Help my Mom & her PZI cat, Francis

I'm posting for my mom who has an uninformed vet: "give 3.5 units, don't test and call me in 3 weeks" and Mom has no internet access and lives in a different state than me.

I've gotten some help before from FDMB for her and Francis. He is about 14-15 years old and on PZI. He is also hyperthyroid and on meds for that. Looks like the insulin is finally working; it took her a while to get him on the right dose. She's switched to wet food but still has a 13% carb dry food out because she's got 3 other cats and can't switch to all wet for many reasons.

My question is about PZI. I know nothing about it and it seems his numbers are bizarre and he may be ready for a dosecrease. Is it the same as Lantus, if his BG hits <50, go down by .25? Here are his numbers:

Saturday:
AMPS=447, +2=465, +4=292, +6=74 (she gave syrup cuz he's never been that low), +6.75=103, +9=226, PMPS=330

Sunday:
AMPS=362, +6=62

I told her to watch him and test to see where he goes from here. The thing is that she will be working tomorrw and will not be able to get a +6. Any thoughts on course of action?

 

PZI is not like Lantus. But when you see such a large spread between preshot and peak, it's generally an indication that the dose is too high. If it were my cat, I'd reduce the dose by .5 units and see what happens. Hopefully it will give her a lower preshot. The goals for a regulated PZI cat are around 200 preshot and 60 peak.

 

Ditto.

Definitely time for a reduction, there is too much bouncing in those numbers. I'm sure you filled her in on the syrup thing right?

Tell her we said "good job" getting all those numbers!

 

Wow, thanks for your replies. I will tell her to reduce the next shot by .5 and give her the target BG's. I notice there aren't any dosing guidelines, etc., here for PZI. Do you guys know of anywhere that I can get more info for cats on PZI that I can print and send her?

Again, thanks so much for caring! Mom's having a heck of a time with Francis and he is her favorite cat and she wants to do whatever she can for him!

 

Did the kitty start at 3.5U BID or was the dose adjusted as time went on? How long has the kitty been FD? Sorry if this has been answered somewhere else and I missed it.

 

There are no dosing guidelines for any insulin as far as I know. However, there are general principles for PZI, such as aiming at regulation numbers, and avoid big preshot/peak spreads like your mom is currently seeing. The good thing about PZI is that you can change the dose each shot until you reach the goal, although it's generally felt that you need at least 3 days on a dose to understand how it is working.

 

Francis was diagnosed this year, not too long ago. Next time I talk to her I'll ask her exactly when he was diagnosed and the history of his dosing.

She just started home testing a few weeks ago because of me learning so much from here. We first thought his recent dose of 3u BID was too much until he went up to 3.5, then we started to see some movement in his numbers. He used to test "HI" or in the 500's. With the change to wet food (but he also always has a lower carb dry out that HE DOES eat too because of the other cats) and the increase in insulin he's starting to get better. He had many symptoms: bad coat, dialated pupils, howling. I can't believe he's survived. All those symptoms are much better! Her vet seems like an idiot, nice, but totally uninformed and not around to answer questions. The vet techs are defensive and can be rude, although I'm my mother is aggressive too.

So she's going to try to lower the next dose by .5 tonight. When she tells the vet, they will probably get mad at her. They want her to drop him off for a full day of testing, which as we all know and Mom does too, it a waste of time and money and stress on the cat for nothing!!! I told Mom to simply say that she's been doing some reading and found out that the goal numbers are 60-200 and that by lowering the dose she hope to lower the pre-shot. What can the vet say? I told her to ask the vet what protocol she follows. UGH! This is hard being new to this myself and only familiar with Lantus. I wish she could do this herself but she's got no internet!!!

 

Francis's +7.25 number is 75 without being fed. He's doing well!

 

I wouldn't tell the vet the goal numbers between 60-200 because the vet might think your mom would shoot insulin at 60, not that a peak of 60 is the goal. Just a thought.

My own vet prefers her clients keep their cats in the 200 range at preshot, but knows that I shoot differently. Since most of her clients don't hometest they prefer higher numbers to prevent hypo situations.

