New Member -- Already drowning before diabetes dx, seeking emotional support

[kira913]

Hi all. I didn't really see a template for intros, just basic info needed, so I hope this post is okay. The links in the pinned posting guide to the "terms of use" and what to include in a signature are broken, maybe due to the recent site changes.


My name is Christina, and my cat's name is Pants. He's a roughly 8yo fixed male, about 14.5lbs. I knew he was FIV+ and FeLV+ (regressive or nondetect by PCR, I can't remember which) at adoption. Leading into September 2025 he had documented allergies being treated by immunotherapy droplets (dust, cotton, and more) and had a history of poor dental hygiene no matter what supplements and brushing attempts we threw at him. He's gotten an extraction and cleaning roughly every 6-12 months.

September 2025 is where things got complicated. Pants has been on prednisolone since 9/15/2025 due to what we initially thought might be stomatitis. I can't remember initial dosage, but when we tried to taper after a week, Pants declined quickly. My primary vet sent us to the ER vet for a transfusion to buy us time to figure out what was going on -- fortunately the ER vet had a hunch and ultimately confirmed he had FIP. He had a bit of a reaction to the transfusion, so the ER vet sent us home with doxycycline, a higher dose of prednisolone, and an expedited prescription for GS-441524 to treat the FIP. At the rec of the FIP Global fb group, my vet tested for blood parasites too and found haemominutum. The doxycycline was extended to a full course, and the prednisolone is to be continued until further notice to combat the IMHA Pants seems to have developed with the FIP.


That's all background pre-diabetes dx.

I had mentioned to my vet 10/21 that Pants was doing so well on his meds that he was eating me out of house and home, and that plus high glucose made my vet worry about diabetes. I watched him over the course of the week, and sure enough, he was eating, drinking, and peeing much more than before. Vet formally diagnosed diabetes 10/27. Currently, he is on Libre 3 sensors with a handheld reader. He managed to disconnect his first sensor 36 hours early, so he's been sentenced to pajamas. We were on Bexacat starting 11/4, but after continued struggles with diarrhea, lower blood values as a result of the diarrhea, and 2 nights in a row of low glucose alarms, I cut that off 11/16. The first night he got as low as 53 with no symptoms, and I ran him to the ER vet, but thankfully his glucose quickly recovered and no ketones.

Unfortunately we are still on steroids (7.5mg twice a day) to combat the IMHA. My vet may be starting us on Atopica as well since his numbers declined again. The plan going into Pant's appointment today 11/18 is to look at our other treatment options, potentially insulin, but depending on my vet's thoughts I'd almost prefer to manage it with diet change only.

Pants was briefly on allergy shots, and he absolutely hated them, and I felt like an absolute monster giving them once a week. I've been told insulin shots are very easy, but I'm very anxious about trying them due to that past experience. His glucose seems to stay below 200 on fancy feast pate.


Current conditions, passive and active:
-FIV+
-FeLV+ (regressive or nondetect by PCR)
-Allergies (cotton, dust mites, storage mites)
-FIP
-IMHA (seems to be associated with the FIP)
-Haemominutum blood parasite (treatment complete but I've been told it's hard to clear fully)
-Steroid-induced diabetes
-Possibly allergic to an additive in his FIP meds but vet and I agreed to pretend we didn't see that rash

Current meds/rx:
-Prednisoline 7.5mg twice daily
-GS-441524 100mg once daily (day 48 of treatment)
-Allergy immunotherapy drops, 2 drops twice daily
-potential to add Atopica today 11/18
-recently discontinued 11/16: Bexacat 1 tablet daily
-recently discontinued 11/16: Proviable Forte 1 capsule daily and paste as needed (to help Bexacat side effects)
-Libre 3 sensor and reader
-no insulin currently, potential to add today 11/18
-no manual tester currently

Food:
-Fancy Feast Pate
-Recently switched over from Purina Pro Plan Adult Complete Essentials and Purina Pro Plan Hairball Control mixed 50/50 as of 11/16 (had stayed on it to try and prevent hypoglycemia during Bexacat trial)
-Recently dropped Purina EN prescription diet (to help Bexacat side effects, but he was refusing to eat it)
-A healthy dose of Churu every day so he cooperates with his meds

Questions:
-I do not have a manual tester. Do I need one? My vet hasn't really said anything about it yet and I don't know how to use one. Due to the cost of FIP treatments and all our vet visits, I'd like to avoid unnecessary costs, but if it's necessary then it's necessary.
-How do I fill out the recommended spreadsheets if we are not on insulin (yet)?
-Is there anybody else out there with a similar experience?
-If we do go on insulin, what does that look like? Should I prepare to take time off? If so, for how long? What if I can't immediately schedule time off, how critical is it to begin ASAP?


