No real progress with Cali

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beclt

beclt

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Looking for some guidance. Please check out Cali's spreadsheet. Her numbers are back high again and shes been starting to try to drink more water (only the past day or so). Not really sure what to do. We are considering switching from ProZinc to Levemir or Lantus. We are a bit worried as we will be going away for Xmas and I doubt shell get any shots while we are away (not for lack of trying).

Thoughts? We are worried/even more discouraged.
 
Both Lantus and Levemir are good gentle insulins which have sustained action and carry over into the nex 12 hour period. Lantus is more familiar to vets, although Levemir useage is beginning to increase (annecdotal reports). Switching right before leaving on vacation isn't a good idea if you don't think the caretaker will be able to give it and monitor the glucose levels.

If you don't believe the vacation caretaker can give the insulin, it may be better to board her, rather than risk the possibility of coming home to a desparately ill cat who might require hundreds of dollars of urgent/emergency vet care.
 
Please think about boarding your kitty with a Vet or Vet Tech. It may be expensive but not near as expensive if you come home to a sick kitty that hasnt had insulin. I cant speak to insulins I hope there will be others to join with advice.

jeanne
 
I appreciate the advice, but boarding is 100% not an option. Our cat gets so stressed and angry that even our Vet has advised us against it quite highly. I have to agree. I don't even think they could get their hands into her cage or whatnot to get to her without being clawed. And she would be so stressed the insluin wouldn't work. Trust me, we've gone down this path.

Luckily the pet sitter this go around is a local person from this Board "tuckersmom" so she knows what to look for, but I'm still not optimistic she'l have luck.

All of this aside, I really wanted to get a take on her readings and he being so high lately. Not sure what the next steps are: raise the dose a bit more? Change food? etc.
 
The impression I get from the spreadsheet is that as dose has increased, so have the preshot glucose levels.
To me, this suggests the dose could be too high, or not have a long enough duration. I would not consider me an expert in ProZinc, however.

Something to keep in mind, some cats (ex my Spitzer) are extremely carb sensitive. Even a 1% increase can shoot him up. Maybe label your foods with the % carbs, note it on the spreadsheet (maybe a short extra line that you color code) and see if you can observe a pattern in the glucose responses with various changes.
 
I'm positive I'll be able to give Cali food, a shot though - not so much. But my sister is going to come with me a few times, together we may be able to give her a shot.

I do agree, she can't be boarded. She's the loveliest and sweetest kitty when she's in your DH's arms.

If you do decide to switch insulin, let me know, I have some of Kiki's insulin and would be happy to share, she has both Ls, we just switched her so I have both kinds.
 
Jennifer

Have you visited Cali yet? Might be good to do before they leave, so she can get to know you and so you can see where the hiding places are. A friend with treats may be welcomed enough not to hide from.

I'd go with the Levemir if she might turn out to be 1 shot a day if you can find her, due to its duration.
 
Yes, I met Cali a couple of weeks ago. She's a beautiful young lady but smart as the dickens!

I brought everything I could think of, tuna flakes, chicken treats, freeze dried pieces of tuna, one of Althea's catnip toys, even my laser pointer. I was able to get her engaged with the laser pointer and she did sniff at the catnip. Actually I think she ate the treats too. I was there a while, even with DH holding her I could not get close. I was very quiet and did not try to push myself on her, but she's smart, she knew each time I even looked in her direction.
 
That's my cat!

I think we'd like to try out a new insuin when we get back, so we will be in touch!
 
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