 

I agree with Jennifer. I wouldn't tell the vet about the 200-60 goal. If the vet is not well informed about the treatment of feline diabetes, he will freak out.

One of the guidelines I use for Lucy is peak values approximately 1/3 of the preshot. So if the preshot is 300, I want a peak of around 100. If it is lower than that, I slightly reduce the dose. For us, when we keep the preshot/peak ratio steady, Lucy does well (on Levemir as well as PZI). Lucy, like Francis, is hyper-t which has increased her need for insulin and changed the way she responds to insulin in general.

 

Help!
His +12.5 =121 and she gave him 3 units!!!!!!!
OMG. He won't eat on command either. She has syrup and HCW but she'd have to force feed him. I basically told her she'd have to stay up and get his numbers and she has to get up for work at some INSANE time like 5AM.
She doesn't have fat syringes for force feeding.
I think he's going to hypo for sure. What do you think???
Any thoughts on how she can prepare for this?

 

Traci, I am going to report this to the Mod and also post a note on Health to get some eyes on this.

Quick thoughts: there is a Hypo guide - I will try to find the link to that.

Will he eat anything? I don't know if she needs to go to an emergency vet or not. Can she test every hour for now? It should be a little while before the PZI kicks in, hopefully we can get you some info quickly. I'll go report now, etc.

 

With PZI, many cats shoot up quickly. Ask your mom to test again in an hour. There may not been any need to panic. If numbers aren't going up, she'll need to think of what she can do to tempt him to eat. It's better to feed a small bit at a time rather than to force him into a large meal.

 

If it really comes to it, you can force-feed without a syringe.

Just put a 1/4 tsp dab of canned food on the tip of index finger.
Pry cats mouth open as if to give a pill.
Put dab of food on roof of cats mouth, JUST BEHIND the upper front teeth.
Do not tilt cat's head back very far.
Now let cat go and let her swallow 2-3 times before feeding another dab of food.

 

Traci - here is the link to Hypo info viewtopic.php?f=3&t=674. Hopefully she will not need this, but it might help if you have time to review it - I've found it very comforting at panicky times to have a game plan, and this gives you some idea of what to do and at what timing to test, etc.

 

I have some experience with PZI. Terri is right about going up, but I would have said "some cats may shoot up quickly." An acute rebound response. But your Mom is going to be on hypo watch. Can she go to the pharmacy now to get some baby feeding syringes? Those are very much like cat feeding syringes. Also, if there's any people food the cat will eat on demand, like deli turkey or chicken or canned tuna. Also maybe grab some all-meat baby food (no onion). Not high carb but better than no food. Your mom might even want to pick up a little bag of dry food.

I have shot a normal dose of PZI on a 120 preshot, but I was experienced and data ready. And my full dose wasn't 3U.

 

Update, +1 = 140 and he ate a small amount of lcw.

She knows what to do for a hypo: syrup, hcw, went and got a fatter syringe to force feed if she need to.

Thanks guys so much, this is a HUGE help!

 

Sometimes it's rebound and other times the insulin just poops out and numbers zoom. But like Venita says, it's just some cats--not something you can count on. That's why your mom needs to get another test.

Generally, PZI takes about 2 hours after a shot to start working. So your mom has plenty of time to figure out whether additional steps need to be taken in advance of nadir or whether she can be more relaxed.

 

OK--not much change so she should go head and feed some high carb food now rather than waiting to treat hypo.

 

Thanks for the update Traci. I'm glad your mom is getting prepped, and that he ate some. If his #s start dropping, I would recommend she try getting him to eat small amounts of higher carb food to balance the insulin - dry, or high carb canned. She can also mix Karo in with regular canned, though that might not be needed. But my thinking is that the 3u dose may only be needed because he eats some dry food, so I would want to be sure there's something higher carb in the mix for this cycle especially. [edited to clarify: meaning, personally, I wouldn't wait to see low #s before getting some higher carb food in him]

 

Hi Guys-

I have the hypo doc handy and will read her the symtoms and what to do.

Thank you for telling us how to force feed without a syringe - I'll read her that too.

I'll be back soon with the +2.

