My cat Storm newly diagnosed

Hello, We recieved our confirmation yesterday that our girl Storm has diabetes. It all started out three weeks ago with her just not acting right and having some diarrhea and a fascination with her rear. We took her in because she has had anal gland issues in the past and we just were not sure, but we knew something was off. The vet didn't find much other then her anal gland needed suppression, so they decided to do some blood work and it came back with an elevated glucose of 323. Not knowing if the elevation was for sure diabetes or the stress of being accosted at the vet, we didn't know what to do. We decided to get a second opinion and get a human glucometer and start testing. Unforntunetly, the human glucometer was showing much lower reading (150-178), so our vet thought the home readings although high, we're not high enough for insulin and ran some other test which eventually all came back negative. I wish the vet had calibrated our human machine to the one in their office so we would have known difference two weeks ago, but we went home with anitbiotics for two weeks for the bladder infection she got along with the continued fascination with her rear. We were good at giving her antibiotics, her bladder infection went away, and I kept testing her glucose, but she wasn't the same cat. I decided to go online and with all the confusion I have found on the internet about glucometers, I decided to purchase Alpha Trak and started testing two days ago and her sugar was averaging above 300. Ran to the a new vet with all my previous precious test results, my Alpha Track to get calibrated, and Storm to get more blood and urine samples. The Vet checked my Alpha Track to their glucometer and also tested her blood on their lab machine and it came back close to what the reading was in the vets office of 423, so they sent us home with Glargine and to inject 2 units after her set wet high protein can food. We took her sugar before eating and before her first injection and it was 433. We kept taking her sugar every two hours with a happiness we saw it going down very nicely. By 6 hours after her first injection she was at 157' so we went to bed and and when we woke up to take her sugar before her next feeding and injection, her sugar was 91. To make sure we were gettin a correct reading we took it again and it was 93. We honestly didn't know what to do, but since it was so low we didn't want her to get hypo, so we fed her and did not give her shot because it is so low. Amazingly enough, we didn't ask the vet what to do last night if the glucose readings are low or normal, but I know I don't want her to get too low. Of course it is Sunday and i have no one to ask anything. Im a total stress biscuit and and I'm trying to stay calm. This has been much to take in and would appreciate help or advice. PS.....we have a total of four cats. Storm is 11 years old and has a brother Xavier ( yes the Xmen series), an elder cat is 17 year old Simon, and our crazy 14 year old named BotBot. Storm is our first and only diabetic cat, so I'm having a hard time juggling the new diet for everyone, testing, and not knowing what to do. Thanks all for you patience.

 

Welcome to FDMB.

I'm glad you are home testing; that will help keep your kitty safe. Please don't give insulin when a pre-shot test is under 230 mg/dL on the AlphaTrak, until you have mid-cycle data, around +5 to +7 hours post shot, which show it will be safe (no lower than 68 mg/dL on an AlphaTrak). Wait 30 minutes without feeding and re-test, post and ask for suggestions if it isn't yet over 230 mg/dL. As you collect test data showing it is safe, you may gradually lower that no shot limit.

Check out the Glucometer Notes in my signature; these will help you understand the numbers from different types of meters and measurement systems (mg/dL, mmol/L, human vs pet glucometer).

What exactly are you feeding? If its a prescription diet, it may be higher carb than some inexpensive over the counter canned foods, such as Fancy Feast Classic pates and Friskies pates (except Mixed Grill). For excellent, vet-written nutrition info, pop over to Cat Info. There's a food list with breakdown of percent calories from protein, fat, and carbohydrate here. Anything less than 10 percent calories from carbohydrate is good for regular feeding.

Note that changing to a low carb, canned diet may drop the glucose 100-200 mg/dL and may drop the insulin dose 1-2 units. Because of this, be very cautious about food changes and do them slowly, so that you have time to adjust the insulin if needed.

Lantus is a good insulin for cats.

