Just diagnosed and very nervousI

Hi everyone. My name is Cathy and I'm the mom of a rescue cat named Myra. She is a senior cat altho it's a guess as to her exact age. She was dumped at the shelter and spent 4 years there waiting for ME! She has had multiple health issues since I got her including autoimmune stomatitis for which she was put on steroids once /month. She has been declining in health over the last month with skin issues ,lethargy, no appetite and was just diagnosed as having steroid induced diabetes. She has lost 3 lbs over last month and has no appetite. I was given insulin to give her after she eats but she won't eat! I am very nervous for her and am soooo glad I came across this site!

 

My name is Suzy. I am a nurse practitioner so lots of experience with human diabetes. My 16 yr old cat was diagnosed 4 weeks ago, so new to feline diabetes.
What is the blood glucose value? What kind of insulin was prescribed? Long acting Lantus? What is your starting dose? If glucose is very high ( over 300) and dose is 1 unit or less then I would give the insulin. Myra might eat a tasty (unhealthy) kitty treat . Did she have urine ketones at the vet?
When I signed in to this site I just wanted to share the information that I have no trouble at all getting urine specimen from my cat by just holding a urine specimen cup behind his rear when he is in the litter box. He almost goes on command when I place him in the litter box. I have been comparing the result of urine test against blood tests. He gets Lantus 3 units every 12 hours. He has not shown any signs of hypoglycemia, lowest reading 70. I gave him a couple cat treats just to be safe.

 

Hi Suzy! Her fasting glucose was 330. She had 3+ glucose in urine but no ketones. They gave her fluids at the vet because she was dehydrated. I was finally able to get her to eat 4 thin slices of the packaged Buttig turkey! I know it's high in Na but I was just so happy she ate! She took a few sips of milk which I know she shouldn't have but I wanted her to get something. I gave her 1 unit of insulin (Vetsulin). Suppose to give her 2 doses a day...but what if she doesn't eat? Vet told me to only give it to her after she eats but it doesn't seem like it could be regulated that way either. Where do you buy the strips to test blood/urine glucose? Are they 2 separate strips? What if the urine glucose is neg but blood is high? Do you still give insulin? I'm a med tech in hospital laboratory and am already driving myself crazy with all these "what if" questions and possible solutions! Ha I just got Myra out of her bed to get some stimulation...she has no energy...and I'm happy to see she is more alert and looking around. Do you know if just a high sugar would make her feel lousy? I'm so happy I found this site!! Thank you for your response !

 

Hi Cathy, glad you found us. What kind of food was Myra eating? You can try warming it a second or two in the microwave, and warm water to make it soupy, try a different flavor or a fishy flavor. Baby food meat with no onions or garlic in it. Maybe assist feed her. Contact vet for an appetite stimulant. It's important to get food in.
Was infection of any kind ruled out?

Thinking out loud for you.

Yes kitties feel lousy when glucose is high and when it's to low. You base insulin on blood glucose not urine glucose. You might want to check urine for ketones (dipstick) daily until she eating better and getting insulin regularly. You can get them at any pharmacy counter.

You are using Vetsulin correct? You give it 30 minutes after eating. It is a short term insulin, acts fast and will be out of the body before the next dose is given for most cats. So you want food on board before giving it.

Test before each shot to see what glucose is and it's safe to give. I have the impression your hometesting. If your not sure post and someone will help you. There are a few people here who use that insulin. I'm afraid I don't use that insulin anymore, so I can't offer advice whether to give or not.

Please ask any question that pops into your mind. Someone will have a suggestion or be able to explain things to you.

 

Hi Cathy and Myra. Welcome to FDMB. Sounds like your vet didn't give you much in the way of instructions except to withhold insulin if Myra doesn't eat. And that is an important point to remember especially with the insulin you are using. Vetsulin is a fast acting insulin that often doesn't last 12 hours in cats due to their fast metabolism. It can drop BG very quickly and steeply starting about 2-3 hours after the shot. Since Myra is not eating well, give her any kitty safe food she will eat at this point. I know you got her to eat some food but I'm not sure that what she took in would be the equivalent to a normal meal for her. It would be a good idea to get her to eat again around 2 hours post shot to ensure she has some food on board when the insulin starts taking effect.

