Seems off

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racn1320

racn1320

Member Since 2014
Ive notice the past few days my kitty seems a little off,using lantus insulin fairly new bottle,few weeks. Is it possible the insulin is bad? Can i tell by the way it looks? Seems to be getting the boney back again. Im keeping an eye on water intake right now. Maybe if she drinks more i should try new fresh insulin? I keep it in fridge too
 
If the insulin has been stored in the refrigerator, it should be fine....we can get up to 6 months out of a well cared for vial. Look at make sure it's completely clear....no "floaties" in it or cloudiness

Without seeing a spreadsheet and what kind of numbers your cat has been getting, we really can't be of much help in the way of explaining what might be going on, but if she's acting "off" and isn't eating well, I'd get a ketone test in

If more than "trace" ketones, it's a medical emergency.
 
I wonder if i should try diffrent food? Maybe she is getting tired of the same stuff all the time,seems like thats all she liked when i tried diffrent foods at first? I filled water bowl complety to top,ill see what is looks like in am. If she drinks alot ill get her numbers checked at vet monday. As for insulin its clear with a few bubbles but thats always been like that. Only diffrent thing ive done in last week was take her out on the deck for about half hr. Then back inside.
 
Another thought i had,it seems like this batch of syringes is off,like the plunger isnt flush with the first line and if i havent been giving her the proper dosage of two units. Do i need to adjust for this or does second line still 2 units even tho plunger isnt flush with first line?
 
See hows it not flush
IMAG0703.jpg
 
Yeah...that's a problem we ALL deal with.....none of the syringes are ever exact and the lines can really vary

The only way around it is to do the best you can, or to use calipers for dosing....then you don't pay attention to the lines at all so they don't matter

Here's some information on Dosing with Calipers

One thing you can do is get some better syringes.....you should be using 3/10ml syringes...those look like 1ml syringes

3/10ml only hold 30 units while the ones you have hold 100 so the lines are crammed even closer together

You should also get syringes that have half unit markings...We do dose adjustments in .25 unit increments, never whole units, so having a "line" at the half unit really helps

All these have half unit markings and are the correct syringes for U100 insulin and are available from ADW online:
UtiCare
Monoject
Carepoint
Sure Comfort
BD Ultra-Fine
They're also available at WalMart if you have one near you..Their Relion Brand 3/10ml, 3o or 31 gauge, 8mm insulin syringes all come with half unit markings and are only $12.58 for a box of 100 (although it seems a lot of WalMart employees don't realize that they DO come with half unit markings!!)
 
Ill try walmart next refill. So it looks like with the pic i provided i need to adjust the units given, i dont think im giving proper dosage,this pack has been the worst one yet. Get them at cvs
 
Tuxedo Mom said:
You should be using the U100 30 unit syringes with 1/2 unit markingd. The photo looks like the U100 100 unit syringe which is very difficult to use for smaller doses.
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When i go in for refill can i ask for the 30? Is it possible they dont have them? They never asked what i want before,just have me these
 
racn1320 said:
When i go in for refill can i ask for the 30? Is it possible they dont have them? They never asked what i want before,just have me these
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The pharmacy may have thought they were for a person. Since people give much bigger doses than we use for our kitties they probably gave you the most common one for people. I am in Canada but all the pharmacies do carry the 30 unit syringes. The markings are further apart and it is easier to measure the smaller doses. Your pharmacy should carry them as well, but you can drop in or call and make sure.
 
racn1320 said:
So it looks like with the pic i provided i need to adjust the units given,
Click to expand...

I wouldn't try to guess.....about the best thing you can do is get the better syringes, but if you can't right now, go through the ones you do have and find the ones with the best lines and use those
 
Does the vet need to write script diffrent or do i just ask the pharmacy to do this when im there? Thx for the help
 
racn1320 said:
Does the vet need to write script diffrent or do i just ask the pharmacy to do this when im there? Thx for the help
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Depends on where you live...different states have different laws....Most states don't require a script for insulin syringes but some do...and individual pharmacies can have their own policy, like you can only buy syringes if you bought the insulin from them
 
I found binkys page and that has a nice list. As long as i stay under 10 carbs im good to go right? Thx everyone
 
How is your kitty's eating today?
Are you checking for ketones?
A lot of us feed the Fancy Feast Classics. My cats rotate through about 14 or more flavors of them, fish flavors only once a week. But, if your cat isn't eating enough, then whatever she will eat for now, is good.
 
