Please look at Squeak's SS

Would you guys look at Squeak's SS? Since dropping below 30 night before last, I have not given him any insulin. Not been able to talk to the vet. He is eating well, looking and acting great- better than since before he was diagnosed with diabetes.

I wanted to switch to Lantus today, but am not doing anything until I get some input. Have not been able to reach vet.

 

If he goes over 200 mg/dL, you might start with a very low dose of 0.5 units - the effect of Lantus builds up over 5 days at the first dose level.

Do pick a time you can shoot every 12 hours.

Better too high for a day, than too low for a moment.

 

Hiya Cathy,

Your Squeak is quite young to be diabetic. Has he had any steroid treatment recently? (Just wondering because steroids can trigger diabetes).

Eliz

 

Hi again, Cathy,

Just had a look at Squeak's SS. It looks like his little pancreas is really putting in some work there producing some insulin of it's own.
I'm just wondering what effect it would have if you lowered the carb content of his diet...?

Just going to look back through your posts for more of your story.

Edited to add:
Checked back though your posts, Cathy, and see that Squeak has been off his food since his diagnosis - although seemed to be better without insulin. Is that still the case? How is his appetite now? Is he eating OK?

Eliz

PS. I am just amazed at what you are doing (caring for all the animals in your household.) That takes phenomenal commitment and effort, and a very compassionate heart. Bless you for caring like you do!

 

Thank all of you for your replies.

Squeak's 9Lives is a low carb isn't it? I know the ham is not good, hoping to find a better treat and also to know when he is not eating that is one thing he will eat. He only gets it after a shot or now twice a day after a test- very small, thin slices that had less carbs and sugar than turkey.

Since he has been off the insulin he eats very well. He is happy, active, has an appetite, and talking.

No Squeak had not had any steroids. He has always been very healthy. Literally, he had been neutered and 2 years ago had a little blackhead type thing on his chin that was popped and immediately better. He has very long and thick fur.

I did hear back from the vet and he recommended I continue as is unless he goes over 200. So he has not had any insulin for over 48 hours and last test was 144.

I welcome any opinions and advise.

 

Hi Cathy,

I see Squeak's blood glucose rose and you gave some Vetsulin.
Maybe his little pancreas got tired and needed a break. It had a very good run though!
It'll be interesting to see what that 2 units does. (I'm guessing you'll be keeping a very close eye on Squeak!)

I don't know the food you feed (I'm in the UK) but it's probably on Dr Lisa's food charts here (so you can check the carb content):
viewtopic.php?f=14&t=88162

A little bit of ham should be OK. We do what we have to do! :roll:
And in fact adding plain meat to the diet can a good way of further reducing the carb content (if that is needed).
I understand that around 20% of the diet can be comprised of plain meat as long as the normal food provides all the needed nutrients (and any decent canned food should do this.) Some folks add cooked chicken to canned food.

Giving a cat small/snack meals (instead of fewer larger meals) can help to encourage the pancreas to recover by giving it a little bit of work to do, but not so much that it's overwhelmed at any one time.

I'm really glad to hear that Squeak is feeling and acting better. :smile:

Eliz

 

When I am home and he is feeling like himself, he grazes. Always the 9lives super supper-wet. I can let him into a sep. room where I keep a dish for him.
If he wants the Whiska's Tuna Entree- wet- it is out in the kitchen all the time for all of them.
He is feeling very good and interested in food. It is a joy to have him back to more of a normal state.
Thank you for your reply. I am in the US, in Eastern Time.

 

I am very happy with the way Squeak's bg has been going. Not using insulin very often.

 

Looks like Squeak is getting some nice low numbers. Perhaps he's headed for remission.

Keeping our fingers and paws crossed that he continues to do well.

 

He is looking quite good. But I am worried he isn't eating much. How much would you say he is eating each day?

If he can stay 50-130 for two weeks with no insulin then he is in remission. You can help with this by giving mini meals through the day instead of big ones since big ones stress the pancreas.

