sudden spike in glucose after steadily going down?

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Peyt

Peyt

Member Since 2024
My cat Grimm (8 y/o, M) was diagnosed with diabetes last summer (June 19, 2023) and his glucose was 512. They put him on Vetsulin, started at 1 unit but he’s at 2.5 units at this point (July 2024). Glucose has steadily been decreasing:
8/4/23 - 397
11/17/23 - 212
then went up slightly
1/12/24 - 272
3/8/23 - 292
and back down again
4/3/24 - 191
and then spiked again to
6/7/24 - 375 *but my mom told me after the vet appointment that he broke into our dry food when I was getting breakfast, so I figured that was why*
but then it’s still high
7/12/24 (today) - 319.

I haven’t changed anything about his food and it is pretty strict. A can of Fancy Feast Pate Wet Food + 1/4 cup of dry food and it has been that same routine since his diagnosis. The vet asked if there was a change in his drinking and peeing, which I don’t think there has been. He does drink and pee more than my other cat, though. The vet isn’t giving me like an idea on what is “too much” drinking and peeing. I have no clue how to gauge it. I know cats tend to be naturally dehydrated too so I figured it was a good thing that he was drinking a decent amount. He also lost 4 ounces since the last vet appt.

The vet said if it continues with no changes, he’s going to order a blood work for some other kind of sugar test - I think he said fructose something? (There is a language barrier a bit, so I half-understood, probably my own fault for not clarifying, it was just a lot of questions and info at once). Looking for some insight anyone might have or similar experiences or anything else I should be asking. Thanks so much!
 
Hi and welcome to you and Grimm to the forum.
Vetsulin is not a good insulin for cats. It is, as the name shows, a dog insulin. Cats have a much faster metabolism than dogs. A much better insulin and one that is recommended by the vets association is Lantus or a biosimilar. I would ask your vet to change to that.

What is the dry food you are feeding?
Almost all dry food is high carb. If you live in the US I can tell you some low carb dry options or you could try the freeze dried foods now available which are low carb. But you need to be careful in doing any swap over as the blood glucose will drop with lower carb food.
If he is dehydrated try adding a couple of teaspoons of warm water to the food. And let him drink all he wants.
It sounds as if you are hometesting which is great.
Would you like to setup a spreadsheet so we can help you with dosing?
Here is a link for new members which has the link to the SS and the signature and the hypo box which I recommend you set up in case of low numbers HELP US HELP YOU

A fuctosamine test will give you an average of the last few weeks BGs. Not the highs and lows but the average. It is good for diagnosis but if you are now hometesting, it is a waste of money. Your hometesting will tell you a lot more. If you get the spreadsheet set up and add a couple of weeks data we can help you.
Keep asking questions
 
Hi! I’m not home testing actually, he’s been going to the vet for these tests. My vet told me I don’t need to home test yet since they’re testing. I tried home testing at the very beginning of his diagnosis just to see the numbers in my home environment as opposed to the vet which makes Grimm very anxious, but he wouldn’t sit for me to get the blood and I missed many, many times, so truthfully I kind of gave up after weeks of trying and have just let my vet do it.

Also, I definitely understand the dry food issues, my vet told me not to change anything about his diet while they regulated the glucose numbers so there were no other factors at play while they figured out the units and such - so that’s why I’ve kept him on this diet. Additionally, he will sometimes refuse the wet food if there’s no dry with it (I think he’s a dry food addict lol).

In regards to the water, I don’t believe he’s dehydrated, I have a cat water fountain set up and he drinks from it frequently! My vet was asking about hid water intake and urination and was wondering if it was “a lot”. But the vet isn’t really giving me much on how to gauge what is “a lot” or “too much” so I tell them it seems normal to me? But I’m not sure if it could be “too much” or “too frequently”.
 
Peyt said:
my vet told me not to change anything about his diet while they regulated the glucose numbers so there were no other factors at play while they figured out the units and such - so
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I just can’t see the point in doing it that way around. It’s a well known fact that diabetic cats need a low carb diet. It’s the same with humans. The first thing a doctor says to a diabetic human is to stop eating ice cream and cakes etc., and to start eating a healthy diet.
Even if you were able to get your kitty regulated on the high carb diet….and it would be with an insulin dose much higher than if you changed to a low carb diet first…once you changed the diet over to a low carb diet, you would still have to adjust the dose, because his insulin needs would change again.

My suggestions would be
  • Start hometesting so you know what is happening on a day to day basis. Apart from it being expensive and making Grimm stressed, getting tests done at the vet every so often is certainly not best practice and will not give you a true picture what is happening. BGs are almost always higher at the vet from stress. Here is a link to HOMETESTING HINTS AND LINKS. If he won’t stay still while you test, give him a small snack of low carb food while you do it. Lots of hints in this link. It is normal to fail a few times in the beginning…we all did.
  • Once you have got the testing sorted, you can then start to slowly change the food over it a low carb diet, you will need to monitor the BGs closely as his insulin needs will most likely reduce.
  • If you think he needs some dry food then look at low carb dry food. There are a few ones available in the US. Look at THIS LINK, post 4
  • Set up a spreadsheet and signature which you can find out how to do in the link I posted above called ‘help us help you’
  • Let him drink as much water as he needs. Don’t ever restrict it. The reason the vet wants to know how much he is drinking and peeing is that is the way vets could tell if the insulin needs were being met…however with hometesting you get a much more accurate idea of how things are going .
  • If you set up the SS and signature, we can help you with dosing.
  • I would also ask the vet about swapping to a more suitable insulin such as Lantus or a biosimilar one. Vetsulin is an insulin that was made for dogs not cats and is not recommended.
 
This is great advice and exactly why I came to the forum. I go to a low-cost clinic with one doctor and just a few nurses and it seems like they may not be super up to date with the needs of a diabetic cat, and I also think the doctor is a little dismissive of what I say/ask (gives off the vibe that he knows best) so I’m not sure he’ll listen about the Lantus, but I will try! Unfortunately, they are the most affordable in my area and on my 2 part-time jobs wage, it’s the best I can do right now /:

I will try the hometesting again and see how it goes! Thank you so much!
 
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