Ruben just had bad diarrhea

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I am with Carl on that one. Let's work on the rest of the stuff tomorrow. Go get your supplies, and your fancy feasts and we can go from there.
 
he does sleep with me for the most part. My concern is when I brought him to the vet on Mon for that colonoscopy(which he didnt have b/c of this) his reading was 400+ and he seemed absolutly fine. I have his dry out now but he is napping. Should I leave his food out all night? what if he's not hungry in the morning for his nex shot? or should I leave it down til around 12am then pull it up? Also what if he doesn't eat anymore? Is he okay? Can't believe the vet is like just give him 1unit in the morning and the evening and bring back in a week or so, I asked to bring him in this fri. CRAZY, don't they know this is Ruben...lol Can't believe vets can be so carefree about this. Should I just have a stiff drink and just calm down...lol Again there are not enought thank you's in the world for all you guys. especially you wendy & tiggy
 
I use the Walmart Relion Confirm. I like it because it requires the smallest amount of blood to get a reading. The other Relion meters are a little cheaper (especially the strips) but you need a larger drop of blood to get a reading.

Also, be aware that once you buy any diabetic supplies they cannot be returned, even if they are unopened. It's against the law (at least in my state, and I think it's a federal law) because of the possibility of contamination. I found this out the hard way!!

Good luck with Ruben! You're a great kitty mommy!
 
Should I leave his food out all night? what if he's not hungry in the morning for his nex shot? or should I leave it down til around 12am then pull it up?
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Yes. Leave his food out all night. Let him eat all he wants, and don't worry about pulling it up. It doesn't matter what his BG is at the time for his morning shot, because you shouldn't give him a shot until after you test his BG with your brand new meter.
Your vet was wrong. "Just give him a shot in the morning and at night and bring him back next week" is irresponsible advice. Ask your vet, when they again tell you not to worry about testing this question:
"If your infant child had diabetes, and his pediatrician told you to just give him his insulin every day and bring him back in next week for a checkup, would you do it?".
If the vet's answer to that question is "yes", then tell him he'd better pray his infant child never gets diabetes.

Carl
 
I'm nervous about skipping the shot all together, is it real bad if I give it to him, I know he does need insulin based on he few readings he had. I have a neurologist appointment tomorrow and will be out of the house from around 11:30-4:30. So confused. Vets say def give you say don't I wont be here, I think I should give it to him. Oh I don't know, Want to keep him consistant, especially for the readings. My mom agree's with the testing but says def do not skip shot. Says he does need it based on the 2 readings at the vet. Oh god please show me the right way
 
Again I agree with Carl. Leave the dry out, check on him every few hours, try and see if he will eat some. Don't give him the shot tomorrow morning, go get the supplies.

Missing one shot wont kill him, high blood sugar hurts over time, not short term. But low blood sugar can kill within hours or less.

Better to be safe than sorry, skip it tomorrow morning. Especially since you won't be home to watch. It will be fine.

Come back home tomorrow evening, and start testing and then you can shoot.

Wendy
 
Ruben's Mom,

I'm going to be blunt.

A cat can go hypoglycemic from too much insulin. There is absolutely no way to know, without a BG test, what Ruben's BG is right now. There won't be a way to know that it is safe to give him insulin until you can test his BG yourself at home.

Hypoglycemia can kill. I have seen several people post here that their cats have died from hypoglycemia, in the year and a half that I have been a board member. In some of those cases, the caregivers were NOT testing, mostly due to complacency. They'd been giving the same dose for a long time, and had never seen low numbers at shot time. They shot without testing, and came home later to find their cats having seizures, and their cats didn't survive.

Ruben can have BGs over 500 between now and tomorrow night's shot time, and he won't die from that. However, if his BG tomorrow morning is low and you give him a shot, it could be harmful to him.

Please do not give him another shot of insulin until you are able to test his BG at home.

Carl
 
I'm with Carl...Ruben is far safer to skip the shots until you are testing at home and KNOW he is high enough to give insulin too. He will survive another 24 hours without, he didn't become a diabetic overnight.

My very first diabetic was a lovely himalayan girl named Muse and I will always carry with me the guilt that I killed her trying to help her. She was diagnoised right before Easter Sunday, she was extremely high at the vet's when they last checked her before I brought her home, so I went ahead and gave her insulin I wasn't home testing yet back then (everything was closed for the holiday & I couldn't get a meter)..I even cut her dose in half to be on the safe side...the next morning I found her gone...she had hypoed overnight and passed away.