If he goes over 130 though you might want to consider a small dose of insulin.

Wendy

 

I don't think he is eating a can a day. He has his food available from 4 pm-6am. The other food- that all of the cats eat- is available at all times. He could be eating some of it, but I have no way to know if he eating it or not.

His food is 9Lives Super Supper. The other food is Whiska's Purrfectly Fish Tuna Entree.

 

Readings are still great!

 

How's his appetite? Still not eating much or improving?

 

He is not eating very much. He kinda just pushes the wet food around with his tongue. He did eat some wet food out of my hand this morning. He is always more interested when I am with him and encouraging him to eat.

We found some ham with no carbs or sugar and he doesn't like it very much- only eats half a slice. Not sure if it is the ham or he just doesn't want any.

He acts good and seems to have lots of energy.

He could be eating the Whiska's wet food that is out all of the time.

 

Still concerned that your Squeak really isn't eating much.

When I fostered Wink from the shelter, he was a dry food addict. It was difficult to get him to eat any wet food at all. I kept trying different flavors and found out he hated anything with fish but loved the Turkey & Giblet flavors. Over time, he started to eat other flavors.

One trick I used pretty successfully to get him to eat more, was to crumble a freeze dried chicken treat on top of the food. He would do most anything to get a taste of those Halo Liv-a-lot Freeze Dried chicken treats.

Have you tried doing something like that?

Or tried some of these other ideas to get him to eat more?

Usually an unregulated diabetic kitty is very, very hungry.

 

Thanks Deb- this is what I have tried

- forta flora -- a probiotic you can get at vets or online. is very smelly and cats love the taste of it. - yes
- parm. cheese - yes
- smashed crumbles of dry food - doesn't want any dry food at all

- poor a little water from tuna in water over food ( I use low sodium/no sodium added as other kinds in water has veg. broth in it and I assume that means onions, which are toxic to cats-- check labels)- tried tuna and mackerel


- deli turkey /chicken- yes- he loved turkey lunch meat, but it had quite a bit of sugar and raised his numbers so I went to ham and have found a no carb/sugar sliced ham lunch meat- he varies on whether he wants it or not- the ham is his treat after a stick
- plain cooked ( boiled or baked ) chicken breast- interested one meal- same with baked chicken liver- also tried raw

- chicken broth -- low sodium - no interest

tried about a dozen wet foods and so far the 9Lives Super Supper is the only one he will consider. I have made scrambled eggs, boiled eggs, and all kinds of people stuff, if he will eat it then he will have it once and no more. Everything is tastier if it is on my finger or in my hand.


He varies wildly on his appetite. One 12 hr period he ate 3 cans, other 24 hours he doesn't even eat one.
He has always ate loads and loved everything. It is just since he had the fever and was diagnosed with diabetes that he has been this way.

I appreciate your help.

 

Nice numbers, Cathy!

So, is that no insulin for 5 days now?
Keeping fingers and paws crossed that Squeak goes into remission.... nailbite_smile


Eliz

 

Squeak buddy! 5 days and no juice? Way to go!

One thing you might like to do, is if you have a number in the blue range (100-199) to test 3-4 hours later. The number at +3 to +4 should be lower than your earlier test before you have fed Squeak if the pancreas is working and producing insulin on it's own.

 

Thanks guys! We just keep telling Squeak him and his pancreas are doing a great job! He seems very proud!

 

Squeak is still doing very well.

 

And the numbers are improving too, Cathy! :smile:
I think this is Squeak's 8th day without insulin....?

Go Squeak!!! bcatrun_gif

 

9 OOPs I mean 8 days in with no juice! Fantastic!!!!!

I looked back and see we never gave you the OTJ trial instructions. Here they are:
OTJ Trial instructions

Here are the instructions for an OTJ trial:

• Test at your normal AMPS and PMPS times. Feed multiple small meals throughout the day as much as possible (small meals are less likely to overwhelm a newly functioning pancreas). The morning test is now called the AMBG. The evening test is now called the PMBG.
  
