Now for the questions...

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doombuggy

doombuggy

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So I filled Cedric's scrip on Friday and started giving him injections on Saturday, 1unit 2x per day, as per the vet's instructions. Here are my questions:

1) I know he's supposed to eat first, but how much time should elapse between feeding him and giving him an injection? I have been waiting 30 - 45 minutes.
2) I think for the most part, I can stick to a schedule of 6:30 am & 6:30pm each day for his injections. The problem will be on Sundays when I have to be at work at 6am. I leave at 5am and that is when I gave him his injection yesterday. Thoughts?
3) Similar to #2 - I am going to Denver for my sisters graduation next week (Thursday - Sat) and Cedric will be staying at the vet Wednesday night through Monday morning (they will clean his teeth while he's there). I am concerned about their time schedule for his injections, and also if I am able to get him to stay at the kennel on Walt Disney World property with me giving him his injections, I will be at the mercy of their hours. thoughts on this from people who have kenneled their diabetic cat?
4) Usually on Sundays when I go to work so early, Cedric gets feed at 4am; he usually gets fed at 6am. On Sundays I have a tendancies to make tuna from my lunch the following day (I did not yesterday though). Cedric likes me to share some with him. Is this ok, or a no-no?
 
which insulin are you using?
as for the tuna you share...are you sharing it before you salad it up with mayo and whatever else you mix into it? plain tuna is fine.
usually you shoot and feed together unless you think he may barf or not eat...i shot with tom face deep into his bowl of food.
some insulins it is ok to wait a half hour...others it is quite important to feed immediatly.
 
doombuggy said:
So I filled Cedric's scrip on Friday and started giving him injections on Saturday, 1unit 2x per day, as per the vet's instructions. Here are my questions:

1) I know he's supposed to eat first, but how much time should elapse between feeding him and giving him an injection? I have been waiting 30 - 45 minutes.
Click to expand...

I test - feed - shoot in about 30 minutes. I wait long enough to make sure she is going to eat, then I shoot her insulin. I want to be sure she has food on board before giving her insulin.

doombuggy said:
4) Usually on Sundays when I go to work so early, Cedric gets feed at 4am; he usually gets fed at 6am. On Sundays I have a tendancies to make tuna from my lunch the following day (I did not yesterday though). Cedric likes me to share some with him. Is this ok, or a no-no?
Click to expand...

Tuna is Ok - Zoe thinks it is a 'special treat" - I usually just give her a little Tuna in water and she is happy. So I think it is just fine.

I can't help with the other questions, because I am not sure and don't want to give you the incorrect information!

Which insulin are you using with Cedric? Are you home testing? How's that going?


Best of luck!
 
I give him tuna right from the pouch - no mayo or anything, just straight tuna. Most goes into my tupperware for lunch with the mayo, but he wants his tuna (ie don't think of opening the pouch unless you are going to share).

He uses Lantus (is that how you spell it? bottle is at home). he usually eats about 1/2 of his 1.5 oz of canned food (have switched to Blue Wilderness and he likes it) and maybe a mouth full of his Blue dry (also changing from Blue Spa Select Adult Light to Blue Wilderness) of which he gets 1/4 cup at each meal.
 
Hi Mom to Cedric who thinks he's a dog :mrgreen: ,
With Lantus you have room to feed....it is ok to shoot and feed in a bit if your positive he will eat.
As for your dosing and timing...It may be time to introduce yourself on the Lantus Insulin Support Group. Look for it under the the ISG"S in the board index at the top left of the page.

And if at all possible it is really for Cedric's own good that the dry food be eliminated COMPLETELY as it will only hinder his ability to get good consistant numbers.
 
Going to Wal-mart later today to get the test strips for the meter I bought on Sunday (the pharmacy was closed for the holiday). I am going to see if I can pick up some more syringes that have half hash marks, as the ones I bought don't have that. He had a little soft stool this am, probably because he did not eat all of his canned food yesterday - turned his nose up at the new Blue Wilderness Chicken flavor. today I gave him 1/4 cup of the Wilderness dry instead of mixing it with his Blue Spa Select weight control.
 
With the faster acting insulins, it was important to wait until they ate and kept it down before shooting, but that's not necessary with Lantus. Many people actually shoot while the cat is eating - they are distracted by the food and rarely notice the shot.
 
When am I supposed to check his BG? Before the injection, each time he gets one? I think I am taking in too much info and losing it!
 
You might want to start a binder for info or some other system.

Testing - you test prior to injection, and do spotchecks when you can inbetween.

Why? You are looking for a few things.

Prior to injection - you want to know if your cat has suddenly gone very low, in which case you do not want to inject. You also want to collect data to start understanding how the insulin is working.

