We're new here......nervous but optimistic

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sdjames

Member Since 2013
My beloved Kami was diagnosed with diabetes a couple of days ago and had her first insulin injections today. I'm so grateful to this website - I've been lurking for a week and have learned so much and have seen the care and compassion you all have for each other. I'm going to thank you in advance because i know you are going to give me the help i need and the moral support!

i have some questions and a bit of a woe-is-me rant......

First - I'm having the damndest time trying to get blood for testing. I know what to do and have had a couple of successes, but Kami is very very skittish, so i can barely massage her ear, let alone hold it long enough for a prick and a blood drop....i've been trying to sit with her, touch her ears etc then give her a piece of dried salmon so that she'll associate sitting quietly with a treat, but the minute my hand moves, she's off! any suggestions? I look at youtube and see relaxed cat after relaxed cat and feel like it will be impossible for us to get this new routine into our lives.

Both injections today went sort of smoothly. i tented her skin, slipped in the needle, but both times when i ppushed the plunger, she jumped. what could that have been? i made sure the insulin was room temp. She's getting 2U of lantis 2x day.

Kami was a lover of dry food, but i've switched her over to canned during the past few weeks. She is not enthusiastic! I am starting to figure out which canned varieties she likes, but i usually have to sprinkle fortiflora on top. i also give her about a tablespoon of EVO dry a day. my fear is that she won't eat enough and become hypo while i'm at work.........

And finally, i'm super stressed because in 3 days i leave on my first vacation in 2 years and Kami will have to stay at the vets. The vet and her staff are awesome and I know Kami will be in the best place, but she's never been away from home over night and gets super stressed going to the vet. i'm worried that she won't eat for her first few days and will be heartbroken. and i'm worried that i won't be able to enjoy my vacation due to guilt, worry etc. the vet says i can do facetime on my iphone with the clinic, but i know that will make me cry.

Thanks for listening, and i look forward to any tips/tricks for BG testing.

i'm not sure how to customize my signature, so i hope someone will let me know.

shelley
 
Good Morning Shelley and Kami!
I am not familiar with Lantus, but you came to the right place for advice and help with FD. I have to tell you that the ear thing gets a lot easier and soon your kitty will deal with the testing. The treats help a whole lot, at least for my kitty.

Hopefully, someone will be along soon to help you with advice with your insulin type. As for the vacation, lousy timing, but I am sure if Kami is at the vet, he will be ok while you are gone. Best to you!
 
Welcome to the FDMB, the best place you never expected to be!

We all stress when we have to leave our kitties. Kami will be in good hands at the vets. You may want to bring a favorite blanket of hers or maybe an old shirt that you wear for her to sleep with. She will have your smell to comfort her at the vet. Be sure to take the food you are feeding her and make sure they only feed that food. You want her on the low carb food she is familiar with to get her to eat better while she is at the vet.

i'm worried that she won't eat for her first few days and will be heartbroken. and i'm worried that i won't be able to enjoy my vacation due to guilt, worry etc. the vet says i can do facetime on my iphone with the clinic, but i know that will make me cry.
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ASk yourself, will you cry more if you don't check in with the vets while you are away or will you be calmer if you do keep in contact?

First - I'm having the damndest time trying to get blood for testing. I know what to do and have had a couple of successes, but Kami is very very skittish, so i can barely massage her ear, let alone hold it long enough for a prick and a blood drop....i've been trying to sit with her, touch her ears etc then give her a piece of dried salmon so that she'll associate sitting quietly with a treat, but the minute my hand moves, she's off! any suggestions? I look at youtube and see relaxed cat after relaxed cat and feel like it will be impossible for us to get this new routine into our lives.
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Those videos are cats that have had the ear pokes for a long time and have been trained to come for the treats! :o Your cat is not trained yet. There are two good documents on home testing.

The first is the how to's. https://docs.google.com/document/d/13c_CPZVKz27fD_6aVbsguadJKvjSrSAkD7flgPPhEag/pub
The second is how to make your cat comfortable and more accepting of the process. https://sites.google.com/site/michelangeloprofilefdmb/feline-diabetes/ear-testing-psychology

I shaved a tiny patch on Wink's ear when I first started to home test. Long black hair, impossible to see through. You might want to try that. I used a safety razor, lightly running it over the ear. This helped me to see the vein better. It raises up a bit if you have gotten the blood flowing enough. If I could not see that vein raised up just a tiny bit, I warmed the ear a bit more.

You can try warming the ear with a warm washcloth inside a plastic bag. Heat up some water, pour it over the washcloth and pop it into the plastic bag. Place that on the ear to warm it. Make yourself a rice sock. A couple of tablespoons of rice or beans or dried peas in the toe of a cotton sock, tie the top closed. Heat in microwave 20-30 seconds until warm. Place rice sock on ear to warm the ear.