 

PMPS=121, gave 3 units PZI
+1=140 feeding
+2 = 95 feeding

When should she start using the syrup along with the food? Is that only for when he's 60 or below or sheould she do that now? I'm sorry if you already told me this, I just need to clarify.

Thanks to all you you! She's SO grateful!!!! nailbite_smile

 

The syrup is short acting so reserve it for numbers below 50. Generally, PZI peaks around +6 so if she can get him to eat a bit more high carb food (I'd be using dry, not the "higher" carb stuff used on Lantus) now, she may be able to avoid the need for syrup later. The carbs from dry food will stay in his system longer. It's like eating pasta or potatoes for you and me.

 

Thanks Terri! Mom is AMAZED at all the people here willing to help her. She'll be calling me with the +3 soon and I'll tell her to reserve the syrup for less than 50. She's working on getting ANY food into him now. Whatever he'll eat or whatever she can get it. :roll:

 

Yowza! Is she feeding high carb? That # itself is fine, but you are only at onset right now. Did he eat high carb food at +1 and this is his # at +2? Or was that low carb? I would feed only high carb until he is out of the woods. If he ate LC at +1 I would just switch to HC now. If he ate HC at +1, I'd mix some Karo in with the HC. Although in theory Karo is reserved for lower #s, there is likely to be a limit to how many tests she'll be able to get in before he becomes too difficult to test. If it were me, I would throw small amounts of HC(+ Karo if he won't eat, or if this is his food spike on HC) at him every half hour and ask questions later.

Others may be along with more experience in this - I've been through a couple scary bits with my kitty, but on a lower dose, and he's usually an eater, so that makes it way easier.

Hang in there. You are WONDERFUL for helping out your mom & Francis like this. And always remember if things get scary and she has an emergency vet that is not too far away that is always an option. Nothing wrong with taking that route if that's what she is comfortable with.

p.s. also make sure she knows that she needs to be able to space food out for the next few hours. Hopefully a few bites of HC will give him more of a spike. Don't want him getting full too soon!!!! Also if he is easy to test, she may want to start testing every 30 minutes at this point. If he is difficult, she'll have to take what she can get.

 

Hi Joanna-

It's been a crazy day with all this cat stuff going on. I tried to have a date during this too if you can imagine. We went to eat for a little while then I was right back at it when we got home. He's becoming a cat diabetes expert too, whether he likes it or not! :lol:

So you thought he should have come up higher, huh? You asked what she's feeding him...To tell you the truth, while talking to her I'm trying to keep my composure and not get too worked up. (because she's complaining about upsetting him, etc.) Basically her cat doesn't want to eat, so she's trying to get him to eat on his own first (I think) before she starts forcing him. I'll tell her what everyone here has said and then she can make a choice about when to use the syrup. Like you said, 95 isn't a bad number, it's where it's HEADED that's bad. nailbite_smile

 

p.p.s. I agree if she can get him to eat some dry food, that would be ideal, and could make the cycle shift from a scary one to an easy one. If he's not liking it right now, maybe mix it with a little wet, or try popping a piece in his mouth & seeing if he'll go for it that way? I also learned here that sometimes when cats don't feel great they will eat out of your hand, when they won't out of a dish. Bix looked at me like I was nutso when I tried that, but one of my civvies would only eat that way for a month after she had major dental work done.

 

Hilarious!!! Guess if he passes this test, he's a keeper, right? LOL

Not necessarily, I'm just thinking maybe she's trying to feed him LC, which I would ditch for the moment. And if it was HC he ate, at least it gives you some idea - i.e. that he will need to eat quite a bit more along the way tonight. If it was LC and she switches to HC/dry, you may find the #s stay flat from here on out, or even go up. If it was HC, well then, keep the Karo handy.

Do you have any insight into why he doesn't want to eat? Has been vomiting? With my cat, as soon as his #s drop he will eat on his own. I don't know if that will be the case for Francis, but it is common I have been told with both people & cats that dropping BGs or low BGs naturally trigger a hunger response. But you can't rely on that, especially if there is another health issue going on.

 

Update: +3=74, FED, +3.5=95 YAY!

