Hello to all!

Hi, my name is Dave and my wife, Penny and I have been rescuing cats for over 5 years now. Mostly here out in the country, but we have recently signed on with a local rescue and have been fostering.
I have joined today because one of our own, Storm, our 9 yr old, all white, 28 pounder. Yes, a.k.a. Big Stormy. We noticed over a week ago that he was camped in front of the water fountain we have for the cats. We had him tested about 4 years ago when we noticed his weight gain, but all was good then. Last week when he was tested, not so much. His level was 442. He has been on insulin for 4 days now at 2 units of Novolin U100, twice a day. He gets re-tested today.
This is not our first experience with a diabetic kitty. We took in 2 surrenders about 6 months ago, both large 13 yr old torti sisters. The largest was the diabetic and her needs had been ignored by the previous owner for too long. We learned how to give the insulin and worked with her for a couple of weeks, but as I said, her needs were ignored too long and she had compounding health issues. We were forced to do "the deed". I still get weepy just typing about it. An don't get me started about my thought of the previous owner. Her sister is good and a happy/loving girl who has become a resident of our home.

Anyhoo, I'm here for Stormy and refuse to let this one get away on my watch! I hope to learn all I can with his diet and at home testing and look forward to any & all help/advice.

Thanks in advance to all and the moderators who make this valuable site available.

 

Welcome. OMG. That is an adorable pic. I'm not too much of an advice giver, more a question asker, so I'm wondering why the Novolin?
So sad about the other kitty. I know how hard rescue can be when we have to let go and move on. My friends constantly remind me that we can't save them on. I hung up my super hero cape 2 years ago and "just" work with the 13 kitties I have now. Sparkle is my first diabetic and this board is excellent for learning. It can be so frustrating, but it does get easier. Ask all the questions you need. Lots of very experienced folks here.
Pepper + Sparkle + 12

 

Thanks, that pic is Big Storm when we first took him in as a kitten. The Novolin is what the vet started the other kitty on.

BTW, just got back from vet for Stormy's blood test. Went from 442, now down to 391. Increasing to 4 units, twice daily.

 

I would suggest you start home-testing. That is a big increase in insulin after only 2 days. Tests done at the vet can be higher with some kitties due to stress. Also depending on what time he ate before the test the numbers can be food influenced. Since you don't know how low the insulin is taking him you can't tell if his number is actually high or if he is "bouncing" from lower numbers.

If you need any information on home-testing or other suggestion you can post on the Health Forum:

http://www.felinediabetes.com/FDMB/forums/feline-health-the-main-forum.28/

It gets a lot more traffic there.


BTW Welcome to the group..I keep forgetting my manners

 

Thank you. I am interested in the home testing. It costs me $19 a pop to have the vet do it and it has actually been 6 days since he was last tested and that's how long we had been giving him 2 units. They told me come back and re-test in 5-7 days depending on my crazy work schedule.

 

Home-testing has saved the lives of a few kitties here. One kitty had a food change from dry to all low carb wet and within less than 2 weeks went off insulin. If the gal hadn't have been testing her kitty he would have had a serious hypo that could have been deadly.

With doses that high to start home-testing is VERY important. Stormy is a big kitty but that is a high dose, especailly increasing from 2 to 4 units after only 4 days. Unless you know how he is reacting to the insulin you can't tell how low it might be taking him. It is very common when a kitty hits a lower number than their body is used to for them to "bounce" up into much higher numbers for a day or two. If his last reading at the vet was done during a "bounce" then he could be on too high a dose. Without regular testing there is no way to know.

Here is a good link to some information on home-testing:

http://www.felinediabetes.com/FDMB/threads/hometesting-links-and-tips.287/

Besides giving you the control of knowing how Stormy is doing throughout the day it is MUCH cheaper than doing vet checks.

 

Also here is some basic information on Novalin. Some kitties do well on it, but it does tend to have a shorter duration than some of the other insulins like Prozinc, Lantus and Levemir. Plus it is a harsher, faster acting insulin and with some kitties can cause steep drops in the early part of the cycle.

http://www.felinediabetes.com/FDMB/threads/humulin-n-primer.303/

There are a few people on here who use Novalin. Questions about the insulin or dosing would get more attention on the Health Forum:

http://www.felinediabetes.com/FDMB/forums/feline-health-the-main-forum.28/

 

Stormy was tested today 5hrs after his morning injection, so I quess that's the down side? I'm trying to read as much as I can today, but I'm starting to feel like I'm trying to drink from a fire hose. Need a break I think. Also I will discuss with my vet about other possible insulins. Thanks soo much!

 

It is totally overwhelming when you start really getting into feline diabetes and home-testing and all. Just learn the basics and ask questions as you go. In time it will start to fall into place.