Little concerned about behavior..Hope it is just settling in

Probably nothing but I need a little reassurance we are on the right path...This Morning at 6:30 Muse was ravenous wolfed down a full 5.5 oz can of A/D gave her 2u at 8:30 as I'm trying to get her on a 8am-8pm schedule to match the mealtime of her housemates. Gave 2 because she was gulping water this AM. Most of the morning she was she was fine. After breakfast gave refilled the food dish with a couple of cans of Fancy Feast Elegant Medleys Shredded Turkey with Garden Greens, she has been nibbling ever since but not ravenous as she was in the morning. She is not wolfing down water seems to be drinking normally but she is camping in the bathroom where the food & water dishes are and seems to be sleeping a lot. She is alert and responsive when I go in the bathroom she will get up and come over to me for pets. She seems to be walking fine when she is up and even started grooming herself this morning (something she was doing before the vet). Could she just me worn out for the hospital stay? Or is this just because she is still high in BG? SHe did come home from the vet with a bg of 311. Should I give 1u or 2u on her evening shot?

Mel & Muse

 

Unfortunately the only way to get a good answer to your question is to hometest. Have you tried it yet? Is there someone nearby who could help the first time? The vet who contributes to this site compares giving insulin without hometesting to driving down the freeway with a bag over your head. I like the analogy. You can only guess what is going on until you have some numbers. 311 is not super high, particularly when you factor in vet stress.

Her lethargic behavior could be because she is too high, too low or just tired from the vet visit. Now that you have the food and insulin on board, you have to hometest. Here is my favorite site: http://www.sugarcats.net/sites/harry/bgtest.htm If there is any way you can get a number before this evening, we could help with the dosage in a more meaningful way because at least we would know if it is safe to give insulin.

 

Wish I could home test atm but no go...no meter yet but I'm beginning to think she was just hot and the bathroom floor being tile was cool...Once I turned the AC and got the house temp down to 73 she and the rest of the kitties perked right up..She always has been a slow easy going girl...I guess surviving two hurricanes without front claws and on her own makes her not in a hurry to do anything...She is helping me crochet at the moment, she is batting at the yarn as I work,so acting much better. But to be on the safe side I think I'm gonna only give 1u tonight when I shoot. Rather high than low. Everything else seems to be normal now that the house is cooler. I hadn't realized how warm it was getting in here since my office has a ceiling fan and stays cooler than anywhere else. It was nearly 80 in the rest of the house by the time I noticed, beginning to feel like a worry wart. I guess I would be chillin in the coolest part of the house too if I was wearing a fur coat.

Mel and Muse

 

One unit sounds like a good plan. Your earlier posts indicate you are waiting for a newbie kit and your mom is a diabetic? If you get nervous, you can always use your mom's meter and strips, just to get a base reading.

Yes, once we realize they are diabetic, we worry about every little thing. Normal behavior on the part of a sugar mom.

 

Glad it is normal to worry this much. I'm still kicking myself that I let her get this bad before figuring out what was wrong with her. And Unfortunately Mom is out of state this weekend with her meter. (sigh) So for now I'm playing it safe and using the less is more theory. Although my neighbor who is a CNA said she would be home tomorrow if I get really nervous she said she would bring her meter over to check her for me...But as of just a little while ago she is eating about liek she was yesterday..And now when she is asleep it looks more like a normal catnap then like she is completely exhasted. (curled up in a ball rather than stretched out on her side). And right after her pm shot she did grab Angel the 6 month old kitten and give her a good tongue bath...lol So guess we are okay just still pretty weak from being an idiot and not figuring this out sooner.

Thanks Again

Mel and Muse

 

Finally got a hold of a borrowed meter this morning while chaos rained (full story in Community). Even with stressed out mom, pregnant hormonal neighbor and 2 vomitting droolers and at the Vet's. She was a champ on the ear prick and I got blood on the first try...AMPS at 6:30 am this morning amid chaos she came in at 285 with only 1u given last night at 8pm. Not completely sure but without being able to test her yet to get a curve I'm guessing that's a good number considering all the stress.

Long story short- Mine and the next door's neighbor's dogs were poisoned this morning. Everyone is fine and Humans are still mostly sane =)

Mel & Muse

 

Sounds like a frantic morning. Hope things will improve! The 285 is a very respectable number for this early in the game. Now the interesting thing will be to see how low the insulin takes her during the cycle, before the pm shot.

I am not sure what kind of insulin you are using. With most insulins, the lowest point of the cycle (the nadir) is anywhere from +4 - +7 hours after the shot. (PZI is closer to +6 in most cats, N is closer to +4 in most cats) If you are up for it, you can take a reading at 2 hours after the shot, then 4, then 6, then 8. If that is too much, try for somewhere around +5. Regardless, start keeping your info on a spreadsheet. That will help you and us see the pattern of her insulin use.

Here is the spreadsheet info: http://felinediabetes.com/FDMB/viewtopic.php?f=6&t=16

You guys are doing great!

 

Well can't check tonight since had to wrangle the meter off the ER Vet (we had words..lol) But mom will be back tuesday and if ours isn't here yet we can use her extra one for awhile. Done a couple of things after reading I think just about every post here when I found the boards...All dry food is gone including the droolers ( Her housemates are cheering). Anything she can possible get into such as bread has been put under lock and key. (she can open doors so is literally under lock and key). Wet food is down all the time mainly because Amon Ra panics if he can see the bottom of the bowl..lol And if you ever met a panicing siamese screaming his head off you will understand NO EMPTY BOWL. And I'm slowly switching her to lower carbs even in her wet food and reducing the per vet 2u down to 1u unless she is really wolfing down water. btw she is on Novolin N. I am so blessed to have such a sweet and easy going sugar kitty...she is taking this all in stride without so much as a meow.

Mel & Muse

 

That all sounds great. The lo carb food may make a big difference which is why we would like you to be hometesting. When we changed Oliver from dry food to wet, his bg levels went down 100 points overnight. If we had just been giving the same amount as the day before, we would have given him too much.

N is a difficult insulin to regulate with and we will be urging you to try another, longer lasting, gentler insulin. But for now, here is a primer on N: http://www.felinediabetes.com/phorum5/r ... 241,831241 One of most important things is to have food on board when you give the shot as N can hit hard and fast in terms of bg levels.

You might want to check out the Insulin Support groups on the site and read the stickies at the top of each page. They will give you good info on each insulin. The most popular insulins are Lantus, Levemir and PZI as they are gentle and last 12 hours in most cats. viewforum.php?f=5

 

She goes back in to her vet on Wednesday for a check up and I'm gonna see if they can switch her to Lantus, for a couple of reasons. First because I like the results I have seen here on kitties using it and it would be the same insulin my mom uses, and she loves it, she was also orginally on Novolin herself and didn't like the roller-coaster ride either.

I'm lucky I have an excellent vet so I'm pretty sure if I ask for a switch I'll get it.

Mel & Muse