She is eating,just not as much,i think she is tired of the same food,she scratches at it like ehhh,im going to pick up some diffrent fooda tomorrow and try that. She seems better today!
 
Thx for the new food chart,ill use that tomorrow. Im going to get a few diffrent brands and diffrent flavors,prob mosty ff classic. She is very picky tho.
 
She doesnt eat as much,my guess is she tired of the one flavor of pates that she only likes,been eating that every meal over a year. After she eats some she scratches the floor like she is trying to cover it up.
 
I know that act!!

I've seen China trying to bury her food several times

If I were her, I'd be tired of the same flavor too...that's one nice thing about the Fancy Feasts....there are lots of different flavors so our kitties can have some variety
 
I tried all the friskes pates and thats the only one she liked lol. Yea i dont blame her either. I just hope she likes another kind,if she doesnt eat i cant shoot
 
It will depend on how much she weighs, how well regulated she is, etc.

One, 3 oz can is a good amount for one meal though....Most of us feed multiple meals several times a day, not just before shots...it's easier on the pancreas to deal with multiple smaller meals than 2 big ones
 
Is 3 oz enough per meal twice a day? She weights about 16 lbs. I used to feed her two 5.5 oz cans per day.
 
racn1320 said:
Is 3 oz enough per meal twice a day? She weights about 16 lbs. I used to feed her two 5.5 oz cans per day
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No...if she was at a good weight at 16lbs and was eating 11 oz per day, then she'd need more

I'd try adding 1/3-1/2 can in between the main meals

If she starts to gain weight that she doesn't need, you'd cut back....if she starts to lose and doesn't need to lose, you'd want to add a little more
 
Im def trying new food,spent 30$ today getting diffrent kinds. She seems to like ff but still doesnt eat it all,she wont touch friskies anymore. I dont think i was giving her right amount of insulin bc the syringes werent reading right and that is causing appetite loss? Now im affraid to give her a full dose when she doesnt eat that much,then if i dont give her full dose she wont get better?
 
It would really help if you'd go ahead and fill out your signature box as well as getting our spreadsheet started....before anyone is going to be able to give you any meaningful advice, we'd really need to see the spreadsheet

To do the Signature just go to the top right and find your sign on name...a drop down menu will come up....choose "Signature".....a new box will pop up for you to enter some information so we don't have to keep asking the same questions over and over again. Most of us put:

Our name/cats name, age, sex, date of diagnosis, type of insulin, type of meter, type of food, any other health problems?, a general idea of where we live and when you have it, the link to your spreadsheet

Here are the Instructions on setting up the spreadsheet. It's really very simple....all you need is a Google account. If you have any problems with it, let me know
 
Well she still isnt eating much and seems off still,just not herself at times. So i took her to vet,they didnt see anything physically wrong with her,so they gave her a shot of fluids and gave me sand to pit in her litter box to check her urine. Also took blood to have it checked,expensive. Ill know the blood results wednesday. Hope its not any sort of bad news,im guessing he is checking the organ functions?
 
racn1320 said:
Well she still isnt eating much and seems off still,just not herself at times. So i took her to vet,they didnt see anything physically wrong with her,so they gave her a shot of fluids and gave me sand to pit in her litter box to check her urine. Also took blood to have it checked,expensive. Ill know the blood results wednesday. Hope its not any sort of bad news,im guessing he is checking the organ functions?
Click to expand...
let us know how you do today
 
No ketones in urine! Says numbers arent where they should be with liver,so im takn her in for a antibiotics shot and he is giving me some pills to give her once a day
 
no ketones in urine is good! :)

are we talking about liver enzymes? is that why her appy was off? i hope this takes care of her troubles.
 
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