Newly Diagnosed And Having Difficulties

[S.Morris]

My 5 year old female cat Mokie was diagnosed after a diabetic crash incident on the 21st of May so like a week or so ago. We just got on insulin this past Thursday and I have a ton of questions. But am having problems getting ahold of her vet because their phone system is having a lot of issues right now.
Miss Mokie is not seeming able to tell when she needs to go to her litter box to urinate and as a result is relieving herself where ever she may be at the moment, and she wont leave my bed. Shes active and physically doing much better than she was before as she is very bright and even playful again when she hasnt been in a long time. But she seems very clingy to me and wont leave my side.
I have to bring her, her food and water on the bed as she wont leave it even for them. And even with the water she wont drink when I present it to her. Does anyone know if it is safe for me to mix water into her wet food to help her hydrate? I have a lot of questions but I want to start here as her hydration seems to be the most pressing issues as she is becoming clearly dehydrated. I was giving her sub Q fluids per vets recommendation until recently as they told me that now that shes on the insulin that we needed to stop that for awhile. So is there a way I can incentivise her to drink some water?

 

[Diane Tyler's Mom GA]

We all add water to our cats wet food

 

[S.Morris]

We all add water to our cats wet food

I wanted to ask about that because I didn't know if it was safe or not. Thank you. Will it take awhile for her to drink on her own again? Or is it common for cats with diabetes to permanently need assistance with hydration? I'm way out of my element here and very worried for her.

 

[Bron and Sheba (GA)]

Hi and welcome to the forum.
A lot of diabetic cats can get dehydrated easily. They pee a lot so it is understandable. I don’t know why your vet says she needs to stop sub Q fluids now that she is a diabetic. That is not correct. We have a lot of diabetic cats who also get sub Q fluids.
Giving extra fluids in the food is a good idea as Diane says. Just a teaspoon or two each time.

I have a few questions for you to understand your situation
Are you giving snacks during the cycles as well as the two main meals?
What type of food are you feeding?
What type of insulin are you giving? And what is the dose?
Are you testing for ketones in the urine with Ketostix?
Have you thought of hometesting?
What happened with the “diabetic crash” when she was diagnosed?
Bron

 

[S.Morris]

Hi and welcome to the forum.
A lot of diabetic cats can get dehydrated easily. They pee a lot so it is understandable. I don’t know why your vet says she needs to stop sub Q fluids now that she is a diabetic. That is not correct. We have a lot of diabetic cats who also get sub Q fluids.
Giving extra fluids in the food is a good idea as Diane says. Just a teaspoon or two each time.

I have a few questions for you to understand your situation
Are you giving snacks during the cycles as well as the two main meals?
What type of food are you feeding?
What type of insulin are you giving? And what is the dose?
Are you testing for ketones in the urine with Ketostix?
Have you thought of hometesting?
What happened with the “diabetic crash” when she was diagnosed?
Bron

No snacks they told me twice a day and no more. I wasnt sure if that included snacks or not
We are doing fancy feast pate they didnt give her any special diabetic food just said to stick to wet food and avoid carbs and sugars.
Insulin is ProZinc, 2 units two times a day at 9 AM and 9PM
She was ketone free at her appointment and I was told since shes going back in, in a week I didnt need to test for ketones at this time.
Ive thought about home testing but have no idea how to go about it.
As for the diabetic crash she came down from hiding in her window yowling and then collapsed and lost bladder and bowel control, she went limp after that and became hypothermic and her gums turned white. It took a long time at the emergency vet to stabilize her and was honestly very traumatic because before even doing any tests they told me to just euthanize so I dont remember half the info they told me because I kinda just zoned out so I'm sorry if theres not enough info there. Shes bounced back really well and her regular vet says they expect very positive results for her but I'm honestly just so confused and scared about the whole thing.

 

[Diane Tyler's Mom GA]

Ive thought about home testing but have no idea how to go about it.

