Saying hello from Stacia, Sugarkitty Tasha & Civilian Ripley

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stacia

stacia

Member Since 2014
After a few days of browsing, I thought I should do a quick introduction before I inevitably come back with questions. My very long-haired extremely opinionated 14-yo Tasha was diagnosed with diabetes on Tuesday of this week with a glucose reading of 427. Kidneys and everything else seemed fine according to the doctor. We took her in because she'd been drinking/peeing/eating a lot over the past few weeks and we also noticed some weight loss. Over the past 6 months, she's lost 5 lbs (down to 9.4 lbs).

We go Monday to meet with the vet and start with insulin so I'm not 100% sure what her treatment plan will be yet. I would've liked to start sooner but our vet had some days off (she felt it was OK to wait for her rather than see the back-up vet, who I wasn't as comfortable with), my husband is often out of town (I want him informed too), general scheduling issues. And since Tasha is eating/drinking, Monday it is.

Other than feeling generally overwhelmed, I'm specifically concerned about getting dosing correctly (testing and adjusting and what if she dips and we aren't here?) and the fact that we tend to travel frequently. Our pet sitter is fabulous and very capable of insulin but opinionated Tasha isn't good friends with her. Sample kitty diary entry from pet sitter: "Tasha walked by me today without swatting!" Not to mention having someone come in, inject, then leave (twice a day) seems like a no-no.

Long-term, my civvie Ripley is an 11-yo tubby tabby (15 lbs) and I'm concerned now about getting that under control so I don't have two sugarkitties.

I guess I'll end with a question. They're both currently eating dry food now - adult indoor Blue Buffalo, which I thought was good for them. Now I know better. Should I start switching them to canned food now, before seeing the vet on Monday? They both eat it occasionally. Ripley's just finished several months of crystals in his urine and a stubborn UTI, coming off rx urinary food that's full of junk I hated so I want him to have the extra liquid anyways. I'm torn between CHANGE EVERYTHING NOW and just breathe and wait for Monday.

Thanks. That was long. My thoughts haven't stopped rushing since Tuesday. Before, really. Tasha doesn't get all the fuss.
 
Re: Saying hello from Stacia, Sugarkitty Tasha & Civilian Ri

Welcome to fdmb,

Most here will recommend Lantus, ProZinc, Levemir, and BCP PZI are all good insulin's to use and last about 12 hours per shot. When starting insulin it is best to start low and go slow.

You can change diet before starting insulin but its better to slowly switch to prevent stomach issues, also when switching diet it is very important to home test. BG can drastically reduce due to diet change and cause hypo (which can kill) It is easier, and best to switch all fur babies to the same diet. Like you mentioned it will help the other to not become diabetic buut also that way you dont have to worry about Tasha getting the none diabetic friendly food.

Dry food seems to be the most common culprit for diabetes (besides weight gain-but the 2 go hand in hand). I was like you had my cats on the weight management Blue Buffalo, they gained weight and Hidey gained a diagnosis of diabetes. Luckily he was caught early, his bg was 500+, I switched his diet, had a dental done and after switching to a GOOD insulin had him in remission after 3 months (if that, every cat is different)Here is a link to the foods that are recommended but most here seem to use fancy feast pates, or friskies.
http://www.catinfo.org/docs/FoodChartPublic9-22-12.pdf

Also here is also a list of low carb treats:
viewtopic.php?f=14&t=9172

We also advise to home test. You can use a human glucose meter, although some vets push the pet specific meter on you...mine being one of them. I was a sucker and bought it, spent $150+ to find out after a month that the human meters are a LOT cheaper and just as reliable. Some vets don't even bring up home testing, mine didnt. She advised me to bring him in a week or so to check his numbers. If I took her advice, I would have killed him for sure by giving him his shot when his blood glucose was too low. The thing that slapped me in the face with a huge DUH! was when someone on here said "would you give your child a shot without knowing their blood glucose first?" Well, no.....and my cats ARE my children. Testing seems intimidating at first, but it does get easier for both of you. Also, your vet may suggest bringing her in to do a curve (testing every hour) this is not necessary if you start home testing. Blood Glucose will rise from stress, and illness so if your cat is like mine it would be a very stressful ordeal, and results (most likely) wouldn't be as accurate as they could be at home, not to mention it saves you some money.

Heres a shopping list of things you might need:
https://docs.google.com/document/d/11Uf ... edit?pli=1

Once you start home testing it is a good idea to start a spread sheet to keep track.
viewtopic.php?f=6&t=50130
 
Re: Saying hello from Stacia, Sugarkitty Tasha & Civilian Ri

Easier to do the food switch before insulin is started, as you won't be worried about the glucose dropping low and the insulin being too high a dose.
Change about 20-25% per day new food to reduce GI upsets.

