Help!

My 8 year old cat has been newly diagnosed. His blood sugar was in the 600. Yesterday he had an all day monitoring at the vet. He ate food all day, which he hasn't done in months, and his sugar dropped to 300! He came home and ate a whole can of food! This morning he only ate three bites. I wrapped him in a towel and gave him his insulin. He layed on the couch all morning and didn't touch anymore of his food acting like his old sick self. I became panicked and took him back to the vet because I thought his sugar was low again. The vet said his sugar was normal. Help I can't afford to take him to the vet every time I freak out. Does a human glucose meter equal the same reading a pet meter does? Why isn't he acting normal if his sugar is normal?

 

I forgot to add at the vet office today he also ate more food.

 

@Tuxedo Mom can you help her?

 

Also Tamara, go to the health board http://www.felinediabetes.com/FDMB/forums/feline-health-the-main-forum.28/
. That's where many members hang out.

 

Hi Tamra;

Step one Breath.
Are you monitoring him? Yes a human meter works. Where do you live. If you are in the US the Reloin brand from Walmart works well. They do read a little lower then pet specific ones but are more affordable.

What food is he eating. Have you switched food. If yes and you know he will eat something else give him that. He needs to eat first, once he is eating you can deal with making changes that might be better for him.

 

Hi Tamra, Welcome to the best place you never wanted to be

I understand the diagnosis of feline diabetes can be overwhelming. I was in your shoes 5 months ago. My kitty Pimp is making a nice recovery thanks to the people here, and I've learned a lot!

We have guidelines for using human meters for pets. In fact, all of our insulin protocols are based on reading from human meters.

If you have one, you want your kitty to be above 50 at all times.

What's your kitty's name?

What kind of insulin is he on, and how much? How often does he get injected?

What kind of food does he eat?

If you can post a new thread in the feline health board with the answers to these questions, you'll get lots of help! Please also ask any other questions you may have in your new thread. We'll keep this one around so you can look back in a few months and see how far you've come

 

I haven't started monitoring him the vet has I just started injections yesterday with the vet he is on 3 units prozinc. In two days his sugar has went from 600 to 300. He didn't eat a lot this morning so I took him to the vet after he was so lethargic all morning but they said his sugar was fine. Will his paw be ok if I test there

 

His name is Morris. If he doesn't eat I should wait to inject him?

 

He gets injected twice a day.

 

If you test on the paw, use the large pad on the rear foot.

 

Yes either the paw or the ear. If you choose the ear heat it first. A warm ear is a bloody ear. (Fern has a rice sock nuked in the microwave for 20 seconds)

What value was taken at the vet? did they only tell you normal?

 

Hi Morris

Correct. With Prozinc, Morris needs to eat before he gets his shot.

 

Wait your vet started you on 3units of Prozinc. That is high to start.

 

Before insulin it was 600 at the end of the day it dropped to 300

 

Do I have to hit a vein in the ear?

 

No, but you want to be between the vein and the edge.

 

No, basically between the vein and the ear on the top back quarter of it. If you happen to hit the vein it's ok, just be prepared to stop the blood with a tissue, cotton ball. I'll see if I can find a diagram. Or I'll wait for Andy to find the diagram.

 

Hi Tamra, I would highly recommend you get a human glucometer and start monitoring ASAP. The 3u of ProZinc your vet prescribed is a really high starting dose. If Morris had a normal BG at the vet today and was eating there, it's quite possible that his BG was so low when you took him to the vet that he needed food to bring his BG up to a normal level. Cats generally have higher BG readings at the vet than at home. I'd really suggest you home test before giving any more insulin to Morris so you can see how it is working for him. There is a nature phenomenon where a cat will use their internal stores to raise their BG if it goes too low and then you will see high numbers. If you are not monitoring it's impossible to know if that is what's casuing those higher numbers. If Morris was going too low earlier today, he might be even more sensitive to the insulin now.

 

Also what band of meter are you using. Almost all are good for Morris but there is one brand here in the US that is dramatically off. I found out the hard way that the True Result was not giving me good numbers. My cheap generic brand from a local megamart works a lot better and is cheaper.

 

Tamra posted on Health. Maybe we can continue our discussion there.

http://www.felinediabetes.com/FDMB/threads/newly-diagnosed-help.152606/

 

Morris is at the vet tonight they tested him today as soon as he got there and his sugar was 300. I haven't started testing yet. I'm still concetrating on how to give the shots without traumatizing him. Morris is actually my moms cat but I am helping her because she doesn't have Internet and want her to not give up on the whole process. Thanks everyone for the help

 

How wonderful of you to give your Mom and Morris this help. We will try to answer any questions and help you.

When he gets home, you might concentrate in getting both of you used to the process. Decide where you want to test. Take him there, play with his ears, give him lots of praise and love and then a special treat and let him go. After a few times, add heating his ear, praise, pets and treat. By the time you add the poke, the idea is that he will be used to the process and be waiting for the treat.