Now on the flipside of that....Autumn whom I adopted as a diabetic was allowed to go 10+ months without any treatment whatsoever after they found out she was a diabetic before I adopted her...she is still here and purring away on my lap...yes she was in rough shape when she got to me, but she was and still is alive. Now because she was allowed to go so long without treatment I have no idea if I will ever get her in remission and off insulin, but I do know because I test her at home that she will live out her golden years in a loving home even if that means I will always be poking her little ears and giving her insulin.

Mel, Maxwell, Autumn & The Fur Gang
 
I have to agree with Carl 150%. Is it possible for you to go out tonight and get a meter from Walmart?

You can watch some diabetic cats until you are blue in the face and you won't be able to tell if they are at 20 or 200 and since you have no data on Ruben, you won't know if he is one that will let you know if he's running low or if he will be like my girl who can be at 20 and never act any different.

The thing that concerns me is that you could have shot a low number and dry food takes a while to kick in. I'm not trying to be over reactionary or scare you, but I think Carl did not overstate the importance of testing before you shoot.
 
So my vet jus called to check on him, which I appriciated. I told her I was going to home test. She said that's fine if you want to do that, she's just worried about how it might efect ruben and mine relationship. I also told her I was going to skip this mornings dose til I got the glucometer. She said. Samantha IWould at least give him 1/2 a dose (which is 1/2 unit very little) she said you could come home and find him at 600 if he misses one and you still might end up in the er. She said"medically i would at least give him 1/2 dose to keep him regular injections. she said a 1/2 unit is smaqll enough to not kill him. SO confused. she is a vet. but I agree with everyone here. Its a half a unit should I still skip? Wish I had some of your numbers?
Once I start testing I also heard you have to calabrate the meters? whats that about and also I dont know what a cats bg should be. Last time I brought him in he was 200 and it had been 12hr since his last shot. what do think guys, still skip or give 1/2 unit, what about if I give a little less than half (though I dont think I can even measure that its so little) she says its the consistancy that is going to help?
 
Also i read that artical on how to switch from dry to wet, but I need instructions. I want to get him on the fancy feast wet, I think that is a good one, you all agree? but he's been a dry free feeder all his life, should I just do the 2 meals a day or wet in the morning and night and graze throughout the day, want him to be hungry enough for one I do give him his shot that he will eat his wet. Also what do you all think is a good dry for him, if I should feed him any at all? leaving in a little over an hour, he was due for his shot now.
 
I'm still with skipping. 600 doesn't mean an automatic trip to the vet. Sorry, I disagree with your vet. What if his bg is 50 right now?
And you can use the meter right out of the box. If you are getting a Relion, there no calibration needed.

Carl
 
Mind made up, Im skipping, love you guys, thank you. Rahter have him alive when I get home and be at 600 then dead with no chance to save him.
wish us luck, any validity to her saying home testing might change our relationship. I'm okay if it does, just curious if any of you guys had that problem?
 
A cat can go extremely low and even hypo on 0.1u of insulin. We've seen it on this forum. While lantus is a gentle insulin, it is not hypo proof. I'm glad you skipped this morning. Normal BGs for a cat are 50-120.

Most of the meters these days either only needed to be coded once (before you use it the first time) or some of the newer ones don't even require coding. But it's a very simple procedure and takes only a few seconds. The instructions will be with the meter.

Hometesting will not adversely affect your relationship. Some kitties don't understand at first and might hide but most of them get used to it quickly and many of them will come when called for testing. I am very, very bonded with my Gracie and it's never caused any disruption to our relationship...even in the early days. She still sleeps snuggled in my arms every night and she even purrs her head off when I test her. Some people will say it increases the bond with their cat. Again....next time your vet questions home testing, ask her if she had a diabetic child, would she give it insulin without first testing it's BG?

I do understand why your vet wants you to give "some" insulin. Diabetic cats who have infection "can" possibly develop ketones if they do not have enough insulin, food, and water. When they develop ketones, it can rapidly progress to diabetic ketoacidosis. That is why we
have you checking his ketones and why it is important that you continue to do so and let us know if you even see a "trace" of them. I think one skipped shot so you can get a meter and strips is ok because your cat has not previously had DKA. But he does have something going
on since she has him on metronidazole so you want to be sure you do not skip more than one shot.....and since we don't want you shooting "blind", you must get that meter and strips today. And please get at least 100 strips. You don't want his BG to start coming down in the middle of the night and you have no strips to test him.

