Newly diagnosed Mickey the cat 12/16/2024

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Mickey the cat

Mickey the cat

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Hello, I’m so relieved to find this community. My cat was diagnosed the day before thanksgiving and I’ve been giving him insulin injections ever since. I’m looking for ways to make this easier for him and me. I’m especially looking for people near me that I can call on if I can’t be home to give him his shot. It wouldn’t be that often, but I would rather be ready if this happens. I also have a vacation planned in February and would like to have some backup for a week
 
Hi and welcome to you and your kitty.
Do you think you could give us some more information about Mickey please? This will help us to be able to help you.
What insulin and dose is he getting?
What are you feeding Mickey?
Was he diagnosed with ketones at diagnosis?
Did the vet do a fructosamine test at diagnosis?
Is Mickey eating his food well?
If you would like to tell us what city you live in we can see if there is anyone who lives there, but do not give us you address or spanything that can identify you.

Here are a couple of links for you to read
HELP US HELP YOU
If you have any trouble setting up the spreadsheet and signature, we can help you.

FOOD CHART. look for foods that are 10% or under dear carbohydrates.
 
@Mickey the cat
Tap on your name up top then tap on signature and add this information
  • Add info we need to help you:
    • Caregiver & kitty's name
    • DX: Date
    • Name of Insulin (do not include dose or frequency)
    • 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)
    • Bexacat or Senvelgo (if applicable) and dates
    • 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.
 
Bron and Sheba (GA) said:
Hi and welcome to you and your kitty.
Do you think you could give us some more information about Mickey please? This will help us to be able to help you.
What insulin and dose is he getting?
What are you feeding Mickey?
Was he diagnosed with ketones at diagnosis?
Did the vet do a fructosamine test at diagnosis?
Is Mickey eating his food well?
If you would like to tell us what city you live in we can see if there is anyone who lives there, but do not give us you address or spanything that can identify you.

Here are a couple of links for you to read
HELP US HELP YOU
If you have any trouble setting up the spreadsheet and signature, we can help you.

FOOD CHART. look for foods that are 10% or under dear carbohydrates.
Click to expand...

‘Mickey gets 3 units of vetsulin, twice daily. He eats Purina Proplan UR vet diet because he has had crystals in his urine. Ketones at diagnosis were 4, after 5 days on insulin ketones were .5 No fructosamine test that I know of. He eats like he’s starving so I suspect that he needs a higher dose.
 
Bron and Sheba (GA) said:
Hi and welcome to you and your kitty.
Do you think you could give us some more information about Mickey please? This will help us to be able to help you.
What insulin and dose is he getting?
What are you feeding Mickey?
Was he diagnosed with ketones at diagnosis?
Did the vet do a fructosamine test at diagnosis?
Is Mickey eating his food well?
If you would like to tell us what city you live in we can see if there is anyone who lives there, but do not give us you address or spanything that can identify you.

Here are a couple of links for you to read
HELP US HELP YOU
If you have any trouble setting up the spreadsheet and signature, we can help you.

FOOD CHART. look for foods that are 10% or under dear carbohydrates.
Click to expand...
I live in Scituate, MA
 
Mickey the cat said:
Just got back from the vet and Mickey’s BG was 140!
Click to expand...
How long after the insulin was the 140?
Mickey the cat said:
Ketones at diagnosis were 4, after 5 days on insulin ketones were .5
Click to expand...
Can you put into the signature that Mickey had ketones at diagnosis please? It is important we know that information when we look to help you.
If I were you I would buy a bottle of Ketostix from a pharmacy and test the urine a couple of times a week just to make sure ketones stay away. If left untreated, they can progress to a much more serious illness.

Is the proplan food you are feeding the purina proplan UR st/ox? I’m trying to establish if what you are feeding is a low carb food.