It takes time and practice to become good at the ear pokes. Three strikes and your out. In other words, try three times to get blood. If unsuccessful, treat and try again in 30 minutes.

Some people talk to their cats through the process or sing to them. Stay calm, cool and collected while you are doing this. Yes, I know you are very nervous about the home testing, so take several deep breaths and confidently tell yourself you will get blood this time. We communicate our stress to our cats. They read us like an open book.
 
Thanks Deb,

I knew the diabetes diagnosis was coming, so I've been practicing with Kami for the past week or two the friendly hold technique in the article you included for me. Kami will now quietly sit beside me, allow me to drape one arm around her side, use my other hand/arm to scratch her neck, ears etc and even (if i'm lucky) handle her ears for a bit. BUT......I need two hands to test, so the minute my drape arm lets go she either jumps away or starts outmaneouvering me by folding her ears back, moving her head etc. We've (me and Kami) have also been trying the ear warming technique - again, she doens't really like anything held against her ear. I've been using the warm rice sock to pet her with so that she gets used to the wonderful feeling of warmth, and boy does she like it - anywhere but her ears!!!

This morning, I managed to get the lancet to barely pierce her ear and then she jumped away, so no blood glucose test this morning.......what to do, what to do.........I know that eventually (but how long is 'eventually'), we'll get there, but the ear prick seems to really bug her. I'm nervous about hypoglycemia and know we need to get this BG routine under control - is it okay to take a couple of weeks to get proficient?? When i read the other entries here and how often poeple are able to test their cats, I feel pretty dejected. I know that I'm doing everything right and that I have a total squirmy cat and this will take time.

Thanks also for the ear shaving tip - luckily Kami's ears are very see-through!

I'll celebrate one bit of success though - no jumping with the insulin shot this morning. I think that even though the insulin volume is small (2U), I may have injected it in a bolus yesterday, so it startled her more than anything. this morning, i took about 2 seconds to inject and she didn't flinch. Now, getting her to lie down for her injection was another matter. She is one squirmy cat who never likes to hold still.

Thanks for being my support system. Two more sleeps until my trip and Kami's staycation with the vet. Next challenge will be getting her in her crate for the car ride. The crate used to be where she would sit to get a treat and then I could easily close the door and whisk her to her appt. Well, there have been 3 appointments lately and now she has become a terrified STRONG escape artist.
 
Does Kami like treats? I use the tricky treat to coax Simon into sitting still for his test. I talk very softly to him and tell him all about the "snack" he will be getting once we do his "ears" (a word he now knows very well and when he hears it, he flattens them! bcatrun_gif

If I am really calm and talking softly to him about the treat and he can see the bag right next to him, he is much more apt to sit still. I hold him with one arm around him and poke free hand with the lancet holding his ear with the arm that is around him holding him in place. I use a 28G lancet without the device. It is easier imho. Once you get the ears bleeding regularly, it is so much easier! Also, I put neosporin with pain relief on the ear immediately after I take the tissue off and the bleeding stops. It must work cause he is happily chowing on his snack within seconds of the test.

You will get better at it. Simon is squirmy too. I just feel that talking to him sweetly works wonders. Have fun on your vacation!
 
Try that suggestion from Simon's Mommy on changing your hold slightly. It's what I would have suggested.

I know that eventually (but how long is 'eventually'), we'll get there, but the ear prick seems to really bug her. I'm nervous about hypoglycemia and know we need to get this BG routine under control - is it okay to take a couple of weeks to get proficient?? When i read the other entries here and how often poeple are able to test their cats, I feel pretty dejected. I know that I'm doing everything right and that I have a total squirmy cat and this will take time.
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How long? to get good at the ear pokes? Probably a couple of weeks. Practice, practice, practice. If you are unsuccessful at getting blood, reward Kami with a treat anyway for being a good girl.

Some of us are able to get blood right away, every time. Most of us struggle to learn how to do the ear poking.

If you absolutely, positively have to get blood, aim for the vein. Have a tissue handy because you may get a very big drop of blood. And hold the ear steady with the 'draped hand'. Otherwise, when Kami shakes her head, your test area will look like an abattoir as she splatters the blood drop everywhere. (Been there, done that). ohmygod_smile Be careful with the test strip because if you do get a very big blood drop, you can flood the test strip with too much blood and get an error message. Gently put the test strip at the top of the drop to let the sipping action start.

Would you make one tiny change in your signature? Go in to your user control panel and change the text size on the word Alphatrak. Highlight that piece of text you want to change. In the list of editing commands above the free form text box, there is the word Normal with a drop down arrow. Click on that and select Large for your text. It should then look like this Alphatrak.