Please please please be as patient and gentle with me as you can, I have zero experience with feline diabetes, let alone human diabetes. I'm not even confident I fully understand the basics. My vet has been very supportive and I trust them completely, but everything going on with Pants has been overwhelming for everyone involved. One facebook group I sought advice from immediately bashed my vet for the decision to try Bexacat while Pants has FIP (and frankly made me cry), but he seemed a good candidate and at this point my vet is making treatment decisions for us considering my own mental health. They know Pants has a history not taking injections well. If some of my vet's approach seems unusual or missing information, I would not doubt that it was intentional to avoid me losing my marbles... I do understand remission is achievable with feline diabetes, but I have not found a lot of hope in that with all the other hurdles we're dealing with.

I'll openly admit I've had trouble reading things clearly and finding what I need due to how overwhelmed I've been, so please forgive me if I've overlooked something I should have done first on this forum. I do understand many people are able to manage working full time and in-person and still manage to administer/monitor insulin. I just don't know what a "day in the life" first starting with insulin is like, especially starting while working full time, as I'm running low on PTO -- your anecdotes would really help bring me peace of mind.

Sorry for the long and probably overdramatic sounding post. I tried writing a shorter post, but I've truly been at my wit's end, and so far my attempts to find emotional support in other groups have either been met mostly with criticism, especially of my vet's approach so far and without any regard for the FIP situation, which hurts. That's partly why I didn't want to leave anything out. It's just not as simple as "stop steroids now, get your act together, and get him on insulin."


tl;dr: apparently my cat loves collecting acronyms, I would greatly appreciate an explain-like-I'm-5 walkthrough of the first few days of giving insulin and monitoring keeping in mind that he's already on a lot of meds and actively fighting FIP, as well as whether or not we need a manual reader on top of his sensor and if we might be able to manage this diabetes with diet alone

 

[Tim & Pookey]

The links in the pinned posting guide to the "terms of use" and what to include in a signature are broken, maybe due to the recent site changes.

Thank you so much for letting me know. I fixed the ones I could find. As you can imagine, it is a tall task to keep links updated with the amount of content here.

Nice writeup as well, very detailed. You sound like a great caregiver for Pants. If you stick around here, you will find a very caring and supportive bunch. They really want what's best for you and your cat.

I can answer a couple questions quickly. Yes, manual testing is still important. The Libre devices notoriously are not accurate in extreme highs and lows. Where are you located (the US?)? The ReliOn meter from Walmart is super inexpensive and is a solid meter. Strips are like pennies each too.

You can still fill out the spreadsheet, just leave the units column and insulin information blank for now. It would be good to see some information from the Libre in there. Just pick a shot time (7AM/7PM, whatever works for you) and fill out the readings from there.

Here's some reading on managing FD and working full-time: Info - IS TIGHT REGULATION POSSIBLE WITH A FULL TIME JOB? YES!

Has Pants ever had ketones? What insulin is your vet recommending?

Hang in there and keep asking questions, you got this!

 

[Sienne and Gabby (GA)]

Welcome to FDMB!

You certainly have your hands full and you have done an incredible job caring for Pants given all of what he's thrown at you medically. We are here to help with the diabetes!!

Testing: The Libre is very helpful for many of our members. @Staci & Ivy is very experienced with the Libre and can answer pretty much any question you have. We do suggest learning how to test manually since the Libre tends to give a "false" low once a cat's blood glucose drops below 100. Many people here use the Walmart Relion meter as the strips are among the least expensive available. We have lots of information available about home testing, including videos. It's how most of us learned how to test.

Spreadsheet: You can use the spreadsheet even if you're not giving insulin. The column marked "U" is for the units of insulin you're injecting. If you're not giving insulin, put a dash in the cell and in the comments section note you're not yet giving insulin. To be honest, we consider a blood glucose of 50 to 120 as normal range. It's hard to know if you switch Pants over to an entirely low carbohydrate diet if his numbers will remain in normal range. It's especially hard to know give that he's prescribed prednisolone. Not all cat's can be diet controlled.

