Newbie

Hi, I'm a newbie to this forum and my cat Vegetable was just diagnosed today with diabetes. I'm in shock and trying to come to terms with the diagnosis.

Vegetable is my fur baby, she is about 13 and we have had her since she was a baby.

 

What did the vet suggest going forward? Insulin? Diet?

 

Welcome to FDMB.
It certainly can be a shock! You can handle this, though, or you wouldn't have come here.
If you've started insulin, which one are you using and what dose?
If not, pop over to Cat Info and start reading! A change to low carb canned or raw, over the counter food may drop the glucose 100-200 mg/dL and drop the insulin dose 1-2 units (that saves money!)

 

Vegetable started on 1 unit twice a day of caninsulin. We took her to the pet store & got her some new food from the list & after only a couple of days she is already doing better!! In fact thisornimg her blood sugar is at 8.4 or 151 and now I'm not sure if I should give her the morning dose of insulin since she's doing well today. I've been testing her blood sugar at home with my testing kit, we make a good pair both of us I have type 2 diabetes. Her sugars are coming down nicely & she is defiantly feeling better, you can see she is starting to get back to her old self again.

 

Do you know how low she is going?
If you don't, and can monitor today, shoot, and be prepared to intervene with high carb gravy or syrup. You'll want to test around +3 to +4, which is when the shorter acting insulin in the mixture is likely to hit its lowest glucose level.

 

Can we get you started using our grid to record your glucose tests? It will help us give you better feedback. Instructions are here.

Understanding the spreadsheet/grid:

The colored headings at the top are the ranges of glucose values. They are color-coded to clue you in as to meaning.

Each day is 1 row. Each column stores different data for the day.

From left to right, you enter
the Date in the first column
the AMPS (morning pre-shot test) in the 2nd column
the Units given (turquoise column)

Then, there are 11 columns labeled +1 through +11
If you test at +5 (5 hours after the shot), you enter the test number in the +5 column
If you test at +7 (7 hours after the shot), you enter the test number in the +7 column
and so on.

Halfway across the page is the column for PMPS (evening pre-shot)
To the right is another turquoise column for Units given at the evening shot.

There is second set of columns labeled +1 through +11
If you snag a before bed test at +3, you enter the test number in the +3 column.

We separate day and night numbers like that because many cats go lower at night.

It is merely a grid for storing the info; no math required.

 

Thanks for the reply! I just finished posting the question in another section.

I will defiantly get going using the grid!!!

I'll give vegetable her shot now. It's a little late but I had to be sure I wasn't doing her any harm before I gave it to her.

 

Hello and welcome to you and to Vegetable.

A diagnosis of feline diabetes can come as a shock at first. But it will soon get easier, honestly; especially given your own experience of diabetes.

Well done for homestesting Vegetable.
If you're switching her to lower carb food do monitor her blood glucose carefully. As BJ said above, switching to lower carb food can reduce the blood glucose quite a bit in some cats.

For those new to dealing with feline diabetes we recommend that no shot is given if the blood glucose prior to the shot (the 'preshot') is less than 11 (200). That is to allow some buffer of safety while you work out how the insulin is working in the kitty's system.

Caninsulin can drop the blood glucose quite fast in some kitties. For that reason it can be helpful to feed a snack or mini-meal an hour or two after the shot (depending on when and how fast your kitty starts to drop).

Do ask any questions that you want to. We're here to help.

Best wishes,

Eliz