We'd also like to know where you live. General location. Country, state is fine. That is in your user control panel, Profile, Edit Profile, and update the location field. Submit to save. Thanks, we'd appreciate seeing that info.

Most of us use human meters because the cost of the test strips gets very expensive with the Alphatrak. With the Alphatrak, the numbers read a bit higher. Always give us the number exactly as your meter reads it. Do not make any changes in the number. We'll do that in our heads.

4 tests a day. 4 is all you need even for TR. More helps us to figure out what nadir, onset and duration are.

I like to check to make sure new members have their hypo toolkit ready and have printed out the instructions for what to do in case of hypoglycemia. Here are the tool kit contents:
IN CASE OF EMERGENCY - YOUR HYPO KIT

Put together NOW the following items and put in an easily accessible place!
•Phone number of your vet
•Phone number, address and map/directions to your nearest emergency vet (or phone number of the cab company and some cash/credit card)
•Karo syrup, honey or corn syrup
•High carb canned food with gravy – 2-3 cans
•Some favourite treats
•Spare pack of 25 blood glucose strips
•Coffee for you ;)
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Here are the instructions for dealing with a hypo. http://www.felinediabetes.com/FDMB/viewtopic.php?f=28&t=15887 Print these and keep with your hypo toolkit. You don't want to be scrambling at the list minute to find these instructions.

If you ever think something is wrong with Kami and it might be a hypo, please post, and most people can walk you through a hypo situation.
 
thanks Deb - I think I might switch sides. Right now, Kami sits to my right, and I have my right arm draped around her. Since I'm right handed, it gets kinds of awkward figuring out which hand to poke with!

We have alittle glass jar of freeze dried salmon that sits with us while we go through our ritual, and she does get one when she sits quietly and allows me to chat with her and fondle her ears. I shake the jar and she comes because she knows there's a treat.

I'm not too worried about drawing blood (hit the vein once - and had the head shake you talk about, thankfully it was in the kitchen and not on the carpet!!), its more the poke and Kami's reaction, all other aspects of the "routine" are starting to smooth out.

and thank you for the good advise re the hypo kit - its at the ready!!

I've updated my signature and added a picture of my little girl - hope it all works

thanks everyone on this board for being my support system.
 
Her picture looks like she thought the camera was a treat. She's reaching up to kiss it or try to eat it or something. Cute!
 
If you are freehanding the lancet, go in at a 45 degree angle, and try to get the bevel side up with the lancet when you poke.

If you are using the lancing pen, it makes a noise that some cats don't like. Take it everywhere and click it by her ear constantly. Also, the lancing pen goes perpendicular to the ear.
 
Gosh girl, when I read your post I thought it was me talking! I never thought I could do this either when I saw the videos of cats getting tested. Until my CL got diabetes I had just about never picked her up. When I found her she was feral and she was scared of everyone and everything. That's why I named her Chicken Little!! To this day she has never sat on my lap!! But let me tell you what - diabetes actually made us bond and now I can pick her up and hold her. It did not happen overnight but just don't give up! It takes time and if I can do it - anybody can do it!! Just like you they are scared to at first but they get used to a routine. There is a lot of help available here and a lot of people with expert advise.
Welcome
Terriy
 
thanks for the advice Deb - i tried the autolancet but couldn't get blood, so i'm doing the freehand. And thanks for saying Kami's pic is cute - she was curious about the iPhone so she craned her head up to see what i was doing!

Terriy and Simon's mommy - thanks for your encouragement. Kami's already becoming a little snugglier - could be tha she' wasn't feeling great tho. another small victory today: i ran home at lunch and her food dish was empty of food, but full of toys. Yay, she ate and she felt like playing!!!!

We sat together on the floor for some ear practice. This time with her on my left. this might work people!! I couldn't get an ear to be still for more than 2 seconds though, so no test.

quick question, I'm in Canada and my alphatrak reads in mmol - when i finally start tracking my numbers on a spreadsheet is it okay to use mmol or should i convert for everyone?

thanks again all!
 
The spreadsheet we have has a US version and World version templates. When you create spreadsheet, you will use the World format template and save it in your google account with a new name like Kami's SS.

There are two tabs on the world version of the spreadsheet template. When you enter the data, you enter it on the world tab. Then, those of us that are in the US can click on the US tab and get the numbers automatically translated. Plus most of us know to multiply by 18 to get US mg/dL from mmol/L.

