I have a dietetic 11 yr old boy, he was on Lantus at 5 mL every 12 hours. Then he started acting weird and nervous and very lethargic. I took him to the vet a different vet then I normally go to because they were booked, and his sugars levels were high so he put him on Vetsulin and they did a glucose curve and he went up and down. So now he’s on an Vetsulin at 3 ml and he’s acting lethargic again. Oh and on KD food for his kidneys, the vet said he’s border on having issues with that. I take him back to the vet on Thursday to get another glucose check to see if they need to up his insulin to 4 mL. I do not have a glucose kit. And I’m not sure how to do it. Just not sure what to do, hate seeing him so out of it, so any advice is appreciated.....thanks!
New to diabetic kitty
- Thread starter MistyBlue
- Start date
- Status
Yes I meant units....
I haven’t started testing on my own, but looking into getting a kit. Until then if my cat is very lathargic, but still wanting to eat and drink does that mean sugars high or low? I have both Lantus and vetsulin, which should I give? My last vet had him up to 5 units on lantus, then took him to be vet and he put him on Vetsulin at 3 units. I have an appointment Thursday to take him to get his glucose checked while being on Vetsulin, but he’s still so lathargic. I’ve had to take him his food where’s he’s at just so he’ll eat. Also do I give his insulin right when he’s eating or soon after he eats? He’s on prescription KD recommended by new vet because numbers were getting high for his kidneys. What type of syringe should I be using? I’m using now U-40 1/2 cc 29g 12.7mm. I feel like I’m letting him down, he purrs as soon as I’m petting him but he looks so tired! What a good starter kit that has everything I need? I asked Bubba to please hold on while I figure all this out. I feel so so bad!
tiffmaxee
Member Since 2013
Wow. That’s a huge amount of lantus. Most start on .50 or 1.0 at the most. Did you use u-40 with Lantus? Lantus uses u-100. It’s a much more gentle insulin than Vetsulin which works best with dogs.
Are you feeding wet or dry KD? It’s high carb and the dry even higher. How old is your kitty?
Testing at home is the best way to keep Misty safe. When Max was diagnosed I figured I would just give insulin twice a day like my sister and friends did. My vet had me coming in every couple of days at around +5-7. I bought a Relion meter from Walmart just to have. I brought it to my vet at a check and he had me do the test. It was 60! I became a testaholic.
Are you feeding wet or dry KD? It’s high carb and the dry even higher. How old is your kitty?
Testing at home is the best way to keep Misty safe. When Max was diagnosed I figured I would just give insulin twice a day like my sister and friends did. My vet had me coming in every couple of days at around +5-7. I bought a Relion meter from Walmart just to have. I brought it to my vet at a check and he had me do the test. It was 60! I became a testaholic.
Bubba is his name and he’s 11, he started at 3 units and now it’s been a little over a year and he’s at 5 units. Bubba adopted me last winter when he camped out on my front deck in the cold so I took him in and put him in my spare room , then got him to the vet where they found that he was FIV negative which is good because I have three other girl cats which he does not get along with. That is when I found out he was a diabetic. I originally wasn’t planning to keep him but just foster him but I can’t seem to find a good home for him or at least for a 11-year-old diabetic cat that doesn’t get along with other cats. so with that being said I’m doing the best I can for him and learning all this new stuff about a diabetic cat. My vet thinks something else possibly could be going on with him and wanted me to take him to internal medicine but I cannot afford that. It cost almost $300 just for a consultation. As soon as I get paid Thursday I’m going to get a home test. This is all very new to me, but Bubba is a very sweet cat (to humans) and I want to get him the best possible life I possibly can. I still believe someone else could give him a better home and give him more attention to his medical needs just because I can’t afford everything he might need, plus my other three cats are scared of him. But what can I do....
tiffmaxee
Member Since 2013
Sounds like it would be good to test for Acro and IAA but I think that’s expensive. Home testing will tell a lot. He might actually be on too high a dose for all we know. If in the US Walmart has an I expensive meter Relion, and the strips aren’t too expensive either. Don’t get a pet meter.
Larry and Kitties
Member Since 2009
How expensive depends upon how much your vet marks up the testing and charges for the blood draw and shipping and other work involved for drawing and shipping the blood. MSU charges $65 for the IGF-1 test and $20 for the IAA test.
tiffmaxee
Member Since 2013
I’m in LA. Everything expensive here. Good to know. Thanks.
- Status