new to group Ric A . and Apache

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Ketones are essentially kitties body burning up protein and fat instead of sugar. Makes their blood acidic. Usually happens from uncontrolled diabetes, infection, &/or lack of food. In my cats case it was all 3 at once! You can get ketostiks at any pharmacy. You get a sample of kitty pee and dip it in. Wait the 15 seconds (or 30 I don't remember lol) and it'll give you a ketone reading. For a meter they sell them on Amazon. I use KetoBM. I think I got mine same day delivered?

It won't hurt to have these things on hand if a longer-standing member thinks i may be jumping the gun? I'm fairly new here, only 2 years but I just dealt with DKA so I may have some ptsd @Diane Tyler's Mom what do you think?
 
Apache & Ric said:
i am not familiar with keytones. where do i get the meter and which one please ? im calling for a copy of her bloodwork now
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Here's the link to my meter

The thing to remember, thr urine test is a buildup of the ketones for however long it took for kitty to pee so the number could be higher or lower at the actual minute she goes. The blood meter is the ketone level right now. That's why I'd rather spend the $1 per strip and know for sure (but if you havent noticed im a huge worry wart) :joyful:
 
Katsallday said:
Here's the link to my meter

The thing to remember, thr urine test is a buildup of the ketones for however long it took for kitty to pee so the number could be higher or lower at the actual minute she goes. The blood meter is the ketone level right now. That's why I'd rather spend the $1 per strip and know for sure (but if you havent noticed im a huge worry wart) :joyful:
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And if getting a blood sample is easier than getting a urine sample, that’s another reason to go with a blood test.
 
Apache & Ric said:
she was not on insulin. for the test. that was the initial diagnosis and was then placed on insulin
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That's good!
Apache & Ric said:
Apache is eating. i gave her a small snack, should i give her all she wants to eat ??
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I would yes, sugar cats don't process food properly so they feel starved when they're in the higher bg #s. Just pick up the food 2 hours before preshot
 
Apache & Ric said:
Apache is eating. i gave her a small snack, should i give her all she wants to eat ??
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Until the experts here get your Spreadsheet please remember I am not an expert. I'm just going off what I learned so far and what has worked for me and my cats :) there are people here that have been doing this for like 10 years! That being said, if I were you I'd let her eat all she wants and id check ketones because of the vomiting :cat: when a longstanding member chimes in definitely take their advice if it contradicts mine 100%
 
wow here we go again with meters !!!!!!!! can anyone suggest the best/ economical ketone meter. if its anything like the BG meter, i assume the strips are expensive. in that case ill need the one with the cheapest strips
 
Apache & Ric said:
wow here we go again with meters !!!!!!!! can anyone suggest the best/ economical ketone meter. if its anything like the BG meter, i assume the strips are expensive. in that case ill need the one with the cheapest strips
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All the ketone meters have strips about $1 per. What normal blood sugar meter do you use?
 
Apache & Ric said:
vQpet H
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If your vet is anti human meter tell them to do the math. Some vets think that pet meters are a percentage off of human meters. If he thinks that then it should be simple math for him to get the #s he wants lol. I test almost every other hour and my curves are every hour. Im not paying a dollar an hour for BG checks.
 
Katsallday said:
If your vet is anti human meter tell them to do the math. Some vets think that pet meters are a percentage off of human meters. If he thinks that then it should be simple math for him to get the #s he wants lol. I test almost every other hour and my curves are every hour. Im not paying a dollar an hour for BG checks.
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you can get the vQpet meter strips for about $11 for 50 strips. plus this meter is the closest readings to an Alpha trac2
 
Apache & Ric said:
you mean " i would wait 30 minutes with vetsulin before SHOOTING or should i shoot 30 mins before eating as you suggest ?????
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You test, the. Feed the main meal then wait 30 minutes before giving the vetsulin. Sorry if I did not explain it properly.

As Apache had ketones at diagnosis it is really important that she eats more than twice a day. I’m glad you have ordered a timed automatic feeder…that great. And it’s fine to just feed the food you are feeding at the moment.
It is food and insulin that keeps ketones away. And encourage fluids.
If you can get a blood ketones meter that would be ideal.

