Kali newly diagnosed

Kali is 12 years old, never been a big cat. She had an eye infection which she is prone to so a routine vet visit with blood work showed glucose level of around 500. We went on 2 units of lantana (?--that might be a plant) 2/day. Scared and anxious to get her the injections, she is wiggly like a worm. I think I'm getting the insulin into her. After not quite a week of this, she spent a day at the vet yesterday having the blood sugar monitored. It isn't working at all. So now we are upping the dosage to 3 units 2/day and running a test to rule out acromegaly (not too frightening!).

The good news is that her routines of daily life have shown no change, drinking was slightly elevated for a while but not alarmingly so, her appetite has been good, bathroom habits fine, everything else tested normal except for her grade II heart murmur which she has had for several years and her on-going dental disease which has not been addressed due to heart murmur and anesthesia fears. She did have thyroid cancer treated 4 years ago with radiation.

I'm sure I'm not alone in that I hate jabbing her twice a day altho she is so far tolerating it better than I expected. We changed from expensive prescription limited ingredient good to Fancy Feast as it is the only one that all three of my cats will eat (one cat is very fat but otherwise healthy and the other has allergies and kidney and heart issues--each of them should according to the vet be on a separate special diet but we live in a sort of open studio area and keeping food separate is virtually impossible).

Kidney cats need low protein diets. Fat cats need low calorie diets. Diabetic cats need high protein diets. I am going a little nuts trying to decide what is the best way to take the best possible care of all of them. I have kept myself together in order to inject Kali twice a day but if it is doing her no good, I am feeling very disheartened.

Thanks for listening.--Nora

 

Hi Nora, welcome. You're not alone in hating to jab your kitty twice a day, but as you're finding out, they really don't mind it, and the routine will get easier. You should also home test Kali. That will help you to know how low her glucose is going between shots without the stress (and expense) of going to the vet. Then set up a spreadsheet here(someone can help you do that, just ask). Also I understand why you haven't gotten the dental, but dental disease can also cause an increase in blood glucose, so you should discuss this with your vet. I have multiple cats too(15 total) so I know how hard it is to feed them all, but again you will find a routine that works for you. I'm having trouble regulating my cat, Colin, too. Next for him is a dental check and then Acromegaly testing. Scary yes, but everyone here has been so supportive that I'm doing a bit better, and therefore so is Colin. Good Luck, and keep us posted. BTW, would love to see a pic of your kitty!

 

Welcome Nora and Kali. Have you seen this website for kitties with kidney disease? http://felinecrf.org/ It is the best resource. Merlin has diabetes and Stage 3 kidney disease. Many of the cats here have both so we have to find food that will help both of those situations.

First thing you will need to do is start home testing yourself. You will need a human meter (most folks get Relion Micro, Relion Prime or Relion Prime - this one needs more blood but the strips are cheaper), strips and lancets (28 gauge). If you are switching over to low carb, wet food, testing is mandatory as with some kitties, it can drastically drop your BG numbers. With Merlin, his numbers dropped about 100 points.

The next thing that will help you and everyone here out is to set up a spreadsheet so you can start collecting your own data of Kali's BG level. By doing this you will not have to go to the vet to run BG tests to determine how much to give. You will be able to determine how much of a dose to give. It will keep Kali safe and will optimize your insulin. This spreadsheet will also help advisors here understand your kitty's dose direction. Our spreadsheet instructions are here.

Also, here is a homework assignment, in case you have not seen it yet. Great information is found on www.catinfo.org It is 18 pages long but packed with vital information.

 

Welcome Nora and Kalli.

