my cat's glucose I thought it would be impossible. Now, it's just routine. I try to make it something that he really wants to do. So, basically, it's become a treat-giving and head-scritching session that happens to have a blood test thrown in as well. I set up the testing kit, put a few crumbled freeze-dried chicken treats in front of my cat, scratch his head, prick his ear and test his blood, scratch his head, press cotton wool onto test site to stop bleeding, then give him a cuddle. It will probably have taken longer to read that lot than it takes to do the actual test! Although it's routine now it took us a while to get there. I started getting him used to testing by getting him to associate sounds and sensations with being given a treat. So, I'd rub his ear, or hold his ear for a moment, and then give a treat. And I'd click the lancet pen and rattle the test strip vial, and then give him a treat. It's amazing how quickly a cat will learn... Now I just rattle the test strip vial and he will come running to the testing table!

I think that 219 test result looks very promising. As the previous poster said, the more test results you have, the better you'll understand how insulin is working in your cat's body. Every cat is different.

I'm not qualified to advise on dosage, sorry. But maybe others here can advise.

Good luck with the testing!

Elizabeth

 

[wplymale]

So I tested twice the first day and then scratch got wise to me so I tried not to traumatize him bit I just did a test before he ate tonight and he was at 135. Even after reading the link you shared I didn't really know if I should drop the insulin level or not. Now I am really confused because he is under 200 and I have read to skip shot. I am going to test him again before shot. He just ate. Any suggestions.

 

[Sue and Oliver (GA)]

I would not shoot if he is under 200. If 200 or just a little higher, it would be wise to reduce the dose - maybe down to one unit? Any time you can get a number about 6 hours after the shot (to show you how low the insulin is taking him) it will help you figure out how the insulin is working and how you need to adjust. And of course, always test before giving a shot.

Sometimes the food change can make a huge difference in the glucose numbers and then the insulin dose needs to be reduced to match. It sounds like Scratch may be responding to the diet change!