New here...Lisa and Lucky

Hi all!
I just adopted a sweet, 15 year old, black boy with diabetes from our local humane society. He's been home for a week, and we went right to the vet on our way home from the shelter. He had been eating Hill's dry M/D, and getting 3 units of Lantus twice a day. The vet sold us the canned version of both Purina and Hill's for diabetes (and of course a bag of the dry). She lowered the Lantus to 2 units twice a day, and I've been giving him 1/2 can + 2 Tbsp. of dry twice a day. We go back in next Tuesday to check his fructosamine and kidney values. He's doing well, but still getting hissed at by our other 3...

Should I be home testing his glucose level? Our vet didn't even mention that. And on a side note, holy smokes is Lantus expensive!!

 

I will definitely chime in here! Yes, Lantus is wayyy expensive. I have been home testing since the beginning, not quite two months ago. My mom had steroid induced diabetes for a while, and then a stroke, so I was giving her the insulin. I couldn't imagine giving it to my mom without knowing her sugar levels, and she could tell me when she felt strange. There was no way I wanted to give it to Shiloh without knowing.

I also had been feeding dry food to Shiloh, and switched to low carb dry (Evo), but she was still having high readings. I switched her to canned only, and saw an immediate difference! I'm sure the vet was well intentioned on selling you the Hills, but it is because they are given the Hard Sell by the food manufactures, and they have to know so much about so many different things, that alot do not really understand the nutrition aspect. Shiloh gets Friskies pates (all under 10 carbs). And I know it is only a little dry, but you would be surprised at how much a difference it can make. I'm sure some other more experienced members will chime in soon.

And bless you for adopting an older boy with diabetes!

 

Thanks, Rhonda!
I'm so glad to hear you feed Shiloh Friskies! I feed the rest of mine Fancy Feast classic. They love it! From the food lists I found, it looks lower in carbs than the Hill's M/D. Lucky really likes that, tho. I'm going to cut out the dry completely after tonight's dinner (since that was what he was getting at the shelter, I wanted to take him off gradually) , so tomorrow maybe I'll see if he likes the Fancy Feast.

I love my vet, but you are soooo right about their connection to the food companies, and the vast knowledge they have to have about so many different species. Why on Earth would we expect them to be experts in nutrition, too? I'm sure they rely on what the food manufacturers tell them to be true, and probably have very little time to research it on their own. I just cringe when I see a "Hill's Science Diet" sign in front of a vet's office!

Thanks so much for your insight!

 

And as far as the home testing? Is that something you are open to? Most of use human meters, I use a Reli-on Prime from Walmart. The meter is about $16, and the strips are $19 for 100.

 

Definitely! I watched a YouTube video of how to do it, and it doesn't look like a big deal. I had to give one of my cats with kidney failure subcutaneous fluids, so after that, this stuff seems like a piece of cake. I might go get those tonight...thanks!

 

Welcome to FDMB, the best place you never wanted to be.

There are 4 things you'll need to manage your kitty's diabetes:
- You - without your commitment, the following won't work.
- Low carb over the counter canned or raw diet, such as many Friskies pates. See Cat Info for more info. If already on insulin, you must be home testing before changing the diet.
- A long-lasting insulin such as ProZinc, Lantus, BCP PZI, or Levemir.
- And home blood glucose monitoring with an inexpensive human glucometer such as the WalMart Relion Confirm or Target Up and Up (the pet ones will break your budget!).

 

I'm definitely committed...one of the reasons I adopted this guy was that I knew I had the time and inclination to take good care of him. He's currently on Lantus, and I added canned food (albeit prescription...it's of course what the vet sent me home with) while decreasing the prescription dry they were feeding him at the shelter. Tonight is his last helping of that. I feed my other three Fancy Feast classic, so I'll try that with him tomorrow. I'll go buy the testing stuff tonight...when do I test him, and how often?

 

You'll need an inexpensive human glucometer, matching test strips, and lancets for alternate site testing (25-28 gauge)
ex Target Up and Up, WalMart Confirm or Confirm Micro

Testing:
1) Always test before giving insulin to make sure it is safe.
For now, your no shot level is 200 mg/dL on a human glucometer (230 for pet-specific); this will lower as you collect data around the middle of the cycle to know how low he is going.