Other members: I'm honestly not recalling if we've had a kitty with quite as many comorbid diagnoses. I'm tagging one of the other moderators who may remember more clearly than I am recalling. @Wendy&Neko

Insulin: First, you need a good insulin for cats. The American Animal Hospital Assn recommends either Prozinc or Lantus (glargine) for the treatment of feline diabetes. There are GoodRx coupons available for Lantus since it's a human insulin and with the coupon, it's very affordable. You use syringes with the insulin even if you buy the insulin pens. Don't dispense directly from the pen. The needle on an insulin syringe is incredibly thin. If you want to be home when you start with insulin, consider starting over the Thanksgiving holiday. Ideally, you'd be starting on a low dose (once we know what insulin you're using we can offer more insight) so you're avoiding Pants being in unnecessarily low numbers. Or starting on a weekend is also a possibility. I never took time off of work to manage my cat's diabetes. I worked full time and have a demanding job. You can do this!!

 

[Wendy&Neko]

Hello and welcome. Feeling overwhelmed is a very common feeling when you start the feline diabetes journey. We all went through it, which is one of the reasons we love to help new people. Just paying back what others did for us. Please ask any questions or if you need clarification, don't hesitate to ask.

I do remember at least one other FIP kitty, maybe more? Cindy isn't on as often now that her FIP kitty Tansi has gone into diabetic remission. She didn't discover the FIP until after he was already diabetic. FIV is not uncommon here. As Sienne said, it's the particular combination of conditions that's tricky. We have had quite a few kitties on prednisilone. We just work any insulin dose around medications that are necessary. If at some point his IMHA gets better and you can reduce the pred, then maybe the insulin dose can come down. Of course, with careful monitoring of the blood sugars.

Towards the end of her life my girl had diabetes, kidney disease, heart disease, small cell lymphoma, and severe osteoarthritis, all actually caused by a benign pituitary tumour (acromegaly). My kitchen counter looked like a small pharmacy. Frankly, the diabetes was the easiest condition to deal with. I had no previous experience with FD or human diabetes, other than once giving a shot to a friend on a camping trip. I wasn't very good at it and fainted at the sight of blood. Testing for me was hard, I had to keep telling myself it was to keep Neko safe and eventually I found my way with the help of folks here. I found this post helpful when I started: What is Feline Diabetes?

 

[kira913]

Thank you for all the work that you do! I can imagine it's a lot to manage. I will go back to take a look and try to fill out a proper signature accordingly. I'm glad to hear my writeup was coherent at least!

I am located in the US, I'll definitely look into the ReliOn meter. Is a prescription needed? Because we are going back to the vet this afternoon and I can ask for a prescription then.

Has Pants ever had ketones? What insulin is your vet recommending?

He has! He had ketones checked 11/3, 11/7, and 11/14 -- no ketones any of those times. He also had BHBA levels checked those same dates (required to monitor Bexacat) and was within the proper range each time. I can't remember exact BHBA readings, I got them over the phone as my vet had to run to a colleague across town to borrow test strips, as their order got delayed. My vet said they would be looking at glargine insulin if we end up switching to insulin.

Since I don't have a manual meter and I've been not great about checking the Libre, I suppose I'll have to sit down and figure out how to download that data from the handheld tonight to put into the spreadsheet, I'd rather not guesstimate data from the daily charts I have on hand. Boy oh boy do I have blood tests though.

 

[kira913]

If you want to be home when you start with insulin, consider starting over the Thanksgiving holiday. Ideally, you'd be starting on a low dose (once we know what insulin you're using we can offer more insight) so you're avoiding Pants being in unnecessarily low numbers. Or starting on a weekend is also a possibility.

Thank you, this makes me feel a bit better. I am one of the crazy people that repeatedly adopts FeLV+ kitties, so I'm used to most everything being a "drop everything and run" emergency when it comes to my kitties' health.

After my initial post I did receive advice from one of the FIP Global admins I was paired with that she has had a couple of cats in her rescue exhibit signs and receive a diagnosis of diabetes during treatment, only to go into hypo even with very low doses of insulin. I'm going to discuss it with my vet this afternoon to get their thoughts on the matter. With FIP treatment being so new, there's not really much research for a lot of what we're dealing with or how to handle it... :/ I will stick around here to be on the safe side, though, knowing my luck it probably is legitimately diabetes. If we do go on insulin, my vet said their go-to is glargine insulin.