• If your cat is green (0-99 mg/L human meter, 0-130 mg/L pet meter, 0-5.5 mmoL) at your normal test times, no need to test further until the next "PS" time, just feed small meals and go about your day. If the numbers are blue (100-199 human meter, 130-230 pet meter, 5.5-11 mmoL), feed a small meal and test again after about 3 hours. Food raises BG's. So if the number is lower 3-4 hours after a meal, then the pancreas is working!
  
• After 2 weeks, if everything is looking good, we have a party! And boy, do we party hearty.

Sometimes, the trial doesn't work the first time and we have to give a little more support by starting the cat with a tiny dose of insulin again. I had to do that with Wink. We simply start the cat back on a tiny dose of insulin to support the pancreas with healing for a bit longer. Our goal is a strong remission and it's better to be safe now then sorry later that you rushed it. With just a little more time we will probably get that strong remission we are looking for.

 

Cathy, I don't think we've ever seen a pic of Squeak... Do you have one we could see?

 

Our lovely Squeak Albert McLane

 

Thanks everyone. There is no doubt in my mind without this board and all the info here, Squeak would not be doing as well as he is now. We might have lost him when he dipped so low.
Thank you.

 

Oh, Cathy, he's absolutely gorgeous!
(And the kitten pic is super cute!)

 

Thank you!

Squeak and Bubble were born in our house. Their mother showed up 4 days before their arrival and I am so happy to say the family is still together.

This is Penny Pi Penobscott McLane, mother to Bubble and Squeak.

 

OMG! And how absolutely wonderful that they are still all together!

 

Cathy, Thank you so much for sharing those pictures of your kitties with us. I was gasping and oohing and aahing over the first picture and totally started babbling when I saw the baby pictures of Squeak and Bubble as tiny baby kitties. Just a tad embarrassing.

Now Squeak sweetie. Only 6 more days without any insulin and those great BG readings and you will have officially passed your OTJ trial. We'll have a party and the whole family can come and help celebrate. Keeping our fingers and paws crossed that Squeak continues to do this well.

 

You guys are so sweet.

These sweet little guys were the first new born kittens my husband had ever seen and he just fell so in love with them. We have videos of them before their eyes were open. Their mother was just beaming with pride. She is an awesome mother and still treats them like they are little babies.

It has been a wonderful experience seeing the confidence those boys have and knowing they have never known a minute where they were hungry or alone. They have never been anything but adored and loved.

 

I used to do poems every day for those kitties on OTJ trials but life got too busy and I had to stop that. Special, just for Squeak, here is a poem for him.

Squeak is a baby no more,
he's a diabetic cat with nice low BG scores,
got an OTJ trial in progress,
those blues and greens are fantastic I must confess,
we only have 6 more days to go,
hoping the days don't go by too slow,
we hope he can kick the "juice" habit soon,
and take a nice long honey moon,
at the falls,
with the must fun accommodations as I recalls,
where he will be king for a day
and hopefully have a nice long stay!

:RAHCAT Go Squeak Go! Go all the way to OTJ! :RAHCAT

Keep those nice low numbers going and we'll have to have a party on the 19th.

 

Thank you! Great way to start the day!

I will read this to Squeak when I get home. He loves the praise about his numbers.
He is so good. He knows when his test time is and gets on the back of the couch waiting for us to get the kit.
I told him I am going to make a Facebook page about him and his pancreas.

 

Squeak is still doing good and is back to eating more normally!

 

Oooh, great news!

Is it 12 days without insulin now, Cathy? nailbite_smile

Eliz

 

Yep! Only two more to go!!!

 

Hey Squeak! I think you passed your OTJ trial with flying colors! I bet your mommabean Cathy is going to give you lots of hugs and lovin' in celebration of going OTJ. Maybe she'll even make you a special treat, like a freeze dried treat cake! No baking required, just mix with a bit of pate to hold together and serve.