He ate 1/3 can of FF lc wet food she fed by had and ate gravy off the HCW food.
He's now eating HC dry Friskies at least a 1/4 cup so far and still interested in eating! She's giving him a break and will give him more in a few minutes.

WCR-lethargic, eyes slightly dialated, but eating dry food on his own, vomited at +1.

She will keep pushing HCD. She happens to have a huge bag of HCD Friskies for strays she feeds.

If she manages to keep his numbers this good at the +6 mark, (which will be 12AM) can she go to bed safely? He seems to peak at +6.

Thank you everyone!!!

 

We usually like to see a couple of rising numbers before calling it good.

Poor kitty...I hope he is tolerating all the tests well.

 

If he's eaten some dry food, she may want to pick it up for a while. If she feeds him too much now, it may be more difficult to get him to eat later when he may need the food more.

I am concerned that he's lethargic and vomitting. He hasn't gotten close to a low number yet. There could be something else going on that caused his numbers to drop so suddenly. Has he had a senior panel run lately?

 

I like that, it tells you that what she fed at +3 was a good amount/carb content to keep him at a good # 1/2 hour from then. No need to even consider Karo then [as long as the #s stay like this], and no need to push too much food on him. I'd continue with small amounts every 1/2 or so, or following the guidelines given in the hypo reference doc. If his #s stay in this range, that is perfect IMHO.

I'm not sure about the +6 question, maybe someone else will have an answer for you. Although +6 may be peak for him, it's hard to know how much the food is counteracting the insulin. So if she stops testing/feeding and it turns out the insulin was WAY too much and the food spike wears off, he could still drop a lot in theory. I just don't know - hopefully the #s and a sense of how much she is feeding will guide the decisions. Or if he is eating fine on his own when he wants to (this is what Bix has done when I've overshot - heads for the foodbowl every 1/2 hour on his own, and solves his own problem - I am SO spoiled! :lol: ), leaving food out may be ok, if his #s seem to be in the clear.

Thanks for keeping us updated!!! I will be up for hours (west coast) so will keep checking back. Cheers to your mom for hanging in there and getting all these tests & stuff!!! I know you've said before she is already really stressed and has a difficult schedule. She is great to be trying to do the best for Francis with all that going on.

 

On another note, at some point tonight I would suggest to your mom to consider:

• Shooting a reduced dose in the morning, even if the PS is higher than tonight. If his eating is off and until she has a better idea what is going on with him, it might be in order.
• Picking a no shoot # (like 200 - I think that's already been mentioned, but let us know if you need more info).
• Getting a vet check if the low appetite/vomiting, lethargy & dilated pupils continue, and there isn't a clear explanation for them.

Others may be able to help fine-tune the list, I just wanted to throw out a note about it lest she wake up and shoot 3u again on a low PS!!! Of course she wouldn't after tonight but you just never know.

 

:cry:
Hi Friends,

Mom just called me with her +4.5 number and it was 61 despite all the food!!!

She called the ER and very nice and helpful person talked to her. The lady said they would give him IV glucose if she brought him in. Mom elected to stay up and keep feeding and giving him syrup. If he's still 60 at +6 she'll take him in. She can't afford it.

This has been such a stressful night. Thank you all for being there for us. Poor Francis didn't like getting the tests done. I heard him meowing and her talking to him. I'm lucky, my guy doesn't mind too much as long as he gets a treat but Francis doesn't eat treats.

The even more scary part of this story is that if she had listened to her vet "give him 3.5 units BID, don't test, and call in 3 weeks", he would have died tonight and Mom has the numbers to prove it. This vet is an idiot.

 

If he's still at 60 at +6, personally I would keep going with the process she's doing, as long as he is acting well. Going to the ER won't get her any sleep, and by then at least the insulin will be wearing off, so the scare factor lessons as time goes by.