I'm not sure anyone has told you how lantus works. It is not an "in and out" insulin like Humulin or Novolin. It is a long duration insulin. But, more importantly, it is a depot insulin. The first shots given to a cat go to filling this depot. Once the depot is full, the cat starts to use the insulin you give him with each shot. If the dose is too high and you overfill the depot (think of it as a bucket), then numbers come down...and sometimes quickly. A dose you give can affect several subsequent cycles due to the depot. If he was at 200 and it had been 12 hours since his last shot, it's possible he is getting low on you midcycle. But we won't know if you don't test.

Let me give you a real life example that just happened here last week. A new member's vet had him shooting 3u twice a day without testing. The member was concerned about that amount and dropped it to 1u. Then he started testing. On his first test, he got a 76...and he gave the 1u dose. Then he found us because he wondered if he perhaps shouldn't have shot. His intuition was good because we would have advised him to skip that shot. I asked him to get a test one hour after he shot, and the cat's BG was 33. I asked him to get the cat to the ER immediately and he did. Thankfully, his cat is fine and his cat also is now in remission. But he would have never known that without testing and his cat could have easily died that night.

I never fed dry food and so I'll leave the transition from dry to wet to to others. But it is another reason why it is imperative for you to test. We've seen, in some cats, the need to drastically reduce a dose when the change is completed. Personally, I would not change Ruben from dry to wet until you are testing.
 
Ideally you don't feed dry at all, especially if you want a chance of remission. Fancy feast is a good choice but make sure you choose low carb ones under 10% (see my PDF link in a previous post above). The classic pâtés are good.

I worked out you can feed three cans of fancy feast a day. You can adjust if he gains or loses weight.

Since you free feed dry you might want to do the same with wet. With my boys I put a pile out in the morning and then refresh it with fresh stuff at night if there is any left. Some cats won't eat wet that sits out too long so if he is one of those you could buy a timed feeder and put frozen wet food in it.


Wendy
 
As far as home testing changing your relationship with Ruben...absolutely it will...it will strengthen the bond you two have. He will associate your love and care and yes the pokes to the ear and the sticks from the shots with him feeling better. You will learn more about your cat than you ever knew before. Little things that you took for granted as Ruben just being a cat will have more meaning to you.

One of the best decisions I ever made was adopting my 3 diabetics which sadly I lost one to a vet not catching that she was in fact anemic rather than simply DKA and not treating her for the anemia until it was too late to save her. While I have 12 other cats that I love dearly we don't have the bond that my diabetics and I have together. And when my herd thins some their places in this house will be replaced with other special needs cats. I wouldn't trade my connection with my diabetics for the world.

Mel, Maxwell, Autumn & The Fur Gang
 
any validity to her saying home testing might change our relationship
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.

I can tell you how it changed my relationship with Bob.
Before diabetes, Bob was "Momma's boy". Had been for his entire life. He had a sister named Lillian who was "my cat", but Bob had very little use for me. Never sat in my lap, or looked for any attention from me, only my wife. If she wasn't home, he kept to himself.
When he was diagnosed, my wife was going to have him put to sleep. Three months prior, my Lillian had died. I couldn't accept putting Bob down, so I decided I would use my savings, and try to treat him. It was my decision, and I assumed all the responsibility for testing, feeding, shots, vet visits, the whole ball of wax.
Something miraculous happened during the weeks that followed. Bottom line - Bob ditched his Mom and I became his person. It was me he greeted at the door every day. When given a choice of two laps, it was mine he chose. He came to me looking for dinner, for treats, or for comfort.
After a couple of weeks of testing, he started coming to me at test time instead of me having to find him. He learned that tests meant treats, that shots meant feeling better. Diabetes created a bond between us that I have never experienced before with a cat, and I have had at least twenty of them in my life over the years.

Bob has been off insulin for 18 months. He might get tested once a month these days. If I walk over to the cabinet where his "supplies" are stored right now and took out his meter....as soon as he hears the zipper on the case open, he will run from wherever he is in the house. He'll lay down at my feet and purr and stay there until I poke his ear and he hears the meter beep. Then he'll start doing his "shrimp dance", because he'd know a shrimp is his reward for testing.

