Newly diagnosed, very clumsy with injections :(

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olatenko

Member Since 2013
Hi, my cat Jasper is about 12, I think. (He was a rescue, so I was never sure of his age.)
He was recently diagnosed with diabetes. He spent a few days at the vet's getting his glucose regulated. He's been home since this Tuesday (11/26). He's getting 2 units of PZI, twice a day. This morning, I did something wrong. I think I might've stuck the needle through his skin and shot the medicine into "nothing" - the spot was wet after. I knew not to give him another dose till the usual time, so I didn't. I feel awful. I hope I get better at administering the injections. I even watched youtube videos, there really are some helpful ones out there.
After starting to show symptoms, but before being diagnosed, he would drink and pee a LOT. Every now and then he'd pee outside the box but near it. Couple of times he peed in a completely different area of the house - kitchen floor. Today he peed in the kitchen twice. I blame myself and the missed dose of medicine. These puddles in the kitchen were HUGE and I am not even 100% sure that it was pee, actually. I didn't see him do it and the fluid was completely clear and odorless. The few times he peed near the box, it was a big puddle, clear and odorless too.
I guess my questions are: Could he be drinking so much that his pee is odorless? Could this be vomit? If this is pee and it continues happening even after I get back on track with the insulin, what can I do?
 
Everyone on this forum has given a fur shot - even people who've given shots for years. It happens. Are you putting the needle in at an angle after you've pulled up a tent of skin? You'll get better each time you do it. Just take a breath before you start and take it slowly. Most of us poke when our cats are busy eating so you usually have time and they hardly notice.

The peeing is definitely one of the symptoms of the disease. It is also possible that he might have a UTI and he is peeing in odd places because he associates hurting with the litterbox. Did the vet check for a Urinary tract infection?

You are on a good insulin. The other two importants part of this sugar dance are diet and testing. We hometest our cats before we give each dose - just like we would with our 2 legged kids. It is the best way to keep your kitty safe. We'd be glad to help you learn how.

After you are testing, if you are feeding dry, you can consider a change to wet low carb food. A vet explains why here: www.catinfo.org. BUT. Don't switch without testing. Our Oliver went down 100 points overnight when we switched from dry to wet. If we had shot our usual dose, he would have hypoed.

Let us know how we can help. Everyone who answers your questions is paying it forward for help they received when they were overwhelmed and scared at first. This is doable and we'd love to help.
 
Very dilute urine has almost no odor because almost nothing is in it. This can happen from frequent urination due to conditions such as diabetes, renal disease, and hyperthyroidism.

Practice on an apple to get a feel for the resistance poking into the skin and to help you be more comfortable with injections. There can be a bit of a learning curve, as you've discovered.

And fur shots happen. I've even stuck myself poking all the way through the skin. If you stick yourself, don't panic. Squeeze it to make it bleed which will 'wash out' the puncture, then wash with warm soap and water. In a couple of days, it'll just be a memory.
 
That's what Dusty was doing, peeing huge amounts of clear pee in odd places. You'll notice his water bowl going empty pretty often too. Once regulated his peeing, drinking, and eating will go back to normal. I injected straight through to my finger once too, no big deal. Just like you did, if you suspect a fur shot or going all the way through, don't inject again, just wait for his next scheduled shot. It'll all get better, before you know it you'll be testing and injecting with your eyes closed. :lol:
 
I am new to this as well and one trick I started to do after going through the other side once was to use one of my fingers to feel around the back side of where I am injecting to ensure the needle is still inside. I hope this helps. I am still getting used to this as well been only a couple of days so far so there might be a better way but that is what I have started doing.
 
Thank you all for all the encouragment. I did this morning's injection ok. However earlier this afternoon he did throw up some water and had diarrhea :(
I'm confused because my vet never mentioned home or office testing for glucose levels. He just told me to let him know how Jasper does.
I am feeding canned food now. According to a chart I found here, the food is about 6% carbs. What percentage is "acceptable" for a diabetic cat? I'd like Jasper to gain some weight. My vet did say that now that he's on insulin he doesn't need special diet. But I don't wanna feed dry again, even though Jasper is still "asking" for it - sitting by the bin, meowing, nudging it, etc. There's still some in there.
Can I manage his diabetes without home testing? How often should he be tested at the vet's?
I'm calling the vet tomorrow (Monday). I definitely don't wanna be giving him too much or too little medicine.
 
The upset tummy could mean he needs a slower transition to all wet. If it continues, maybe put a little dry with the wet, gradually decreasing the dry and increasing the wet. Or give him a priobotic like Fortiflora.

We like to see diabetics 8% or under.

I would never give insulin without testing first. So many times here we have seen a cat suddenly respond with a lower than normal preshot. If the bean had given the usual dose, the cat would have hypoed. Also, the only way to know how the insulin is working is to get a test in the middle of the cycle. Once you know how low the dose is taking him, it will be easy to know whether the dose is too high. Or low. So no, we don't advise trying to manage this disease without home testing.
 
I agree with testing before every shot. Yesterday during Cuddles preshot testing he was at 116, which is actually within normal range and if I had given him his insulin he might have gone hypo. So happy I test before and was able to catch that. I actually had to wait 2 hours after when he should have been given it before I could give him his insulin.
 
Let us know what the vet says but I would home test anyway.. because shooting without testing is like driving with a bag over your head.

Like fievel said, if you shoot when the cat is low it can cause a hypo. Many cats go into remission with a low carb food and a good insulin and you want to watch for that - plus the low carb canned you are using could have already brought his insulin needs down.
 
Right now, I give insulin at 7am and 7pm, about 20mins after eating.
Now, do I understand this correctly?
I will test at those times BEFORE giving the injection. Right?
I will adjust the insulin dose based on the test result. Right?
How will I know what dose to give?
(I believe I saw a "dosage calculator" link on this site somewhere, but I cannot find now, of course...)
 
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