Til then, if it were me I would consider giving him a small amount of Karo periodically, especially if he is filling up and eating less, maybe mix a little in with the food. I think also you mentioned she was giving him a mix of LC & HC food - that could make a difference - if in one hour he had a lot of the HC gravy, but in this latest one didn't, for example, that could explain the bigger drop. Even just licking the gravy without actually eating, would probably be better than LC food. You also mentioned he ate quite a bit of dry, so hopefully that will raise his #s soon, though I'm not sure on the timing if that might already be kicking in and he's still so low. Not a dangerous # though, so that's good. But I would try to get some higher carb in him, still a good hour or two to go with the insulin still going strong.

Big hugs to both of you you are doing great.... this stuff is so scary sometimes.

 

Ah, I'm so sorry the food isn't working better for them. But if she makes it to +6 with a 60, there may not be a need to take him in. By then, the PZI should have peaked (no guarantees of course) so she should be able to rely on the Karo at that point. At +5 she's going to need to switch to testing every 30 minutes. I know they will both be miserable but it's the safest way to handle this. When she gives you the numbers, look at the rate of change as much as you look at the numbers themselves. If he is dropping faster than he is eating, she may want to head to the vets. Wish I could stay up with you, but I've got to work tomorrow.

 

Terri - thanks so much for being able to stick around this evening. I always feel better when I know you are here, like having a safety net.

Traci - I think the vet is following common vet protocols, irritating though it is. I don't know how the 3.5 was reached so I can't say that for sure, but if she got there gradually, it is probably in line with what many vets do. Before I knew about home testing, my vet had me shooting 4u blind [reached gradually, and warranted by 100% dry food diet, but still scary in hindsight], and coming in every couple weeks for testing. Thankfully she suggested home testing, as she knew I couldn't afford the continued office tests, and we weren't happy with his results and wanted more data. But it's pretty common. My suspicion is that something changed in Francis' eating pattern, and that's why you're getting the drop, though that's just a suspicion. Not to defend the vet or anything but just for perspective. It can be hard to find a vet who does things any differently.

 

Hi Terri, Hi Joanna-

Thanks ladies for hangin' in there with me.
I have to go to bed too because I've got work!!!!
Mom's on the phone with me now testing Francis again, this is the +5.5 number...154!!!
She gave him about a teaspoon of syrup in the last hour and a little food. She doesn't want to force feed him because he gets really mad and it makes a mess. (whatever, I would any way, but that's me)
She doesn't know how long the 154 will last. She's going to call the nice lady at the hospital again at +6 to tell her where she's at to see if she should bring him in.

What a friggin' night!!! I'll post an update tomorrow. I'm bushed!! Thanks again for all the support!

 

Well, you know the syrup works!!! Wow. If you are at +5.5 already I would say you can probably stop giving any more food or syrup, and test at +6 and +6.5 and maybe +7. If those # are still elevated, I would probably leave food out and go to sleep (ok, well I'm a nailbite_smile 'r so I'd stay up, LOL, but whatever!). If they drop back down but are still over 50, it looks like some more food or a smaller amount of Karo would be enough.

 

The next day - Francis made it!!! Update

Hi Feline Friends,

Thanks so much for your support last night! What a fiasco!

Francis made it through the night with fine numbers because of her constant feeding, syrup and then force-feeding. She didn't have to take him to the ER. This morning his BG was over 600. Big bounce. She hasn't spoken to her vet yet, but I wouldn't want to be on the receiving end of that call!!! She called the ER and they told her to give him 1 unit this AM. I suggested she switch to Lantus and I have the free solo-star pens and I will over-night them to her if she can get a vet to help her with the switch. We can't go through this insanity again!!!

This poor cat! I can't believe he's back up to the 600's. OMG!

I am not sure her vet will want to have her switch to Lantus, but if she did I think I could help her more. I'll give you an update later when I get it. My Mom is working now and can't really talk, so I got the bare minimum of an update.

Thanks again for your kindness and support through this CRAZY ordeal. ;-)

 

Good ER vet. I was worried and am glad he is ok.

 

Hi Karen-

Thanks for your concern; it was definitely an emergency and very stressful. Hopefully a lesson has been learned and this won't be repeated!!!