Always aim for the sweet spot warm the ears up first, you can put rice in a sock and put it in the microwave, test it on the inside of your wrist to be sure it's not to hot, like you would test a babies bottle. You can fill a pill bottle with warm water and roll it on the ears also.Just keep rubbing the ears with your fingers to warm them up
6. As the ears get used to bleeding and grow more capilares, it gets easier to get the amount of blood you need on the first try. If he won’t stand still, you can get the blood onto a clean finger nail and test from there.
When you do get some blood you can try milking the ear.
Get you finger and gently push up toward the blood , more will appear
You will put the cotton round behind his ear in case you poke your finger, after you are done testing you will fold the cotton round over his ear to stop the bleeding , press gently for about 10 or 20 seconds until it stops
Get 26 or 28 gauge lancets
A lot of us use the lancets to test freehand not the lancing device
I find it better to see where I'm aiming
Look at the lancet under a light and you will see one side is curved upward, that's the side you want to poke with

Try putting a thin layer of Vaseline on the ear so the blood will bead up

Here is the link for the meter and test strips so you don't have to search for them
Relion Premier Classic Meter at Walmart for 9 dollars
https://www.walmart.com/ip/ReliOn-Premier-CLASSIC-Blood-Glucose-Monitoring-System/552134103

The tests strips are 17.88 for 100
https://www.walmart.com/ip/ReliOn-Premier-Blood-Glucose-Test-Strips-100-Count/575088197

Most of us use human meters since that is what our numbers are based on

Here is a video that one of our members did testing her kitty
She is using a pet meter that has to be coded, ignore that, a human meter doesn't need to be coded
VIDEO: How to test your cat's blood sugar

Fancy feast is fine to feed, we feed the bigger meals after we test first thing in the AM which is called AM Pre Shot and same goes for the PMPS test.
Most feed the smaller meals @+2 and +4 for both 12 hour cycles
+2 means 2 hours after giving insulin
+4 means 4 hours after giving insulin
2 teaspoons of the fancy feast wet food ,always add a little water to the food

For your hypo kit in case you ever need to bring up Mokie's BG
Med and High Carb food and have honey in your house



Fancy Feast Gravy Lovers Gourmet Beef Feast in Gravy 20% High Carbs

Fancy Feast Gravy Lovers Gourmet Chicken Feast in Gravy 15% Med Carbs

Fancy Feast Gravy Lovers Turkey Feast in Gravy 15% Med Carbs

Fancy Feast Gravy Lovers Chicken and Beef in Gravy 15% Med Carbs

Good idea to mark the cans with magic marker how many carbs

Or any on the food chart. Doesn't have to be Fancy Feast just an example about the med and high carb foods



https://felinediabetes.com/FDMB/threads/dr-pierson-new-food-

10% and under is low carb
11% -15 is medium carbs.

16- 24 is high carb.

It's actually the gravy that has the med and high carbs in it if he won't eat the food

You can read about Prozinc here ,especially the dosing methods to chose from
https://www.felinediabetes.com/FDMB/forums/prozinc-pzi.24/


Here are some links for you, this one says for lantus , I know you are using Prozinc but gave it to you so you can see what the abbreviations mean
https://www.felinediabetes.com/FDMB/threads/lantus-basaglar-levemir-isg-slang-dictionary.1903/

If you are not using the U-40 syringes with the half unit markings you can get them here. We use these because we adjust the doses by 0.25 units at a time and these make it easier to do that
https://www.amazon.com/UltiCare-Insulin-Syringes-12-7mm-Markings/dp/B08HX9BPH7

@S.Morris

 

[Bron and Sheba (GA)]

That must have been very scary for you.
Please give her some snacks as well as the 2 main meals which you give before the doses of insulin. Only feeding twice a day is old thinking. A snack is a teaspoon or 2 of low carb food such as the fancy feast pates. I would suggest giving Mokie a snack at +2 and +4 every cycle. That is 2 hours and 4 hours after each dose of insulin. This will help stop the blood glucose from dropping too low during the first half of the cycles.

