? Rusty - our temporary visitor. Can you take a look at his ss please?

Hi - it's been a while. But we have a cat, Rusty, who is staying with us temporarily because his Mom isn't well at the moment. He'd been running quite high and has been diabetic for well over a year at this point. Since he came to us, his numbers have come down dramatically and he's earning reductions. At the moment, I've been doing the 3 under 50 or one under 40 rule because he's a long-term diabetic. But he's earning these reductions fast. Can someone take a look at his ss here https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1anaJvMOP-G1lu1ZYm_hBKd3j_e9HyvzWaUoffGn9jso/edit?usp=sharing please and let me know if I should carry on making him do 3 under 50 for a reduction - it seems as though he's dropping low just about every day.

 

Hi April - so good of you to look after another person's furbaby in time of need.

Are you feeding Rusty any different food? I am wondering if there are any changes from his old place to his new place. Was he being home tested? He's on such a tiny dose now. The 0.25u depot is probably influencing today's cycle. Typically when cats get this close to remission, we like to see them go almost all green before taking that last step. If you can, I'd try holding for the multiple drops below 50 (or one below 40), or seeing if you can find a dose between 0.1U and none. Try counting the number of drops in 0.1 and see if you can make it smaller. He's definitely keeping you on your toes!

 

Thank you Wendy. I figured if I can help a friend and her kitty, it's the right thing to do. And, happily he's doing really well for me.

We haven't changed his food at all - he's been on Fancy Feast since diagnosis. We've kept his routine as close to normal as possible, though he is a bit more active here because there are other cats for him to run around with. And I have been really strict about keeping to a 12/12 shooting schedule apart from 2 evenings when we had to be out until well after shot time because he'd had a number of days with only one shot during the day recently while his Mom was struggling. But overall, even the vet at the place we go to who has her own diabetic cat can't fully explain the sudden difference! He was being home tested, but the numbers you can see the first couple of days on his ss - really high pre-shot and maybe into the 200s mid-cycle were fairly typical of what he was getting. I'm more than happy to hold out for the multiple drops, especially as he seems to go lower during the day so I'm still getting sleep - I just wanted to make sure that daily drops under 50 isn't a sign of pushing him too hard on it all. I am going to take him down to 0.05U before going to none at all - I'm still not entirely happy with his pre-shot numbers, especially the morning ones though I'm sure there are some small bounces involved in some of his numbers as well, so I'm not sure he's quite ready for a trial yet. I could skinny the 0.1U dose as well to give him 2 more reductions before we try him off insulin completely, though I'm not sure I can get more than 2 more reductions out of such a tiny dose!

 

He's definitely not ready for no juice as evidenced by the skipped shot on PM 11/22 and the resulting pink morning. I would keep doing what you're doing with the three drops or one under 40 as it seems to be working well (touch wood anti jinx etc - how amazing would it be if your friends came hope to an OTJ kitty!!!!!!).

Interestingly the first time Purrdy came to stay with me he suddenly started earning reduction after reduction, of course then he stopped and turned around again

 

That's what I thought Serryn. I really want to see his AM numbers down a bit too - those are still a little above normal...even up into the 200s some days. I know his Mom would be delighted if he managed to go OTJ - paws crossed and anti-jinx that he'll keep doing so well for me! It would be so much easier for her if she didn't have to test him several times a day! And I can't help but think that Rosa has a spiritual paw in his sudden improvement too - it's just so odd that he dropped into the same sort of numbers she gave me for so long so quickly after he got here. Now, if she can just work on Roxi's attitude to testing, which hasn't improved one bit even after 6 months, we'll be set!

 

that may be the answer......When I started exercising China, her dose when down from over 2 units to .25

exercise can be a very powerful tool in our toolboxes!

 

Are you using Rusty's insulin or did you have some of Rosa's left? Or are you using a new pen?

 

It's the pen his Mom had opened for him a couple of months ago. I do have fresh ones, and I had thought I might need to change it out and use one of Roxi's spare ones, but he seems to be doing fine on the one he already has.

 

Thinking of you April @manxcat419

 

Thank you @jayla-n-Drevon. I've been just a bit busy with Rusty...and with Regan's mouth issues, but I will be in touch with you soon for a catch up on what's been happening in our lives!

 

Maybe there's some nice mojo at your house and Rusty's feeling it. Whatever it is, he's looking great.

 

He really is! Something's definitely helping his numbers along at the moment given that I haven't changed the dose apart from the reductions he's earned, or his food. Though I was either brave or very stupid tonight giving him his dose on a pre-shot of 56! But I do want to avoid a bounce if I can...and 56 is the exact same number that Rosa gave me for her first ever really low pre-shot, so I know I can handle whatever he decides to throw at me later on!

 

Nice shooting April - I see his numbers haven't followed in Rosa's footsteps as far as his response to tonight's 56 shot. Looks like you might need these

 

Thanks Serryn! He started off well with a nice rise, but then he decided to head back down again. I'm going to need those coffees - it could be a long night!