 

[Tim & Pookey]

I am located in the US, I'll definitely look into the ReliOn meter. Is a prescription needed?

No prescription needed!

 

[kira913]

Towards the end of her life my girl had diabetes, kidney disease, heart disease, small cell lymphoma, and severe osteoarthritis, all actually caused by a benign pituitary tumour (acromegaly). My kitchen counter looked like a small pharmacy. Frankly, the diabetes was the easiest condition to deal with. I had no previous experience with FD or human diabetes, other than once giving a shot to a friend on a camping trip. I wasn't very good at it and fainted at the sight of blood. Testing for me was hard, I had to keep telling myself it was to keep Neko safe and eventually I found my way with the help of folks here. I found this post helpful when I started: What is Feline Diabetes?

My sympathies I lost my other double positive kitty to spinal lymphoma earlier this year. Pants is definitely veering into small pharmacy territory, I got him his own pill counter to make sure I don't miss anything with my ADHD. It's reassuring to hear you still found the diabetes easy during all that, even with your testing difficulties. I'll definitely give that post a read.

I've read a few anecdotes on the FIP groups of kitties with diabetes and/or FIV managing okay through FIP treatments, but I haven't seen anybody else with the full kitchen sink like us. And very few developing diabetes during treatment, though usually the IMHA isn't this persistent. Hopefully if I keep word vomiting, it will help somebody else in the future.

Fortunately Pants has been doing great so far, other than the diabetes symptoms and his terrible bloodwork, he's been acting like his old self since about week 2 of his GS treatment. Sure it's been at the high cost of my own sanity, but hopefully we can keep it that way and start seeing some improvements

 

[Sienne and Gabby (GA)]

If you're going to make a stop to pick up supplies, in addition to a glucometer and strips, you'll need lancets (initially you need 26 - 28 gauge which are a thicker lancet) and most of us keep a package of Ketostix around since testing occasionally for ketones is a good safety measure. You don't need a prescription for any of the basic supplies.

Glargine is a great insulin for cats. You need a prescription for insulin. You may also need a prescription for syringes -- whether you need a prescription varies by where you live. You will need U-100 3/10cc syringes with half unit markings. I believe Walmart's Relion syringes are available at most Walmart's. There are other manufacturers that have similar syringes online (Amazon where you don't need a prescription, ADW are two places). If you want to do more reading about glargine, this is a link to our glargine insulin support group. Once you get the basics mastered, you're welcome to post on that forum. (We ask everyone to start out on Health.) The sticky notes at the top of the page have lots of information about the insulin, it's use, dosing methods, etc.

You may also need to take a look at what you're feeding Pants. We consider low carbohydrate food as under 10% carb. This is a long list of canned foods that are available in the US. Most of the members here feed their cat a food that's in the 5% range (give or take). There are very few dry foods that are low carb. The foods many people use are Fancy Feast Classics or Friskies pate style. There are lots of other options, though.

If you plan to stick around, we'd also ask you to take a look at this post on helping us to help you. It has information on setting up and using the spreadsheet, how to set up your signature, and other helpful information for getting started.

 

[kira913]

If you're going to make a stop to pick up supplies, in addition to a glucometer and strips, you'll need lancets (initially you need 26 - 28 gauge which are a thicker lancet) and most of us keep a package of Ketostix around since testing occasionally for ketones is a good safety measure. You don't need a prescription for any of the basic supplies.

I did grab a pack of PetTest Ketone strips from Chewy that just arrived last Friday. Have not used them just yet. Should I get Ketostix going forward?

Any recs for adhering Libre 3 sensors, also? The facebook group yelled at me for buying vetbond (and they were right, I still havent gotten the first sensor off even with Brava ), but it was the only adhesive option I found with a turnaround time less than a full week or more.

You may also need to take a look at what you're feeding Pants. We consider low carbohydrate food as under 10% carb. This is a long list of canned foods that are available in the US. Most of the members here feed their cat a food that's in the 5% range (give or take). There are very few dry foods that are low carb. The foods many people use are Fancy Feast Classics or Friskies pate style. There are lots of other options, though.

