Recently diagnosed diabetic cat

[Chance C]

My cat (13 yrs) was diagnosed diabetic 2 days ago. She was in the hospital all day yesterday on IV and they administered insulin and said she ate a little (~ 11 am). They did find some ketones in the pee but was not DKA. I picked her up at 4 pm and they also gave me an appetite stimulant. She did not eat anything last night so i did not give insulin. I applied the stimulant at 8:45 am and shes not wanted to eat anything other than temptations treats which she had 5 of (10 am). She did drink some water this morning. I am not sure what to do as i am worried thats not enough food to give insulin and shes not interested in anything else.

 

[Diane Tyler's Mom GA]

For now
Here is a link helping us to help you link. If you noticed, our members have some basic information about their cat's in their signature. This helps us to not pester you by asking the same questions (your cat's name, insulin type, date of diagnosis, etc.) repeatedly. We also have a link to our spreadsheet in our signature. We are very numbers driven. The spreadsheet is a record of your cat's progress. By linking it in your signature, we can follow along and provide feedback should you need the help

If you need help setting up our spreadsheet just ask.
The link in blue will also tell you how to set it up and explains how to use it, it's very easy.
You can take a look at anyone's spreadsheet

Do you see my signature about Tyler below in gray letters

 

[Diane Tyler's Mom GA]

My cat (13 yrs) was diagnosed diabetic 2 days ago. She was in the hospital all day yesterday on IV and they administered insulin and said she ate a little (~ 11 am). They did find some ketones in the pee but was not DKA. I picked her up at 4 pm and they also gave me an appetite stimulant. She did not eat anything last night so i did not give insulin. I applied the stimulant at 8:45 am and shes not wanted to eat anything other than temptations treats which she had 5 of (10 am). She did drink some water this morning. I am not sure what to do as i am worried thats not enough food to give insulin and shes not interested in anything else.

@Wendy&Neko
@Sienne and Gabby (GA)

 

[Chance C]

For now
Here is a link helping us to help you link. If you noticed, our members have some basic information about their cat's in their signature. This helps us to not pester you by asking the same questions (your cat's name, insulin type, date of diagnosis, etc.) repeatedly. We also have a link to our spreadsheet in our signature. We are very numbers driven. The spreadsheet is a record of your cat's progress. By linking it in your signature, we can follow along and provide feedback should you need the help

If you need help setting up our spreadsheet just ask.
The link in blue will also tell you how to set it up and explains how to use it, it's very easy.
You can take a look at anyone's spreadsheet

Do you see my signature about Tyler below in gray letters

Updated the best I could with current information. This is all brand new to me that's why I am coming here for help.

 

[Chris & China (GA)]

Did your vet mention anything about home testing? (Most don't). We strongly recommend home testing here. It's the only way to know what's going on inside your cat's body. Just like humans are told to test before every shot, we believe it should be the same for our furkids.

If you live in the US, you can get a Relion Premier blood glucose meter from Walmart for $9 and 100 strips for the Premier are $17.88. You'll also need a box of lancets (to poke the edge of the ear to get blood to test) and a box of Relion THIN (not ultra-thin or micro-thin) lancets is $1.62. Those are the most important things you'll need. A lot of us like the cotton cosmetic rounds to put behind the ear when we poke (so we don't poke ourselves) but also you can just fold it over to apply some pressure after testing to help reduce any bruising.

If Pebbles was recently treated for ketones, even if she didn't go all the way to DKA, she MUST get her insulin, even if it means feeding her something high in carbs. You can also give a lower dose if she's running a little low or not eating well, but she should get at least a token dose....and if you're home testing, you will be able to make sure she stays safe.

Lantus is an excellent insulin for cats but most vets don't really know how to use it. What dose are you giving?

For some reason my picture isn't showing up but I also can't remove it. I'll see if I can find another one that shows you where we poke to get blood for testing

 

[Chris & China (GA)]

 

[Chance C]

Did your vet mention anything about home testing? (Most don't). We strongly recommend home testing here. It's the only way to know what's going on inside your cat's body. Just like humans are told to test before every shot, we believe it should be the same for our furkids.

If you live in the US, you can get a Relion Premier blood glucose meter from Walmart for $9 and 100 strips for the Premier are $17.88. You'll also need a box of lancets (to poke the edge of the ear to get blood to test) and a box of Relion THIN (not ultra-thin or micro-thin) lancets is $1.62. Those are the most important things you'll need. A lot of us like the cotton cosmetic rounds to put behind the ear when we poke (so we don't poke ourselves) but also you can just fold it over to apply some pressure after testing to help reduce any bruising.

If Pebbles was recently treated for ketones, even if she didn't go all the way to DKA, she MUST get her insulin, even if it means feeding her something high in carbs. You can also give a lower dose if she's running a little low or not eating well, but she should get at least a token dose....and if you're home testing, you will be able to make sure she stays safe.