No matter how strong you believe your bond with Ruben is, I fully expect that it will become even greater as you go down this diabetes treatment path. So I wouldn't worry about thinking it will have any negative impact on your relatioship with him.

Carl
 
RubenTheCat said:
I told her I was going to home test. She said that's fine if you want to do that, she's just worried about how it might efect ruben and mine relationship.
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Yes, this definitely changed mine and Mikey's relationship...for the better! It strengthened our bond because we were now tackling this diabetes diagnosis together. Yes, the first couple of weeks were really tough, not going to lie, but once I got the testing figured out, it's become so routine that Mikey seeks out testing if I haven't tested him for a while and he even purrs most of the time when I'm testing him. Now, with the new kitten in the house, testing has become our "special time" where he knows I won't let Henry bother him or interfere and he gets all the loving and attention he wants from me. This means he's been going over to his testing spot a lot more often lately.... :?

It also helped him create a bond with my brother, tenuous though it is. I was going to be gone for a work trip, so I trained my brother up to be able to care for Mikey. Michelangelo has always been skittish and would basically run and hide when anyone who wasn't me was around. After my brother started testing Mikey, he wouldn't run when he saw my brother and started playing with him for once!

Don't get me wrong; it's not always sunshine and roses. Something worth knowing is that a cat's ears are less sensitive than your own fingertips, so it's more of an annoyance to them than actually painful. Whenever Mikey gets in one of his moods and starts growling or crying at test time (usually his AM pre-shot test), I know it's because I'm simply inconveniencing him or disrupting him from his play or his food and I'm not actually hurting him, especially if he starts doing this before I've even poked him! It reminds me of my niece when she was little how she used to scream when my sister would try to brush her hair, even when my sister hadn't even started yet. This is when I roll my eyes :roll: and tell Michelangelo to stop being so melodramatic because it isn't fooling anyone. The least he can do is save me the emotional and financial toll a DKA or hypo would cost by letting me bother him a few times a day for a simple blood test where he gets petted and fawned over before he's fed or given treats.
 
RubenTheCat said:
Also i read that artical on how to switch from dry to wet, but I need instructions. I want to get him on the fancy feast wet, I think that is a good one, you all agree? but he's been a dry free feeder all his life, should I just do the 2 meals a day or wet in the morning and night and graze throughout the day, want him to be hungry enough for one I do give him his shot that he will eat his wet. Also what do you all think is a good dry for him, if I should feed him any at all? leaving in a little over an hour, he was due for his shot now.
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For the dry, I believe there are a couple of lower carb dry food options, like Evo or Young Again, but depending on how picky he is, changing his regular dry food to another dry food might be just as difficult as switching him from dry to wet. If this is the case, I wouldn't worry too much about this unless it takes much longer than a week or two to get Ruben fully switched over to wet.

