Mandarin'sMom
Member Since 2014
New to this board and new to taking care of a diabetic cat. Here’s the brief background: My Mandarin was diagnosed on November 15, 2014. His initial blood work (done at the vet’s office) showed a Glucose level of 520 – but he’s also a very scared cat and was extremely stressed which probably resulted in higher than normal numbers. I bought a Relion meter and started testing at home over the weekend and his numbers were consistently in the mid- to high 300s. My vet started him on ProZinc on Monday, Nov. 17 (2 units every 12 hours).
Here’s the problem: I life trapped Mandarin as a teenage kitten two years ago. He is somewhat social with me, but still a very scared cat. He will come up to me for attention when I sit on the floor, but hates to be picked up or confined in any way. Whenever I try to pick him up or, even worse, put him in a carrier, he pees in a panic. I had him in a dog crate for the first few days after being diagnosed to make sure that I could monitor his Glucose levels and give his Insulin injections. His numbers were still high (mid 200s to low 300s). But since he became increasingly stressed, I let him out of the crate and he is now in my bedroom.
Luckily, he was already used to eating canned food and loves it. I can give Insulin injections fairly easily while he is eating. However, testing his Glucose when he is out and about is a different story. I’ve been able to check his levels about once a day since I let him out, but not necessarily right before I give the Insulin. I am really nervous that I will ruin the little trust he has in me and that I won’t be able to give him his injections if I keep pestering him with the Glucose meter. But, at the same time, I want to make sure that his numbers are not too low.
The vet recommended doing a curve at home after ten days (and I will just put him back in a crate for 12 hours and get it done). I am trying very hard to continue socializing him and getting him used to being held (without being poked for now – just for brief periods of time with food rewards). But what do I do until I reach a point where I can do more regular checks?
Here’s the problem: I life trapped Mandarin as a teenage kitten two years ago. He is somewhat social with me, but still a very scared cat. He will come up to me for attention when I sit on the floor, but hates to be picked up or confined in any way. Whenever I try to pick him up or, even worse, put him in a carrier, he pees in a panic. I had him in a dog crate for the first few days after being diagnosed to make sure that I could monitor his Glucose levels and give his Insulin injections. His numbers were still high (mid 200s to low 300s). But since he became increasingly stressed, I let him out of the crate and he is now in my bedroom.
Luckily, he was already used to eating canned food and loves it. I can give Insulin injections fairly easily while he is eating. However, testing his Glucose when he is out and about is a different story. I’ve been able to check his levels about once a day since I let him out, but not necessarily right before I give the Insulin. I am really nervous that I will ruin the little trust he has in me and that I won’t be able to give him his injections if I keep pestering him with the Glucose meter. But, at the same time, I want to make sure that his numbers are not too low.
The vet recommended doing a curve at home after ten days (and I will just put him back in a crate for 12 hours and get it done). I am trying very hard to continue socializing him and getting him used to being held (without being poked for now – just for brief periods of time with food rewards). But what do I do until I reach a point where I can do more regular checks?