Lantus is an excellent insulin for cats but most vets don't really know how to use it. What dose are you giving?

For some reason my picture isn't showing up but I also can't remove it. I'll see if I can find another one that shows you where we poke to get blood for testing

I really appreciate the information! I haven't been able to get a good blood sample, mostly my fault because i'm nervous, do you have any recommendations for lancet setting? Also what is the easiest way to calculate the cats glucose when using a human meter? She did eat 1/8 of a slice of turkey and 5 more temptation treats, I went ahead and administered 1/2 of an insulin dose (her current dosage is 2ml so I gave her 1ml line).

 

[Diane Tyler's Mom GA]

Most of us test freehand . I have never used a lancing device.
Testing
Always aim for the sweet spot warm the ears up first, you can put rice in a sock and put it in the microwave, test it on the inside of your wrist to be sure it's not to hot, like you would test a babies bottle. You can fill a pill bottle with warm water and roll it on the ears also.Just keep rubbing the ears with your fingers to warm them up

6. As the ears get used to bleeding and grow more capilares, it gets easier to get the amount of blood you need on the first try. If he won’t stand still, you can get the blood onto a clean finger nail and test from there.
When you do get some blood you can try milking the ear.
Get you finger and gently push up toward the blood , more will appear
You will put the cotton round behind his ear in case you poke your finger, after you are done testing you will fold the cotton round over his ear to stop the bleeding , press gently for about 10 or 20 seconds until it stops
Get 26 or 28 gauge lancets
A lot of us use the lancets to test freehand not the lancing device
I find it better to see where I'm aiming
Look at the lancet under a light and you will see one side is curved upward, that's the side you want to poke with

Try putting a thin layer of Vaseline on theear so the blood will bead up

Here is a video that one of our members did ,ignore the coding because she is using a pet meter, with a human meter no coding needed
VIDEO: How to test your cat's blood sugar

 

[Diane Tyler's Mom GA]

Here is the link for the meter and test strips so you don't have to search for them
Relion Premier Classic Meter at Walmart for 9 dollars
https://www.walmart.com/ip/ReliOn-Premier-CLASSIC-Blood-Glucose-Monitoring-System/552134103

The tests strips are 17.88 for 100
https://www.walmart.com/ip/ReliOn-Premier-Blood-Glucose-Test-Strips-100-Count/575088197
At least if you need more test strips you can runintoWalmart and pick them up or if you're running low you can just order them from Walmart

 

[Wendy&Neko]

There are three things we strongly believe in here. One is a good insulin for cats, and I'm happy to see your kitty Pebbles is on Lantus. Lantus is a slow acting gentle insulin. You can generally give at least a half dose if they don't eat. Cats about to undergo anaesthesia and cannot eat still get a half dose. It's especially important with ketones in the picture to get some insulin in.

As others have said home testing is also important as it's what keeps kitty safe (and saves us money from vet visits). Lots more tips and videos of how to home test are here: Hometesting Links and Tips

The third thing is a low carb food suitable for diabetics. What type of food is Pebbles eating now? Or what are you trying to get her to eat? You might also need an anti nausea medication like ondansetron or Cerenia. I'd give an anti nausea medication before an appetite stimulant.

 

[Chris & China (GA)]

I just wrote a very detailed answer to all of your questions but for some reason they are gone. (probably because one of the moderators moved the thread at the same time, but I'm not sure).

Diane gave you some of the information so I'll just watch for other questions as you think of them instead of trying to re-write everything again

 

[Diane Tyler's Mom GA]

Also what is the easiest way to calculate the cats glucose when using a human meter?

The normal range for a cat on a human meter is 50-100

Can you add to your signature what you are feeding Pebbles.
Diet: "LC wet" or "dry food" or "combo
You might want to read all the yellow stickys here about Lantus , lots of good information
https://felinediabetes.com/FDMB/forums/lantus-levemir-biosimilars.9/

 

[Wendy&Neko]

Found it @Chris & China (GA) and copied it over here.

I haven't been able to get a good blood sample, mostly my fault because i'm nervous, do you have any recommendations for lancet setting?

Most of us just freehand the lancet instead of using the lancet device. The "click" it makes can startle some cats and I found it was easier for me to see where I was poking when I just used only the lancet and not the device.

What size lancet are you using? Most of the lancets that come with kits are 31-33 gauge. When you first start, you want to use 25-28 gauge lancets because they poke a slightly larger hole. You can also poke twice in the same place if you're not getting enough blood but the Relion meter really doesn't need much blood to work. Just 0.5 microliters
View attachment 70549

If you want to use the lancet device, the depth will be a matter of trial and error. The same depth won't necessarily work on a different cat.