Two units of Prozinc twice a day is a lot to start off with. I’d feel much happier if you could start hometesting so we can see how low each dose is taking Mokie. We can help
You with learning how to home test. You do not need your vets permission to do it. A lot of vets don’t think it is necessary but we see daily why it is necessary.
I am just heading to bed (I live in Australia) so will tell you about hometesting tomorrow if no one else has chimed in how to do it.
Do you have a hypo kit set up in case of low numbers? I would recommend you get one set up asap in case it is needed, especially as you are not testing the blood glucose yet. You will need some honey or karo and some high carb food such as gravy lovers fancy feast. I will post a link below which will tell you about the hypo kit and the signature as well as the spreadsheet which you will
Need once you start to home test. Hometesting is the best way to keep Mokie safe.
Bron

 

[Bron and Sheba (GA)]

Link to hypo kit, signature and spreadsheet and other useful info HELP US HELP YOU

I see Diane has given you some j do on hometesting. Look at getting a human meter such as a ReliOn meter if you live in the US

 

[S.Morris]

Always aim for the sweet spot warm the ears up first, you can put rice in a sock and put it in the microwave, test it on the inside of your wrist to be sure it's not to hot, like you would test a babies bottle. You can fill a pill bottle with warm water and roll it on the ears also.Just keep rubbing the ears with your fingers to warm them up
6. As the ears get used to bleeding and grow more capilares, it gets easier to get the amount of blood you need on the first try. If he won’t stand still, you can get the blood onto a clean finger nail and test from there.
When you do get some blood you can try milking the ear.
Get you finger and gently push up toward the blood , more will appear
You will put the cotton round behind his ear in case you poke your finger, after you are done testing you will fold the cotton round over his ear to stop the bleeding , press gently for about 10 or 20 seconds until it stops
Get 26 or 28 gauge lancets
A lot of us use the lancets to test freehand not the lancing device
I find it better to see where I'm aiming
Look at the lancet under a light and you will see one side is curved upward, that's the side you want to poke with

Try putting a thin layer of Vaseline on the ear so the blood will bead up

Here is the link for the meter and test strips so you don't have to search for them
Relion Premier Classic Meter at Walmart for 9 dollars
https://www.walmart.com/ip/ReliOn-Premier-CLASSIC-Blood-Glucose-Monitoring-System/552134103

The tests strips are 17.88 for 100
https://www.walmart.com/ip/ReliOn-Premier-Blood-Glucose-Test-Strips-100-Count/575088197

Most of us use human meters since that is what our numbers are based on

Here is a video that one of our members did testing her kitty
She is using a pet meter that has to be coded, ignore that, a human meter doesn't need to be coded
VIDEO: How to test your cat's blood sugar

Fancy feast is fine to feed, we feed the bigger meals after we test first thing in the AM which is called AM Pre Shot and same goes for the PMPS test.
Most feed the smaller meals @+2 and +4 for both 12 hour cycles
+2 means 2 hours after giving insulin
+4 means 4 hours after giving insulin
2 teaspoons of the fancy feast wet food ,always add a little water to the food

For your hypo kit in case you ever need to bring up Mokie's BG
Med and High Carb food and have honey in your house



Fancy Feast Gravy Lovers Gourmet Beef Feast in Gravy 20% High Carbs

Fancy Feast Gravy Lovers Gourmet Chicken Feast in Gravy 15% Med Carbs

Fancy Feast Gravy Lovers Turkey Feast in Gravy 15% Med Carbs

Fancy Feast Gravy Lovers Chicken and Beef in Gravy 15% Med Carbs

Good idea to mark the cans with magic marker how many carbs

Or any on the food chart. Doesn't have to be Fancy Feast just an example about the med and high carb foods



https://felinediabetes.com/FDMB/threads/dr-pierson-new-food-

10% and under is low carb
11% -15 is medium carbs.

16- 24 is high carb.

