saturday morning with elvis

i was woke up by elvis at 10 to 5..fed him tuna (rinsed and dry 1/4 cup) gave him 4 ubits of novolin at 6 am just took his bg at 7:30 and it was 309 this is the lowest we got...this is down 100 from yesterday after feeding him. we are going to check again around 10 am...off to the store for new food...elvis weighs about 9 to 10 lbs (he lost about 10 lbs ) the vet said we should feed him about 1 cup of food but it doesnt seem like enough...i will post his next bg

carol

 

Sounds like a good start to the day, Carol.

One thing that is important is to always take the bg levels before giving the insulin. (Elvis is running high right now so you were fine this am. But with a food change, his numbers could go down and you want to know that before giving the shot.) So, tonight, take the bg level before shooting and feeding. (If you give a treat with the poking, he will come to associate the poke with something good.)

One thing we didn't mention yesterday is that seafood is low carb and looks good on the charts. But the advice is to feed seafood only a couple times a week. It has phosphorous and can cause kidney issues if fed daily. Also, many kitties get hooked on fish and refuse other kinds of food. So get a variety - couple cans each - until you figure out what he will eat.

Watching for your next post. You are doing great!

 

at 10 am we checked the bg....wooohooo 94...finally good numbers. he did not eat any of the dry food i bougt tons of food from the chart and he will be getting some of that tonite...if all goes well...i will call the vet and give her the news...elvis is really acting like himself....thanks so much

 

That is a nice number! A smaller amount of insulin may be in his future! If you want, post his bg level tonight before shot time and get some advice on dosage. The new food may make a big difference and you want to adjust accordingly.

If the dry food is new and hardly used, you can take it back (to the vet or pet store) and say he wouldn't eat it. I know Purina (and most big names) take their food back, no questions asked.

 

i hope the vet will take back the food maybe she will give us the credit on his bill...sorry for all the questions but here is a new one...the baged dry food has for his weight he should be eating about 7/8 cup a day..this am i gave him 1/4 cup tuna i was planning on giving him more for supper. but i am not sure how much a day he should be eating. elvis eight about 9-10 lbs.

 

Every cat is different. My Niko is fairly active, 10 pounds (indoor cat but will play during the day) and I give him 2 cans of Fancy Feast daily (the small cans). It keeps him at a good weight. But, one of the things to consider is that unregulated cats can be unusually hungry, as their bodies aren't processing the food well. When Oliver was first diagnosed, we were at 2.5 - 3 cans a day, but when his numbers came down, we went back to 2 cans (which was his normal diet also.)

Remember the seafood warning - too much isn't good. IAnd if it is just people tuna, it isn't a balanced meal. Did you get some canned lo carb? How about trying some of it? If he has a weak stomach at all, stick with one type/brand until you're sure he is okay with it.

As some other kind person once told me when I was new and scared, there are no silly questions. We have all been where you are - it is a steep learning curve and you just can't get everything at once. Everyone who answers your posts is playing it forward for the kind answers they received.

 

at 6 gave elvis new food he ate half the can....gave him 4 untis at 6 (he wouldnt let me take bg at that time) now 7:30 bg is 346 this am it was 309. mu husband and i were talking and we have a question. why does the insulin only last 8 hours..we are afraid the 4 + 4 hours he doesnt have anything elvis will get sick. also is there an isulin that will keep him "level" for a longer period of time.

 

Hi,

although 94 sounds a nice number, that's heck of a drop in 2.5 hours.

As Elvis is not regulated you let him eat as much as he wants (get your preshot test before he eats though as this will artificially inflate numbers). His body can not process the food properly at the mo.

If you are switching from dry to wet (and yes as someone else said don't recommend giving fish flavours more than once or twice a week) need to do slowly as this can have an impact on how much insulin Elvis needs.

Duration on N can last 8-10 hours.
Longer acting insulins are Lantus, Levemir (and seemingly the new Prozinc some beans are using).These give a full 12 hour coverage and can go on beyond this (different dosing protocol to shorter acting insulins).These would keep him level longer. 4U is quite a high dose.

Do you test for keytones? Just need to get keto diastix from pharmacy and stick test strip under pee stream.Something good to monitor until kitty regulated.

Would be really good if you can get some spot check bg's to-like around +3-4, get a better idea of how low he is dropping.

 

Yes, there are several insulins that last longer than N. You are right. Most cats don't get a very long period on N - they drop pretty fast and then go up again. It has been described as a roller coaster. Most people here use Lantus, Levemir or PZI. If you go to the Insulin Support groups, you can find a forum for each kind of insulin. viewforum.php?f=5 Read the stickies at the top and the posts by people using that insulin. It will give you lots of good information about each. Then you can take that information to your vet and ask for a different kind of insulin.

You really need to get a bg level in before you give a shot. That is the most dangerous time to give insulin - when you aren't sure where his bg levels are, and you have recently changed to a wet lo carb diet. Keep practicing until it becomes routine so you can do when you really need to.