I might be able to offer a few suggestions from when I transitioned Michelangelo.
  • First, and most importantly, don't switch from dry to wet until you start testing as this can lower their BG by possibly 100 points or more.
  • If you have more than one cat, I would suggest you switch them all over to wet food since it will be easier than worrying if Ruben gets into their food. And healthier for them too!
  • There are a lot of different varieties of low carb, wet food (anything under 10 in the "C" column). What I did was buy a few different brands and tried them out to see which ones he seemed more interested in. There's a reason people around here call Fancy Feast "Kitty Crack." This is the first one that finally appealed to Michelangelo more than his dry food and he would actually eat around the dry kibble I mixed with it, making his transition much easier and faster than I expected.
  • Don't try to force Ruben to eat wet food. This is a transition, so eating mostly dry food at the beginning is to be expected. I started out soaking Mikey's kibble in tuna juice. He would only eat it when it was "fresh," but once it started getting soggy, he wouldn't touch it. I then tried some leftover KMR (Mikey is a kitten still, so this might not work for Ruben) and this worked even better. He would munch on the soggy, KMR-soaked pieces all day long. Then, that night, I added KMR and dry kibble to some wet cat food and he ate all the dry kibble and about half the wet. That's when we started making progress!
  • The next day, I added less KMR, same amount of kibble, and a bit more wet. And so on, and so forth. So, once you find a food that Ruben is particular to, start by mixing more dry than wet and slowly increase the wet-to-dry with each day until all that is left is wet.
  • Stop leaving out dry food for him to graze on. Since I mostly free-feed Mikey, what I left out instead was the dry/wet mixture of the day. So, if he was hungry and it wasn't a proper mealtime, he'd have to give in and eat some of the wet.
  • Add warm water to the wet and mash up so it's almost like a liquidy stew or a chunky milkshake. This helps release the smell of the food to entice Ruben plus the extra water seems to give it a better consistency and texture (at least for my cats). Sometimes I add too much water and they look at me like I'm an idiot trying to feed them flavored water. Sometimes I add too little and extra food ends up stuck to the sides of the bowl and dries out or they smack their lips excessively after eating. You'll eventually find the right ratio of water-to-food that works for both you and Ruben, so don't stress on this.
  • You don't want to make the switch overnight as this can sometimes lead to diarrhea and/or vomiting (but this may still happen anyway). Once you no longer have to coerce him into eating some of the wet, it should take about a week to fully transition Ruben to exclusively eating wet, although there might still be an occasional upchuck in the first couple of weeks. I blamed this on how fast Mikey would chow down on the wet food before he learned that eating it slower than dry would help him keep it down. He still sometimes gets overly excited and literally inhales it, but this will just cause a momentary coughing fit till he slows down again.
  • If not even the Kitty Crack entices Ruben, try sprinkling a little bit of Parmesan on top. It works so well that I actually use this trick whenever I want to manipulate my cats with food. For example, I just got a new kitten and I wanted to get them eating next to each other so they'd associate "food" with "new cat smell." I just sprinkled a bit of Parmesan on their food and they were eating side-by-side by the second day of meeting each other.
  • If the Parmesan doesn't work, there's also fortiflora, which is what makes dry cat food taste so good. I've never used it, so I don't know much about this option.

Patience + Persistence = Progress

And if you still need help, feel free to ask since there are a lot of us who went through transitioning our cats from dry to wet.
 
How's it going? Did you get the testing supplies? How did it go? It can be difficult at first but both of you get used to it.

Let us know, we are thinking about you guys..
 
If i make it up late enought to see responces, what should I do about food tonight. He's had about 3/4 can of wet fancy feast tonight, Def want him hungry in the am so I'm sure he eats before his shot. Should I leave anything out. also my other cat is an eater, should I put her away to moniter what he's eating? I have no clue how much he eats on daily basis since he grazes. but he's always at a good weight so figured he knew best now I have to moniter and not sure.
One last thing anything I should say or ask my vet tomorrow?

Gratitude is the hardest emotion to convay, especially when its deep~thank you all
 
Nice to see you back... we were worried about you!

Are you planning to shoot tonite? What about testing?did you get the supplies today?
 
omg just noticed my other post did get posted..ugh
well here's the condenced version
got everything on the list except treats-i'll get them tomorrow
did not give shot in the morning.
came home and watched two videos on bg testing a kitty then practiced on me, then my mom and took a deep breath and tried Ruben. The pen thingy didn't work good so just used the lancet by hand, went through his little ear right into my hand but we both were okay. he really didn't seem that annoyed. thank goodness
He read 383 gave him his new wet fancy feast which he ate a little less than 1/2 can and I gave him his one unit shot I dont know much about levels yet but no that is high. tried nto to over react, he was 400 in the er on mon and he survived
then I got a urine sample (go me) and his ketones wher normal, but glucose over 2000 ( assuming that corolates with the 383 reading, not sure tho)
Tried to hand feed him a little more and he ate a wee more than half a can.
we are both resting now. not only did i bg test, gave him shot but he is metronozdol <spelling? too. If he dont hate me after this he never will.
the above posts help put my mind to ease about that as well, thankyou
I am going to vet tomorrow. I am going to ask her about ranges and when to or not shoot and about if he doesn't eat before or how much is enought to shoot.
any other things I should ask. Also will if anyone has a chart of redings and ranges for bg on cats would be apprciate. curious to compare the vets.
Anything I need to do tonight for Ruben. Is okay to try to relax? I havn't ate or slept really since Mon. In a constant state of panic and anxiety. Oh I love him so. my whole world. He's that one, anyone who has had that "one" come through their life will understand what I mean.
couldn't have made it this for without you guys. can't tell you how grateful I am for here and all of you. I will sqeeze ruben for everypost on here. Giving him virtual hugs from all of you. Please give all yours one from me.
cant believe i did a bg and got a urine sample form a kitty ( Yay ruben and I)
 
