New Member - Need Help!

[SarahFung]

Hello everyone, my name is Sarah and I am 38 weeks and a few days pregnant. I’m reaching out as I can have baby any day now and worried about my diabetic cat. This entire situation has been stressful especially with a baby coming and being heavily pregnant going back and forth to the vet for my poor bubs.

Fung (my cat) was diagnosed Feb 13,2022 with diabetes, I was given lantus insulin, alphatrax meter, and expensive prescription food (Hills W/D). Over the past couple weeks I have perused this forum for information (thank you all so much!) and slowly made the switch to LC Wet food, and took it upon myself to perform his first at home glucose curve on March 13th. His levels were high (started at 22mmol ended at 30.9mmol over course of 12hrs) and provided this information to his Vet. (Fung has only had two glucose curves since being diagnosed and both had very high levels he was on all dry diet)

Today I am performing his Glucose Curve again with hopes of keeping him under control and before I go into labour and being able to leave adequate notes for my family who will watch him while I’m gone.

At 8:30am I tested 7.4mmol (lowest I’ve ever seen it) since I’ve fully switched his food now over to wet food every 12hrs as per the weight guides on the can. So he gets 4 cans a day (fancy feast). I am going to test Fung's blood at 9:30am before administering his insulin, call the vet with his numbers to see if it’s safe to proceed with his dose (2iu).

I couldn’t figure out my signature yet as I need to see the spreadsheet so I do apologize about that in advance.

Any suggestions or advice on what to do with my situation? How to go about having him properly cared for when I go into labour? His insulin? Is it dangerous to give his dose if his levels are lower? Please any help and advice is welcomed I just want to make sure he is okay so I am not worried about him while giving birth! Thank you all kindly

 

[Noah & me (GA)]

We've never had kids, that will become obvious but we have had two sugar cats. Some of our babies were born upstairs, they poop in a box and know "Papa" and "Momma" but that's it. You just give a little squeeze and out they come right? Easy-Peazy! Don't forget to plant a tree over the placenta, you'll need some of this

Now for what you think is the hard part but will soon be part of your daily routine. Just be thankful you're not having triplets. Diabetes is not a death sentence, it's just an inconvenience and with the help of the wonderful people here it will be relatively easy. I have no experience with Lantus but once you've established a routine you can go into the Lantus forum for day to day advice. This forum is for general health questions just like the ones you just asked.
Not sure how tech savvy you are so this is called tagging, @Wendy&Neko @Bron and Sheba (GA) who can help you set up a spreadsheet and signature. Your profile should include Fung's past medical history, your financial and time constraints and whether you've got help at home (a partner). While your profile can be seen by all it can be as anonymous as you wish. Mine is a mess, others choose to block theirs altogether (stalkers etc.) We all started where you are now, there's no such thing as a stupid question and there's no shaming here.
You do have a meter and are doing a curve, are you testing before giving insulin? Babies are expensive, there's really no reason to feed him that expensive prescription food. Most of us have progressed over the years to expensive=better food. Wet food is better than kibble but you can save a bundle buying Fancy Feast (FF). I know it looks awful and seems like a step backwards but some flavors are low in carbs (good) and as a bonus really stink. Cats won't eat what they cannot smell, I've been there on my hands and knees begging a cat to eat after his shot. FF is the cure for this but there are better foods. My knowledge isn't what it used to be, someone else will tell you which food.
Lastly most vets are not taught well about diabetes and it may that be your education comes from here. It's not a nice feeling arguing with someone in a lab coat with a degree on the wall. The Hills he's selling you is part of his business model and while he may mean well and know all about diabetes (he did give you Lantus and not Caninsulin) there's always the chance he's not.
If you live west of Toronto I have two great clinics and two places that board. If you live where mountains are more than bumps in the ground like here we've had enough of this place. Good luck to all three of you.

 

[Wendy&Neko]

Hello and welcome from BC.

I'm going to tag Bhooma @Bandit's Mom who can help you with the spreadsheet.

As for dose while you are busy with new one, we'd probably do the same as what we suggest for someone on holiday, and that's to slightly reduce the dose so we know he's safe. But first a few questions. How did you find out he was diabetic? Any other conditions diagnosed at the same time? Do you know if he's had ketones or DKA? What day did you start giving insulin and did you start with 2 units or did you work up to it? 7.4 (133 in US numbers) is a nice numbers if that's as low as he's going. With brand new members, we suggest not shooting insulin if he's at 200 (11.1) or lower at shot time, unless the cat had DKA or ketones.

As for food, you don't have to just feed twice a day. With Lantus, you can give several smaller meals, it's actually better on his pancreas to do that. You'd want to make sure he has food available when he might be low as food is the tool we use to make sure our cats are safe. Keep a can or two around as high carb food, and return the rest to your vet for your money back.

Speaking of money, you don't need to use the AT pet meter, most of us here use human meters which have much cheaper test strips.

Some additional reading for you, when you have time:
New? How You Can Help Us Help You!

And things to have ready just in case:
How to treat HYPOS - THEY CAN KILL! Print this Out!!

jojo and bunny's HYPO TOOL BOX

 

[FrostD]

Welcome and congrats!

Aside from what was already mentioned, you will want to leave a prefilled syringe with colored water in it as a dose example for whoever will be taking care of him.