I am new also. I can not offer much at this time. But on a thread I was reading someone said BREATH. So true, take a deep breath and breathe. What I have learned here is that there is always someone on line to help you. They go above and beyond. I felt they were standing next to me holding my hand into the wee hours talking me through step by step through my babies episode. To the person who mentioned "hypo kit" I have it now. My baby isn't new diabetic, I'm just his new owner who had no instructions. When things settle down you will have time to look through the topics and learn so much. As I said everyone is here to help, even if you just need to vent (I think there is a topic just for that). Keep the updates coming. We all love hear how well your doing. Paula

 

Hi Nora and Kali, welcome! Like Paula, I'm also new here, my Ivana was only diagnosed a few weeks ago. And like you, I also hate jabbing her. Infact, hubby and I have an 'arrangement' where I do the testing (because I'm more patient than him if I have to stab her more than once) and he does the injections (because he's in and out like a flash while I poke around looking for the perfect tent). The good news is that it definitely becomes a routine, and it definitely gets easier. Good luck working out the feeding situation with your multiple kitties, it sounds a bit tricky but I'm sure you will all be fine

 

Thanks, Sharon. 15 kitties!! How wonderful! You do have many to keep track of, I can't complain about 3 different dietary needs any more. '-) I hope your beautiful orange boy Colin continues to do better. I've had diabetes myself for about 10 years now and have periods of time where my numbers go haywire for no reason I can figure out, but I've been lucky enough to be able to manage with two oral meds and an injectable non-insulin pen which is much easier and less scary than the syringe. It's more stressful for me with my kitty as of course she can't tell me what she's feeling. I just want to do the best for her and my kidney boy, as I'm sure we all do. I appreciate your welcome.

 

Hi Cindy and Merlin. I'm afraid I'm a real dummy when it comes to technology, but I will try to figure out the spreadsheet. I'm sorry to hear Merlin also has kidney issues. I was following a support group for kidney cats which was very helpful to me, but then our vet switched us from kidney food to special diet for allergies. It's getting confusing because my understanding is that kidney cats need low protein, but diabetic cats need high protein. My other kitty is prone to struvite bladder crystals and the vets want her on another prescription diet altogether. My head is spinning!

I have a glucometer for my own blood testing and can probably use that for Kali, too, but I will double check with the vet when we go back next week.

I will go to felinecrf and cat info ASAP and put on my thinking cap. I'm grateful for the information!

 

Paula, I read your intro and was so impressed with your willingness to take on an older kitty with a serious issue. Smokey is so lucky!! Thank you for the advice to breathe!! I haven't been sleeping well and I've noticed headaches everyday…I'm sure I'm not doing as much breathing as I need! I need to find out what a hypo kit is. It might include a nice little "shot" of something alcoholic for me after Kali's injection. LOL Thanks for your words of welcome.

 

Hi Tara, Darryn and Ivana. You sound like a good team. I have a husband who is a cat lover, and despite not liking even to clip his own cat's nails, he has become expert at giving my cat his heart pills and asthma puffer when I'm ill! But I think asking him to take on the insulin task would be too much. It makes me so nervous I shake and feel a little sick afterwards. I'm very happy for you that you can work together!! I appreciate that you've taken the time to welcome and encourage me! I sure have a lot to learn.

 

Nora and Kali! Welcome! A hypo kit is: Plenty of test strips, high carb food (like Fancy Feast Gravy Lovers), Karo syrup, honey or pancake syrup. It is used if Kali goes too low after an insulin shot and you need to bring her numbers back up. Once the numbers are back in safe levels, it can definitely included an adult beverage for you!

 

Thank you!! LOL --Nora and Kali

 

I know what you mean about being so confused however you have already taken some great first steps in getting the knowledge and education you need to challenge, question and to make your decisions. What I have learned here is the importance for me to be in control of my kitty; not my vet or anyone else. The food and insulins that the vets prescribed sometimes are not the best. Many vets prescribe food for diabetic cats that are high in carbs. Some vets prescribe insulins that are not the best for cats. Soon and probably now, you have the knowledge to question what your vet does. I found that for kidney and diabetic kitties that there are better, more conducive commercial food out there. The vet's cat food are expensive and sometimes does the opposite of helping out the kitty.