You can use over the counter foods such as Friskies pates rather than buying expensive prescription foods with no better quality than OTC. See Cat Info for more details on why.
 
Re: Saying hello from Stacia, Sugarkitty Tasha & Civilian Ri

Thanks for the welcome. I definitely plan to test her at home, assuming she doesn't eat my face. But she's my baby and she's going to be far less stressed with me than the vet so Tasha and I will just have a little talk about it...

We had some Friskies Mixed Grill pate in the house, which she loves, though I see it's listed at 11% carbs so we're going to pick up something lower and start working that into the transition as well.

I'm going to head out for some supplies this weekend, list in hand, so I'm prepared for Monday. I want to be able to say I've already bought a home tester, that kind of thing. I've given them enough of my money recently after months of a sick civvie w/ urinary issues. I'll spend what's necessary but there are much more fun things to spend it on than $150 testers w/ a cat sticker when a human tester works just as well.

Tasha and Ripley were both around 15 lbs until Ripley was put on urinary food and we had to separate their feedings. She's a grazer and decided she wasn't into controlled eating. We noticed she had lost a bit of weight around that time but thought it was a good thing since the vet kept saying 15 was too much. She's so hairy though, by the time we realized there was an issue, she was under 10. Ripley's still around 15 or 16 and a lot of people still look at them and think he's the smaller cat just because of Tasha's fur.
 
Re: Saying hello from Stacia, Sugarkitty Tasha & Civilian Ri

We met w the vet this morning for our treatment plan and I'm not completely in agreement with her based on what I've read here and elsewhere online. I had higher hopes based on her having her own diabetic cat.

Home testing - she brushed it off. Urine strips are helpful but she was really "eh" about the BG testing. Whatever, it's my cat, I don't need permission and I'm doing it.

Diet - She agreed the canned, low-carb is better but not until I brought up that I'd already made the change.

Dosing - Going along w the above, she dosed Tasha at 2 units of Prozinc based on a BG reading of 427 a week ago when she was still eating all dry food. AFTER I told her Tasha is on all wet food now. She doesn't want us making changes to that until Tasha's been on it for a week because she says it takes that long for the body to adjust. I was under the impression that each dose is a pretty quick reaction and the more long-term changes are along the lines of remission/pancreatic healing.

She wants Tasha back in a week to do a curve in the office. My Tasha does NOT hang out in their office. Her numbers will be through the roof due to stress. Plus I just read in the Prozinc forum that most people start out w a .5 dose?

I'm a wreck. I feel like I'm doing this all wrong. I need to figure out when to test her. We did a test already earlier, about 2 hrs after her insulin, 40 minutes after food, because she screamed at us funny and we got nervous. Figured no time like the present to do a first test (237). I thought the doctor would be more aggressive about home testing and treatment. I'm not shooting for maintenance. I want remission. I want aggressive treatment. I want to kick this diabetes in the fluffy butt, not screw around with it and test once a week or so after my cat's dead because we dosed based on last week's diet and numbers.

Help?
 
Re: Saying hello from Stacia, Sugarkitty Tasha & Civilian Ri

Well your not alone in the vet dilemma. Sadly, most of us on this board have the same issue except the few that actually have vets that accepting options to help at home besides insulin.

You are doing great! Diet change, home testing, and a good insulin is the right road for regulation and hopefully remission. As to the dosage.....I wouldn't start with 2 units twice a day, I would start with 0.5 units twice a day and after a few days maybe up it to 1 unit if you dont see improvement. My vet started Hidey on 2 units twice a day and the first day he dropped to hypo numbers, luckily he did fine, but I couldnt give him a shot that night either because he was so low. Best thing is start low and go slow. As to taking Tasha in for a curve, in my opinion, I wouldn't do it. It will cost you stress and money, stress Tasha out, and be inaccurate. I would tell them no and do your own curve and send it in. I had to take it upon myself to change diet, my vet wanted science diet of course, I wanted to home test-she was errrrrrr ok with it but I only needed to do it every few weeks or so and I HAD to have the Alphatrak, gave him vetsulin even though I was told and CHARGED for prozinc until I started to wonder why it wasnt working...ya dumby me didnt look at the vial. After disagreement with my vet we've come to agree we disagree lol. I LOVED when I had to take Hidey in for his dental and tell them he was in remission and hand them his spreed sheet :lol: That was the best feeling ever. You know what works, and how Tasha is. Don't forget to test before every shot, its recommended not to shoot if 200 or lower. Its also best to get in a test about +5 +6 hours after injection to get an idea of how the insulin is working.
 