If you plan to stick around, we'd also ask you to take a look at this post on helping us to help you. It has information on setting up and using the spreadsheet, how to set up your signature, and other helpful information for getting started.

Thank you! My plan, pending vet feedback this afternoon, is to switch him to Fancy Feast classic. He eats it fine and has done well with it in the past.

I've copied over a spreadsheet and added it to my signature so that it should update once I'm able to offload Libre sensor data tonight (assuming I don't forget after his appt). I did already have a running tracker of all his lab work, so I just added that as a new tab rather than re-populate everything -- but I may update that to auto-populate the template table.

It's a bit slap-dash for now since I'm at work and trying to mitigate any afternoon hiccups when I leave early for the vet, so I may need feedback once I've tidied it up a little better. Hopefully within a day or two, workload permitting.

 

[Wendy&Neko]

More reading, sorry! But this is a post developed by some of our current Libre users. Getting Started With Continuous Glucose Monitors (CGMs) for Diabetic Cats. In that post it tells you about a FB group for Libre for dogs and cats that people say is helpful. Some people here have learned to apply their own Libres.

Signature looks good, spreadsheet also readable. Well done.

 

[Staci & Ivy]

I did grab a pack of PetTest Ketone strips from Chewy that just arrived last Friday. Have not used them just yet. Should I get Ketostix going forward?

Any recs for adhering Libre 3 sensors, also? The facebook group yelled at me for buying vetbond (and they were right, I still havent gotten the first sensor off even with Brava ), but it was the only adhesive option I found with a turnaround time less than a full week or more.



Thank you! My plan, pending vet feedback this afternoon, is to switch him to Fancy Feast classic. He eats it fine and has done well with it in the past.

I've copied over a spreadsheet and added it to my signature so that it should update once I'm able to offload Libre sensor data tonight (assuming I don't forget after his appt). I did already have a running tracker of all his lab work, so I just added that as a new tab rather than re-populate everything -- but I may update that to auto-populate the template table.

It's a bit slap-dash for now since I'm at work and trying to mitigate any afternoon hiccups when I leave early for the vet, so I may need feedback once I've tidied it up a little better. Hopefully within a day or two, workload permitting.

Welcome Christina and sweet Pants, he's just precious!
We are sorry you need to be here but we are glad you are here because you love him so much!

Below is more reading about using a Libre sensor, very helpful information!
Getting Started With Continuous Glucose Monitors (CGMs) for Diabetic Cats

I use a Libre 3 on my girl for almost 3 years now. I have never used any kind of glue. The glue can destroy their fragile skin and it can also flood the sensor and kill it quickly. So a waste of time and money and stress for you and your kitty.
I cover the sensor with a tegaderm transparent "bandage" to hold in place and use a skin barrier (skin tac, it's not glue) before adhering the Libre.
Luckily, I have never had a sensor fall off unless I didn't have it covered and she pulled it off

Like Pants, my girl needs to wear something to protect the Libre. She wears a tube top with no arms on it (so different than a tee shirt).
I also use a dedicated iphone to stay at home with my cat to read the sensor via bluetooth (no manual scanning is necessary) and send the data to my phone 24/7.
(You or someone you know may have an older phone you may use for this purpose. I bought an iphone 8 on ebay cheaply). You don't need any service plan for the phone, so no expenses there.

Yes, you need to be able to test with an ear prick in case he drops low on the Libre to make sure of his actual numbers (I have a Relion and a Contour Next manual glucometer). But day to day I use the Libre to keep her safe.

If you have any questions, feel free to ask, I am happy to help.
Wishing you and Pants all the best!!

 

[kira913]

I use a Libre 3 on my girl for almost 3 years now. I have never used any kind of glue. The glue can destroy their fragile skin and it can also flood the sensor and kill it quickly. So a waste of time and money and stress for you and your kitty.
I cover the sensor with a tegaderm transparent "bandage" to hold in place and use a skin barrier (skin tac, it's not glue) before adhering the Libre.
Luckily, I have never had a sensor fall off unless I didn't have it covered and she pulled it off

