New to all This

Status
Not open for further replies.
Jezebel

Jezebel

Active Member
My cat, Jezebel, was diagnosed last Friday. I have now purchased the insulin (Lantus), syringes, glucose tester, etc. We go to the vet tomorrow for my first lesson. Jez is a picky eater, used to free feeding. She's having trouble making the switch to being fed 2 times a day. I've switched to canned only as well....another disappointment for her.
What should I expect? Any advice would be appreciated.
Debie & Jezebel
 
Wow, you're doing great already. Welcome, by the way.

I'd want to start hometesting quickly and the only reason I say that is since you switched to canned food the BGs are going to come down naturally.

Have you started giving insulin already or waiting until after tomorrow?

How was Jezebel diagnosed?

I feed my cats canned only, but I do feed more than twice per day. You can feed more often if you'd like. I just divide the food up into smaller portions. One of my cats likes raw food so he gets a medallion or two that he snacks on all day long.

Did your vet tell you about hometesting? There are some that do advocate it, but other that don't, I'm just curious.
 
I'll start the insulin and home testing tomorrow - after my lesson. I finally found a food she likes - Weruva. But she's not a big eater. She didn't even eat 1/4 of a can. Will she start eating more once she realizes that's all she's getting?
My vet says she has something you mix in the litter to check for the ketones. It changes color when they are too whatever 0 high or low, I don't know.
I noticed about two weeks ago, an increase in urination....but having two cats, I had to figure out which one it was. I took her in - the vet ran a blood test. The only thing out of whack was the glucose. Over 400.
I'm really hoping to eventually control this with diet alone.
How often do you check the glucose levels?
Debie & Jez :?
 
Sometimes a high blood sugar reading could be from a bad tooth or an underlying infection. Did the vet do a fructosamene test that would have checked the blood sugar level over a period of time?

You can leave the canned food out and let her pick at if she wants.

Some cats do go into remission on diet alone. I adopted Mr. Darcy in December and he was in remission that night, his foster mom changed his diet a few weeks earlier and even though he did need insulin the morning he got transport, he hasn't needed it since.

...BUT...and that's a big but... my Tucker has been insulin dependent for years and I don't expect him to ever not need it.

Presently I test BGs about twice per day, I get a spot check here and there. In the beginning I would recommend you test more because by changing to wet food the BGs are going to come down naturally.

Lantus is a great insulin, hopefully your starting dose will be 1/2U or 1U BID (twice per day). Have you seen the Lantus insulin support group, there's lots of great information posted on the stickies that can help get you started, plus the folks that post there know a lot about that specific insulin.
 
She was put on an antibiotic...which actually has decreased the urine output and 'reshined' her coat. (she all of sudden looked very scruffy). I'll mention the fructosamene test tomorrow when I go. What exactly does that involve?
Debie & Jez
 
Welcome to the family, this is a great place to get help and advise. Speaking of...Tandy went through a period of not wanting food when she was first put on insulin. I found that Natures Instinct canned has a Rabbit formula, a little pricey but that usually gets her nose twitching when she is being finicky.

Best of Luck
Terri & Tananda
 
I bought one of those that I'll try tomorrow. She definitely prefers the more 'aromatic' foods....Sardines for example.
Debie & Jez
 
The fructosamene is a blood test, but if bloodwork was not done it may be a good idea to run it to see about that and if there's any underlying infection causing the higher BGs.
 
I will definitely ask her this tomorrow. She did get the original readings from a blood test.
Debie & Jez
 
Welcome Debie. Sorry to hear about Jezebel's diagnosis. But you are in the best hands here!!! This place is wonderful wonderful :mrgreen:

One thing to mention----stress can cause the kitties glucose to rise. So don't be surprised that once you start hometesting you get numbers that are lower than that (we hope :? )

It is great that your vet is going to show you how to start everything. I will reiterate what Tucker's mom said about starting at 0.5-1Unit bid (twice a day). With Lantus you want to start low and go slow. It takes some time for the Lantus to take effect. Sort of like medications that we take that don't show their full potential until you get the level up and maintain that level for a period of time. Does that make sense?

When we first started out I tested at least 4 times a day (less on weekdays when I work). You ALWAYS want to test the glucose prior to giving the Lantus in the AM and PM. Just like with human diabetics---you wouldn't give yourself insulin without testing yourself first right? This is for safety reasons especially. If you were giving a certain dose for a period of time and then all of the sudden the glucose levels were going lower you could potentially harm your baby if you give too much insulin. Does that make sense?

Main thing to know is that Lantus dosing is not based on the pre-shot gluose numbers, but rather on the nadir level.

Hope I have not overwhelmed you too much :mrgreen:
Welcome to FDMB and good luck at the vet tomorrow. Be sure to come here and update all of us.
 
The nadir is the lowest point on a blood glucose curve, often considered the same as the peak of insulin activity.
 
