New Member - well, returning member but new cat

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Amanda Wenger

Amanda Wenger

Member Since 2020
Hello! I am adopting an extra sweet 10-year-old flame point Siamese named Lila. She arrives tomorrow! I have done the diabetes thing before with my 12-year-old torbie point (steriod-induced, in remission) so I will be testing her and feeding low-carb wet. Fortunately, the rescue Lila has been with for the past 5 months has already been doing these things.

Lila was diagnosed in June 2021 and was on Prozinc until she went into DKA in mid-January - a week before she was supposed to come to me. While in the hospital, they put her on Vetsulin to get her through the DKA. She was never very well controlled on Prozinc so the plan is to transition her to glargine once she comes to me. We have an appointment with our local vet (who is amazing) on Monday.

I think I have all the supplies she will need but I'm sure I will need some support in transitioning her insulin and hopefully getting her better regulated. I am used to using Lantus so I don't think Basalgar (that's what the rescue is sending for her) will be that different.

I've created her spreadsheet and will start entering data once she arrives. I'm so grateful for this community!
 
Hi Amanda, What a pretty kitty Lila is. Thank you for adopting another diabetic kitty.
I'm glad you will be switching back to Bagsalgar, you're right there's really no difference, I see that a lot of members use it.
I don't know much about DKA but I can copy what a member has to say about it

Since you're dine the diabetes thing before with your other kitty you probably know about DKA

I'll post this anyway which I stole from Bron and Sheba
Stolen from @Bron and sheba
  • Make sure you are feeding one and a half times as many calories to your kitty as he would normally eat. This is important because food helps keep ketones away. Offer a snack every couple of hours except for the two hours preshot when you are hometesting the BGs.
  • Do not skip any insulin doses. If the blood glucose (BG) is too low, stall, dont feed and test again in 20 minutes to see if the BG is rising…and post and ask for help.
  • Test daily for ketones using a bottle of Ketostix from Walmart or a pharmacy. Follow the directions on the bottle. You will need to collect a sample of urine from your kitty.
  • Give extra fluids…try adding a teaspoon of warm water to all the cats snacks
  • If your kitty had an infection make sure the antibiotics are finished.
  • Post daily for help and advice
Good luck with Lila :cat:
 
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Hi Amanda and welcome back to the forum. What a lucky girl Lila is to be coming to you. She is very beautiful!
I see Diane has given you the main things you need to do to make sure the ketones and DKA stay away.
If she is nauseated at all and reluctant to eat, I would ask the vet for some ondansetron as that is the best med for nausea. A lot of cats post DKA are nauseated and not interested in eating.
I would keep her on the vetsulin for a couple of days after she comes to you, to make sure she doesn’t have any ketones in the urine. If she does I wouldn’t do the swap over until the urine has been clear of ketones for at least a week.
Lantus is a much better insulin for cats but for cats that have had DKA we need to make sure she is getting enough insulin to stop any ketones reforming.
As Lantus is a depot insulin, it will take a few days for the dose to get to its full effect, so we need to make sure the ketones are gone and don’t have a chance to come back during those few days when the dose has not reached its full effect. Does that make sense?
Bron
 
Thank you both so much for your replies! Lila arrived yesterday evening and has been doing great! I have her in the guest bedroom so she can get acclimated but she has made herself right at home.

I've been giving her multiple small meals and snacks throughout the day and she's been eating really well. I calculated that she probably needs at least 300 calories right now to combat the DKA and for weight gain (she needs to gain back about 3lbs).

I looked through her medical records and the BG numbers I've gotten have been consistent with what they were getting at the foster agency, ranging from the 300s pre shot to the low 100s at nadir. She has not had any ketones in her urine since Feb 01.
 
I’m so glad she has arrived safe and sound, is eating well and has had no ketones in the urine.
It sounds as if she will settle in well.
Let us know when you are ready to swap to Lantus.
 
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