Thank you!! I will look into the tegaderm bandages. I will certainly invest in tegaderm bandages. I still need to order skintac, when we got our first sensor I was having an awful time finding much of anything available quickly, and we wanted it on and monitoring within a few days. First two sensors ended up being applied with vetbond. At yesterday's appointment, one of the vet techs was able to get our first sensor off using something called Eaze Off -- from what they told me, they used to have a clinic cat with libres and used the vetbond/eaze off combo with those sensors. I did buy Brava adhesive remover, but that didn't make a dent. :/

Like Pants, my girl needs to wear something to protect the Libre. She wears a tube top with no arms on it (so different than a tee shirt).
I also use a dedicated iphone to stay at home with my cat to read the sensor via bluetooth (no manual scanning is necessary) and send the data to my phone 24/7.
(You or someone you know may have an older phone you may use for this purpose. I bought an iphone 8 on ebay cheaply). You don't need any service plan for the phone, so no expenses there.

My vet had us get the handheld monitor, he said he's had issues with accuracy from the phone before. That could have been from much older versions of the app, though, but fortunately I was able to get a coupon.

 

[kira913]

UPDATES 11/19 AM:

I did manage to download data from our monitor just now, so I will try and fill in the chart once I get to work today -- workload permitting.

Discussions from last night's vet appt: given Pant's sudden plummets on Bexacat and decent curves on Fancy Feast classic, our vet is very, very hesitant to start us on insulin just yet. They agreed with me having discontinued his Bexacat. The plan is to keep him on Fancy Feast for a week and monitor his curves throughout the week, with a recheck next week. Regardless of the internist referral they're sending out, we're due for our FIP Week 8 CBC and Chem 17 next week anyway.

In the meantime on the FIP front, my vet is opting to refer us to an internist to get us better direction on his persistent IMHA. We upped his GS-441524 doseage from 15mg/kg to 20mg/kg at the recommendation of the FIP Global admins with buy-in from my vet. We are continuing the same steroid dose for now to not alter any other meds, but depending on the opinion of the internist, we're ready to switch Pants over to Atopica. If no internist call within 48 hours we may pull the trigger on the Atopica anyway. Our local internist is out on medical leave, so it will be a bit of a drive for us... Maybe they'll give us a discount for being an extra fun case As my vet said yesterday, "He's really an internist's dream and a general practitioner's worst nightmare." And as the ER Vet said last friday, "Oh wow! He really has a little bit of everything for everybody!"

 

[Staci & Ivy]

Thank you!! I will look into the tegaderm bandages. I will certainly invest in tegaderm bandages. I still need to order skintac, when we got our first sensor I was having an awful time finding much of anything available quickly, and we wanted it on and monitoring within a few days. First two sensors ended up being applied with vetbond. At yesterday's appointment, one of the vet techs was able to get our first sensor off using something called Eaze Off -- from what they told me, they used to have a clinic cat with libres and used the vetbond/eaze off combo with those sensors. I did buy Brava adhesive remover, but that didn't make a dent. :/



My vet had us get the handheld monitor, he said he's had issues with accuracy from the phone before. That could have been from much older versions of the app, though, but fortunately I was able to get a coupon.

I ordered all that stuff (Tegaderm, brava spray) on Amazon.
I use organic coconut oil (sometimes with a little baby oil mixed in) on a cotton swab and gently, slowly apply to the edges around the sensor to loosen it from her skin. Just go slowly and gently and it will lift off.
You can also use the brava spray around the edges and use a cotton swab to get it to loosen the sensor.

As far as using the reader or a cell phone app to “read” the sensor, I think that the vets really do not have great firsthand knowledge at all. They’re not using it on a daily basis and they’re going by what they’re being told.

Honestly, I learned most of what I did from the Facebook group. When I started with this whole thing three years ago, there was a little information out there on using it on a cat, but that Facebook page had more accurate information than anywhere else and I still continue to refer to it as an ongoing source

Obviously, use what works in your lifestyle. If the reader works for you and you’re happy with it, great.
I just didn’t wanna have to constantly scan my cat physically and I wanted the data sent to my phone so that wherever I am I just look at my phone to see what her number is.
You will figure out what works for you very quickly
I hope you have a very safe surf today

 

[kira913]

I ordered all that stuff (Tegaderm, brava spray) on Amazon.
I use organic coconut oil (sometimes with a little baby oil mixed in) on a cotton swab and gently, slowly apply to the edges around the sensor to loosen it from her skin. Just go slowly and gently and it will lift off.
You can also use the brava spray around the edges and use a cotton swab to get it to loosen the sensor.

