Newly Diagnosed, Questions

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Marc_Z

Marc_Z

Member Since 2019
My cat was drinking/urinating a lot and started not being able to retract back claws. I called the vet and they did a test at my home with my cat very stressed, that said was in the 500's.
I immediately, that day, did some research and changed his diet from kibble to Fancy Feast classics, one 3 oz can in the morning and one 3 oz can at night. He started downing the whole thing in the first setting, because it was new food and he loved it. Now he doesn't down it entirely, realized he needs to save it, if he wants to eat later.

I am on day three of changing his diet and diagnosis. I also ordered a AlphaTech 2 meter. I just got it today. I tested him 3 hours ago a few times and got in the 170 - 190 range. I tested him 20 minutes after he ate/inhaler and got 258 and hour after and got 262.

Seems like his numbers are all less than 300.

I have an appointment with the vet on Thursday and they are going to do a whole blood panel, x-ray of body. They are going to sedate him, since he is high stressed even when they come to my home. Some how he knows its the vet.

Now the real hard part about this, is my cat has serious asthma. Reason, he probably has it, because he was on a lot of steroids a year ago. Now he has been off of steroids for over a year and I use inhaled steroids to control his asthma. I already have the routine down on giving him his inhaler and feeding him twice a day, in case I need to add insulin. I know, his days of steroid injections are over. This is a real downer because I used it while I was on vacation.

I've read up on Glucose curves and how to administer insulin.

What do you guys think of his numbers. Anything different with cats with asthma, besides no more cortison shots?
 
I think the diet change has helped a lot, but it's time to start on insulin.

A normal cat's blood glucose should be between 68-150 (on a pet meter) so he's still running a little too high.

Hopefully your vet uses one of the better insulin's for cats like Lantus, Levemir or ProZinc.
 
Hey Marc great job on switching your kitty's diet and ordering the meter, both really important steps when you have a newly diagnosed cat.

I'm still really new to this, myself, but this forum has been so helpful and the biggest help was setting up my spreadsheet so the more experienced members could help me with understanding my cat's numbers and dosing.
 
Ok, I created spreedsheet and put it on my signature. I am guessing they will put him on Lantus.

What is the procedure then. Feed my cat, test, adjust my dose depending on test, test later. Record first reading and after reading.

How do you tell how many units my cat will need? And how do I adjust dose. Is there any reading materials for dosing and adjusting dosing.
 
Marc_Z said:
What is the procedure then. Feed my cat, test, adjust my dose depending on test, test later. Record first reading and after reading.
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You test before every shot (and they shouldn't eat for the 2 hours immediately before shot times)...then you feed and shoot.

It's Test/Feed/Shoot.….all within about 5-10 minutes

Then during the cycle, you get tests when you can. Preferably at least 1 mid-cycle test on the AM cycle and a "before bed" test on the PM cycle. If you're able to test more often, that's even better. Just get random tests at different points of the cycle.

Marc_Z said:
How do you tell how many units my cat will need? And how do I adjust dose. Is there any reading materials for dosing and adjusting dosing.
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There are two dosing methods we use here with Lantus....Tight Regulation and Start Low, Go Slow. There is a "sticky" in the Lantus forum that explains both dosing methods. If there's any dry food in the picture, you must do SLGS.

The starting dose is based on weight. When you're ready, let us know how much he weighs and we can help you figure out the best starting dose. (usually, it's between .5 and 1U )

Then you wait and gather data....it usually takes 5-7 days before you'll really see how well he's responding to the starting dose. After that, we watch how LOW the current dose takes him and adjust the dose based on that.
 
What kind of insulin would you recommend for a cat that stays under 300 to start and doesn't eat the entire meal in one sitting but over 4-8 hours after feeding him. Getting prepared for when I see the vet.
 
One more question. I bought an AlphaTrak 2 meter. The test strips are about a dollar each on Amazon. Would the PetSure work just as good? Says they work with AlphaTrack meter. I see some on Ebay $17.77 for 60 test strips.
https://www.ebay.com/i/302917570436?chn=ps
Any other good places to buy test strips for AlphaTrak 2 meter.
 
Hi, good hearing from you. I posted in here, since I read one message saying more people respond in the main forum. I updated my Signature. I have yet to get him on Insulin and get a recent weigh in. I will after my Vet appointment on Thursday. Trying to get as much info as possible before going into the Vet.
 
Marc_Z said:
Hi, good hearing from you. I posted in here, since I read one message saying more people respond in the main forum. I updated my Signature. I have yet to get him on Insulin and get a recent weigh in. I will after my Vet appointment on Thursday. Trying to get as much info as possible before going into the Vet.
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You are doing great!
 
Marc_Z said:
What kind of insulin would you recommend for a cat that stays under 300 to start and doesn't eat the entire meal in one sitting but over 4-8 hours after feeding him.
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Lantus or Levemir.....but I may be biased since those are the insulin's I'm most familiar with. ProZinc is also a good insulin for cats.

Marc_Z said:
One more question. I bought an AlphaTrak 2 meter. The test strips are about a dollar each on Amazon. Would the PetSure work just as good? Says they work with AlphaTrack meter. I see some on Ebay $17.77 for 60 test strips.
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Most of us use human meters like the Relion Prime from WalMart because the strips are a lot more affordable ($9 for 50)

The PetSure strips are fairly new and I don't know of any side by side testing, so I can't comment on whether that's a good option or not.

All our protocols were written using human meters so we're very comfortable using them instead of the pet meters.
 
Big setback when testing in the afternoon. He was at 457. Why would he be in the 100's and 200's all day yesterday/this morning and in the 400's this afternoon? He has been eating the same, peeing very little. Make's me thing something else is wrong with him. Hopefully the vet can tell me more on Thursday.
 
Marc_Z said:
Big setback when testing in the afternoon. He was at 457. Why would he be in the 100's and 200's all day yesterday/this morning and in the 400's this afternoon? He has been eating the same, peeing very little. Make's me thing something else is wrong with him. Hopefully the vet can tell me more on Thursday.
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Was he stressed out about anything right before testing or had he eaten very recently? Timing of his asthma meds?
 
Nope pricked his ear quicker than normal, didn't fuss. Did not have his inhaler since this morning. Gave it to him right afterwards.
 
Marc_Z said:
Do cats fluctuate a lot when not on insulin?
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It can depend on what is going on with the cat. I monitored my cat for a month before starting insulin and she was pretty predictable, but then she started gradually creeping up. If it is sudden like you mention, not sure. I am wondering if medication has anything to do with it? I know some steroids can bring on diabetes, but the inhaled type you have him on now is supposed to not affect sugar like the oral steroids or injections.

Infection is another cause of higher glucose, but that probably would not be all of a sudden either unless possibly a very recent infection is starting such as mouth issues or a urinary infection?

You will have a better picture with labs on Thursday. Get a copy from the vet for your records to refer back to, may help figure things out in the near future with all that is going on.


Just had a thought, if he hadn’t had inhaler since morning, could his body been stressed? Ie. Was he struggling a little with breathing? That could be enough to raise BG I would think?
 
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