 

Thanks BJM...For the last couple weeks I have looking on the Internet before our confirmed diagnosis and found Dr Piersons site and her extensive cat food list. Storm has always been on a part wet and part dry diet prior to two weeks ago. Once I became suspicious, we decided to research food and since We have fed Tiki Cat prior and she likes it, we decided to get her on all wet and since she likes all the Tiki cat, we would like to keep going with that. I try to get her to eat mainly the shredded chicken, but for now I'm happy she is a wet food only (my other cats diet are the issue, but not important to the topic about Storm). She has been on the wet food only for about a week and a half prior to starting her first injection last night. I will check out your link for glucometers as I need all help I can get. We just took her glucose Two hours after eating NO injection and it is now 130. I'm going to try to get a hold of the vet since I don't really know what I'm suppose to do other then keep taking her sugar and see what it is at the next time I would give insulin. The things you don't know what to ask before leaving the vet on a Saturday night .

 

At 130 mg/dL on an AlphaTrak, no shot. And next dose should be reduced at least 0.25 units.
Ideally, you want a safe insulin dose which can be given twice a day and not take the cat too low.

It'll help us give you feedback if you add a few things to your signature.

Editing your Profile and Signature
In the upper right corner of the screen, within the dark blue bar, you will see ID, Inbox, and Alerts

Click on your ID.

On the left, under Settings, Click on Signature.
This is where you will put information that helps us give you feedback.
This is where you paste the link for your spreadsheet, once it is set up.
Add any other text, such as
your name,
cat's name,
date of Dx (diagnosis)
insulin
meter
any other pertinent issues like if there are any food issues, history of DKA, hepatic lipidosis, pancreatitis, allergies, IBD, etc.
Click the Save Changes button at the bottom.

There are other options there you may wish to edit, when you have time.

 

I think I filled out the signature correctly. Thanks for your time!

 

Welcome Sonja and extra sweet Storm! Sounds like sweet girl may just need food adjustment and no infection to get back on track! You're doing all the right things!

I suggest you poke around in the 'Main Health Forum' a bit to learn more exciting things about sugarcats. You may even post further questions and concerns there! There's lots of good info and will help get you started on the track to keeping her healthy.

Again, WELCOME to the best place you never wanted to be!

 

Thanks everyone. I couldn't get hold of the vet today so I was disappointed. I had to work some today so I haven't had time to go out to Google and fill out the curve chart the forums uses. Through the day her glucose would rise up until right before the pre-shot and meal value of 265. We fed her her food and decided to give her 1 unit. We tested her sugar 2 hours after shot and her glucose went up to 315. I wish I could have at least been able to talk to my vet and now I'm worried we have ruined everything. We are going to test again in an hour. I'm not a vet and I don't pretend to be one on TV either. Feeling way out of my comfort zone for sure.

 

In many cats, there can be a food spike about 2 hours after eating, especially when a cat is meal fed. This is normal. Some folks use a timed feeder of feed mini-meals to spread out the food impact and to reduce the workload on the pancreas at any one time. The cat's pancreas may heal with the support of insulin, although you'll always need to feed a low carb diet.

 

Also, the dose adjustments are based on the nadir, the lowest glucose post shot. This usually happens about +5 to +7 hours after giving insulin. You want that number to stay safely above 50 mg/dL on a human meter and above 68 mg/dL on a pet meter. (divide the numbers by 18 if you're using mmol/L). See my signature link Glucometer Notes for feline reference ranges and what they can mean.

 

Hi Sonia

I was wondering how things were going. The early days can be really rough as it is all so new and easy to feel out of your depth. It is great that you are home testing.

Has anyone mentioned the spreadsheet we use yet. It is a great tool to record and track you blood glucose readings. It's a google document that you can share with members so they can offer advice if need be. Here is a link to how you create one

http://www.felinediabetes.com/FDMB/...te-a-ss-and-link-it-in-your-signature.130337/