In the beginning you don't want to shoot if he is below 200, this will change as you gather more data but we can cross that bridge when we get to it...Baby steps...for now WELCOME TO THE VAMPIRE CLUB!!!!! Bet you never thought you would hear that one..lol

Normal range for a cat on a human meter is between 40-120

With Lantus there are 4 key test you want to get in...before each shot, mid point between on either the am or pm cycle (cycle is the 12 hour period between the shots) and again what I refer to as the "Lights Out" test...I usually test right before I'm ready to turn in for the night which around here is at about +3 which with Autumn is perfect as that is about when her insulin starts kicking in, so that tells me is she is going to drop too fast or not and if I need to stay up to monitor here...after those 4 anything other spot checks you can get in are just more data to fill in the picture of how the insulin is working.

Mel, Maxwell, Autumn & The Fur Gang
 
Way to go on testing!!!! You will get better. Sometimes it helps to have something behind the ear to press against, then you might not go right through. And don't forget the treat after!

Remember he didnt get a shot this morning so it makes sense he would be high. You can relax. If you can do a test before bed that would be good, otherwise If you can set the alarm and get up in 5-7hours to do a test that would be as good. Just to see what he does tonite.

Tomorrow morning, don't feed for two hours before the shot, then test, shoot and feed. (If he is under 200, don't shoot, don't feed, and contact us for advice.)

We will be watching for your numbers so let us know when you get them and what they are!

You are doing great!!

Wendy
 
You test 4x a day? Is that the average for people here? Also whats does you (everyone think about that 383) He hadn't had a shot in about 20 hours so I was assuming it was that high b/c of that. and didn't eat a whole.
I'm don't want to test again today, we've both had a rough day but if you all think I should I'll try. he seems okay, def not his normal 100% self but he hasn't since I brought him home on Mon. he hates the vets very stressful on him,
Also mid cycle is around the 6hr mark, correc?
Im not sure if every one has read but at the moment i'm out of work but am returning in about 2 weeks. I leave my house at 7:10 return from 12:30-1:30 then back to work from 2-7 so I he's gonna have to be every 12hrs to 12 1/2hrs
The food thing my other cat , Maple < cause she's so sweet, keeps eating ruben food (both free feeders) how shoudl I handle this, think Ideally a can in the a.m. 1/2 in the afternoon and a can a night each? I hate putting lil maple away but dont want to leave food out with her out cause then I cant moniter ruben.
 
just went in did a test before bed. He is 135 now (11pm) gave him his shot around 7ish. I know thats in the good range but shoudl I panic he's dropping to fast (have no idea) i over analyze everything. Took 4 pokes to get him. (ugh) dont want to have to do it again tonight. too much for both of us, but I will if I should.
 
Actually your work schedule sounds perfect to get tests in...test before you give him a shot in the morning, then when you run home for lunch, then again before his evening shot and then right before bed...easy peasey.

Feeding time at least at my house is pretty funny to watch, because even though I am home with mine all day I have a couple that will hoover up everyone's food so here at least I have two large carriers that Sophia and Patches eat in, then a large dog kennel that my little Duvessa gets her meals in right now since she is wearing the dreaded "Cone of Shame" after sneaking outside and tangling with something unfriendly (probably a dog and getting bit in the face) then Maxwell, Lady Jane Grey and Arabella eat in the bedroom because they are the slowest eaters, and the rest are fed in the kitchen 8 of which share 4 big dishes, but Autumn refuses to share a dish so she gets her owm little dish. Mine have set feeding times so I don't have to worry about leaving food down for them and the word Leftover is not known in this house. :lol:

I do know that some folks use timed feeders and if there are more than one cat in the household they put them in different parts of the house so that each cat runs to their spot where their feeder is when it is time for it to open. Others will leave out a frozen hockey puck of food and then top that with fresh food so the cats can eat right away and then nibble on the frozen as it thaws.

As far as the 383 that isn't too shabby for him not having a shot this morning.

With Lantus the nadir (lowest point in the cycle) is normally around +6 but here is where you will start hearing the phase...ECID Every Cat Is Different...some will have a nadir that is earlier, some will be later but that is what all those spot checks in the beginning tell you...Every cat will have their own unique pattern and testing is how you figure out Ruben's pattern. After having 4 diabetic cats over the last 2 1/2 years I can tell you no two cats are the same.