It's actually the gravy that has the med and high carbs in it if he won't eat the food

You can read about Prozinc here ,especially the dosing methods to chose from
https://www.felinediabetes.com/FDMB/forums/prozinc-pzi.24/


Here are some links for you, this one says for lantus , I know you are using Prozinc but gave it to you so you can see what the abbreviations mean
https://www.felinediabetes.com/FDMB/threads/lantus-basaglar-levemir-isg-slang-dictionary.1903/

If you are not using the U-40 syringes with the half unit markings you can get them here. We use these because we adjust the doses by 0.25 units at a time and these make it easier to do that
https://www.amazon.com/UltiCare-Insulin-Syringes-12-7mm-Markings/dp/B08HX9BPH7

@S.Morris

Thank you, these resources mean a lot. Im sorry if I'm a little emotional. I was given her medicine and very little info and sent on my way with no way to reach the vet with questions as their phone system is down right now due to storms in my area. I've been trying to do my best for my sweet girl with incredibly limited resources and information but I really think I found the right place coming here. I feel like she can get the proper care now and like I can manage her diabetes more securely now. Thank you really from the bottom of my heart, this means the world to me!

 

[S.Morris]

That must have been very scary for you.
Please give her some snacks as well as the 2 main meals which you give before the doses of insulin. Only feeding twice a day is old thinking. A snack is a teaspoon or 2 of low carb food such as the fancy feast pates. I would suggest giving Mokie a snack at +2 and +4 every cycle. That is 2 hours and 4 hours after each dose of insulin. This will help stop the blood glucose from dropping too low during the first half of the cycles.

Two units of Prozinc twice a day is a lot to start off with. I’d feel much happier if you could start hometesting so we can see how low each dose is taking Mokie. We can help
You with learning how to home test. You do not need your vets permission to do it. A lot of vets don’t think it is necessary but we see daily why it is necessary.
I am just heading to bed (I live in Australia) so will tell you about hometesting tomorrow if no one else has chimed in how to do it.
Do you have a hypo kit set up in case of low numbers? I would recommend you get one set up asap in case it is needed, especially as you are not testing the blood glucose yet. You will need some honey or karo and some high carb food such as gravy lovers fancy feast. I will post a link below which will tell you about the hypo kit and the signature as well as the spreadsheet which you will
Need once you start to home test. Hometesting is the best way to keep Mokie safe.
Bron

I felt like it was a lot to go straight to what they said was the maximum dose. Shes been having clear blood sugar drops our what I think are blood sugar drops as about 4 to 6 hours after her doses she gets very grumpy and at times borderline aggressive which is not characteristic of her at all. She also runs to any food source she sees and begs for it, she seems nearly ravenous right now. Ive ordered the lancets and test kits, and I will be working in small snacks today around 11 AM and 2PM until her 9 PM dose and watched to see if I see any improvement in her grumpiness. Its going to be 2 days before her lancets and test kit arrives. Is it safe to just keep an eye on her and look out for signs of her sugars being too low or two high for that long?

 

[Diane Tyler's Mom GA]

Thank you, these resources mean a lot. Im sorry if I'm a little emotional. I was given her medicine and very little info and sent on my way with no way to reach the vet with questions as their phone system is down right now due to storms in my area. I've been trying to do my best for my sweet girl with incredibly limited resources and information but I really think I found the right place coming here. I feel like she can get the proper care now and like I can manage her diabetes more securely now. Thank you really from the bottom of my heart, this means the world to me!

It's OK and normal to feel emotional, we all have been there.
I'll tell you ,you couldn't have joined a better group .
There are a lot of experienced members here , some have been here for 25-30 years
If it wasn't for me thanking their advice I know my Tyler would not be in remission today. It's 3 years and 4 months now, ( knock on wood)
He is still considered diabetic but food controlled with low carb food.
Bron and Sheba lives in Australia so she will be on here later tonight
I always Google what time is it in Sydney Australia to see what time it is there lol so then I will tag her
Things will get better believe me
What a sweet face Mokie has

 

[Diane Tyler's Mom GA]

I will be working in small snacks today around 11 AM and 2PM until her 9 PM dose and watched to see if I see any improvement in her grumpiness