2) Mid-cycle tests between shots - whenever possible, test around the nadir (lowest glucose level between shots) for your insulin, to see how low he's going. For Lantus, this often falls between +5 to +7 hours after the shot. Some folks do this on weekends or set a clock for the middle of the night to get this test done as it helps determine dose adjustments. This number should be at or above 50 mg/dL on a human glucometer (68 mg/dL for pet-specific).

3) A before bed test is helpful in determining if you need to break out some higher carb food and steer the glucose level or go to bed with some peace of mind. Steering means giving 1-2 teaspoons of high carb gravy, waiting 30 minutes, and re-testing (repeating as needed) to make sure the glucose stays above 50 mg/dL.

 

Welcome Lisa and Lucky! This is the place to be for great information, suggestions, and support for FD--as you can see from the info posted above. And blessings to you for adopting a diabetic senior kitty.

P.S. Lantus is way cheaper here in Canada, and I`ve heard that a lot of members order from on-line Canadian pharmacies. Hopefully, someone will chime in with more details. I have heard that there is a waiting list at one place, I think it`s called Mark`s Marine Pharmacy...not sure.

 

Mark's currently has a waiting list. There is another one you might try -77 Canada Pharmacy

 

Hi Lisa and welcome.

I think it is just wonderful how you have taken Lucky in - older cats have a hard enough time getting adopted, as do black cats for some reason (I have a rescue who is black like your Lucky) but also with diabetes? You are some kind of wonderful!

Just a couple of things from a newcomer's perspective - Lucky's new diet will probably impact his blood sugar readings in a positive way but as BJM said, always test before you inject. My girl Genghis was started on 2 units (albeit of a different kind of insulin) but the change in her diet had a huge effect and I have since lowered the dose after tracking her numbers and speaking to my vet.

If Lucky is on Lantus 2x per day, assuming 12 hours apart, try a reading just before his scheduled injection and feeding. Ideally he will have not eaten for about 2 hours before his pre-shot reading, but that isn't always possible I know! Just know that what and when he eats will affect his BG or blood glucose readings. Head on over to the Lantus area in the forums and maybe read up on this posting for more info - this outlines the SLGS (start low go slow) protocol - there is also tight regulation or TR outlined there - have a look at both and see what will fit for you. I know it can all look like so many numbers but using the spreadsheet here can really help understand how he is doing. You will find the home testing invaluable and it is much much safer for Lucky. My vet was very supportive about home testing - I just saved myself $200 doing Genghis' glucose curve at home - and many vets understand the home results will be more accurate since stress can raise blood sugar dramatically.

Speaking of stress, being in this brand new environment with 3 new cats who still don't know what this stranger is doing in their territory is all about must be tough on the old boy. I wanted to mention how I introduced my 2 rescues to my home recently. I always used to just chuck cats together and hope they worked it out - and eventually it did, usually after some degree of fuss - but for these 2 most recent, I did it much more gradually. It worked amazingly well - no hissing or issues from the resident cat or the newcomers. Let me know if you think it might be helpful and I can link you to some resources.

Welcome again!

 

Thanks so much for your kind words! He is getting his Lantus every 12 hours, right after he eats. I will get the home testing stuff today. I feed everyone canned, and my Momo (a boy after my own heart would eat everything in sight so I have a pretty controlled environment when it's mealtime.

Lucky came home a week ago yesterday, so I had him in our basement bedroom for a few days. There are French doors with glass down to the bottom, so he could see out into the family room, and his brothers and sisters could see in. He and I spent a lot of time snuggling on the bed with blankets and toys,mother I switched blankets with his siblings so they could smell each other. Then I opened the door off and on and let him wander out and them wander in win supervision

 

I wasn't finished...hit the wrong button. Anywho, I meant WITH supervision. And mostly the only one still having an issue is my Otis, whom I've had for over 10 years...if anybody else goes to the vet he treats them like a new cat when they get home, hissing and growling. He's always been kind of a little weirdo

I should mention I have 3 Feliway plugins going full steam

 

Lisa, you are obviously way ahead of me with your cat introductions - I'm embarrassed to say how often I bumbled through it so badly over the years.

Isn't that odd how cats react when one goes off to the vet? It's almost like, "Now just where have you been?? I remember that smell! Yuck." My older Siamese, whom I lost 2 years ago at 20, had to have the Hannibal Lecter hat of shame at the vet's - could do anything with him at home, but get him to the vet and he was Mr. Hyde. He was the worst for doing that growly, hissy thing whenever anyone else came home from the vet.

Good luck with your journey with Lucky. You really have my admiration and best wishes. Keep us posted!