New to FD and so many questions

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P-P-Piers

Member Since 2017
Hello all

my 12 year old cat Piers has recently been diagnosed with diabetes. He's lost a lot of weight and been drinking/peeing abnormally for several weeks. Could not do the blood tests till last week, as he had a steroid shot just before Christmas and we had to wait for that to clear from his system (I am aware the diabetes could be down to the shot).

Anyway, he was finally confirmed diabetic a few days ago on basis of initial blood test plus fructosamine test.
Admitted to vet on Monday, given insulin which within hours 'brought his blood glucose down to 5 point something from 25 point something' - I am in UK - do those numbers mean anything to anyone? - just numbers to me at the moment and did not have the presence of mind to ask vet what measurement system he meant.

He is an indoor cat who is very stressed by going to the vet, so I was allowed to collect him Tuesday evening and am now injecting him 1 unit of Caninsulin twice a day. He will have to go back into the vets in a week or so for them to do a glucose curve. They have not suggested home BG testing to me but I want to try it.

Meantime, I am educating myself from the internet and have so many questions it's untrue. Am just trying to get myself organised with all the practicalities. But questions, questions...

- I'm aware you have a spreadsheet which I'll pick up soon - that sounds like a great resource, is there anything else I should look at?

- can i use a human blood glucose monitor and strips? the one I have in mind is the 'CodeFree Blood Glucose Monitor' which is available on amazon (in UK) and has many positive reviews. What do you think?

- I've withdrawn the small amount of dried food that both my cats enjoyed and am substituting more wet food, especially raw beef mince and turkey mince. I'm happy they are now low-carb/high-ish protein but not sure if I need to explore adding bone to their diet (would have to i guess if fully 'raw' but is it ok not to, with canned food forming probably 2/3rds of their diet?).
I'm also a bit confused by the advice to keep the food 'consistent' for consistent BG, does this mean it is wrong to e.g. feed raw mince at breakfast and supper, but canned food at elevenses and teatime?

I would be most grateful for any advice, could keep on but this is a long post as it is - sorry!
 
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Welcome.

Generally you can replace 20% of the calories with fresh foods before you unbalance the diet. Since the beef and turkey mince are not a balanced diet themselves, you would need the wet food to provide the bulk of the calories. For now you could switch the meals so that the main meals are prior to Piers' insulin injections and the minces as snacks.

I switched to a home prepared raw diet for Morris a short time after adopting him. Our dogs have eaten a home prepared diet for a long time that I formulate with a spreadsheet and the NRC (National Research Council) recommended numbers. I had difficulty in formulating Morris' diet - couldn't get my ratios correct (calcium to phosphorus, zinc to iron, zinc to copper, etc.) so I hired it done. I spend less money than I did feeding can food, use quality meat (grassfed, Humane certified), and Morris really likes it.
 
Looks like @Elizabeth and Bertie wasn't around today. Here's a thread about foods available in the UK
http://www.felinediabetes.com/FDMB/threads/uk-food-list-updates.171120/
And I'll also tag @Marlena and @Diana&Tom who are from the UK.

I can't say if the meter you are asking about is a good one, but most of us here do use human meters. They read a bit lower than pet specific meters, but are much more economical to use. Just be sure it uses the smallest amount of blood and that the test strips are affordable. Here's some home testing info
http://www.felinediabetes.com/FDMB/threads/hometesting-links-and-tips.287/
 
P-P-Piers said:
'brought his blood glucose down to 5 point something from 25 point something' - I am in UK - do those numbers mean anything to anyone? -
Click to expand...

Hi and welcome to FDMB. I'm from Canada but we use the same Blood sugar measurement scale as you do in the UK. What those numbers mean is that Piers had a BG (blood glucose) of 25 mmol/dL (high) and after his shot his reading came down to 5.x mmol. The 5 mmol is a great number within normal range. Your vet may be using a pet meter and it will read higher than a human meter but it's not necessary for home testing as we have reference numbers here based on use of human glucometers. I am so pleased you are planning to home test. :D It really is key to getting our kitties regulated and keeping them safe.

I checked the meter you are considering on the internet and it needs a fairly large blood bead of 0.9uL which you may find problematic. Many of us find that a meter needing a smaller sample of 0.3 uL makes testing much easier. While the strips for the CodeFree are very reasonably priced, the cost savings will be lost if you are wasting strips because you aren't getting a large enough sample when testing. Hopefully some folks from the UK will be along shortly and can offer you some suggestions for meter alternatives. Not sure if it is available in the UK but I have used both the Freestyle Freedom Lite and Freestyle Lite with good results.
 
Thank you all so much for your very helpful replies, especially the points made about the size of blood sample required - thank goodness for all you experts. Something like that just doesn't occur to a beginner.
Yes I would love some alternative UK suggestions for a glucometer. Interesting about the RVC program too, will give it some thought once I've got the hang of things.
 
