My cat loves everyone

Hi everyone,
I was refered to this page for some help.
My black cat is anywhere between 12-16 years old. I took him to a vet 2 months ago. He has FIV. His blood glucose was 398. They wanted him on insulin but didn't have syringes in stock so after a week I then took him to an emergency vet clinic who gave me Prozinc and said I should give him 3units every 12 hours with wd and md dry food combined and out for him to eat 24/7 and feed him wd/md wet food combined at the time of injection.

For one more week i fed him the food and he went from being 14.73lbs to 17.8lbs. I then began giving him the insulin because at the end of that week the vet took his glucose and said it was in the 600s but didn't show me the reading. After the past 2 months following exact directions and food schedule, the vet wants to curve him but I can't afford to pay what they are asking so I bought a glucose meter Alphatrack 2. I tested by pricking his ear. After 13 hours of no shot his blood glucose was 542. After being given a shot I tested the next day 7 hours after being injected with insulin and the blood glucose was at 569 and at 12 hours it was at 609. This entire week I decided to feed him Tiki cat wet food while still injecting and keeping out the hills wd and md dry food. I am just wondering if he is actually diabetic before I started injections and how do I get the diabetes into remission?

 

http://www.felinediabetes.com/FDMB/threads/fdmb-spreadsheet-instructions.130337/

This is our instructions for the spreadsheet like you see in our signatures.

To set up a signature click on your name at the top right corner and choose signature. Add info such as your pets name, date diagnosed, insulin type, which meter you're using, food you're feeding and any other health concerns such as the five.

Normal on a pet meter is 68-150 so he is definitly diabetic with numbers over 400.
So glad you're testing at home.
Make sure you test before each shot and try to get a mid cycle number when you can.

 

Hey Tony!! Glad to see you over here from the Facebook group!!

Unfortunately, you've been given a lot of bad advice from the veterinary community.

First, the "prescription" foods are way too high in carbs (that W/D is actually marketed as a "weight diet" that's supposed to help pets LOSE weight....as you can see with yours, it's B.S.)

The Tiki Cat is much better, but if you're concerned about costs, you can feed something like Fancy Feast Classics or Friskies pates that are under 10% carbs, easy to find and affordable.

Next, the Alphatrak is a fine meter, but it's expensive to use, especially when you test multiple times a day like we suggest here. Most of us use the Relion Prime from WalMart. The strips for the AT can be about $1 EACH....the Relion Prime strips are $17.88/100....a LOT cheaper!

The main difference is the point at which you "take action" (to keep them safe from hypo's)...On the AT it's below 68....on the Relion (or any human meter), it's below 50

It's totally possible that you're also giving too much insulin. Just because their blood glucose may be at a higher number doesn't necessarily mean they need more insulin. Most cats end up requiring less than 2U!

Most cats should start at 1U....then you test to see how they're responding and increase as necessary...but we only increase by .25 at a time. Cat's are tiny creatures.....a tiny bit of insulin can make a huge difference in their numbers.

Please come over to the Health Forum and continue asking questions. There's lots of great people here who want to help!!

By the way, what's your kitty's name?

 

Hi and welcome to FDMB. You are in the right place to learn about effective diabetic treatment for your black kitty that loves everybody. He sounds like a wonderful companion.

Janet provided information about creating the signature (this is to prevent us from asking the same questions, and you having to answer, repeatedly.)

The spreadsheet is going to let you, and us, see how the insulin is actually affecting kitty. We advise testing before every injection, to be sure the blood sugar is high enough, and help prevent any hypoglycemic events. We also like to see tests at different times during the cycle between shots, to see how low the BG (blood glucose) goes.
Here is a link on understanding the spreadsheet grid:
http://www.felinediabetes.com/FDMB/threads/understanding-the-spreadsheet-grid.156606/
It's pretty cool, actually, to be able to see the color coded ranges that your cat's BG is in.

Then I suggest you visit the Prozinc insulin support group forum HERE, and start reading the Beginner's Guide and Protocol for Prozinc. This is going to be immensely helpful to you going forward with treatment. You do not have to spend money you don't have for a curve at the vet, you can do this yourself with much less stress for your cat while providing much more reliable testing information.

I am concerned with the starting dosage of Prozinc, 3 Units twice a day is a big dose. Testing before each shot and getting as much testing done in the cycle is going to provide the information the experienced Prozinc members needed to be able to advise you on dosage. If you get that testing info, record that data and post in the Prozinc forum, you will definitely get the help you are looking for.

FYI, most of us use a human meter because of cost and availability of strips. The AlphaTrak2 is a very good pet meter, but the strips are about $1 apiece, and sometimes cost is a factor in how much testing you can do. I got a human meter because of cost, and I kept the AlphaTrak2 for back up.

 

Thank you for this information and helping me.

 

Hi Thank you for offering your help. I am going to try to figure out how to set up the spreadsheet now.

 

Hi! Thank you for sending me this info. I am so happy to be here for support. I feel so alone in this as I am trying to do my best to help him...

 

Does anyone know how I can lower his dose from 3 units?... should I just give him 2.25 units instead even though his last BG was 560 a couple nights ago?

 

if you need some help, send me a private message by clicking on my name and choosing "start conversation"....only takes about 30 seconds once I have some information

Come over to the Health forum to ask questions....this forum is just for basic introductions but we won't be able to be a lot of help until we can start seeing some test numbers on the spreadsheet (or you at least list them)

 

Thank you I am going to try and do this now.

 

Chris will set it up for you if you want

 

My Kitty does love everyone. Yes he is such a loving companion... he came in off the street almost 7 years ago and he has been nothing but a kind and protective, affectionate soul every since. I let him be indoor/outdoor up until the past 2 years and he would make friends with all the neighbors and neighborhood cats. He is always there for me and follows me around everywhere I go inside or outside. I started leash training him 2 years ago too and he is great at it! He really has a strong connection with anyone he encounters and I have been telling him about all the wonderful people on this forum trying to help him. I know he appreciates all of you...

 

Isn't it amazing how versatile these little furry people are? I wish we could train Idjit to a leash..it's been hard enough just to get him used to wearing a collar, and if you hang tags on it...well, he can't seem to figure out how to walk with that going on. So it goes.