 

Hi Traci,

Thanks so much for posting an update, and I'm glad it's now a night you & your mom can officially put behind you!!! The 600 is probably from the syrup & dry food, and hopefully will clear itself up quickly if she goes back to LC now. Sorry if I encouraged or scared you into pushing too much HC/Karo, I just didn't want to see a kitty crash if your mom wasn't able to get a test in to see he had dropped too low, or if he stopped eating altogether, etc. For next time, I have learned I need to be more specific about what I mean by "a little", LOL. But the good news is - crisis averted! And it sounds like the ER is really helpful (mine won't give any advice over the phone, arghhh!), so that's a good resource for her. And I agree if you can get Francis on Lantus, that may be better for him with a flatter curve, and easier for you to help your mom out, without having to learn a new insulin.

Congrats to you & your mom for getting through the night ok. Although it's scary, everything like this is a learning experience, and gives you knowledge that helps in the future.

Hope you both get a good night's sleep tonite!
Joanna

 

Geez, Traci, what a night!! I am sorry I ran out on you, but you were DEFINITELY in great hands with Terri and Joanna.

Your mom and Francis are lucky to have such a concerned person in both their lives. On a date, even, that cracked me up! It probably wasn't so funny at the time, though. Good for both of you for being good sports (I assume you'll be seeing him again ).

Good luck with the vet giving "approval" to switch to Lantus. It's so unfortunate that your mom doesn't have internet; LL would be the perfect place for her. Let us know how everything goes for them, ok?

 

Update on Mom's cat Francis

Recap: After the night from HELL, Francis made it without having to go to the ER. His BG was 600+ this morning and the ER people told her to give 1 unit.

For whatever reason my Mom wasn't able to talk to her vet today! Mom called but didn't have her list of BG numbers with her or something so she never spoke to the vet! I can't figure out if my mother's nuts or her vet is....or they both are :lol: My mother works 24/7, as she is early to mid 60's and needs to work because she doesn't have enough $$$ to retire due to ex-BF's swindling her. UGH. Sorry, I digress. So between her telling me the cat update and being 1,000% stressed out about her job I found this out.

She called the ER again as opposed to the vet about tonight's insulin shot. He was in the 400's or something and they told her to give one unit again because now he's not eating she said - or eating very little. nailbite_smile

Her plan is to drop him off at the vet Wednesday morning so her can get checked. Maybe there is more going on. I'm sure the vet will want to do a curve AGAIN too. I'll let you guys know what happens.

I talked to her this morning and she can't believe that you guys were asking about Francic and cared so much. Thank you all again for helping us.

PS-she has a work laptop but no internet access. She's got a home computer which has crashed and can't afford a new one. That's the computer story. :roll:

 

Awwwww, sounds rough. The advice to give 1u makes sense to me, as a stop-gap until she has a better idea what's going on and he is eating well again. A specialist vet (not on board with all we do here, but still I thought the advice made sense) once told me as a general rule (back when I was shooting blind) to cut the dose in half if they aren't eating well.

I think the vet trip is a great idea - if he still isn't eating well, that defintely needs to be checked out. If she can talk the vet out of the curve though I would. I doubt the data would be much use, and it would just stress Francis out, IMHO, as well as costing her extra money for something she can do at home (and with more accurate results).

Do you already have her educated on checking for ketones with the peestix? Especially if he is not eating and is lethargic, that should be on her daily list. Fortunately the stix are fairly cheap, and catching something like that early can really head off some nasty vet bills should DKA develop, from what I have heard.

And last idea have you posted her location before (nearest big city) to see if anyone from here lives nearby? Maybe there is someone who could visit her on the weekend or something and give her some moral support and talk through some things. It's so confusing when you are new to this, and probably especially confusing to her not to be able to access info directly. Maybe they could print out some useful reference stuff for her, some guidelines about how to understand the #s, etc., whatever you think might help her, and be there as another resource for her.

Thanks for keeping us posted. I know you and your mom are busy, but I would love to see a picture of Francis if she has one! Always nice to put a furry face to the name . Yes, some of us here are nutso.

 

You know what???? We've never really talked about keytones because I've never tested Boomer for them, but that is an excellent idea and I will tell her that next. Her vet has never tested for then either!!! :roll:

My mom lives in Whethersfield CT. I've not seen many CT posters here.