No please, do not convert any numbers. Give them to us exactly as you get them.
 
sdjames said:
She's getting 2U of lantis 2x day.
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Hi and welcome to our family! 2 units as a starting dose is somewhat high; I see in your signature line that kitty weighs 12.5 pounds--that would merit a starting dose of only about 1.4 units; we round down, so it would be 1.25 units every 12 hours...(unless your kitties ideal weight is way more than 12.5 pounds) Here's the formula for computing a starting dose:

The formula is initial dose = 0.25 x ideal weight in kilograms. So if at cat's normal weight is/should be 12.5 pounds:

0.25 x 5.6 kg (which is 12.5 pounds) = 1.4 rounded down to 1.25 units

Can more eyes jump in on this response?
 
Hey, your in Vancouver! I am in Langley right now!
Whereabouts are you in Vancouver? I'd be more than happy to help you with testing and stuff.

It's pretty overwhelming in the beginning, but before you know it, both of you will be sleepwalking through the testing and shots.

It's been said already.... the starting dose of 2u is fairly high and there are lots of cats that never need that much insulin, so it may be an idea to drop down to a 1u dose until you have a good handle on the testing. I know that people try to calculate what a cat needs based on the cat's weight but I really don't buy into that method as some tubby cats need only a very little dose.... I'd rather start too low and work my way up; it's safer that way.

For the food, the dry food will need to cut out .... one of my cats would have numbers in the 400s if she got just a few pieces of dry food. Some cats are more sensitive to dry food / high carbs than other cats.

For the testing, I preferred the Bayer contour meters. For your spreadsheet, you can put the World numbers if you wanted, and you could even put World and US in the same field.... that's what I did so that the US people here knew the number they understood, but my vet would also have a number that he understood. The coloring was not automatic but no big deal .... I filled in the color myself.
I used the conversion table on the old FDMB site and made myself a table with both values...
BG Conversion Calculator
...so if you test and get something like 14.6 on your meter, just put it into the converter and set for mmol, set the other side the other option, and hit enter.

One thing to keep in mind is that the pet meters register higher numbers than those who are using human meters..... their 50 is like your 80 or 90... that's in US NUMBERS, so I don't know what the diff would be in World.... I'd have to check. Just know that pet meters give higher numbers.

It won't take long for you to get used to it all, and you will find that your cat is also adjusting well, and is better with testing and shots because they mean 'feel better'.

Gayle
 
Okay, now I'm nervous about the 2U dose. It's what her vet prescribed (he himself the owner of a diabetic cat), and so far, no ill effects. Even though I have not been able to test her blood, I do run home and check on her +5/+6 after injection and make sure she eats something. She does have food left out, but its wet which she isn't wild about, so I usually sprinkle some fortiflora on top to get her to eat a bit. Her demeanor has actually improved since she started insulin (or I am just reading into this what I want??). More playful, spunky and curious than's she been for several weeks. Grooming, drinking/peeing normal. Pooing down to 2x a week (from 1x/day) since she switched to wet.

Since she'll be at the vet for 2 weeks while I'm out of town - starting tomorrow - they'll be doing BG curves on her. I Know that her BG will be higher than normal due to the stress, but I think after a week or so, she'll mellow out and they can get a good idea of her response. As much as it wrecks me to be away for two weeks and have her staying in a strange place, I'm actually coming around to being almost happy about it because of the full-time monitoring she will be having. Wish us luck!
 
Hello and welcome to the board!

great job so far.. change of food, good insulin and testing too! Cant wait to see that spreadsheet...

what kind food/brand /type are you feeding? Maybe we can recommend something she will like better?

Wendy
 
How are things going? Have you left on vacation yet? Please let us know if we can help with anything! :-D
 
Hi BAck from vacation - Kami did okay at the vet (hid under her blanket for 12 days tho!) and they texted me updates and pictures every day.

Now, back at home and the weather has turned HOT. Kami is really off her food, which is normal every summer when we have hot days. She hasn't eaten very much for the past two days so I have held off giving her insulin.

BG today was 12.3, taken approx 36 hours after last insulin injection. I've tried to update the SS, but its not letting me add any info right ow - I'll try again later.

She is not a fan of any of the canned foods we've been trying (and believe me, lots of $$ trying just about every thing on Dr. Lisa Pierson's lists. She WILL eat the EVO dry but of course its been recalled, so will keep trying until something works). Trying Bonito flakes on her wet food as well as FortiFlora - which she licks off, then leaves the food! Girlfriend wants her Hills Science Diet Adult Indoor, but alas, there is none in the house anymore.

Water consumption is low, peeing once per day, normal volume. Playing when it cools off, grooming. Essentially, her normal hot weather behaviour.

Thanks for keeping an eye out for us!
 
Welcome back! Have you tried the fancy feast pâtés, friskies pâtés or wellness grain free canned?

Also there are a few other low carb dry foods ie Wellness Core Grain-Free Original Formula (tan gold bag)11%, Nature's Variety Raw Instinct chicken 7%, and Young Again zero Carb 0%.
 
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