Cathy, you did a good job taking care of Squeak and got him OTJ. Congratulations! Time to celebrate.


Here's a little cake to help you celebrate, low carb of course! ;-)

Here are some tips to stay OTJ (off-the-juice, insulin being the juice)

1. Never feed dry - not even treats. If you change wet food types, be 100% sure the new food is also low carb and same low carb % as your current food. Some cats are very carb sensitive and an increase from 3-6% to 8-10% can spike the BG’s. Don’t feed if you aren’t sure!
2. Weigh every 2 weeks to 1 month to watch for weight changes. Too much of a weight gain can cause loss of remission.
3. Measure blood once a week, indefinitely. You want to catch a relapse quickly. Some people only do checks every 2 weeks to a month.
4. No steroids or oral meds with sugar - remind your vet whenever giving you any medication. Always double check.
5. Monitor food intake, peeing and drinking. If increasing, a sign of losing remission.
6. Regular vet checks for infection such as dental , ear or UTI. And get them treated quick!

If your cat does fall out of remission you need to be more aggressive and resolve issues/ back on insulin as soon as possible as the window for a second remission is tight if any. Pancreatitis, hyperthyroid, dental issues are the most common reasons cats fall out of remission.

I hope you will continue to post occasionally, and let us know how Squeak is doing.

 

Thank you very much. We are very proud of our guy!

We will monitor very closely and take him in for a dental check as soon as possible. I want him to stay feeling good like he does right now.

I am so thankful for everyone here. Squeak and us would have never made it without the FDMB.

 

Congratulations Cathy and Squeak!

Am absolutely thrilled for you.

Eliz x

 

Thanks to all of you!!

 

Squeak is still doing very very good. He has a test every Monday and acts like he enjoys it! lol

He has very bad breath and I think he needs a dental clean. Is there any where I could get help with some of the cost of it? We are still drained financially from his and Tommy's months of vet bills. Tommy (non-diabetic) is on inhalers now also.

Thanks for any advice.

 

Check this post for ideas.

 

Hi All, I have just joined last night ,my cat has two 3 units Caninsulin morning and night 12 hours apart, he gets very stressed when he goes to the PDSA vets for his sugar test and as a result his sugar is understandably very high through the stress. Both my husband and myself are diabetic and I asked if I could do his sugar test at home, he said, the vet, I wouldn't be able to use my testers and that it has to be an animal one. I was hoping to use mine or my hubby's tester to save my Smartie all this stress. I hope I've sent this message to the right place, I've attached a picture of Smartie. Thank you Sandyg.

 

Nonsense. You can use a human meter to test your cat; you just need feline reference numbers. See my signature link Glucometer Notes for those. And print them out for your vet, too. They are based on the work of Dr Rand of the University of Queensland, Australia, an international expert in feline diabetes.

 

Hi All, So glad your beautiful Squeak is on remission Cathy, he is a handsome cat. I just have to tell you all that I took my Smartie's glucose test myself, he didn't feel the prick in his ear. My son was there to see the blood, I couldn't see it. It read 21.8 so he had his 3units. I've just took his glucose test again 4.5 hours and it read 16.5 still high he doesn't get his next injection till 7-8 in morning. I know it will be high in the morning so he will get his 3 units.
My husband's insulin is Nova rapid during the day and Lantus slow release of a night. I might ask the vet if Smartie can use this insulin I read somewhere some people are using Lantus, it seems a lantus slow release might be ideal for smartie, the good thing is they are already in pens with 100 units in each with a lovely tiny needle, you just put the unit amount you need at the end of the pen. I so hope he can go onto it, it will save the PDSA money in the long run as there tiny bottles of insulin costs £95.00.
It would be good if he can use the nova rapid too, it would control his sugar better I think. I've just started a spread sheet with Smartie's glucose tests and insulin jabs, I'll upload it once I have a month's details.
Sandyg.