We call this the Sugar Dance, My Maxwell was like most men and decided quickly he didn't want to dance(he was OTJ off the juice in 2 weeks)...lol, My Musette was the quick-step and Mz Autumn well she's been a nice easy waltz...Ruben will show you too how he wants to dance because he is the only one that can hear the music you two are about to start dancing to.

Mel, Maxwell, Autumn & The Fur Gang
 
So he was 135 at +4 not bad at all...if you are worried about him dropping too fast just see if he will eat a little snack before you turn in.

Since we have folks all over the world the easiest way to tell us when test numbers are taken is like this.

AMPS (morning preshot test)
+1
+2 The plus numbers are how many hours after the shot is given
+3
PMPS (evening preshot test)

That way we all know we are on the same page.

Mel, Maxwell, Autumn & The Fur Gang
 
He has dropped quite a lot in four hours 383 down to 135! its a very good thing you tested again.Try and feed him some fancy feast and test again in an hour.

You need to test at least before every shot.Many people test more because it helps to get them regulated and towards remission - and thatswhat you want! I agree with Mel, your work schedule is perfect!!
7am test , shoot and feed
12pm test and feed
7pm test , shoot and feed
10pm test and feed
If you are off by 15-30 minutes that s ok.

I worked out Ruben needs 3 cans of fancy feast to himself a day. Let Maple eat the food too - just put enough out for both of them! (= 6 cans a day total if she is the same weight)

Wendy
 
Another trick that works here for those that want to eat everything in sight is instead of using a bowl use a plate and add water to the food so that it will spread over the plate or even turn a small bowl upside down in the middle of the plate that way they have to work their way around the plate to eat and it is large enough that they can't shoulder the other one out of the way and hog the dish. I actually use ceramic pie plates to feed mine, nice edge to keep the food on the dish and wide enough so nobody can hog it.

Mel, Maxwell, Autumn & The Fur Gang
 
I am concerned about the drop and he is just at +4. That is a very fast drop. Likely, he will bounce back up but we have no data.

Please retest at +5 and I hope you did feed after that last test as was suggested. Please post his +5 test here.

Since we all are in different time zones, we use a system of "hours after his last shot". So one hour after his shot is +1; six hours is +6, etc.

Also, normal numbers err not 40-120; it's 50-120.
 
She sent me a PM. I have asked her to post here only. He ate 1/2can of fancy feast. I have asked her to test in five minutes (1 hour from last test)

Wendy
 
oh I cant say it enough THANK GOD for all of you. my er vet would have a restraining order on me cause I would be calling every 2min
I did give him food, he ate about a lil less than 1/2 can. I am going to check in an hour and post. pray!! I don't have the treats reccomended yet but will tomorrow
 
194 thats good right? I mean not good overall but at least not dropping. he did eat a little too.
Moving forward for tonight. leave do not leave food out. want him hungry for am shot
and test or not test again
I'm really getting the worst of it lol
putting the cotton ball behind is bulkie and awkward. plus if im poking him and he's not complaining then a little of my own blood shed is okay by me.
One last question, sleep or not sleep lol I havent in 3 days lol
 
You could fold a small paper towel behind. It will become easier anyway when you get used to it.. And it looks like Ruben has his own plans here for what he wants to do! I am so so glad you started testing.

I will let Marje respond on whether she wants more tests tonite, and feeding schedule.
 
thank you for he words of encouragement. they mean a lot to me. I am beyond exstatic that I started testing, feel so much more in control. Couldn't ge the idea of shooting blind out of my head, I know nothing about this disease and I innately knew that you should test, can't believe my vet. Gonna work with her tomorrow and brign my tester to compare to theirs.
you guys are the best. Oh how grateful I am
 
I think Marje must have gone off for a coffee ; or more likely she is dealing with another issue. She is likely to ask for another test at 1am just to make sure he is still rising, is that ok?

Who am I kidding.. You are probably too freaked to sleep anyway right now!
 
Great! Sorry...helping someone else, too..busy night :-D

I don't use a cotton ball or tissue. I get a much better poke with barely touching her ear by holding something more firm ad Wendy does. Wendy uses a small flashlight. I got the little round lid from my extra contact lens case...I place the inside of her ear against it and its a good support platform.

