What number are we aiming for without insulin?

[Mom2Missy]

Missy is currently getting 0.1U of ProZinc every 2 to 3 days it seems. I was previously told that I should only give insulin if she goes above 150. She usually stays in the low to mid 100s. I was just curious if I needed to try to get her into the greens, or if she's okay to stay where she's at?

She's been self-regulating pretty good recently. Last night at +28 she was at 153. I was going to shoot, but decided to wait and see what happened. At +31 (after eating), she dropped to 116. This morning, she's at 111. I'm fine with continuing with what we've been doing. I just wasn't sure what the optimal range is.

 

[tuckers mom]

I'm happy when I see 60-80 with my OTJ FDs. Your numbers look great. Is Missy acting normally, peeing less, drinking less? If she seems fine and healthy, right now I might try to see where she goes on her own. Her pancreas may still be healing and she may start getting better numbers on her own. But, of course, if you go too high, a drop of insulin would be good to help the pancreas out.

 

[OLM Catnip Cottage]

Every cat is a bit different and handles insulin differently. GENERALLY speaking, 140 and below are non-diabetic numbers. I would concur with whomever told you not to shoot above 150, but I am conservative because Chloe and Jacob, my 2 cats, reacted very strongly to insulin. The slightest dose pulled them way down, so with them, I didn't shoot unless they were over 200. They did go off the juice shortly after. In both of them, I noticed numbers hovering around 125-200 for a few weeks without insulin, and then dropped to those pretty numbers below 100.

Now a lot of this depends on how conservative or agressive you are in your treatments. I have been told that numbers about 200 can cause problems for the kidneys. So, I would think you are safe targeting for 150 and above to shoot.

Now factors that also affect this, however, is the type of insulin you're using and its duration and nature.

 

[Mom2Missy]

I'm happy when I see 60-80 with my OTJ FDs. Your numbers look great. Is Missy acting normally, peeing less, drinking less? If she seems fine and healthy, right now I might try to see where she goes on her own. Her pancreas may still be healing and she may start getting better numbers on her own. But, of course, if you go too high, a drop of insulin would be good to help the pancreas out.

She is doing amazingly well! She has more energy than I have ever seen out of her. She is not drinking or peeing nearly as much as she was. She seems great. Her duration has been getting longer and longer with each shot. First she went about 36 hours in between shots, then she went about 70 hours. Hopefully she can keep it up and we'll see more of those pretty greens!

 

[tuckers mom]

I love to see this. Can't wait to see how she does. You're doing an amazing job, I may be sending you my cat :lol:

 

[Venita]

One thing I do with a cat that seems to be going off the juice is a food test. I test the cat, feed, and test 2 hours later. If I see a big drop in the pre-food to post-food number, I can tell the pancreas is working.

I would be cautious, for example, giving insulin to a cat at 140 that can bring itself down into the 50s with a meal.

If the food test shows pancreatic activity, I would try to feed the cat small, frequent meals.

 

[Mom2Missy]

One thing I do with a cat that seems to be going off the juice is a food test. I test the cat, feed, and test 2 hours later. If I see a big drop in the pre-food to post-food number, I can tell the pancreas is working.

I would be cautious, for example, giving insulin to a cat at 140 that can bring itself down into the 50s with a meal.

If the food test shows pancreatic activity, I would try to feed the cat small, frequent meals.

I started to notice that food was acting like her insulin, so that is exactly what we've been doing. Luckily, I work from home so it's been very easy to give her frequent small meals. Last night she dropped from 148 to 116 two hours after eating! Her food is about 5 ounces per can and it says to feed one can per 8 pounds, so she's eating about one can per day. I've been giving her one ounce or so every 4 to 5 hours. This seems to keep her pretty regulated. Every 2 to 3 days, she needs a little jumpstart with the insulin, but otherwise she has been doing very well.