Hello! So glad you're going to switch to low carb food and will be home testing. But...
You said you've switched out dry food for a mix of wet and raw. That is fantastic, but you really shouldn't do this until you have a meter and can test before each shot.
Blood sugar is usually elevated at the vets due to stress. So, he starts at 25 (high) and they give him 1 unit and he goes down to 5 (normal). This is what they base his dose on.
When you get home, the cat isn't stressed. Sugar is lower, and that dose could cause his numbers to droop too low, which is dangerous.
Now, he's on low-carb food. This is great, really, and so much better for him. However, carbs elevate blood sugar. So now that he has less carbs, his blood sugar is likely even lower before insulin.

So you really are doing all the right things. But you can hopefully see how important that little meter is. If you can grab one at a store, you could keep giving the wet/raw and start testing right away. Any human meter will work, you want one with the cheapest cost per strip and that only needs a small amount of blood (I'm in Canada and don't think I can help with a specific brand).
If you need to wait a few days, you have a few options. I don't suggest you keep giving him the 1 unit if that's what they used to bring him from 25 to 5. You can withhold insulin until you get a meter, strips and lancets... a day or two at high numbers is better than going too low. Hopefully somebody else will chime in with advise, I'm no expert here and do not know Caninsulin.

I also suggest you grab some ketone testing strips. You can get these at any pharmacy, they are human urine test strips for ketones. It takes a little creativity, but it's important to test (see Ketones link below)

Here are some links for you.
About hypos (IMPORTANT)
FDMB FAQ
Caninsulin User Guide
About Ketones
 
Hello and welcome!
We are here to help and guide you through the journey of FD.
Well done with change of diet, it is a very important step.
Could please check with the vet that after injecting your cat with 1 unit of Caninsulin they got a nadir (the lowest point in the cycle (cycle is 12 hours) of 5 from 25?
This would be a huge drop which you don't want to see. You need to observe a gentler curve. Cats BG could be influenced by vet's visit so it is important that you start testing at home.
I'm rather tired at the moment but will have more time tomorrow pm or Sunday and could give you more information.
I also have some spare (brand new) glucometers and would be happy to post one to you. I use pet meter but really there is no need as human ones are very good. I could also help you with making raw food - it really is worth the effort.
Another thing we can help with is show you how to draw blood for testing. All this information is available on this website but being new to this is very mind boggling and seems difficult at first so don't struggle and let me know if you would like a demo over skype for example.
Sorry if I sound a bit chaotic but I'm terribly tired and I have a long day ahead of me tomorrow.
Best of luck
Marlena:cat:
 
Thank you all again, some very kind offers and advice here.

Does anyone know if the Abbott freestyle freedom lite is a suitable glucometer? Not sure if I have seen comments on here that they're unsuitable for cats.?

I will speak to the vet again re his dosage but somehow do not think he is on a high enough dose/fast enough acting insulin to be at risk of hypo - he is being fed 4 to 6 times a day. I am watching him like a hawk too. The boys never had more than an evening snack of dried food so cutting it out is not as drastic as it might sound. Not sure how I am going to get some weight on P's skinny little body though!
 
The Freestyle Freedom Lite is a good choice. There was a time a few years back when there was a problem with the meter and that info still gets cited here to some extent but at this point in time the Freestyle meters rank close to the best if not the best according to Consumer Reports. I use one myself and have no complaints at all. It takes a tiny drop of blood and the strips load from either side which I personally find easier to use than the usual end loading strips when you have an often times less than still head to deal with! :D
 
P-P-Piers said:
Not sure how I am going to get some weight on P's skinny little body though!
Click to expand...
It's ok to feed him a bit more food than you normally would to get some extra calories into him. It might mean he needs a bit more insulin but that's ok. You can restrict his food once you know he is regulated and at his ideal weight and then adjust the insulin as needed. Cutting out even a small amount of dry food will potentially lower his insulin needs so it would be best to be home testing before removing all the dry food from his diet so you can monitor and adjust his insulin dose accordingly.
 
P-P-Piers said:
Thank you all again, some very kind offers and advice here.

Does anyone know if the Abbott freestyle freedom lite is a suitable glucometer? Not sure if I have seen comments on here that they're unsuitable for cats.?

I will speak to the vet again re his dosage but somehow do not think he is on a high enough dose/fast enough acting insulin to be at risk of hypo - he is being fed 4 to 6 times a day. I am watching him like a hawk too. The boys never had more than an evening snack of dried food so cutting it out is not as drastic as it might sound. Not sure how I am going to get some weight on P's skinny little body though!
Click to expand...
Abbott's Freestyle freedom Lite is a very good meter. Test strips are reasonable in price and it only needs a tiny drop of blood.
 
Hello and sorry to be late to this - the tag didn't come through to me for some reason.

Not sure where you are now ref needing info but ref meters - a long-time popular one here is the One Touch Ultra, simple and reliable and strips usually available on ebay - plus the CodeFree which you mention, has been used by more recent members I think... good value and again easy to get hold of strips. Or Marlena is offering you one of her spares - that's how it works here, we all try to help each other.

I agree with Marlena about querying the drop from 25 to 5 on 1 unit of Caninsulin - does that mean in one (usually 12-hour) cycle or after a few doses over a number of days? It doesn't look quite right but there may be a simple explanation.

You're on the right road - keep reading and taking in as much info as you can, and keep asking as many questions as you need.

Good luck!
Diana
 
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