One thing we don't use times such as 11AM and 2PM only because we are all in different times
If your shooting times are 9AM and 9PM
Then 11AM means +2 ( 2 hours after giving insulin )
2 PM would mean +5 ( 5 hours after giving insulin )
And so on

I see Bron and Sheba mentioned in her post #7 to you
. I would suggest giving Mokie a snack at +2 and +4 every cycle. That is 2 hours and 4 hours after each dose of insulin. This will help stop the blood glucose from dropping too low during the first half of the cycles


Can you do that ?
What meter did you buy?
@S.Morris

 

[Diane Tyler's Mom GA]

I felt like it was a lot to go straight to what they said was the maximum dose. Shes been having clear blood sugar drops our what I think are blood sugar drops as about 4 to 6 hours after her doses she gets very grumpy and at times borderline aggressive which is not characteristic of her at all. She also runs to any food source she sees and begs for it, she seems nearly ravenous right now. Ive ordered the lancets and test kits, and I will be working in small snacks today around 11 AM and 2PM until her 9 PM dose and watched to see if I see any improvement in her grumpiness. Its going to be 2 days before her lancets and test kit arrives. Is it safe to just keep an eye on her and look out for signs of her sugars being too low or two high for that long?

@Bron and Sheba (GA)

 

[Bron and Sheba (GA)]

If she is ravenous 4 to 6 hours after the shots…that is probably because her blood glucose has dropped low. Make sure you give her some good snacks in the first half of all the cycles.

 

[S.Morris]

If she is ravenous 4 to 6 hours after the shots…that is probably because her blood glucose has dropped low. Make sure you give her some good snacks in the first half of all the cycles.

So you were both right, Mokie had another crash around 2 pm yesterday (head bobbing, loss of coordination, loss of bathroom control and a seizure) and was rushed to her vet. Her dose was determined to be way too high as her blood sugar read it 43. The vet stabilized her and she is back home with me today after a night of observation and a glucose curve test? I think thats what they said. Her dose has been corrected to 1 unit twice a day of Prozinc and she will be having another 24 hour study done this Friday as well to see how shes doing in the 1 unit dose. Vet has me returning to sub Q fluids as well and has her on an antibiotic for a UTI she developed from not urinating for long periods of time. I am still concerned about her though as shes come back to me behaving completely unlike herself, Mokie is/was? a very independent cat who preferred to be left alone and given space and very much was not afraid to bite or scratch if her boundaries were disrespected. Shes come home and is literally glued to me, and seems to be having some kind of anxiety episode any time I am separated from her even if just for a few minutes. So since she must be in physical contact with me at all times I have had to carry her with me while doing anything. I dont know if this is normal for diabetic cats or something that happens sometimes but I do want to know if anyone knows of any way I can ease the stress and anxiety she seems to clearly be experiencing.

 

[S.Morris]

One thing we don't use times such as 11AM and 2PM only because we are all in different times
If your shooting times are 9AM and 9PM
Then 11AM means +2 ( 2 hours after giving insulin )
2 PM would mean +5 ( 5 hours after giving insulin )
And so on

I see Bron and Sheba mentioned in her post #7 to you
. I would suggest giving Mokie a snack at +2 and +4 every cycle. That is 2 hours and 4 hours after each dose of insulin. This will help stop the blood glucose from dropping too low during the first half of the cycles


Can you do that ?
What meter did you buy?
@S.Morris

Her blood sugar was much too low. She was rushed to the vet around 2 pm yesterday for another crash episode and her blood sugar read it 43, they did an overnight blood glucose checking thing and I got her back a few hours ago. Her dose was reduced to 1 unit twice a day, the vet does want her on small snacks for now (a couple of table spoons at the same intervals I was told here 2 and 4 hours after her dose)
I got the one touch glucometer, strips and lancets. But since it wont be in for a few days the vet has sent me home with a glucometer on loan and strips. They showed me how to use it and it doesn't need coding so that helps a lot too. Mokie is home and doing better now aside from some behavioural changes. She has a follow up this friday for a 24 hour glucose study thing? I dont understand all the stuff they say to me I wont lie