Okay - gave her the first injection. Not a problem at all....now if I can only master the glucose testing. My vet gave me some "Glucotest" crystals to sprinkle in the litter box before she pees. Apparently they change color when urine touches them. The lighter the color the less amount of glucose being eliminated.
Her original level was 477. She's lost 6 oz in a week - but with the change in diet not unexpected. She needs to lose a few anyway. She does like the Weruva wet. Vet said to leave food out as many cats self regulate when their levels get too low.
Thanks for all advice...
Debie & Jez
 
Hi and welcome,

your cat can indeed free feed. However, you don't want to try and make sure she hasn't eaten around 2 hours before you test, particularly your pre shot test. Food raises the bg number, so you would see an inflated number.

Not heard of the food your giving. Have you seen the food charts?
Tend to discourage fish more than once a week (mercury one reason) unless kitty just not eating then it's a case of get anything down them.
Do you know the carb content? Under 10% (under 5% even better) is recommended.

Lantus has shown excellent remission results if used within 6 months of diagnosis.

Peak/Nadir= the lowest bg number you will get in a 12 hour cycle. This is what you base your dosing on.
However, still important to check preshot, as on occasion, kitty throws way to low number and you have to hold off on shot or give a reduced one.

If 477 came from blodd test, high chance it was fructosamine. Ask to check (or if they already did) white cell count (raised usually a sign of infection somewhere) Ask them to check teeth/gums too.

Lucky was a graze eater, never a problem. You just need to make sure she eats at least a good tablespoon preferably before giving insulin.
A lot of cats will self regulate, but not all. Also, they can leave it too late and then their bg skyrockets as their life saving response kicks in and their body releases shed loads of glucose to get it up.Then takes some playing around to get kitty stable again. ECID (Every cat is different)
Good luck :mrgreen:
 
Her WBC was 11 (4.2-15.6 normal range) so that was okay. She did start her on an antiobiotic - just in case. Good thing is that my vet has a diabetic cat....so she's experienced with the condition. Her teeth are also okay. She is 10 yo.... She was just diagnosed on 4/29 and we started the Lantus today.....so my goal is to get her in to remission.
She only likes to eat the real smelly foods. The fish she'll eat, she picked at the rabbit. I'll keep experimenting. I'm keeping dry out (I have another cat as well) - bought the Wellness Core - grain free.
Debie & Jez
 
Exceelent that you have a vet that will work with you :mrgreen:

Word of caution on the dry-tends to be very high in carbs, and if you want to aim for remission, you need to get kitty onto the lowest carbs possible (under 10, preferably 5%) and dry tends to be much higher.

When starting Lantus, the maximum to start should be 1u. Hold for 5-7 days,depending on the numbers you get.Sometimes you get an initial excellent reaction and then the numbers go up (requiring an increase in dose), sometimes they don't really move (so would increase dose after 5 days)

Lantus works well with carry over and overlap you see (the insulin basically working beyond 12 hours) and your buidling up a shed. Would be a good idea if you have time to go and read the stickies in the Lantus insulin support group before going to vet.

Be very interesetd to hear how your vet treats and monitors their kitty.

As for smelly foods, you could try sprinkling a smidge of parmesan on kitty's food. For some strange reason a lot of cats like it! Also sometimes warming the food in microwave for 10-15 seconds, just to increase the pungency works too.

Good luck :mrgreen:
 
Thanks! She did start her on 1 u. I have to board her next weekend - but my vet will take her (she's wonderful). I'll try the parmesan - good idea. I've been putting a little warm water in the food. I don't see a carb percentage on the bag of dry. I'll have to go to their website. There is a fiber % of 3. Jez is not a big dry food eater. My other cat isn't either. It's just there in case she needs it.
I have been to the Lantus thread....a little confusing on how to use the spreadsheet. But I haven't yet mastered the glucose testing.
Debie & Jez (and Sassy, Darcy & Spencer)
 
My vet also had me order "Only Natural Pet Glucose Wellness" as a supplement. Has anyone else used this?
Debie & Crew
 
I got my first glucose level....262. She's due for a shot in one hour. She was very patient with me.
 
That is great that you got her tested. It is amazing how quickly the kitties get used to the routines. Testing and treats etc. She sounds like a sweet baby girl. The BG that you got is not that bad either. Good luck!! If you need some help with setting up your spreadsheet just let us know, k?
 
I do need help with the spreadsheet. I read the instructions...and am totally lost!!! I just tried testing again.. and didn't get anything the first attempt and not enough the second...she is such a good girl and soooo patient with me and my 'learning' curve. We'll get there...I'm sure.
Debie & Jez
 
I am getting better at getting the sample.
Got a reading of 387 this am followed by breakfast...and then the shot. I'll check her again in a few hours.
Now if I can only figure out how to use the spreadsheet. The directions are a little confusing.
Debie & Jez
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top