 

Thanks Cindi. I have some friends who run a pet store and strongly recommend raw food for dogs and cats with all kinds of health issues and I'm tempted to explore that, but also nervous. Of course, the vets are very much against it and I worry that if I pursue that route, they might not be supportive as they don't really understand that course. For now I'd like to get Kali's numbers into a lower range and find an insulin which doesn't cost me almost $300 per vial. I have a meter of my own, but it's new to me (I lost my old trusty one and they don't make that model any more) and I don't care for it, so I'll be checking out the one you use. Support here is so helpful!! Nora and Kali

 

You may want to check into BCP PZI insulin which lasts about 12 hours in the cat and is reasonable in cost. It can come in different concentrations - U-40, U-50, and U-100 are listed- and refer to the number of insulin units in 1 milliliter (mL). Syringes for insulin are marked according to the insulin concentration, so U-100 syringes are intended to work with U-100 insulins. It is possible to measure quite small doses of a U-40 insulin by using a conversion table and U-100 syringes. Plus, in many states of the US, you can purchase insulin syringes over the counter.

 

Good to know. So much to learn!! So far Kali continues to appear content with good quality of life, but what is going on inside her remains a mystery to me. Her appetite is good, she is drinking less water but more normal amounts, and is tolerating the shots. She does pop under the bed once in a while when I come upstairs, but comes out once she knows she's getting her Fancy Feast.

I am going to have to overcome my own reluctance to test her at home. She has bald ears which are crackly on the edges due to alopecia and they are extra tender. She hates to have them touched. She's always been a very thin cat (she weighs just over 5 lbs. right now) so has little "extra" for me to pinch for the insulin injections. Having to poke her in her naked little ears just makes me want to vomit. It seems a lot to put a little scrap of a 12-year-old cat through. Sigh.

 

Hi Nora, you can also test Kali's BG using her paw pad. There are videos showing how on you tube. I hate doing it to, but remember it's to help Kali! Good luck

 

Hi Nora, and welcome. I know how your head is spinning. Just like mine was when I joined mid-June. Asking lots of questions is paramount for Kali's well being and you have come to the right place. I know how difficult the testing seems to be at first but, now I can feed 2 cats and 2 dogs and dose Bubba all in about 10 minutes. You will get very proficient at it and develop a routine. There are a lot of good videos posted here for testing and shooting insulin. I still ask a lot of questions. The best of luck to you and Kali and see you around the forum.

 

Thanks Sharon--that might be easier for me because of her little ears. '-)

 

Gosh, you've turned into a real whiz to be able to wrangle all your critters and include Bubba's dose in 10 minutes!! Takes me about that long right now to load the syringe…I am gathering info right now on glucometers, lancets, types of insulin, karo/honey emergency kits and so on to have at hand and will make some decisions next week after we see the vet for one more mid-way blood level test.

My dear friends who are animal lovers range in their responses from shuddering and saying Oh my god I could never do that to Time to put the cat "to sleep". In my fantasy, one of them would say I'll come over and help you hold her the first time you practice testing her, or something like that. It's scary territory. I'm very grateful I found you all!

 

Nora, I know exactly where your head is at right now, been there especially with friends and families responses. Most think I am nuts to go this measure with Bubba but, it's worth it to me! You will get really proficient at all this, I promise. I was the same way in the beginning, all thumbs. Eventually you will want to do all your own curves at home to 1. save lots of $$$ and 2. to get a more accurate reading as the cat's BG is higher at the vets due to stress . A lot of us here use the Relion Meter from Walmart; it is cheap and the test strips are cheaper than a lot of systems. You will be using lots of them so wherever you can save some $$ is a plus. When I found this site, I was also so grateful too. It is scary territory in the beginning. But like I said, ask questions when you need to. Someone is always online since members are from all over the world.

 

PS,when you start testing at home, have some Neosporin ointment with pain reliever to put a small dab on her ears after you test them. I noticed you said she has bald and cracking ears, the ointment will help soothe the test site.

 

Here's the link for BCP PZI.