New Member, Newly Diagnosed

[Pippi Hotstockings]

Hi all. Pippi Hotstockings is my roller derby name (I'm a non-skating official), you can call me Hot Socks for short. My kitty Sabrina was diagnosed with diabetes about a week ago (with a BG of 511 at the time, yikes). I heard about this board last night on Facebook and I'm so glad I found it!

Sabrina just turned 12. She is fat but otherwise healthy, until this. I noticed her drinking and peeing a huge amount and we went to the vet. Her blood work was pretty much perfect, luckily with beautiful kidney values, just that sky high BG. No ketones in the urine, though a ton of sugar there too. The vet put her on Lantus, and we are starting low and increasing very slowly. She got 1 unit every 12 hours for a week, today we're going up to 2 units. Her last BG was 429, so definitely some improvement.

She is terrified of canned food. I use it when I need to drug my other cat to go to the vet or other shady things, so now when I open a can, she hides. So for now I have ordered some high protein dry food for her to try to help stabilize her while I work on convincing her that canned food is safe. I'm also getting those microchip reading food bowls so my other cat Linus doesn't eat all of her food, he lives and dies for wet food (which is why I use it to drug him, lol). My ultimate goal is to have her on all canned, it's just going to take a while. I'm working through that document on catinfo.org about canned foods and protein and carb levels. Holy cow it's long. Looking for which foods are available through Chewy and might be relatively affordable. People are suggesting Fancy Feast and Friskies as affordable options, but I have always been under the impression that those aren't very high quality in terms of nutrition?

I'm on unemployment right now, making less than minimum wage. I actually made a gofundme for her setup costs. I just ordered more Lantus from that Canadian pharmacy, my vet said she's happy to sign off on that. People have been very generous, even perfect strangers when a friend shared it to her page, and I have had enough to cover the initial costs. There will even be a little left for some food. I am so grateful to my donors. Someone also gave me a Chewy gift card, and my best friend is going to order some food for me once I decide what to feed her.

I was a licensed vet tech for nearly a decade, though I'm 20 years out of practice. At least giving shots and taking BG readings is familiar to me, and she is being very brave for the needles. But she is my baby, I've had her since she was a kitten, and I am having Feelings about the whole thing.

I'm sorry this was so long. Thanks for listening.

 

[Bron and Sheba (GA)]

Hi and welcome Hot Socks and Sabrina and welcome to the forum.
First I would like to say that we recommend going up in 1/4 unit increments when increasing the dose, not 1 unit increments. Going from 1 unit to 2 units is doubling the dose. I would recommend going up to 1.25 units.
Are you hometesting the BG? It’s the best way to keep Sabrina safe and to see how the insulin is working.
We also recommend using a human meter when testing. Our dosing methods are based on the human meter numbers.
I will give you the HELP US HELP YOU link and in it you will find the spreadsheet link, the signature link and the hypo link as well as other useful information. If you can’t get the spreadsheet set we can help you with dosing. And the signature will tell us all about Sabrina and it will appear below all your posts so we won’t have to keep asking you about her.
The hypo kit is very important so I would suggest you get that set up asap.

FOOD CHART Look for canned food 10% or under carbs. Most of us feed around 4-7% carbs. And a lot feed Fancy Feast.
Wet is much better for a cat even when you can get low carb dry. The moisture content is only around 7% whereas a canned food is around 78% moisture, which is so much better for the kidneys.
Just a caution about swapping to a low carb diet whether it is wet or dry. A low carb diet can drop the BGs by up to 100 points so you need to be testing closely while you do the transition. If you set up the Ss we can help you with it. It needs to be done slowly.

Here is a list of low carb dry foods which @Diane Tyler's Mom has complied.

They are all pretty expensive
https://www.chewy.com/dr-elseys-cleanprotein-chicken/dp/146269?utm_source=google-product&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=12791446238&utm_content=Dr. Elsey's&utm_term=&show-search=1&gclid=EAIaIQobChMI-KX73_qN-AIVQ8qUCR2nZQYOEAQYASABEgK1U_D_BwE
13.97 for a 2 lb bag
41.87 for a 6.6 lb bag
https://www.wysong.net/epigen. You can buy it on Amazon or Chewys maybe cheaper there
Epigen™ Chicken 5 lb. [$19.09]
Epigen™ Chicken 20 lb. Box [$63.69]
Epigen™ Chicken 40 lb. Case [$125.38]


https://www.youngagainpetfood.com/shop-cat#diabetic

4 lb. 38.00
8 lb. 57.00
25 lb 149.00

 

[Pippi Hotstockings]

So, I haven't the faintest idea how people go up fractions of a unit. The measurements are way too small, even with my bifocals on. The syringes are not made for less than 1 unit increments. Yes, I am aware that 2 is double of 1. With her blood glucose still up by over 200, I agree with the vet that it's a safe transition.

I already ordered the dry, one of the ones recommended on that catinfo.org website. She says there are 3 high protein dry foods and I ordered one of those. I am aware of the moisture issues, but as I said, I don't have a *choice* right now, as she is terrified of canned food. It is going to take weeks or months to get her habituated to it.

The spreadsheet is already in my signature.

 

[Bron and Sheba (GA)]

Thanks for the signature
You would be surprised how much of a difference 1/4 unit can make to a BG. It is far safer to go up slowly and keep Sabrina safe because once the dose is in her, you can’t take it out again. And Lantus is a depot insulin and the full effect of the dose will be felt up to 6 cycles later.
200 is not all that high a BG. Certainly not enough to double the dose. I can only tell you the collective knowledge of this very experienced group, who often get cats who have been given too much insulin by the vet. However Sabrina is your cat and of course it is up to you what you decide to do.

What type of syringe are you using. There are ones with 1/2 unit markings and I used a magnifying glass.
The syringes you need are the U100 3/10 30 or 31 gauge 6 or 8 mm 1/2 unit syringes.

 

[Red & Rover (GA)]

The measurements are way too small, even with my bifocals on.

You could try putting a pair of dollar store magnifying glasses on. Perhaps over your bifocals.

A friend of mine took up roller derby in her mid forties. She's the oldest woman in the league. She just loves it.

 

[tiffmaxee]

You want the syringes with half unit markings. Relion does sell them.