 

I'm sorry your mom, Francis, and you are having such a rough time. It must be frustrating to you to not be able to be there, and frustrating to her not to be able to figure out what's going on with her kitty AND to have to deal with a semi-uncooperative vet. I am REALLY surprised that the ER vet is giving out dosing info over the phone, but it certainly sounds like good advice minus any other info. I know when you get such a huge jump after a hypo you don't want to react to that really high number with a really high dose, so that is good that she's giving 1u.

I agree with Joanna that I would try to get the vet not to do the curve, unless your mom just really wants that data and feels she can't get it herself. And as far as ketones, yes, definitely have her check for those, or at the very least the vet needs to. I can't believe that with numbers as high as Francis', the vet never checked. I suppose it's possible that he DID check and there just weren't any ketones and so he didn't mention it.

You're really being a trooper, Traci. I thought that there was a CT member or two but maybe I am just remembering you talking about where your mom's at. It's possible I am going senile.

 

Lucy and Oscar--Middlefield, CT
Robin and Peri--Guilford, CT
Tuckers Mom (Jennifer)--Milford, CT
Dawn and Mateo Wiggles & Toby--Northeast CT
Carolynn & Fletcher & Robbie--Northwest CT
Lucille & Emma--Hamden, CT

probably others, but those are the one I know/can find who have come over from the old Board.

 

Sarah and Venita-

Thanks for the names of the people in CT, that was very thoughtful of you to put together for me.

Here's the update: my Mom finally spoke to her vet about Francis's care. The vet said there is no protocol for PZI, they just look at the "whole picture". :roll: Vet said nothing about testing for ketones. Mom asked about Lantus and she said they don't use lantus. Period. She wants my mother the give him 3 units BID of PZI again (as opposed to the 3.5 which would have killed him probably) So she's going to look for another vet. As you know she's gotten help from an animal hospital ER. I'm going to research the place and the vet associated with it.

Also - my mother has developed mastitis, (which is an infection in her breast that came out of nowhere) that she is dealing with too. She had a doctor's apt tonight that got her home late and she gave Francis his shot 2 hours late. He was over 600 this morning and 5-something tonight. Poor Francis. She says he's eating and looks good though. Tough cat! Mom will have a ultrasound and mamo later this week. She's a breast cancer survivor so this is a little scary, though I doubt this infection has anything to do with cancer.

Sorry for the life story - but that's the update!!! Thanks for caring. :smile:

 

Sending positive vibes for your mom's health Traci.

 

The ER vets have been so helpful, I wonder if they could recommend a vet to her who is more diabetes-savvy? Probably not supposed to, but you never know. I wonder too if her health problem is stress-induced? I don't know anything about it, but my gut reaction is mama-bean stress. I hope things improve for her and Francis soon. I would be happy to put a "Anyone who can help in CT?" post on Community, but since you are a board regular yourself I don't want to overstep. But if there is anything like that we can do to help, just let us know.

 

Just wondered too where she is now with the dose (sorry if you said & I missed it)? If he is eating normally now (including dry food), 1u may not be enough. I'd hate to see him go the other way and end up with ketones. Not saying that is likely, but the 500s & 600s... well, you know already.

 

Thanks for the vibes and the offer to put out an SOS to the board. I used to live in CT so I know that none of the towns/locations listed are anywhere near her. I just can't see it happening right now.

Funny you mentioned the ER vet. That's what I said to her - "what about them?" I looked them up and I'm not overly impressed with what they have to say on thier website. Their way to treat feline obseity is to give a prescription diet and cut the cats calories in half:

"Change the pet food product to one designed for weight loss and containing:
- less than 360 kcal per 100 grams of food on a dry matter basis.
- between 7-12 percent fat.
- between 10-30 percent crude fiber.
- greater than 35 percent crude protein."

Holy crap! Imagine examining labels for this stuff????

They have a few sentences on diabetes, nothing too impressive.

And last but not least: "Try getting your pet to swim. Swimming is an excellent exercise for patients with orthopedic disabilities. Unfortunately, many cats hate water and swimming."

Okay ladies, gotta go! Boomer and I are headed to the pool! :roll: