New Member Checking In

[HersheyKiss]

Hi. I'm new!

I'm Tess. I have a lot of cats. Now, don't blame me! Blame my husband. He has a problem that when people tell him their sob story about how they can't take their cats with them when they move away, he brings them home. (We live outside an Army base and someone is always moving away and can't take their cats with them.) It's my fault, really. When we first married a lifetime ago, I made the mistake of saying I wanted a cat. He said, "I don't think I like cats," but I said, "But you never had a cat. How do you know you wouldn't like one?" so we got a cat and it turns out, there is a Crazy Cat Lady living inside him! He LOVES cats. He's crazier about cats than I am! Now he just feels sorry for every cat in the world who needs a home. I've created a monster! There is a running joke around here that when my husband comes home and says, "Guess what I got today?" I tell him if it's another cat I will seriously hurt him!! I can't deal with any more cats!

So we have five cats. I know that's not Hoarders-level cat-crazy, but borderline. (No offense intended to anyone with more cats than five!) I embarrassed to tell people that number. I feel safe telling you all, but in any other situation when someone says, "Wait, how many cats do you have?" I have to quickly find a way to change the subject. Ha ha!

I have one diabetic cat, named Pugsly, who is 8 years old. That's him in my user pic. He's my first diabetic kitty, so I'm still learning. He is the love of my life, the sweetest cat I've ever had! You're wondering about the name, I know. When we got him, he arrived along with his sister/littermate. He was fat and he has extra toes on his front paws (his thumb is quite noticeable; he looks like he's wearing mittens!) and his sister was much smaller, with one deformed front leg (partial squitten), and she, too, has extra toes (although not mitten-like paws). One of her claws grows long and straight and thick like a little twig! Very weird! Well, I took one look at these cats and asked my husband where he got these freakish cats from -- the Addams Family?! So I immediately started calling the boy Pugsly. His original name, though, was Hershey Kiss. (I didn't want to be known as Pugsly on the board! ha ha)

I know you're now curious about his sister's name. My husband refused to call her Wednesday, so he just calls her Baby.

We took them to the vet shortly after, and Pugsly weighed about 20 pounds! Obviously we were told he needed to lose some weight -- preferably about six or seven pounds. I paid close attention to all the suggestions for losing weight that the vet gave me and put a plan in motion. Well, it turns out my husband, The Big Softie, felt bad and kept sneaking Puglsy food behind my back. *sigh* As the vet predicted, he developed diabetes. We noticed when he started losing weight very fast. He was diagnosed in September of 2013.

He was stable for almost three months, but right before Christmas he threw up one evening and then didn't want to eat anything. The vet said it was pancreatitis and we almost lost him. But he bounced back and he's been stable ever since. (Knock on wood!)

After that scare, I asked the vet about home testing. He shrugged and said I could try it if I wanted to, but he didn't offer helps or tips. I did buy a ReliOn meter and I do test him, but only before feeding him and I don't do it every single time. We have him on PZI. He started out at 5 units twice a day, but now it's down to about 3 units twice a day. We feed him Sheba, mainly because my husband, in addition to being Mr-Brings-Home-Too-Many-Cats and Mr-Big-Softie is also Mr-It's-Just-Easier-To-Grab-This-Box-Of-24-Cans. Although I now realize that Fancy Feast Classic (which I see is on the recommended list) ALSO comes in a box of 24 cans, so maybe I can get him to switch pretty easily.

Sheba, at least the black-label cans, says it has no grains or corn. When I compare the Sheba pate to the Fancy Feast Classic I picked up, the label seem similar (same crude protein, crude fiber, and moisture, but Fancy Feast has crude fat of 2% while Sheba is 4%. Should that extra fat be a reason for concern? I really don't know what I'm looking for on these food labels.

Another question I have is that even if I were to start checking his numbers more often, at six hours after feeding him, what am I looking for in the second number? As an example, the number at feeding time tonight was 239 so I gave him 2.5 units. But six hours later, if the number is over 150, am I supposed to give him more insulin, even without feeding him? (Just a reminder, he's on PZI/ProZinc).

Thanks for any advice you all might have!

 

[Larry and Kitties]

What FF has 2% crude fat min? The Classic Tender Beef and Chicken has 6% min
http://www.fancyfeast.com/gourmet-cat-p ... cken-feast
Typically all the pate canned have amount the same amount of fat so I would not really be concerned

Regarding checking BGs, not you really do not give insulin between the 12 hour interval with a long lasting insulin like ProZinc. With N/NPH insulin, a human insulin, you can does every 8 hours.
Between shots at about 6 hours you are looking for a BG between about 80 and 140 or so. Since the lowest BG will not always be at 6 hour we typically periodically do a curve where you measure the BG every 2 hours after shot.

Has was the 2 1/2 units arrived at?

Most of us here record the cat's BG, insulin dose and other things in a Google Docs spread sheet and provide a link to that in their signature. However. I do not. For setting up the SS see:
viewtopic.php?f=6&t=50130

And welcome here.

 

[Sue and Oliver (GA)]

Here is our PZI/ProZinc protocol. It may help you figure out how the insulin is dosed, and may generate more questions. Then ask away!

http://www.felinediabetes.com/FDMB/viewtopic.php?f=24&t=109077

We look for a smile shaped curve on PZI. We generally consider a cat regulated if they are in the lower 200s at preshot and double digits at nadir (5-7 hours after the shot) and then back up in the 200s for the next shot, 12 hours later. We do not want a nadir lower than 50 as that is approaching hypo territory.

 

[KPassa]

Welcome Tess and Pugsley!

What a great story on their names and how your husband has a tendency to collect cats. :lol: And sibling Hemingway kitties! How cute!

Good job on already feeding them wet food. :thumbup For more on feline nutrition, check out catinfo.org, where there is also a food chart of most commercial cat foods (Sheba isn't on there because Mars, the parent company, refused to provide the information). For our diabetics, we recommend anything less than 8-10% calories from carbs (the first column C). She even also has a section dealing specifically with feline obesity that you might find helpful.

How are you doing with the home testing? How often are you testing? If you're having any difficulties, we have a few tips and tricks up our sleeves that might help.

PZI/ProZinc is a long-acting insulin and is only meant to be given BID (twice a day), every 12 hours, although there is a bit more flexibility with it (vs. depot insulins like Lantus and Levemir) Of course, there are always exceptions to every rule and some cats do better on TID (three times a day) dosing, given every 8 hours.

Please let us know if you have anything else we can help you with or have any other questions.

 

[BJM]

Perhaps this will be helpful.

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[Glucose reference ranges are unsubstantiated and have been removed by Moderator]

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Examples of using the chart:

Ex. You are a new insulin user and you test your cat before giving insulin. The test is 300. It probably is safe to give insulin.

Ex. You are an established user of Lantus, following the Tight Regulation protocol. You've tested around +5 to +7 to spot the nadir. It is 200 mg/dL. You probably need to increase the dose, following the instructions for the protocol.

Ex. Your cat is acting funny. The eyes are a bit dilated. You are concerned and test the glucose. The number is 35 mg/dL. ACK! The cat may be in a hypoglycemic state. You quickly follow the HYPO protocol linked in the glucose reference values chart. (which we really, really, suggest you print out and post on your refrigerator.)