Spotchecks and curves - testing inbetween shots tell you how the insulin is working. That is, when it kicks in, how low those blood glucose levels go and by what point, when the insulin starts wearing off and when its 'done'. This data helps you figure out whether you need a different dose, and even if the insulin is a good one for your cat.

Example.

Preshot test - 300.
Two hours post shot (or +2) - 270
+4 - 200
+6 - 150
+8 - 200
+10 - 250
+12 - 300

This would tell you that the insulin has kicked in by 2 hours post shot, that it goes down gradually to approximately 150, that it starts wearing off by 200 and is back to preshot levels by the time the next shot is due. The 'curve' or shape of the data is fairly smooth and gentle. If 150 is the true low point or nadir, then you have room for an insulin increase.

Does this make sense?
 
At the very least you are going to want to check him before each shot, and then usually around the nadir which in most cases is about +6 to +8 ( 6-8 hours after the injection). Of course you can test as often as you like, the more tests, the more information you have on how he is reacting to the insulin.

If running a curve then you test every 2 hours for a 12 hour cycle, for example, am preshot # right before injection, then say shot at 7am the next tests would be 9am, 11am, 1pm, 3pm, 5pm, and again before the next shot at 7pm...Does that help?


Mel, Max & The Fur Gang
 
dear mom to cedric....may we have your name too?
you don't have to take everything in all at once....just the basics...and we are here even for the same questions asked repeatedly. no one gets everything down in the first week, trust me.

the one perhaps most important thing is yes you do have to test before each and every shot. why? to make sure it is a shootable number.
and jen showed you the way 'we' will understand cedric's cycle if you post his numbers the way she showed you...
we don't care what time it is necessarilly...only how many hours have passed since the last shot...thus the +2 or the +8 etc.

take it slow...this is a marathon...not a sprint!
 
sorry mel,,,didn't see your post and did'nt mean to put down the time of day thing...you know what i'm sayin.
 
Ok, I get the idea now, thanks for the example. I think I am feeling under the gun because the vet wants me to do a curve this week (or rather after a week) so it will have to be Thursday or Friday. Worthing 7 days a week can be the pits! I think I was a little extra stressed today because I am not busy at work and spent too much time thinking about this.

I tried his first BG reading today. I had some trouble getting the blood, like Dr. Lisa mentions in her article. The pin thing is a 30 (came with the meter) and the ones I bought were 33. They will go back! Cedric did well, but was a little annoyed with the pricking. I have a snuggle toy that my step mom bought for him a couple of years ago that has a pack inside that can be heated in the mirco. I think I will try this on his ear tomorrow.

So about Cedric: He thinks he is a dog and likes to do dog things, such as frolic in the water, yap a lot, and lick you a lot (we call that "hugs"). He usually goes into the tub when I am done showering but now that I have moved into the house I bought with a seperate shower, he doesn't know what to make of it. He is used to playing with the running water from the spicket, and now there is not one! He has been trained to get on his towel and lay down so his paws and buns can be dried. Wet & litter box do NOT mix!

Like a dog, he has a tendancy of hogging the bed. He also likes to curl up on my shoulder if I am laying on my back. He'll lick me then snuggle up - not very comfortable when you are tryin g to sleep.

I always say that he chose me and that God sent him to me. I went to the SPCA of Centeral FL in April 2006 to adopt a new cat nearly 1 year after my Midora (age 13, DSH tiger grey & black) went to the Rainbow bridge. I went to adopt a female calico but she was a bit stressed that day. Cedric (the name they gave him) was in the cage below. I did NOT want a boy, but he wouldn't take no for an answer. I can't believe it's been 5 years already!

Thanks for everyone's 2 cents. I don't know where I would be without your advice, etc!
 
I tested his BG today after his b-fast and before his injection. It was 285. I then gave him his 1 unit of insulin. I think I will stay home tomorrow to do the BG curve that the vet has asked for. I do have a radiologist appt at 3:30 and I am hoping they won't keep me 2 hrs like they have a tendancy to do...

This morning's poke in the ear went better since I heated up his ear. Can he be stuck in the paw as well, and if so, where? confused_cat
 
Yes he can be, you would want to use the large non-weight bearing pad, not the ones they walk on. But you would also want to make sure you clean it really well and afterwards watch for signs of infection. Remember those pads go in and out of litter boxes.

Mel, Max & the Fur Gang
 
lori and tom said:
dear mom to cedric....may we have your name too?
Click to expand...

If you go to the FBMB page on Facebook, you will see the post I made this am, which is logged under my legal name, but more importantly, you'll see a photo of us from the Disney's Photopass session we had in January! :mrgreen:
 
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