Another tip is to make sure the ear is really warm before you poke. Heat brings blood to the area. Most of us use an old sock with some dry rice or oatmeal in it, tied off and microwaved each time. Be sure to test the temp on your wrist like a baby bottle to make sure it's not so hot that it will burn Pebbles.

Also what is the easiest way to calculate the cats glucose when using a human meter?

There's no direct conversion from human to pet meter, there's just a different scale. With a human meter, normal blood glucose is 50-120. Anything under 50 in a newly diagnosed cat (less than 1 year) should be treated as a hypo and also earns an immediate reduction in dose.

She did eat 1/8 of a slice of turkey and 5 more temptation treats, I went ahead and administered 1/2 of an insulin dose (her current dosage is 2ml so I gave her 1ml line).

The Temptation treats are going to have to go (Sorry Pebbles...we know they're really yummy but they're too high in carbs for you). Most of us use freeze dried treats like PureBites, or a little plain baked chicken or tuna.

Just for clarification, insulin is measured in units, not ml's. 1 ml of Lantus contains 100 units of insulin.

Last but not least, if you look under our posts, in our "Signatures" is a link to a spreadsheet we use to keep track of our cat's test numbers. It's one of our most valuable tools and we will need to see it before we can give much in the way of helpful advice. Here are instructions on getting the FDMB spreadsheet.

If spreadsheet's aren't your idea of a good time, there are several of us that can help set them up for you. Myself and @Bandit's Mom can both whip one up for you.

 

[Chris & China (GA)]

Found it @Chris & China (GA) and copied it over here.

Thank you! I sure didn't want to start over!

 

[Chance C]

Thank you! I sure didn't want to start over!

Thank you everyone for all the replies! pebbles and I are doing our best in this new world. As for the questions about food, her whole life until now she's been enjoying Purina indoor hairball and health dry food. I saw someone say that fancy feast pate had the right nutrition percentages so I grabbed a few cans of that (which she has not been interested in). Because she's really not been interested in food I've tried many options; such as meat flavored baby food, kitty soup, 0 fat low carb greek yogurt, and some deli turkey. She's only been interested in some turkey and only eats up to 1/4 of a slice in one sitting.

I will be trying to get blood without the lancet device from here, thank you for that tip! I am not well versed in spreadsheets so i might need help with that. We are going back in for a checkup tomorrow and hope to get good news! Pebbles has progressed a lot since her hospital visit, she was in very rough shape for a day there.

I guess my main question now is, with her not eating regularly yet, how should I be navigating food and insulin? If she only wants a small amount of turkey every hr should I be doing that while administering half doses every 12 hrs? This has been the biggest struggle over the last day because I don't want to make anything worse and the internet doesn't seem to want to help me find answers

 

[Sienne and Gabby (GA)]

The Purina dry food you're been feeding Pebbles is very high in carbohydrates. It's like feeding a diabetic child cookies, candy, and ice cream and expecting to get the diabetes under control. There are two dry foods that are low in carbs -- Young Again Zero Carb (it's not zero in carbs but it's low carb) and Dr. Elsey's. Overall, canned foods are a better option since the moisture content in dry food is low. Cats have a very limited thirst drive so canned foods are a better bet. This is particularly the case since diabetes is hard on the kidneys and keeping Pebbles hydrated will help with offsetting kidney issues. I would try transitioning over to canned food slowly. Also, not all Fancy Feast is low in carbs. You want the pate style food (e.g., Classics). This is a chart containing information on canned foods available in the US. It also has the carb amount. You want food that's under 10% although most members feed their cat a food that's in the neighborhood of 5%.

 

[Chance C]

The Purina dry food you're been feeding Pebbles is very high in carbohydrates. It's like feeding a diabetic child cookies, candy, and ice cream and expecting to get the diabetes under control. There are two dry foods that are low in carbs -- Young Again Zero Carb (it's not zero in carbs but it's low carb) and Dr. Elsey's. Overall, canned foods are a better option since the moisture content in dry food is low. Cats have a very limited thirst drive so canned foods are a better bet. This is particularly the case since diabetes is hard on the kidneys and keeping Pebbles hydrated will help with offsetting kidney issues. I would try transitioning over to canned food slowly. Also, not all Fancy Feast is low in carbs. You want the pate style food (e.g., Classics). This is a chart containing information on canned foods available in the US. It also has the carb amount. You want food that's under 10% although most members feed their cat a food that's in the neighborhood of 5%.

The purina dry food has been taken away for a couple days now, she's not being fed that anymore. She in pretty much uninterested in everything food right now. Getting her to eat anything is the challenge.

 

[Wendy&Neko]

A cat has to eat, the key is to transition slowly. Above all, the best food for a cat is one they will eat. Especially with recent ketones history. The formula for DKA is not enough food + not enough insulin + infection or systemic inflammation. She needs to eat to avoid DKA. If you can slowly transition to something lower carbs, that may be your first step. This document might be helpful:

• Transitioning your cat from dry to wet food