My water broke a bit unexpectedly at 38 weeks, so all I had time to do was fill a syringe with orange juice I taped it to a piece of paper that said "filled with orange juice DO NOT USE example only"

I had also taken several videos for testing and injections, uploaded them in Drive, and shared with everyone who would possibly have to take care of him.

At the time he wasn't really regulated, so I didn't have much concern about dose, but like Wendy said can always temporarily reduce dose to keep him safe.

I'm not sure if this is your first baby, but another consideration is your own aftercare - if you have a c section, you will want all your testing/shooting supplies as close together as possible so you don't have to move around too much. And the same could be said for natural birth - to keep it as PG as possible - there can often be stitches involved in that as well, and also makes getting around a bit difficult. So hopefully you have someone else who can worry about the cat while you worry about you and the baby!

 

[Red & Rover (GA)]

Welcome. Waving from central Ontario.

 

[Sienne and Gabby (GA)]

If your family is ready, willing, and able to pitch in, that's wonderful!! I don't know if you've given any thought to seeing if there's a vet tech at your vet's office that might be willing to cat sit until you and the baby are home.

 

[SarahFung]

You do have a meter and are doing a curve, are you testing before giving insulin?
If you live west of Toronto I have two great clinics and two places that board. If you live where mountains are more than bumps in the ground like here we've had enough of this place. Good luck to all three of you.

Hello! Thank you so much for your response. I’m getting used to forum use I am not very tech savvy at this but I will read over the other instructions as well, I’m on my phone ATM but will get onto my laptop later.

I am in mid/upper Toronto actually! I was not taking BG reading before shooting him, I can understand now that is important so I will start as of today.

 

[SarahFung]

How did you find out he was diabetic? Any other conditions diagnosed at the same time? Do you know if he's had ketones or DKA? What day did you start giving insulin and did you start with 2 units or did you work up to it? 7.4 (133 in US numbers) is a nice numbers if that's as low as he's going.

Hello! I noticed fung was peeing a lot, constantly drinking, and always begging for food so I brought him to the vet and they did all their testings including urine and diagnosed him. Insulin dosage started at 1iu same day. They used a catheter on him so he had bloody urine for a bit and was peeing uncontrollably. They gave antibiotics for pancreatitis I believe. Unsure of keytones or DKA. He has been on the 2iu dosage since March 13th.

I called vet and today and they gave me the go ahead for his insulin dose of 2iu and at 1:30 it was down to 4.1mmol. (Doing glucose curve today for them)

As for feeding - since it’s wet food do you recommend I give him some in between the 12hours? He eats everything up at once so leaving some out isn’t an option actually.

thank you for the resources I’ve printed out the emergency sheets today

 

[Wendy&Neko]

I just gave less food at shot time and withheld some until feedings a few hours later. It is best to feed in the first part of the 12 hours, so maybe 3 and 6 hours afterward? Or just before your bed time at night. Is he at the weight he should be? If not you can feed a bit more of his regular food until he gains his optimal weight. Smaller more frequent meals should mean he's not begging as much.

Ketones would be listed in the urinalysis done at the time of diagnosis. If the vet didn't mention DKA, they likely he doesn't have it, he would have had to stay at the vet for a few days.

Typical we don't increase by 1.0 units at a time. Are you using syringes to give the insulin? Or the pen needles? I'd be temped to reduce the dose a touch while you are out of commission. 4.1 is a nice nadir, if you can monitor closely. But if not, you might want to reduce a bit while hubby is taking over.

 

[Noah & me (GA)]

do you recommend I give him some in between the 12hours

I would follow Wendy's recommendations. We had eight other cats in the house so it wasn't practical and even one will disrupt everyone's schedule plus it's just not natural.

I’m getting used to forum...not very tech savvy at this but I will read over the other instructions as well.

It's a steep learning curve, too much at once. The 'Stickies' at the top of each forum have a wealth of information. I copied and pasted them into Notepad shortening and editing as I went. I'm a slow and visual learner so printing what I needed, then curling up on the sofa or in bed with a hi-liter helped me learn the basics. It's too much to learn all at once.
We're all volunteers and we all started with that same blank face, "How did this happen to me?" I got lucky with two agreeable cats who never approached a HYPO episode. Having a baby will make it a bit more complicated but it's not the end of the world. You can let your new friends in as little or as much as you want. We don't need to snoop, we just want to help.

 

[Noah & me (GA)]

@SarahFung You're in Canada, the rest of us don't use the metric (?) measurements on our meters, it should be a simple switch. Everything else is the same language, syringes and units are the same anywhere.
By now you've heard about toxoplasmosis, cats and babies. Toxoplasmosis is a parasite found everywhere from penguins, polar bears and my hands after I've done the litter. The internet is full of "maybes" and "ifs" so talk to your doctor. I've been scooping the poop for 45 years and haven't lost my marbles yet.

 

[FrostD]

@SarahFung You're in Canada, the rest of us don't use the metric (?) measurements on our meters, it should be a simple switch. Everything else is the same language, syringes and units are the same anywhere.
By now you've heard about toxoplasmosis, cats and babies. Toxoplasmosis is a parasite found everywhere from penguins, polar bears and my hands after I've done the litter. The internet is full of "maybes" and "ifs" so talk to your doctor. I've been scooping the poop for 45 years and haven't lost my marbles yet.

Shhhh some of us like the excuse to avoid litterbox duty for 9-10 months