When you have time, I’ll get you to set up your instructions to do that are in the link I gave you in post 2 above called help us help you. Make sure you add she had ketones at diagnosis in the signature please.
Keep asking questions.:)
 
Bron and Sheba (GA) said:
You test, the. Feed the main meal then wait 30 minutes before giving the vetsulin. Sorry if I did not explain it properly.

As Apache had ketones at diagnosis it is really important that she eats more than twice a day. I’m glad you have ordered a timed automatic feeder…that great. And it’s fine to just feed the food you are feeding at the moment.
It is food and insulin that keeps ketones away. And encourage fluids.
If you can get a blood ketones meter that would be ideal.

When you have time, I’ll get you to set up your instructions to do that are in the link I gave you in post 2 above called help us help you. Make sure you add she had ketones at diagnosis in the signature please.
Keep asking questions.:)
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should i feed her at 3hs and 5hrs a snack or can, half can (3oz)??? she can eat alot if i give it to her. she was eating almost twice as much but started gaining weight so i cut back to what she used to eat
 
Apache & Ric said:
should i feed her at 3hs and 5hrs a snack or can, half can (3oz)??? she can eat alot if i give it to her. she was eating almost twice as much but started gaining weight so i cut back to what she used to eat
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We don’t want her to get fat but she needs those snacks.
With vetsulin, I would give a snack at +2 and +4 or +5 depending on when her nadir is. Might be a bit of trial and error in the beginning. The reason I say +2 is because of the earlier onset of insulin of vetsulin.
I would feed a can at each the main meals as you are doing and then divide another can into the 4 snacks over the 2 cycles. So 3 cans in total for the day. How does that sound.?
 
It’s good that she’s gained weight. Most unregulated diabetic cats eat and lose weight since they can’t process the nutrients in food well and burn calories just be peeing out the sugar in their urine.
 
Bron and Sheba (GA) said:
We don’t want her to get fat but she needs those snacks.
With vetsulin, I would give a snack at +2 and +4 or +5 depending on when her nadir is. Might be a bit of trial and error in the beginning. The reason I say +2 is because of the earlier onset of insulin of vetsulin.
I would feed a can at each the main meals as you are doing and then divide another can into the 4 snacks over the 2 cycles. So 3 cans in total for the day. How does that sound.?
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sounds like a good plan !! her nadir is 5hr
 
You are doing a good job with testing the BGs!
Any time the BG drops under 90 you must reduce the dose by 0.25 units. That means you don’t go back up again the the previous dose next time. The new dose is the reduced one.
I can see several times where you have dropped under 90 but have not taken a reduction.
So if you gave a 2 unit dose and the BG dropped under 90, you need to reduce the dose to 1.75 units and you should not give a higher dose than that again unless the BGs tell you the dose is not high enough…and that will take a few days and I would recommend you post and ask for guidance with that.
With all the drops under 90 you have got…I think the sliding scale the vet gave is is not going to work.
I would give 1.75 units dose moving forward each preshot BG regardless of the preshot…unless the preshot is too low of course.
You need to get some consistency. I’m going to tag @Suzanne & Darcy again to ask her view on the dosing as she is a Prozinc user.
 
I do like that nice string of blues today. This gives me real hope that Apache would be able to do very well on a Lantus generic like Semglee or glargine. You would not only have better numbers (like those blues) but you would have much flatter cycles without the higher numbers like you are seeing now for the morning and evening pre-shot tests. Did you have any luck with your vet prescribing new insulin today? Paws crossed for you and Apache!
 
Suzanne & Darcy said:
I do like that nice string of blues today. This gives me real hope that Apache would be able to do very well on a Lantus generic like Semglee or glargine. You would not only have better numbers (like those blues) but you would have much flatter cycles without the higher numbers like you are seeing now for the morning and evening pre-shot tests. Did you have any luck with your vet prescribing new insulin today? Paws crossed for you and Apache!
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Waiting for vet to get back to me for prescription
 
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