Please advise. Getting low numbers at boarding facility.

[Morningstarlet (GA)]

I'm getting ready to go away next weekend for a week at the beach. For the last few weekends I have been leaving Camille at a boarding facility to get her used to staying there. She hasn't been eating for them and they know not to give insulin if she doesn't eat. Last weekend she stayed and she did eat some on Sunday morning so they gave her a shot. When I brought her home that afternoon she was fine, but when I took her reading at 6 pm she was at 57. I was a little concerned so I took my monitor this past weekend and showed them how to test her before giving a shot. This weekend she supposedly ate for them Saturday night and Sunday morning. Saturday night her reading was 495. Sunday morning they had problems with taking the reading and supposedly she had a reading of 73 at 2:00 pm. When I brought her home I took her reading at 6:02 pm and it was 46 but she wasn't showing any symptoms. I'm alarmed with why she's getting these low readings ... is she not eating enough? Could they be giving her too much insulin (they know how much to give her)?? Would it harm her to only get insulin in the morning and skip evenings? There will be no one at the facility at night-time should she hypo. I'm worried. nailbite_smile

 

[Dyana]

Re: Please advise. Getting low numbers at boarding facility

If she got a 73 on an Alpha Trak, then please reduce her dose. Alpha Traks generally measure about 30 points more than the human meters that the majority of us use. If she got a 46 on an Alpha Trak, then definitely reduce her dose.

I'm glad you at least got the boarding facility people to learn to test. I would say to them, no test, no shot, just to keep her safe.
I would worry about leaving her at a facility that is not staffed 24/7. Can she go with you to the beach house?

 

[Sienne and Gabby (GA)]

Re: Please advise. Getting low numbers at boarding facility

Those are disturbingly low numbers on an AlphaTrack meter. Do you have a back-up meter? If not, I'd get one or take your cat to the vet for a BG test so you can use the same drop of blood to compare your meter with theirs. A 46 on an AlphaTrack would be a 16 on a human meter. It makes me wonder if your meter is calibrated properly or if it's "off." You can do the same comparison with a human meter at home.

One other thought... There's a new AlphaTrack, the AlphaTrack 2. I don't know if the newer meter will read the original AlphaTrack strips (or vice versa) properly or if you will get an error reading.

I would also strongly suggest you start getting some mid-cycle tests and start testing at night. Your cat could easily be in dangerous blood glucose ranges. Lantus dosing is based on the nadir, not on pre-shot test values. You have no way to know what kind of numbers Camille is seeing at nadir.

 

[Maggies Mom Debby]

Re: Please advise. Getting low numbers at boarding facility

I would double check that they REALLY know how to fill the syringe to the right spot. There may be some confusion because she is getting only .5 unit and they may be inadvertently giving her too much insulin. They need to test before every shot, and not give insulin unless they do. If she is not eating, or not eating very much, I would not give her a full dose of insulin. I know it's not proper protocol to not give Lantus twice a day, but if I were in your shoes I might not have them give an evening shot if no one will be there overnight. I say better safe than sorry.

I also looked at her spreadsheet and she is really all over the place. Without more mid-cycle testing it's really hard to tell if she has been getting too much insulin on a regular basis or not. I wonder if some of those red numbers could be causes by rebound. I hope other with more knowledge about Lantus will show up soon to help with this.

 

[Morningstarlet (GA)]

Re: Please advise. Getting low numbers at boarding facility

Hi all, thanks for all the suggestions. Dyana, I thought about taking her with me, but unfortunately Camille is very skittish and there will be a houseful of people. I'm afraid she will hide and not eat the entire week. Its taken several weekends but she seems to be getting comfortable with this facility. They have good reviews and seem to genuinely care about the animals. I am concerned about there not being anyone available at night though.

I spoke with my vet today and Camille will not be getting evening injections while at the facility. She will only get her insulin in the morning after food and testing, and then will have food available throughout the day. Food will be removed in the evening. When I drop her off on Friday I will provide a syringe with juice up to the .5 mark so they can see how much she is supposed to get. Then .. when I return Camille is going to the vet for a re-evaluation. I haven't been happy with her numbers for a while and I don't want her to continue with this roller coaster pace. It can't be good for her. Will let you know how she does when I return. Thanks again.

 

[Dyana]

Re: Please advise. Getting low numbers at boarding facility

Can you ask them to get nadir tests, around +6, then?

My cat is afraid of people, and basically hides under the bed during vacation during the day, but boy, when I go try to go to sleep at night, he comes out and is all over me :smile: and wants to play and eat and snuggle and wander the house.

I would call them each day, to ask what the test results were. Good luck, and have a good vacation.

 

[Morningstarlet (GA)]

Re: Please advise. Getting low numbers at boarding facility

Can you ask them to get nadir tests, around +6, then?

My cat is afraid of people, and basically hides under the bed during vacation during the day, but boy, when I go try to go to sleep at night, he comes out and is all over me :smile: and wants to play and eat and snuggle and wander the house.

I would call them each day, to ask what the test results were. Good luck, and have a good vacation.

Yes, I can have them do that .. I want them to test her during the day. Your tuxedo looks just like my oldest kitty, Gracie. Love the little bow. Gracie is all over me at night too. Must be in the tuxedo gene.

 

[rhiannon and shadow (GA)]

Re: Please advise. Getting low numbers at boarding facility

Hi Camille,
Here are pictures of doses less than .50 that you asked me about. Scroll down to the bottom where the pictures of the syringes are.
There are many here dosing tiny tiny amounts. The key is to be consistent with the amount.
Just ask them all. There are some here doing 1 or 2 drops.
You'll need those pictures soon.



http://felinediabetes.com/FDMB/viewtopic.php?f=9&t=18139


Rhiannon ( I'm older than the song )

I am curious as to why they will take all food away during the night. Diabetic cats are hungry.
Even a starving cat won't eat if it's scared more than it's hungry.
Fear can be more powerful than hunger. My cat has never eaten a single bite at the vets office. Even when I've spent the night there with
her on a cot.
I would think a few crumbs in the night would at least help stimulate the appetite when it is breakfast/shot time.
Just my opinion.....

 

[squeem3]

Re: Please advise. Getting low numbers at boarding facility

Yes, make sure that the boarding staff clearly understands that your cat is to get 0.5 units of insulin twice a day and only if they test the bg and if the number is over the cut off number you specify. It's a good idea to take a syringe filled with colored water to the 0.5 unit mark so the staff can reference it when they go to give your cat insulin.

Someone recently had their cat cared for by a pet sitter and the sitter misread the syringe markings and/or the instructions or something and gave the cat 5 units of insulin instead of 0.5 units :shock:

 

[hmjohnston]

Re: Please advise. Getting low numbers at boarding facility

I would second- why no food during the night? My cat eats at least 2oz at night. Can't you freeze some in an ice cube tray and they put it out in the bowl for her to eat once thawed? That is what i was going to do if I needed to board.

 

[Morningstarlet (GA)]

Re: Please advise. Getting low numbers at boarding facility

The reason my vet said to take away the food at night is so she'll eat in the morning for the shot. If she were to nibble all night she may not want to eat when it's time for her shot. There would be no way of knowing how much food she'd eaten at that time. This way she'd have an appetite for breakfast and the staff will know exactly how much she ate before the shot.