Newbie Patty and Blue from Georgia

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Patty and Blue GA & Brat

Patty and Blue GA & Brat

Member Since 2020
Blue was diagnosed last week and it has been a roller coaster. After 3 days I realized I had to test or I would no longer get any sleep. His starting BG when diagnosed was 575 and we started on Lantus 2 units twice a day. Since that time, we have had to change to once a day but are now back to twice a day. He got down to 350 but then went to 418 and 546 and this morning it just says High. I will take him back to the vet on Wednesday morning and they are going to check him throughout the day. He is 15 years old and weight is 7 pounds. I found this site from a FB friend. I am still working on food issues but have a multi-cat household so am still trying to figure it all out.
I just wanted to introduce Blue and I'm sure I will be needing help. I called my vet this morning after the "high" reading. Didn't sound good so that is why he's going in for the day on Wednesday.
Thanks for being here for us.
 
Welcome to our forum!
Uhhhmmm to put this politely... On this forum? GA means Gone Ahead or Guardian Angel. You may want to edit that part of your thread title. ;)

We are glad you found us! We are a community of kitty cat lovers that share a common thread that is DIABETES. We strive to help any and all learn to navigate this disease.
You may want to start here:
New? How You Can Help Us Help You!

We also will ask of you to set up a spread sheet to track Blues progress. The signature will appear at the bottom of each of your posts and will include all kinds of pertinent information about Blue you can find out how to do all that here:
Suggestions, Tech Support & Testing Area


Again WELCOME TO FDMB The best site on this planet to learn everything you need to know about feline diabetes!
jeanne:coffee:
 
Hi and welcome to FDMB. Blue is gorgeous. Glad to see you have decided to start home testing. That is the best way to manage his glucose levels.

To make it easier on you and Blue, if you can get all of your cats on the same diet, that will help to keep Blue from sneaking food from the others. Plus the added benefit, it reduces the chances of any of your other cats from developing FD. We realize it may not be easy since some cats are dry food addicts, but we can share with you tricks that helped us when we were switching our cats over to canned foods. Not sure if cost will be an issue, but if so, Fancy Feast and Friskies pate canned foods may be an option. You want to try to avoid canned foods with gravy such as fillets, bits, shreds since they are high in carbs.

You probably have lots of questions. Please don't be afraid to ask. The purpose of this board is to help you learn how to give the best care to Blue and your other kitties. All of us have had at least one diabetic cat and you have a lot of great experienced people here to help you.
 
If you could set up you signature that would be great
  • On the left, under Settings, Click on Signature. This is where you will put information that helps us give you feedback.
    • There is a limit of two lines which may include two links; you may separate pieces with commas, dashes, | etc. This is where you paste the link for your spreadsheet, once it is set up.
    • Add any other text, such as
    • Caregiver & kitty's name (optional)
    • DX: Date
    • Name of Insulin
    • Name of your meter
    • Diet: "LC wet" or "dry food" or "combo"
    • Dosing: TR or SLGS or Custom (if applicable)
    • DKA or other recent health issue (if applicable)
    • Acro, IAA, or Cushings (if applicable)
    • Spreadsheet link. Please put the signature link on the bottom line of your signature information, on its own, so it is easy to find.
    • Please do not put any information about your location in the signature for security reasons. If you wish to add your country location, please add it to your profile.
Be sure to click the 'Save Changes' button at the bottom. If you need help urgently it is important we know these things at a glance. We don’t want to waste valuable time finding out information.


You will see that the signature is in gray at the bottom of each members posts
 
Rex2u said:
Now I'm having trouble with the spreadsheet. It's grayed out on my google docs. Any idea what I'm doing wrong?
Click to expand...

Hmmm... I can see it, is it just that you can't edit? Are you getting into it from your own Google Drive (not the read-only link in your signature)?

Blue is gorgeous, by the way!!!!
 
Hi and welcome. I just came home.let me take a look at the ss and read the condo. Well first thing I see is a 7 pound cat should never be started on 2 units of Lantus. Most start on no more than 1.0. If you are feeding any dry food the starting dose would be .50. Lantus is dosed not by the preshot reading but rather by how low it takes a cat so mid cycle tests are a must. It likes consistency so they need the same dose every cycle. It’s a depot drug which means it builds up over time so it takes days to see what a dose will do.

How is testing going? Your vet wants to do a 12 hour curve testing every 2 hours. Most cats are higher at the vet’s office due to stress so if you can do it at home it will be more accurate.

You said you are having trouble with the spreadsheet. Does that mean you have more tests?

I’m going to stop until I get some answers.
 
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Maybe the vet did but it’s way too high. If you come back on I really urge you not to give more than half a unit or even hold it. If your vet did advise I’m worried about leaving your cat with him/her because I am positive 2 units is cray high. Many vets unfortunately don’t know how to dose Lantus. I worry your cat might go hypo and that can be deadly.
 
tiffmaxee said:
Hi and welcome. I just came home.let me take a look at the ss and read the condo. Well first thing I see is a 7 pound cat should never be started on 2 units of Lantus. Most start on no more than 1.0. If you are feeding any dry food the starting dose would be .50. Lantus is dosed not by the preshot reading but rather by how low it takes a cat so mid cycle tests are a must. It likes consistency so they need the same dose every cycle. It’s a depot drug which means it builds up over time so it takes days to see what a dose will do.