 

[Bron and Sheba (GA)]

Oh dear I am sorry to hear this. Poor baby.
Cats who have had a symptomatic hypo can be very sensitive to insulin afterwards so make sure you are testing frequently and feeding well.
Is she eating a good meal before the doses of insulin. And I’m glad she is also getting snacks. Very important.
I am going to ask @Bandit's Mom to help you set up a spreadsheet and signature so we can help you with dosing. I don’t think your vet knows a lot about dosing diabetic cats.

Make sure you test before every dose and if the BG is under 200, stall, don’t feed and test 20 minutes later to see if the BG is rising and post here and ask for help. Change the subjust line to reflect that please as well. And try and get tests in around the middle of the cycles so we can how low the dose is taking her.
I am going to tag @Suzanne & Darcy to help you with Prozinc dosing. please keep posting every day so we can help

 

[S.Morris]

Oh dear I am sorry to hear this. Poor baby.
Cats who have had a symptomatic hypo can be very sensitive to insulin afterwards so make sure you are testing frequently and feeding well.
Is she eating a good meal before the doses of insulin. And I’m glad she is also getting snacks. Very important.
I am going to ask @Bandit's Mom to help you set up a spreadsheet and signature so we can help you with dosing. I don’t think your vet knows a lot about dosing diabetic cats.

Make sure you test before every dose and if the BG is under 200, stall, don’t feed and test 20 minutes later to see if the BG is rising and post here and ask for help. Change the subjust line to reflect that please as well. And try and get tests in around the middle of the cycles so we can how low the dose is taking her.
I am going to tag @Suzanne & Darcy to help you with Prozinc dosing. please keep posting every day so we can help

Im having a really hard time, Mokies next appointment is tomorrow and we are having another event actively and they told me too just work on stabilizing her at home today and bring her in tomorrow. She has a bunch of things going on at once and I dont even know where to start.
She had her morning dose at the usual time, 1 unit, right after her morning feedings. Ive noticed since the dose decrease shes eating less, still wont drink so we are heavy on sub q fluids right now. But her poo is really dry. We have her on puppy pads right now so I can monitor her output more accurately with her urine and notices she was straining really hard and there was a bright red ring around her anus when she was going that seemed to be something from the inside but returned to normal when she was done but she was clearly in serious discomfort. Now about 3 hours later shes once again loosing bladder control, wobbling and shaking and her pupils are extremely contracted. I think its related to the antibiotic they put her on for her UTI. Its called Enrofloxacin. It smells like caramel and smells extremely sweet. She received 1 ml per instructions. About 30 to 45 minutes after her insulin. Shes panting hard and shaking and they told me to monitor her at home. I dont know what to do

 

[Mazi's Mom]

@Wendy&Neko @Bandit's Mom @Bron and Sheba (GA) @Suzanne & Darcy

I'm not one of the experts, but it sounds like kitties blood sugar is low.

Can you give any syrup? Rub it on the gums.

 

[Mazi's Mom]

Or high carb cat food if kitty is willing to eat, but based on the symptoms I'd go straight for the syrup if possible.

 

[Wendy&Neko]

You said you have a glucometer at home. Can you test her now? And tell us what type of glucometer you have.

 

[S.Morris]

You said you have a glucometer at home. Can you test her now? And tell us what type of glucometer you have.

I have a true metrix glucose meter. It requires no coding but it cant seem to get a read on her blood sugar. I dont know if its too high or too low. And ive been calling the vet for over and hour with no answer. Theyre an hour and a half away and I do not think she could make the drive at this moment but an emergency vet isnt an option currenly because I have maxed out all of my cards stabilizing her the last few days. I have no idea what to do at this point.

 

[Mazi's Mom]

If she's showing the same symptoms as she did last time she crashed, more than likely she is low.

I would give her some syrup and keep trying to recheck the blood sugar with the meter.

