My 28 pound baby

My cat (Tator) weighs 28 pounds. He has FIV and is diabetic (on insulin twice a day).
Does anyone have a chart for a cat on how many units he needs per gluclose reading? ie; he was 307 this morning so I gave 5 units, he was 180 last night so I gave 2 units of insulin. My vet said that since he weighs so much that 150 is normal. Basically, I feel like there is too much error in how many units I give him. Any help would be greatly appreciated

 

Beautiful babies. First I am just a 2 month newbie ok so no advice Welcome to the best place to help your boy Tater..The more info you have the better like what kind of insulin.Are you home testing when was he dx.What does he eat dry or wet or both..Read the little stickers lot of info there. Put Advice ,Help or Dose in the subject line to get more help ok . My 17 lb Trey is on his 3rd day off insulin but you have to be very strick with what they advise you to do ok..They are great and shhh know more then most vets when it comes to diabetes in cats. Good luck....Just to let you know I was a wreck the first 2 weeks now piece of cake .... :lol: :mrgreen: Kath Hope this helps

 

Insulin is not dosed by weight. Every cat responds differently to a dose of insulin. Also, depending on the insulin, you should not adjust the dose from shot to shot. Many insulins such as Lantus, Levemir and PZI, you need to keep the dose consistant for at least a week to give the body a chance to respond to it.

How long has he been on insulin and what kind? Also, what dose have you been giving him? It is possible that he is experiencing a rebound and that is what is keeping his glucose readings high. This occurs when the insulin dose is too high and in order to protect the body from becoming hypoglycemic, the body produces extra glucose.

 

Wow, thank you for the advice. I wish that my vet would have told me this. Tater has been on insulin for almost 3 years. He was a stray that I found 6 years ago. he had a broken leg and was so malnurished that his hair was off white and there was hardly any gray on him. Once I got him well his coat turned so beautiful... he looks like a snowshoe and he's so sweet! I hate that he has to go thru so much. just 2 months ago he had surgery for two big cancer growths on his back. he did it totally awake. he is such a great kitty. he is so sweet when I get blood from him twice a day and he's great about the insulin shots. he only has one good ear to get blood from. he must have been a tough alley cat because he's covered in scars and one ear is so bad that there is no way to get blood from it. I'm bragging too much about my baby, sorry! I just really love the big baby and I want him to feel better. Any help is greatly appreciated!!!
he is on humlin insulin. below is a chart that shows how random is count is. I just wrote a few weeks from 2 years back to now. I do check it his blood every 12 hours and give him insulin. he doens't eat that much. he eats both wet and dry and I stay away from high carbs cat food. I just don't know what to do and my vet says I'm doing everything correctly but I know that I can make him feel better. It breaks my heart when he falls asleep with his head in the water bowl.
11/11/08 489 3units 10 am 01/09/09 85 0 units (vet said he's in remission & just check once a day) 01/31/10 168 6u
11/11/08 "HI" 3units 10 pm 01/25/09 99 0 u (vet said to check once a week) 2/22/10 164 6u
11/12/08 560 3 units 10am 03/16/09 109 0u 03/07/10 66 0u
11/24/08 "HI" 5 u 10am 06/15/09 113 0u 04/17/10 237 5u
11/24/08 "HI" 5u 10pm 7/13/09 560 8u (found Tater asleep in water bowl) 05/17/10 251 4u
12/06/08 507 8u 9am 7/15/09 "HI" 8u 06/17/10 154 1u
12/06/08 581 8u 9pm 7/16/09 219 6u 07/01/10 240 3u 195 3u
12/24/08 173 8u 9am 7/26/09 288 6u 07/18/10 249 4u 214 4u
12/24/08 180 7u 9pm 7/31/09 121 6u (hate to give him that much when his sugar isn't so high but vet said to) 7/29/10 183 2u 304 6u
01/01/09 85 0u 9am 8/30/09 160 6u (went to different vet & she said to dose per what his reading is) 07/30/10 189 2u
01/01/09 87 0u 9pm 01/14/10 118 0u

 

I hand write Tater's blood values but since I found this site I may start using the computer and a better chart. Does anyone have a chart/spredsheet? I think that he does need a steay dose b/c just reviewing his logs, it does seem as if it worked mush better that way. Wow, thanks so much for that advice. What level should he be on? when yesterday he was 183, last night 304 and this morning 189? And what is the best dry and wet food? I do have another cat that is way too skinny (he can't gain weight) so I have to feed him alot and often. Sorry for the information overload, I'm just so excited to have found this great BOARD!

Dawn

Picture of Tater one month after we rescued him from the streets;

 

What a beautiful boy! Welcome to the board! Just wanted to add my welcome to everyone else. This is absolutely the best place. Right now I can't find the link to how to set up a google spreadsheet but I'm sure someone will be along shortly to link if for you. Also glad to see someone with a kitty bigger than my 22 lbs of love Bert...lol

Mel And Muse (GA)

 

Here is the spreadsheet most of us use: viewtopic.php?f=6&t=18207

Here is Janet and Binky's food chart: http://www.felinediabetes.com/diabetic-cat-diets.htm We try to stay between 8 - 10% carbs and feed seafood only once or twice a week.

You are doing a great job of learning about this disease and how you can help your kitty. It won't be long before you know a lot more than your vet, and maybe you can start teaching him! One thing that would help you know exactly what the insulin is doing is to find his nadir (the lowest point the insulin takes him during the cycle). With many insulins, that is around 6 hours after the shot. So take some tests at +6, the next day +5 etc. until you begin to see a pattern. We really base our dosage amounts on the nadir, not the preshot. (Although it is always important to do a preshot number to know if it is safe to give insulin.)

Keep asking questions and reading. You are doing fine!

 

Welcome to FDMB, you've gotten a lot of good advice already. You can link the spreadsheet to you signature if you post it on Google docs, then others can look at it to give advice. I'm not familiar w/ Humulin, there are forums for the different insulins and you might try going there for advice on Humulin.

The best thing you can do for your beautiful baby is get rid of the dry food. There is no dry food that is low enough in carbs on a dry matter basis for a diabetic cat, actually for any cat. Dry food is a major suspect in causing diabetes in cats.

There is so much information here that many of us fo into overload when we start. Just keep reading, you'll soon know more than the vet about FD. One link I found through this site is invaluable on learning about cat nutrition http://catinfo.org/ If you can get a copy of Dr. Elizabeth Hodgkins book "Your Cat: Simple Secrets to a longer, stronger Life" you will find more great info.

Good luck, Tater is adorable.

 

TATER and I appreciate you all so much for your caring advice and support! Thanks, Dawn