Re: Saying hello from Stacia, Sugarkitty Tasha & Civilian Ri

Thanks so much for the reassurance. I just tested Tasha at the 5hr mark (and set up my spreadsheet in my signature) and she's at 189. Wondering since she had the 2u this morning if I should decrease tonight or stay at the 2 until I've seen some numbers and adjust down from there based on Slow and Low (or is that Low and Slow)? Even the vet originally say 1u until she remembered Tasha had been at 400+ (a week ago on her other diet). I'm really tempted to go 1u tonight. My syringes are only marked in full units.

We'll see how the week goes but I'm leaning towards NOT doing the curve in-office. This is the cat that when I leave her for dental and they tell me "pick her up at 5," they call back at noon saying "she's stressed, come get her NOW."

Oh, how I want your remission story... We're crossing all fingers and toes here.
 
Re: Saying hello from Stacia, Sugarkitty Tasha & Civilian Ri

I would suggest 1 unit tonight IF shes over 200. Her number may still drop some more, not to mention I'm sure her BG was higher at the time of shot due to the vet visit. Remission is very possible. It seems like you caught it early and her numbers weren't not crazy high. Hidey's were 500+. Have you changed her food 100% yet? Diet will drastically bring bg down as well so keep an eye on that and testing. Oh and another question......did they rule out any dental issues? I know you said Tasha gives them a hard time when she goes in for her dental. I know that was part of the issue Hidey was having. I think his diagnosis was from blue buffalo, weight gain, and his teeth...he needed a cleaning and another 2 teeth out (he had 3 out last year) Stress and infection will raise bg.
 
Re: Saying hello from Stacia, Sugarkitty Tasha & Civilian Ri

She's had dental issues in the past but they looked OK a week ago. She had them cleaned in Nov of '13 - that's when we did her last blood draw and those are the numbers we're comparing against so we know the diabetes issue is recent. She's not expressing any discomfort/stench/discolor.

Food is 100% changed and she's off the Blue Buffalo/dry completely. She's happy to be all-wet food now.

Should I grab another number now (we're at about +8) or wait until PMPS? She's pretty chill right now and I don't want to poke her constantly just for kicks if it isn't going to be useful data. (My husband's a data guy - I think he'd like to fill in all the spaces on the spreadsheet...)

If she's under 200 at 9pm, what do we do? Wait for morning?

She's been unbelievably cooperative, which goes against her usual nature. She usually yells and screams at the vet and even as they kept grabbing at her to show me how to tent her skin for the injection, she glared at them but put up with it. She wasn't keen on the first ear pricking but I think that was a method fail - second time was much better. So proud of her!
 
Re: Saying hello from Stacia, Sugarkitty Tasha & Civilian Ri

If shes 200 or below at 9:00 I'd postpone a bit and recheck in about a half hour or so. It being the first day you may want to grab another test just to make sure she doesnt dip too low since it was 2 units and she's destressing. For testing have you gotten diabetic friendly treats yet? I use Halos freeze dried chicken and I also boil chicken as well. Hidey LOVVVVVVVVES to be tested now lol. If I forget the container on the counter he'll go in the kitchen and knock it down and try to open it. Ive also had him jump on the counter and steal chicken from the pot twice! He's never done stuff like that lol, its especially funny because he gives me this sad look and wont eat most of his food unless I spoon feed him (it gets packed down and he has a hard time getting it because he's missing his upper canines) welllllll arent I a fool, he can use his teeth enough to get a chicken breasts out of the pot and eat half of it but he can't eat his breakfast lol.

Also, are you warming Tashas ear at all, and have you been sing neosporin + pain relief? Both can be a big help.
 
Re: Saying hello from Stacia, Sugarkitty Tasha & Civilian Ri

We're at 171 so still heading down. I haven't been heating her ear but I've been rubbing it and she loves that. It's bleeding readily and I neosporin it after. I have freeze-dried treats on order because I can't seem to find them for some reason, though we did pick up some bonito flakes and she's into those.

Isn't it amazing how they just can't manage some things (aww, pity party) but have no problems with others? Hidey sounds like an awesome guy. She's missing a couple of teeth too - her most primary upper front on one side and lower front on the other. She's completely lopsided but manages quite well.
 
Re: Saying hello from Stacia, Sugarkitty Tasha & Civilian Ri

She was at 222 so I gave her 1u.
 
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