Cat's Numbers Very High

Hi Everyone,

I am going to go ahead and apologize for the length of this post but I want to make sure that I am on the right track. Unfortunately, we live in an area with lots of vets with very little experience beyond routine wellness. I have experience working in cat specialty clinics and really miss having access to vets with that expertise.

Long story short, Crunches came to us as a stray that walked basically right into our house; he was severely emaciated and could barely walk. We got him worked up so that he would live through the next couple of days and he weighed in at a whopping 5lbs. They weren't totally sure he would make it given his extreme state. After he was more stable we took him back in for more bloodwork and found out he was diabetic. This particular vet wanted us to leave him there so they could do a glucose curve on him to decide his insulin dose; while that didn't seem completely out of line the amount of extra things they wanted to do were. It seemed a little illogical to raise a cat's bg even more by stressing them out while at the clinic all day. I opted to find another vet that was more in tune with letting us do curves at home.

While on this search, we started attempting to get him on low carb wet food (he was a previous kibble junkie); we also found his owners and they were going to put him down if we gave him back due to his dx. We found out he was previously a 15lb cat that had been losing weight for upwards of 6-8 months, when he didn't come home, they assumed he had died. Either way, we were pretty determined to give him the best life we could considering he is only 10.

After finding a new vet who seemed more in the know with diabetic animals, she agreed that at home curves would be best and wanted to start him on a steroid for IBD and wanted to do Prednisolone to which I objected. I told her I would prefer Budesonide which she researched and then ordered for us; it is helping with the IBD. She decided to start him on 2u of Vetsulin twice per day and see how things shook out as his fructosamine was pretty high. I thought this was a high dose but I went with it since I've never had a diabetic cat. We started the insulin and started to see a slow drop down in his numbers, I am pretty adamant about getting his readings and doing curves until we get him regulated.

On this fun little trip down insulin lane, we started switching him over to raw food a tablespoon at a time, along with our 4 civvies who eat wet and dry food. Everyone is on microchip feeders so nobody can get into anyone else's food. At this point Crunches had gained about 2 pounds and is looking a little less pathetic and feeling sooooo much better. We have been feeding him multiple meals throughout the day of low carb wet food and raw. He is now on more raw than regular wet food.

About a week ago I started noticing his AMPS and PMPS starting to climb back up; I notified the vet of his numbers especially when they went below 150ish; when they started to climb she said he may need a higher dose... This is where my skepticism kicked in and I started thinking about rebounding. I am wondering if based on his numbers if he could be experiencing rebounding. After the numbers started climbing again I dropped his dose to 1u. Unfortunately, in our area other insulins have to be ordered online, which we are willing to do but, overdosing on any insulin is not something that I want to do. I think I got his spreadsheet all updated with the numbers I have been collecting, I really just want to be as prepared as I can be to help get him regulated as best we can! While the vert we are working with is not as knowledgeable about diabetic cats, she is more than willing to listen to or concerns and seek help from vets out of the area on our behalf. Thank you in advance for any and all input!

 

Good job getting as far as you've gotten!! You're doing a lot of things right!!

Are you testing for ketones? You can use urine ketone test strips from any pharmacy. With numbers as high as his are lately, I think it's important that you make sure there aren't any ketones brewing.

Vetsulin isn't really a great insulin for cats because it tends to be harsh....it hits hard and fast and usually wears off in 8-10 hours. If you can, I'd seriously consider switching to one of the better and gentler insulins like Lantus, Levemir or ProZinc.

In the meantime, I'd go back up to 2U.....dropping into the mid 100's is totally safe. The curve you did on 12/9 is pretty much what we expect from Vetsulin….a drop of about half (and then it wears off and he zooms back up again).

Also, be sure to get tests on the PM cycle. Most cats go lower at night so it's important....as well as you're only getting half the picture if you only test on the AM cycle. Sometimes it's what's going on in that other half that tells the story!

Keep asking questions....You are doing great so far!!….and thank you for saving Crunches life!! (look forward to seeing a picture!)

 

What a journey! crunches is so so lucky to have found you!!!! You've received great info so far so I just want to say welcome and we are here for you! Great job getting his weight up!

 

Welcome! You're doing great! I agree with Chris that 2 u was looking good based on your SS data. You've got everything in place to get Crunches on the road to being a lot healthier.

 

Thank you guys for the input! We plan to take him in after the holidays and talk numbers with the vet to see if she recommends an insulin change. We are testing for ketones, so far so good. Since Crunches stumbled into our lives I've learned so much from you all!

 

Lucky kitty, he is better off now that he found you to give him a second chance. Nice to see you have gotten some weight on him, keep up the good work! No question you saved his life. My last kitty was 5 lbs at the end and it was heartbreaking (hyperthyroid that could no longer be controlled, 2nd stroke and 22 yrs old).

Hang in there Crunches, you found someone to help you now.