Question from a newbie

My cat Sophie was just diagnosed with Diabetes. I gave her her first shot of insulin this morning at 9:00. My vet said to give her 2 shots twice a day every 12 hours and monitor through out the day in case of hypoglycemia. What I'm worried about is i have to give her another shot at 9:00 tonight, Should i worry about not monitoring her at night while I'm sleeping? How worried should i be about her getting hypoglycemic? i am so scared somethings going to happen to her...
Thank you for any advice you can give me.

 

Welcome to FDMB - you've come to the right place for support and information.

Most of us use a human glucometer to test our kitty's blood sugar before every shot -- that way, we know it is safe to inject insulin.

We prick the edge of the ear for a tiny blood sample.

During the early stages of treatment, your kitty is probably starving - it is ok to give extra food. Unfortunately, most of the energy from the food is just going out in the pee since your kitty doesn't have enough insulin to process it.

It takes a few days for your kitty to become used to the insulin. We recommend starting at a low dose like one unit twice per day and holding the same dose for a week or so, unless testing shows that it is too much insulin. Some cats do not need even one unit. My Tiggy is well controlled on 0.75 units twice per day.

Diet is important (low carbohydrate canned food is best -- grain free) but you don't need prescription food.

 

I worried like crazy, too. Once I started hometesting so I knew when the insulin was having it's strongest effect, I could calm down because then I knew WHEN to worry. I knew if Max's #'s were safe at 6 hours post-injection, he'd be fine.

If you post what kind of insulin you're using, I bet people here will be able to help more

 

That's one shot twice a day right? How much insulin and what kind? We all will suggest you learn to hometest. Very few cats aren't amenable to this. There are videos and tips and if someone lives near you they would be glad to help. It will really help you to relax and that is good for you both!

 

Thank you so much for the quick reply.
I asked my vet about the glucometer and no one in our area has ever used one on a cat and very few with dogs, but i think that using one would be the best way to go, i'm just worried about pricking her ear and stuff, but luckily i have a pretty cooperative cat so i think she'll do well.
We just switched her diet over to Friskies wet canned cat food 2x a day, and she will be getting 1 unit of insulin 2x a day its called ProZinc.

 

sounds good, the dose and the insulin.

i too would encourage you to take up hometesting. it will give you more peace of mind than you can ever imagine. whenever you feel like it, you can test her and then go to bed or go out for dinner or go to work or whatever, because you will know her level and can respond accordingly.

it really isn't that hard. seriously. the first few days can be tough because a cat doesn't bleed on command but once you figure out a routine, it gets super easy. i swear i can test in my sleep. and i go out, like many others here, and help others learn how to do it and i have yet to be unsuccessful on a strange kitty.

 

Thank you so much i feel a little bit more at ease now and I'm pretty certain i will do the home testing, but what kind of meter should i get? Is there a website on here i could go to?

 

Hi!

You can buy any glucose meter that is used on humans - many people use the Relion that Walmart sells - the price is reasonable, and the price on the strips is reasonable, too. You just want to get one that takes the smallest amount of blood possible.

Most drug stores and pharmacies sell the meters and strips, so it might just be quicker to go out and buy one, instead of ordering online.

 

alot of people like the Accuchek Aviva. it's very easy to use and sips the blood up real quick, in other words, you can be done with kitty and let them go real quick. i myself love the Freestyle line of meters. but, strips for the brand name meters are very expensive. about $1 a strip in the stores, and you will use minimum 2 a day, often more than that. that can add up real quick. you can get them online at a few places for about half that price so that's better.

but what a lot of people use is walmart's brand of meter, the Relion. They have a Relion Micro that takes one of the smallest blood samples and is probably the most economical. the meter is $12 and the strips are $22 for 50 i believe. the hang up there is you can usually only get them at walmart....i think. not sure if you can get those online.

 

Thank you so much everyone for all of the advice that you have given me, You all have helped me very much and put my mind at ease. I dont know what i could have done without your guys help. Thank you so much again

 

Hi, I'm a newbie too. I really recommend the ReliOn Micro, because it takes significantly less blood than other meters. I had severe problems with getting my cat to bleed for the first week of trying, so the smaller the needed drop size, the better. Also- the meter & strips are much cheaper than the one I purchased before (Precision Xtra) which needed a rediculously big drop of blood and would shut off before i was done with making my cat's ear bleed.

Good Luck.

P.S. Not everyone has significant problems with home testing- my cat seems to be a non-bleeder- very difficult to get even a small drop out of him.

 

I just tryed to look up the Relion mirco and i cant find it, i even looked at the walmart website all i could find was Relion Ultima...

 

it's fairly new so it might not be on their site yet.
i noticed in my local walmart another one in the last couple weeks. called the Confirm. i haven't looked at it yet though to know it's specs

here's one link i found
http://www.relion.com/diabetes/blood-glucose-testing

 

Kayla,
Once you have the meter sorted out and purchased, go to our "health links" forum to get tips and explanations on all sorts of things. After you read through it come back with your questions.
viewforum.php?f=14

After that, feel free to come join us in the "PZI forum" and post your daily numbers to get advice and support
viewforum.php?f=24


Welcome!