How is testing going? Your vet wants to do a 12 hour curve testing every 2 hours. Most cats are higher at the vet’s office due to stress so if you can do it at home it will be more accurate.

You said you are having trouble with the spreadsheet. Does that mean you have more tests?

I’m going to stop until I get some answers.
Click to expand...
 
I am starting from scratch here on knowledge. The lowest his BG has been is 350 from the day he was at the vet after a rough night. We changed to 1 unit but his BG just kept going up. I have not tested him other than after a meal and before his shot every 12 hours. As you see, he registered "high" this morning and I then gave him 2 units. I am getting ready to do another test. I am haven't trouble due to him not bleeding enough. I have rubbed his ears and still not enough to run the test. The lancets I bought might be the problem so I can purchase another type. I have Blue scheduled at the vet on Wednesday. I'm not sure Blue or myself are ready for every two hours. Bless his heart, he's been pretty patient with me but I think he's getting over it.
I have been feeding him FF classic pate and American Journey I think is the name, from Chewy. I am waiting on another dry food that was suggested but can't remember off hand what it was. It was suggested as a low carb. Blue has never been much of a big eater but recently he's hungry all the time. I'm juggling several senior cats with their own issues so it's getting interesting to get and feed everyone the correct food.

Thanks for your offer to help...I'm very worried and have had little sleep since last week when he was diagnosed.
 
jt and trouble (GA) said:
Oh there I go assuming again. :rolleyes: I just assumed she meant the Vet told her this. :oops:
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I was told by the vet to give two units every 12 hours when he was diagnosed a week ago today. He had an "episode" where he wasn't moving and it scared me so I didn't give him a shot. I took him to the vet the next day and they tested all day and got it to 350 but that was with the 2 units.
 
Rex2u said:
I think I just got it. Do you see it? I don't usually work with a PC but it has a larger screen than my ipad and iphone. I thought paste was control P but I guess it's control V.

Thank you. He's a doll baby!
Click to expand...
How Beautiful is Blue ..... we have to work on what he is eating it can really be a factor in getting his BG under control . My cat was an Oriental shorthair she ate dry food all of her life till I learned better . I thought it would be good for her teeth ahhhhh .
Jt can tell you how changing to wet food low carbohydrate can change BG levels .
I know with multiple cats it will be work but I have no doubt you can do this .
Welcome you and Blue ask as many questions you can think of
 
Dusty & Roe said:
How Beautiful is Blue ..... we have to work on what he is eating it can really be a factor in getting his BG under control . My cat was an Oriental shorthair she ate dry food all of her life till I learned better . I thought it would be good for her teeth ahhhhh .
Jt can tell you how changing to wet food low carbohydrate can change BG levels .
I know with multiple cats it will be work but I have no doubt you can do this .
Welcome you and Blue ask as many questions you can think of
Click to expand...

Thank you. He's a dreamboat and has always followed me everywhere. He's has always loved Meow Mix because of the gravy. He never really ate much of the food. He would graze on dry food but loved that gravy. I haven't given him any since last week. He's been eating the FF classic which I was already buying. I think it's the dry food I might have a problem with since I have a multi-cat household of seniors.
 
Ooooh ok It does sound like Blue had a close call hypo event. sigh
I HOPE you arent giving up testing it is the only way to make sure Blue stays safe. Also dry food is packed with carbs. If you remove the dry his numbers are sure to drop and might be dangerously low. If he hasnt been eating dry try not to reintroduce it. You need to get the testing down pat first.
We'll get this sorted. ;)
 
Rex2u said:
Thank you. He's a dreamboat and has always followed me everywhere. He's has always loved Meow Mix because of the gravy. He never really ate much of the food. He would graze on dry food but loved that gravy. I haven't given him any since last week. He's been eating the FF classic which I was already buying. I think it's the dry food I might have a problem with since I have a multi-cat household of seniors.
Click to expand...
Lol I understand when I was transitioning my Cat from dry to wet I must have gone threw every brand out there till I found something she would eat Of courseeeeee she liked the most Expensive oh that cat lol. I know the forum talks about 2 dry foods that are a little better but still not Great I never used them so I have to ask the names from the other member
 
Dusty & Roe said:
Lol I understand when I was transitioning my Cat from dry to wet I must have gone threw every brand out there till I found something she would eat Of courseeeeee she liked the most Expensive oh that cat lol. I know the forum talks about 2 dry foods that are a little better but still not Great I never used them so I have to ask the names from the other member
Click to expand...

The dry food is Dr. Elsey's clean protein Chicken Formula grain-free dry but I just realized it's not on my current order. It's on another that won't come until the end of the month. Yakkkkk I can't believe I did that. I guess I need to go get something because the dry I am feeding are good foods but probably not for Blue. Any suggestions are welcome.
 
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