Youre not going to see twitching/shaking and wobbling in high blood sugar. Those are neurological symptoms, the brain needs glucose to function.

 

[S.Morris]

@Wendy&Neko @Bandit's Mom @Bron and Sheba (GA) @Suzanne & Darcy

I'm not one of the experts, but it sounds like kitties blood sugar is low.

Can you give any syrup? Rub it on the gums.

I

If she's showing the same symptoms as she did last time she crashed, more than likely she is low.

I would give her some syrup and keep trying to recheck the blood sugar with the meter.

Youre not going to see twitching/shaking and wobbling in high blood sugar. Those are neurological symptoms, the brain needs glucose to function.

She was low again, 57 this time. Theyre changing her insulin and its dose and keeping her for a couple of days. She had a seizure lasting an hour and 14 minutes and upon check at the vet she also had hives? So theyre exploring the possibility of an allergy or intolerance to the insulin or if it was possibly stress or environmental. Shes come out of it, but shes cold and not responding last I was updated but has a steady heart beat again and is breathing normal again, just as I said not seeming to respond to stimuli yet. They have an over night emergency vet staying with her that will be keeping me updated as well. They'll be exploring the possibility of a tumor as well on the pancreas tomorrow. I will keep this thread updated as I gain information in party for my own reference as well as advice if its able to be provided. Thank you all for sitting on this crazy ride with me, its been immensely helpful more than I will ever have words for.

 

[Mazi's Mom]

I've been thinking of you guys all afternoon and evening. Im happy you were able to get her to a vet. I know how scary and traumatic what the both of you are going thru is. The same happened to my kitty. The vet sent us home when Mazi's appetite was still suppressed with no appetite stimulant. He was eating some, but not enough, I didn't have a meter and was giving insulin blindly. Mazi was nauseous became disoriented, staring off into space, wobbling legs, poor coordination and eventually collapsed. On the way to the vet in morning traffic he started panting and having difficulty breathing. When I finally handed him over the vet he started to have a seizure. His blood glucose was 23. I will never forget that day and will never forget the signs of low blood sugar that Mazi presented with. It was very traumatic, I know how you feel, and I'm so sorry you're going thru this twice. She is lucky to have you.

Please keep us updated. And I'll be saying a prayer for you and your adorable kitty. And sending good vibes your way.

 

[Wendy&Neko]

57 on the TrueMetrix is fine, but not if the vet was using a pet meter. I'm glad she's at a place where she can be monitored more closely. Sending all my best wishes that she recovers quickly.

We typically start kitties on smaller than 2 units of insulin. Can you tell us which insulin they are switching her too?

 

[Mazi's Mom]

They do have a freestyle libre meter available. Its a sensor that gets implanted just slightly under the cats skin and you can use your phone to scan it to get your cats blood sugar.

Your vet or vet tech would place it and it lasts up to two weeks. You wouldn't have to poke her or worry about not getting enough blood.

You can use an GoodRx coupon and its costs about $44 and my vet charged me $27 to have the vet tech place it. You would need a prescription from a vet. Its used on human diabetics but vets can prescribe it for off label use.

I've used one in the past and a couple members here use them.

Just throwing that out there for an option. But always do what is best for you and your fur baby.

 

[S.Morris]

Mokie has an underlying infection in her digestive tract from a somehow unnoticed hernia, she will be staying with the vet for the next week to receive antibiotics for it and then surgery to repair the hernia and supportive care, the infection has apparently spread to other organs including her pancreas as well. I dont know what that means entirely for her going forward. The vet said once she is recovered and home we will need to monitor her blood sugar closely but they also want to retest her for diabetes after her infection has cleared and do a panel on her pancreas to check its function. We are pretty sure at this point that her crashes were caused by the infection primarily and the vet also said based on her blood work today she is pretty sure she is diabetic but she still wants to check again once shes clear of infection.

 

[Wendy&Neko]

Keep us posted. We can help you learn to monitor her blood sugars with a blood glucose meter when she comes home. Another option may be the Freestyle Libre.