New Member: Miss Georgia Peach, aka George

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Jade & George

Jade & George

Member Since 2021
Hello all! Thank you so much for the information I have already found on this site. It’s been a lifesaver!
My ten-ish year old spayed female domestic short-hair muted calico kitty George was diagnosed last week when I noticed her water intake and urine output increase. She’s 13 lbs and otherwise a very healthy and happy kitty.
 
I just got my second successful reading on a cvs advanced meter abs it’s 59. I gave her some kibble. I could use some help.
 
Giving some high carb food was a good idea. How about testing in about 20 min and post your numbers.

Do you happen to have any corn syrup, honey, or maple syrup on hand. They are more quickly absorbed than kibble. Adding about a teaspoon to canned food works well.
 
She had no symptoms of hypoglycemia. An hour After the kibble I tested her again but the meter errored out three times. But then my alphatrack arrived! I got brave and tried her ear again and succeeded! 157. She still seems fine, and I’m recovering ;). Seeing vet tmrw to install a freestyle libre. Do I need to get the sensor AND reader or can I just get a sensor and download the app?
 
I'm not sure whether you'll need the sensor or not. There are different versions of the Libre. The first version used a phone app. When the more recent versions were released, the FDA hadn't approved the phone app and you needed the sensor. I'm not sure where things are at this point. Bottom line though, the cost of the sensors is high compared to using a human meter. The sensors don't always stay in place and some kitties manage to get them off. They can also fail. It's a good idea to know how to home test!

Also, I'm including a link with information on how to set up your signature. The signature includes some basic information about your kitty so we don't keep asking you the same questions about date of diagnosis, food, etc. The information that's not in the post is that it's always helpful to have chocolate or an adult beverage in the house when the caregiver needs to recover!!
 
I had a Libre installed on my cat last week. It came with a sensor and the app also works just fine. It is the Freestyle Libre Flash.
 
@Sienne and Gabby (GA) Thank you so much for the signature info! I think I got it this time :)
I just received (today) the AlphaTRAK that I ordered from Chewy and have had much better luck already than with the CVS meter I bought the day before (which errored out about a dozen times with all different reasons). I'm getting comfortable with home testing and will definitely continue doing so. The hardest thing for me was actually getting enough blood to do the test, and the many many MANY errors I got which made me feel terrible for sticking her for no gain. I do also plan to give the Freestyle Libre a chance, as my vet recommended, in order to capture some curves. I'm feeling like I shouldn't have followed my vet's direction of starting her at 2 units twice a day, but I had no context and was obviously very upset at the time (feeling like the world's worst pet parent). George is incredibly vet-averse, and I think her BG was inflated due to extreme stress during our first visit. After the first visit the vet gave me Purina DM wet and dry food and I started feeding her a quarter can of wet and 1/4 cup of dry, split into basically two meals. She's not happy with two meals a day, so I'm going to talk to my vet tomorrow about feeding her four times a day (8am, 12pm, 4pm, 8pm), with a MUCH higher percentage of wet food, based on advice from these fora. Thank you all, again!
If anyone else has advice about the Freestyle - a quick clarification - the thing that is attached to the skin is the "sensor". The "reader" is the device that kinda looks like a meter that you hold up to the sensor to read the BG. I can easily find sensors at local pharmacies, but no one has the full kit that includes the reader. I went to half a dozen pharmacies today and called another dozen, and also reached out to a local friend who is a nutritionist and a diabetes educator, all to no avail. I'm going to call the vet in the morning, as my appointment to have the sensor installed is at 4pm.
 
You can feed George multiple times a day. I have no clue why vets seem to think feeding x2/day is a good idea. Use humans as your comparison. Human diabetics eat more than twice a day -- 3 meals and snacks. I fed Gabby at pre-shot, +1, +2 and often +3 -- during both the AM and PM cycles. That said, she had an early nadir and tended to drop quickly into low numbers. Part of when to feed had a lot to do with knowing your cat's cycles. Feeding frequent small meals is easier on your cat's pancreas. And if your vet tells you to feed only twice a day, unless your vet lives with you, he'll never know!

This is a thread on the Libre and another thread on the Libre 3 from the Think Tank forum.
 
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