Ok...so you are doing great with testing...very proud of you! While a +7 test would be nice tonight, I think you are ok to sleep now if you need to. I think he's probably going to bounce up.

Remember that you must get a test before every shot. If he gives you a number at 200 or below, do not feed him, post here and ask for help, ok?

If you can also start entering numbers on the SS..if you need help setting it up, please let us know.

Good job!!

Edited to add: you can feed him whenever he wants it as long as he had no food between +10 and +12.
 
1am it is. yup def not sleeping, side note he is, like a bb...lol will you be on....lol need someone to run the reading by or i'll go nutty. I'm a neophite to this and only 50-120 is good. dont know anything else so this flux is a new thing for me don't know what is good or not? again if under 200 dont shoot in the am? what if i go to my vet and they want to shoot at 11am? she called thsi morn and I told her I didnt want to shoot without testing and she strongly, medically advised I at least shoot half a unit. I didn't tell her one way or the other cause I dont want her to drop me, I do think she is my best chance as most other vets are no specialist and she recently saved my aunts dog who had diabetis and if it wasnt for her I would have neverknown about ruben and he coldl have died.
he went in for a colonoscopy (that another story, but this is taking precident) and had his blood checked about 3 weeks prior (how I'm pretty sure we caught this early) but they were slightly elevated. Dr. Kessler to be on the safe side ran them again and found out he was 400 so we switched gears and here I am today. Little cat is making me go bankrupt....maybe very litterally...lol. He's really a healthy cat...lol or so he seemed
anyway, need to be prepared for all situation when going in there tomorrow or i am at her mercy.
 
I will be here at 1am and Marje is likely to pop back in too.

If he is under 200 in the morning I wouldn't shoot.(remember not to feed for two hours before shot)

If the vet wants to shoot at 11am I would say no cos it will throw u off schedule too much. And wait till night. She won't drop you.. She wants your money! She works for you remember!!

Take these numbers from tonite with you to show her what went on. I think she will be happy.

Wendy
 
Couple things, I'm a technilogical dinasaur. so def need help with spread sheet. also you all have info about your kitties testing equipment and food. Can you point me in the right direction of how to do that too. My bf is probably gonna leave b/c of this....lol don't think I've heard a word he's said or even noticed him in 4 days....lol been here and looking at ruben.
been with him 14ys about 3yrs ago there was a fire alarm in my condo at 2am, and you know when your reacting and not making choices........well I got up got ruben and ran downstairs and outside, 5 min later the bf comes outside and said what where you not gonna get me and the other cat. I didn't mean anything bad by it, I just reacted. thought he would get maple and himself. oops.. hahaha luckily there was no fire. from that night on he learned his place..oh im bad jkjk
ok, going to do test. fingers, tails and paws crossed
 
one thing b4 i test, what if he is 200 or 201 or 210,220 wha tis the cut off. I know im outof control but afraid im gonna kill him if i dont do the right thing and i dont know what that is. remeber im not a big fan of western medicine and it is probably a bit more scary to me than most, thats why i feel i my be hyper managing this.


I meant if he is 200 exactly or 201 in the mornign....duh forgot to put that, sorry in crazy mode

kk off i go to tes
 
Actually, I wanted a +7 not a +6 because he went up so much. I didn't want him to have to be poked again so soon since he's just starting out. But...if you need to get to bed and you want to test and go to bed if he's up more, that's fine.

please note I didn't say don't shoot if he's under 200. Just to be clear, if he gives you a 200 or below at AMPS, don't feed him, and post here or ...if no one is here...post on the lantus forum..and ask for help. In fact, in order that you won't have to stall waiting for an answer if he's 200 or less, why don't you test at +11.5. See where he is and if he's high, you can shoot within 15 minutes of your normal time. If he's 200, post and ask for help.

The reason I'd like you to do that is so someone can walk you through it and the options. Yes..we want to get insulin in him but there is a safe way to do it.

Sound like a good plan?
 
Ok cool.. He is steady. If you want to stay up for another hour and test again you can but I think he should be ok now though and... Marje said previously its fine too.. So you can go get a good nights sleep for a change!

I am signing off too now, if you do stay up Marje might be around... You could PM her.

Up to you
Talk to you tomorrow

Wendy
 
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