New Member 7/13/21 Blue

Hi! I am taking care of a community member's cat for the next 6 months. I am still going through all the information that is available on this site and forum.

Blue is about 18 yrs old, very nice and adjusting well in my home. I have had him since 7/11.
He is obese and some of his diet is kibble. I would like for him to reduce weight and transition him to a canned food only diet. I understand that his BG and insulin will need to be carefully tracked as I make the changes. I have not made any changes to his dosing or diet yet.
Per his owners, his insulin dose is appropriate and he is regulated. He was recently checked at the vet. I have asked for his records.

I can check his BG at home. I have not yet come across when those levels should be checked as a starting point. How many hours before and/or after food and insulin?
He currently receives 5 units every 12 hours and is fed shortly before the insulin is given.

Thanks for reading and I am open to any game plan for this cat. I would love to return him to his people in a better condition BCS wise than he is now!

 

Might be a good idea to set up your signature, it's at the end of everyone's post in gray

Click on your name upper right hand corner , a drop down will appear , tap in signature , fill out info

• On the left, under Settings, Click on Signature. This is where you will put information that helps us give you feedback. There is a limit of two lines which may include two links; you may separate pieces with commas, dashes, | etc. This is where you paste the link for your spreadsheet, once it is set up.

• Add info we need to help you:
  • Caregiver & kitty's name
  • DX: Date
  • Name of Insulin (do not include dose or frequency)
  • Name of your meter
  • Diet: "LC wet" or "dry food" or "combo"
  • Dosing: TR or SLGS or Custom (if applicable)
  • DKA or other recent health issue (if applicable)
  • Acro, IAA, or Cushings (if applicable)
  • Spreadsheet link. Please put the signature link on the bottom line of your signature information, on its own, so it is easy to find.
  • Please do not put any information about your location in the signature for security reasons. If you wish to add your country location, please add it to your profile.

Be sure to click the 'Save Changes' button at the bottom. If you need help urgently it is important we know these things at a glance. We don’t want to waste valuable time finding out information.

 

https://felinediabetes.com/FDMB/threads/how-to-create-a-spreadsheet.241706/

We also use a spreadsheet to track our cats BG to see how its working, this link will also explain how the spreadsheet works
If you have trouble setting it up just ask we have someone that will do it for you

 

Most US members use human meters, The Relion Prime from Walmart 9 dollars
17.88 for 100 test strips
26 or 28 gauge lancets
Cotton rounds to put behind the ear when done fold it over his ear to stop the bleeding for about 15-20 seconds

 

Always aim for the sweet spot warm the ears up first, you can put rice in a sock and put it in the microwave, test it on the inside of your wrist to be sure it's not to hot, like you would test a babies bottle. You can fill a pill bottle with warm water and roll it on the ears also.Just keep rubbing the ears with your fingers to warm them up

6. As the ears get used to bleeding and grow more capilares, it gets easier to get the amount of blood you need on the first try. If he won’t stand still, you can get the blood onto a clean finger nail and test from there.
When you do get some blood you can try milking the ear.
Get you finger and gently push up toward the blood , more will appear
You will put the cotton round behind his ear in case you poke your finger, after you are done testing you will fold the cotton round over his ear to stop the bleeding , press gently for about 20 seconds until it stops
Get 26 or 28 gauge lancets
A lot of us use the lancets to test freehand
I find it better to see where I'm aiming

 

How to test your cat's blood sugar
Here is a video that one of our members posted

 

Kibble is high in carbs, members here can help you but you need to do your signature and spreadsheet for them to know more info

 

Thanks! The signature should be updated now. The spreadsheet is linked as well.

One of my goals is to transition him off of the kibble and onto 100% canned food. I know that needs to happen carefully while moderating his BG. I have only been caring for him for three days, so I wanted to make sure he was eating and doing okay prior to tinkering with everything. I am still waiting on his medical records from the vet.

 

You should always test before shooting. You Test/Feed/Shoot....Test to make sure they're high enough for insulin, Feed to make sure they're willing to eat and Shoot, usually with their head in the bowl.

ProZinc is a good insulin for cats and usually takes a few hours to really start to "kick in" so as long as the cat is willing to eat, he can take his time over the next couple hours to eat if he's not the type to gobble it all down as soon as it hits the bowl.

Other than the Pre-Shot tests, it's a good idea to get at least 1 test somewhere mid-cycle on the AM cycle (usually 5-7 hours after the shot) and at least 1 "before bed" test on the PM cycle but if you can get more tests in, that's even better. There's no such thing as too much data!

If you can test more, think of your spreadsheet like it's a puzzle. If you sprinkle pieces (test results) all over, it's easier to see what the whole picture is where if you only do tests at the same times every cycle, it's like filling in the border and one line down the center but leaving the rest of the "puzzle" blank.

 

I could use some help. Blue had a AMPS of 44. I did not give insulin. He did eat. He appears fine. 2 hours later his BG is 70. He still appears okay.

Should I give him Karo to raise his BG or continue to monitor him and the levels?

Background is in his SS. 5 days ago he had a day of not eating well. His diet had been changed. I got the Friskies flavor he had liked and that resolved the appetite and the diarrhea.
He was transitioned from a combo diet to all canned 9 days ago. I reduced his insulin from 5 units to 4 units and fussed with 3.5 units a couple of times. Calories have been reduced further from 2.5 cans a day to 2.

Am I making too many changes too quickly?

 

Yes just monitor. From Blue's SS you did give 2 1/2 units PM with a PS of 169 and BG was 66@+2 and 64@+3. I wouod monitor to see if food or Kero is required.

I say you started at way too high of dose, the SS shows 5 units at start especially since you eliminated dry almost at the start. . It also looks like 1 1/2 units may be too high too.
I myself would drop to 1 unit or maybe 1 1/2 units.

 

Looks like he's earned another reduction for this morning but I could be wrong
Tagging
@JanetNJ

@Panic

@Chris & China (GA)

 

Thanks everyone! I sent an email to his vet so they could stay in the loop. I didn't see the reduction recommendation posts until after I had given him insulin this morning. He's still acting normal and eating. I will reduce for the evening dose.

 

He has been on 5 units with the combo diet for a year. What should I have dropped it to with the diet change?