Question for my Mom’s Cat

[Kshoopla]

This is a general question since I don’t have access to all of my mom’s cat info in another state. But their small town vet’s instructions for their newly-diagnosed cat just don’t sound right to me. They started him off on one unit of Vetsulin 10mg twice per day. They took him back in to be monitored for just the day, and the vet switched him to 2 units in the a.m. and 1 at night. I’ve never heard of two different doses in one day…seems like it would cause too many fluctuations.

After two weeks they took him back in today for another day of monitoring, and he was 80 all day and 127 when they picked him up in the evening. The vet told them to continue as normal. I know my mom needs to test at home (I’m going to set her up), but in the meantime, I would be nervous about giving him a shot tonight!

I know I haven’t given all the info, but can someone with experience give me their initial reactions? Thank you!!

 

[Bron and Sheba (GA)]

I don’t understand what the 1 unit 10 mg vetsulin means?
If he was 80 all day I think he needs the dose reduced. What dose was he getting which resulted in the 80 all day..?
What is your mother feeding him?
Is she giving snacks during all the cycles?
I’m going to tag @Suzanne & Darcy about the dose as she is more experienced with vetsulin than I am.

 

[Kshoopla]

I guess the Vetsulin is a 10mg concentration. He gets 2 units in the a.m. and 1 unit at night. He got 2 units in the a.m. before that vet visit. She feeds him the Science Diet k/d (?) from the vet (even though I told her it’s not really low carb) and a little bit of Sheba to entice him before shot time.

 

[Bron and Sheba (GA)]

Thanks for clarifying. I’ll wait to see what @Suzanne & Darcy says about the dosing.

 

[Kshoopla]

Thanks for clarifying. I’ll wait to see what @Suzanne & Darcy says about the dosing.

Thank you friend

 

[JL and Chip]

one unit of Vetsulin 10mg twice per day.

I don’t understand what the 1 unit 10 mg vetsulin means?

I guess the Vetsulin is a 10mg concentration.

I’ll take a stab at this. My guess is that it’s a typo and that the “10 mg” should actually be “10 ml” and that it represents the volume of insulin in the vial they were given (i.e., a 10 ml vial of Vetsulin).

The concentration of Vetsulin is actually 40 units per ml (U-40).

I too would be concerned about dosing the amount of insulin the vet recommended with those BG numbers. Does your mom have honey or karo syrup on hand and know what to look for and what to do if the cat’s blood sugar drops dangerously low?

 

[Kshoopla]

I’ll take a stab at this. My guess is that it’s a typo and that the “10 mg” should actually be “10 ml” and that it represents the volume of insulin in the vial they were given (i.e., a 10 ml vial of Vetsulin).

The concentration of Vetsulin is actually 40 units per ml (U-40).

I too would be concerned about dosing the amount of insulin the vet recommended with those BG numbers. Does your mom have honey or karo syrup on hand and know what to look for and what to do if the cat’s blood sugar drops dangerously low?

She does have Karo syrup, and the vet told her to give a teaspoon of the cat wobbles when he walks after a shot. I guess my mom is going to follow what the vet says, so all I can do is send her a test care package and hope she uses it! The vet’s info just doesn’t sound right to me, and I was wondering if anyone else thought the same. Thank you for your reply!

 

[Suzanne & Darcy]

This does not sound right at all. First of all, a good dose should be found where she can shoot consistently the same dose morning and evening. That whole business about giving a teaspoon of karo if he "wobbles after a shot?" What does that even mean? Right after giving a shot? A few hours after giving a shot? If we are giving a cat a dose that's too much then we don't just wait to see wobbling! Also, you give karo in very small amounts generally and not a teaspoon at a time. A little is given (often a drop given or rubbed on the gums in symptomatic hypo situations and repeated as necessary based on tests.) I know you know this, and you are trying to help your mom. She will listen to you, I am sure, and you may be a lifeline for her cat. You already know that high carb food is not good for a diabetic cat, but you also know, I am sure, that any changes to lower carb food must be made very gradually and only while the cat is being monitored at home with BG tests in order to make sure the LC food doesn't drop the cat too low. I find it odd that you said the cat was 80 all day? Was that at the vet? Cats (particularly those on vetsulin) normally don't stay at the same number all day long. Frequently, I see cats on Vetsulin get their nadir at about +4 and go up from there (because Vetsulin is not a good insulin for cats and doesn't last long -- leaving the cat in too high numbers for the rest of the cycle.) If I were your mom, I would get up to speed on testing quickly (or get a libre for the first 2 weeks if necessary, while the cat and she get used to the testing.) I would not give 2 units if he was staying at 80. I would need to verify those numbers before I shot again. And a cat on high carb food at 80 for a long period of time? It doesn't make sense. Was he not eating all day while they were testing him at the vet? How many hours after his shot did they start testing? I know this is a lot of questions and I am just typing as these things are popping into my head. There are so many unknowns. How was he diagnosed? Did they do a fructosamine test and, if so, what was the number? Thank you for trying to help your mother and her cat! Have you sent her a meter and test strips and lancets (the larger ones are better in the beginning.) Is she open to testing? Does she know that Vetsulin is not a good insulin and does not provide good duration of action for a cat? Do you think she could maybe get him to prescribe a different insulin? Glargine or ProZinc. We all would love to welcome and help her thorough this if she would be open to joining the Board.

 

[Kshoopla]

Thank you so much for taking the time to write this. I’m going to digest it, share these good points with my mom, and hope she doesn’t just wipe her hands of the whole thing. She’s so stubborn and doesn’t take a lot of advice. But like you all, I want to help her senior cat that she took in after my grandma passed away. Thanks again and I’ll get back to ya’ll.

 

[Suzanne & Darcy]

Thank you so much for taking the time to write this. I’m going to digest it, share these good points with my mom, and hope she doesn’t just wipe her hands of the whole thing. She’s so stubborn and doesn’t take a lot of advice. But like you all, I want to help her senior cat that she took in after my grandma passed away. Thanks again and I’ll get back to ya’ll.

Oh, I hope she will listen to you. I understand stubborn, but hopefully she will love her cat now and want to do the best she can for him. I would love to help in any way I can. I do think she should inquire about a different insulin.

 

[Kshoopla]

Oh, I hope she will listen to you. I understand stubborn, but hopefully she will love her cat now and want to do the best she can for him. I would love to help in any way I can. I do think she should inquire about a different insulin.

Thanks, I’m going to definitely push for that!

 

[Kshoopla]

Oh, I hope she will listen to you. I understand stubborn, but hopefully she will love her cat now and want to do the best she can for him. I would love to help in any way I can. I do think she should inquire about a different insulin.

I explained everything and here’s what she wrote back:
Called vet and 1 hr after his shot he was 196. His low point was 80 at 2 o'clock. Before we picked him up at 4 o'clock he was 127. She wants us to continue with the same amounts bc she said it was a good curve. I asked her about giving 1 and 1. She sounds like she knows what she's doing. We'll go by what she says especially since we'll be boarding him there.
From the visit before we were doing 1and 1 and his readings were not great, that's why she wanted to up it

 

[Oreo kitty's mom]

I recently got a monitor from amaxon, reasonably priced. Also strips are reasonable.
It's called pet test advocate.

 

[Oreo kitty's mom]

Also they have plastic covers for the monitor. It helps protect them. If you go on Facebook wealso have a diabetic cat group. A lot of info kn there. I guess just type in diabetic cats.