As far as using the reader or a cell phone app to “read” the sensor, I think that the vets really do not have great firsthand knowledge at all. They’re not using it on a daily basis and they’re going by what they’re being told.

Honestly, I learned most of what I did from the Facebook group. When I started with this whole thing three years ago, there was a little information out there on using it on a cat, but that Facebook page had more accurate information than anywhere else and I still continue to refer to it as an ongoing source

Obviously, use what works in your lifestyle. If the reader works for you and you’re happy with it, great.
I just didn’t wanna have to constantly scan my cat physically and I wanted the data sent to my phone so that wherever I am I just look at my phone to see what her number is.
You will figure out what works for you very quickly
I hope you have a very safe surf today

Thank you! I will be sure to stock up Gotta get my lists of what to order together since I've got like 4 different ones in all different places lol. I don't use facebook much at all, and I felt pretty dogpiled over the vetbond situation despite saying that was the only thing available at the time, so I don't know that I'll be returning...

I agree w/ the firsthand experience thing though, my vet openly told me he was making the recommendation off firsthand experience but from several years ago. I don't think they've had a clinic cat in quite a while, let alone a diabetic one. The sensor ended up being easier to get a hold of, and fortunately his numbers usually stay stable enough that I don't worry about him much home alone.

I think I've gotten the glucose readings thru this morning all in order on Pants' spreadsheet now, finally. Just need to map the labwork into the template. Somebody let me know if I screwed anything up.

 

[Staci & Ivy]

Thank you! I will be sure to stock up Gotta get my lists of what to order together since I've got like 4 different ones in all different places lol. I don't use facebook much at all, and I felt pretty dogpiled over the vetbond situation despite saying that was the only thing available at the time, so I don't know that I'll be returning...

I agree w/ the firsthand experience thing though, my vet openly told me he was making the recommendation off firsthand experience but from several years ago. I don't think they've had a clinic cat in quite a while, let alone a diabetic one. The sensor ended up being easier to get a hold of, and fortunately his numbers usually stay stable enough that I don't worry about him much home alone.

I think I've gotten the glucose readings thru this morning all in order on Pants' spreadsheet now, finally. Just need to map the labwork into the template. Somebody let me know if I screwed anything up.

Good job on your spreadsheet

 

[Sienne and Gabby (GA)]

I just took a look at Pants' spreadsheet. I suspect the Libre is giving alarms at points that are not really indicative of hypoglycemia. We don't get nervous until a cat's numbers are below 50 given that's the bottom of normal blood glucose range or if a cat is showing symptoms of hypoglycemia. Pants' numbers are in diabetic range.

If you're going to hold off on insulin for a week, please test for ketones. It may be that I'm being overly cautious but ketones can be life threatening and it's a "better safe than sorry" way of thinking. Also, you can use any brand of ketone urinary test strip. It doesn't need to be Ketostix.

 

[kira913]

I just took a look at Pants' spreadsheet. I suspect the Libre is giving alarms at points that are not really indicative of hypoglycemia. We don't get nervous until a cat's numbers are below 50 given that's the bottom of normal blood glucose range or if a cat is showing symptoms of hypoglycemia. Pants' numbers are in diabetic range.

If you're going to hold off on insulin for a week, please test for ketones. It may be that I'm being overly cautious but ketones can be life threatening and it's a "better safe than sorry" way of thinking. Also, you can use any brand of ketone urinary test strip. It doesn't need to be Ketostix.

Thank you, that helps put my mind at ease a little. And thanks for the heads up! I will definitely try the ketone strips I got tonight. How frequently would you recommend testing? And what warning signs should prompt testing more frequently?

Even on the Bexacat he was eating a lot, drinking a lot, and peeing a lot -- that's been consistent. Diarrhea on the Bexacat of course, but no real symptoms of anything else beyond that as far as I have noticed since about week 2 of FIP treatment. Knock on wood.

 

[Sienne and Gabby (GA)]

The symptom that is an attention getter for me is lethargy.

I would test daily. Typically, you don't see ketones when numbers are not high (meaning 300s and above) but, that's not always the case and some cats are more prone than others to developing ketones. If you get a reading that's more than "trace," I'd get Pants over to see your vet ASAP. Ketones can get dangerous quickly. Any kind of infection or inflammation is also part of the equation.