How much food are you feeding Mickey. With ketones in the picture it is really important he eats really well at the moment.
So I would give him a good meal before both doses of insulin and then give him 2 or 3 snacks of low carb food during the first half of the cycle. If he is hungry, you may not be feeding him enough and cats who have high blood glucose can’t absorb all the nutrients in the food.
Here is a link to USING VETSULIN INSULIN
Please note that you need to be feeding him 30 minutes before you give the insulin. VETSULIN is not really a suitable insulin for cats as it hits hard and fast and you need to make sure there is food in Mickeys tummy well before the dose.
Have you thought about hometesting the blood glucose ? That is the best way to ensure Mickey stays safe. The BG changes during the day and can be different every day, even when you are giving the same dose of insulin. Almost everyone here hometests the BGs. Some will use a freestyle libre while learning to home test. That is a monitor that is stuck onto the cats body and reads the BG automatically for 2 weeks.

HOMETESTING HINTS AND LINKS
 
Bron and Sheba (GA) said:
How long after the insulin was the 140?

Can you put into the signature that Mickey had ketones at diagnosis please? It is important we know that information when we look to help you.
If I were you I would buy a bottle of Ketostix from a pharmacy and test the urine a couple of times a week just to make sure ketones stay away. If left untreated, they can progress to a much more serious illness.

Is the proplan food you are feeding the purina proplan UR st/ox? I’m trying to establish if what you are feeding is a low carb food.

How much food are you feeding Mickey. With ketones in the picture it is really important he eats really well at the moment.
So I would give him a good meal before both doses of insulin and then give him 2 or 3 snacks of low carb food during the first half of the cycle. If he is hungry, you may not be feeding him enough and cats who have high blood glucose can’t absorb all the nutrients in the food.
Here is a link to USING VETSULIN INSULIN
Please note that you need to be feeding him 30 minutes before you give the insulin. VETSULIN is not really a suitable insulin for cats as it hits hard and fast and you need to make sure there is food in Mickeys tummy well before the dose.
Have you thought about hometesting the blood glucose ? That is the best way to ensure Mickey stays safe. The BG changes during the day and can be different every day, even when you are giving the same dose of insulin. Almost everyone here hometests the BGs. Some will use a freestyle libre while learning to home test. That is a monitor that is stuck onto the cats body and reads the BG automatically for 2 weeks.

HOMETESTING HINTS AND LINKS
Click to expand...
I added the ketones to my signature and linked my spreadsheet. Yes to UR st/ox. ‘I had his BG tested yesterday and he was 140, 5 hours after he had eaten, and had gained a pound - he had lost 3 pounds since the onset of his diabetes, so this was good news. I’m feeding him 2 cans of wet food, plus a little more if he’s still hungry.
 
Mickey the cat said:
I added the ketones to my signature and linked my spreadsheet. Yes to UR st/ox. ‘I had his BG tested yesterday and he was 140, 5 hours after he had eaten, and had gained a pound - he had lost 3 pounds since the onset of his diabetes, so this was good news. I’m feeding him 2 cans of wet food, plus a little more if he’s still hungry.
Click to expand...
Thanks for that information. In the spreadsheet remarks column can you add BG (blood glucose ) taken at vet please?
Are you giving him snacks during the cycles? He will be hungry until his blood glucose gets back to normal as he can’t absorb all the nutrients in the food at the moment. And snacks are good for him and his pancreas.
What do you think about home testing the blood glucose?
 
I’m giving him snacks when he asks for food. I bought a meter and it came today but it didn’t have lancets so I have to get some of those.
 
Mickey the cat said:
I’m especially looking for people near me that I can call on if I can’t be home to give him his shot
Click to expand...
I think your best bet for this is look for a pet sitter who is also a vet tech (many are) or have lots of experience caring for diabetic cats.
You can call pet sitters and ask their background, or you might ask at your vet’s office to see if any of the techs there do pet sitting/shots. Good luck

edit: another option is asking via a neighborhood app like Nextdoor (or if your neighborhood has a FB page etc) if there are any pet parents out there with experience with diabetes
 
Mickey the cat said:
Hi, I found one on pet sitters and one from a referral. It’s a relief to have some people I can count on just in case I can’t be here for Mickey!
Click to expand...
I totally agree. I’m glad you found someone and will have a chance to evaluate them before an emergency arises

my pet sitter I had before my boy got sick (neighbor referral when I moved here) and she just happened to be a vet tech. She’s worth her weight in gold several times over
 
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