We highly recommend home testing your cat using a glucometer. A human glucometer will work just fine and many folks here use one of the Relion glucometers available at Walmart. Testing is not hard and our kitties don't feel the little prick of their ear to get the sample. Most cats can be trained to come and sit still for a few minutes to have the testing done with the promise of a nice tasty treat afterward. We always test before giving insulin to ensure it's safe to give the shot. We also get some tests during each 12 hour cycle to see how low the BG is dropping on the current dose of insulin. Testing for glucose using urine test sticks, will tell you if BG is high enough to be spilling into the urine but it won't tell you if Myra's BG is too low to give a shot.

There are some folks on the board very familiar with Vetsulin and I encourage you to post any questions you have on the Health Forum HERE.

 

@Suzanne Kostenko

Not meaning to hijack Cathy's thread here but this is important information for both of you.

Some cats do not display classic signs of hypoglycemia and that is another reason why we strongly advocate home testing so insulin is not given unless it is safe to do so. General rule of thumb for those starting out is no shot with a BG of 200 or less unless ketones have been or are in the picture and those cases need to be dealt with on an individual basis. With time once you have some data, and understand how the insulin is effecting your cat, you can shoot at lower pre-shot BG readings. On a human meter any reading of 50 or lower is warning of possible hypoglycemia. On a pet meter, the alert number is 68.

@Cathy J. If Myra is not eating well tomorrow, I second Woodsywife's advice and contact your vet for an appetite stimulant. Cats cannot go long without eating as they can develop hepatic lipidosis. Lack of food and dehydration are also causative factors in the development of ketones. Both these conditions are very expensive to treat and can be fatal so do whatever you can to keep Myra eating. Myra is no doubt feeling poorly due to her high BG but the insulin could also be making her feel off. Her body has become used to the high BG and the insulin dropping her BG to better numbers is something she has to become re-accustomed to.

 

Hello and welcome. http://jfm.sagepub.com/content/17/3/235.full.pdf html

 

Great article. Thank you!

 

Myra is eating! Yaaaaa! She ate 1/4 can of Friskies and a few treats. Got her 2nd shot of insulin and is now laying in her bed cleaning her face! She seems more alert. And mama is happy!

 

Great news. Thanks for letting us know!

 

Thank you for all the great info. I'm going to Walmart this afternoon for a glucometer.

 

Wonderful Cathy! HERE is a link to some testing documents etc. to help you get started. If you need any assistance at all, just post in the Health forum and I guarantee you will be showered with tips and tricks to make you into a pro vampire in no time!

 

do you know everything to pick up Cathy?

 

Not really. Was just going to find home monitoring info and write down some things. I know I need glucometer and test strips......?

 

Thank you!!

 

So I just got home with the Relion glucometer,strips, lancets and feel so overwhelmed. Myra got her insulin at 7 am after eating some food and a few treats and is now pretty limp and groggy. I walked around with her to stimulate her a little bit. She seems disoriented. She drank some water and I was freaking out that her sugar may be too low so I let her drink a little milk. I'm soooo confused how to regulate this if she's not eating well. Do I let her nibble when I can get her to? Or do I wait on a scheduled time to feed her? Yikes.....I left vet yesterday thinking it would be easy enough to give her a shot 2x day without thinking of everything else that comes into play. I'm going to figure out the glucometer and then try to stick her. OMG!! I want to cry. I can't stand seeing her like this ..it breaks my heart.

 

Hi Cathy, take a deep breath, it's going to get easier. You've taken the first step in getting Myra on the road to recovery. Now that you're ready to start testing, you can start posting on the Health forum with your progress so we can all help you and sweet Myra along.

 

Cathy, this is all very overwhelming at the beginning but it does get definitely get easier. For now, while I would certainly try not to feed Myra two hours before her shots are due, so she hopefully will eat at shot time, I would free feed her any other time just to get her to eat. You can get on a "schedule" and proper diet once Myra is feeling a bit better and eating reliably. How long after the shot did Myra seem disoriented? As Sharon mentioned, it would be best if you start posting on the Health forum at this point so you can benefit from the vast experience of the whole group as this is really just our welcome mat and the number of folks viewing threads here is very limited.