Smiffy's personality changed?

Smiffy is fine but she is a little bit aggressive with me if I try to play with her and her toy but she is bright as a button so nothing medically wrong ... do your cats change personality a bit when they start on insulin - is it just part of getting used to having the insulin in their bodies ..... she was really easy to fuss yesterday and today is on guard ...

 

I just picked her up for a cuddle and she nearly lashed out at me ... probably because she thinks I am going to put a needle in her or put her in her cage to go to the Vet?

 

Insulins can cause personality changes in cats (and humans). As I said to you before not every insulin agrees with every cat. Also, hormonal changes in the body can affect behaviour. Insulin is a hormone. Wild swings in blood sugar levels can also affect mood/behaviour.

VERY IMPORTANT: How long after the most recent insulin injection did you observe this behaviour? Please post this information below and also the current dose of Caninsulin you're using.

According to the FDMB hypo guide:

MODERATE HYPOGLYCEMIA
Disorientation
Trouble with vision... bumps into furniture
Poor coordination, such as staggering, walking in circles or acting drunk
Changes in head or neck movements
Restlessness
Urgent meowing
Behavioral changes, such as aggressiveness

--------------------------------

I recommend in the strongest possible terms that you contact your vet's out of hours service NOW for advice on whether or not to give insulin tonight.

I also strongly recommend that you get Smiffy to the vets tomorrow for some sort of BG check/fructosamine test and also to discuss the variation in clinical signs (ETA: and out-of-character behaviours) you're observing in Smiffy. Be sure to let the vet know that Smiffy was trying to fight you at injection time. There is a definite possibility that she was trying to let you know something is wrong.


@MrWorfMen's Mom, @Tuxedo Mom, @Squalliesmom -

If you're around would any of you have anything to suggest/add?


Mogs
.

 

Insulin should not, ordinarily, change a cat's personality at all (although some cats are sensitive to certain insulins; several cats here on Lantus have had problems that resolved after switching to another insulin).

As Mogs says above, low blood glucose (hypo) can cause a cat to become aggressive.
But a cat being unwell for any reason or in pain could also make her aggressive.
Did the last insulin shot go OK? (Maybe it hurt her a little so she doesn't want contact...?)
Or maybe she's just fine physically but isn't in the mood for company....???

Without more info we're not able to know what is wrong.
Once you've learned to hometest then, if you're worried at any point, you'll be able to test Smiffy's blood glucose and see if there is a problem there.
If you are concerned that there is something definitely wrong then, as Mogs suggests, you may well want to talk to a vet...

Eliz

 

Carter has gotten a little more territorial with the back part of the house, but only towards our dog. Not sure if that's a direct result of insulin or the fact that a large portion of feeding, medicating, testing etc is done in that area.

 

As Eliz correctly observes, you don't know what is happening to Smiffy's blood glucose levels.

For Smiffy's safety I repeat:

I strongly recommend you contact the vet before giving any more insulin. If it were my cat I would not dose it blind if it displayed a symptom that had even the slightest whiff of potential hypoglycaemia.

In my considered opinion, this is not a situation where taking time to explore possibilities is appropriate.


Mogs
.

 

I totally agree with contacting the vet. If you are not home testing you have no way to know how low the glucose numbers have gone.


A good example is my Maxie. (Levemir insulin using AlphaTrak2 pet meter) Her preshot last night was 20.4 (367 US) At +3 she had dropped to 4.6 (83 US) which is a big drop . At this point I started to intervene with high carb food and syrup. She still ended up dropping. At +6 she got down to 1.8 (32US). I finally got her numbers up but only with continuing to give high carb and syrup. If she had not come up with this approach I would have been taking her to the ER. She does not show any signs when she goes low so it only by testing I can tell where she is at.

Home testing is vital!!!!


ETA If I had not been home testing I would not have caught this potentially dangerous situation

 

Crikey, Mary Ann!
.

 

Yes my two take turns giving me more grey hair.

 

I reckon a few of mine turned grey just reading about that drop. Thank goodness you caught it, Mary Ann.


Mogs
.

 

Squallie has shown a very, I mean, extremely, slight rise in aggressiveness (he isn't aggressive to begin with, really) toward the other cats (never toward me
) since starting Lantus, but as far as I know this is NOT a side effect of Caninsulin!

I completely agree, I would NOT give any more insulin without at least a consult with Smiffy's vet!

 

Thanks Mogs.

My example above is one of the best reasons for everyone to do home-testing. You never know when a hypo could happen and many kitties do not give warning signs.

 

I agree wholeheartedly! I'm assuming this behaviour is totally out of character for Smiffy and she is usually not prone to lashing out for no particular reason. As the others have observed, if you don't know what her BG level is, then BG levels that are too low would be my first suspect on a list of causes.

@Tuxedo Mom OMG! I am sitting here shuddering at what Maxie's numbers did last night! Your 2 really are conspiring against you aren't they?!

 

Grey hairs? Sounds like she was trying to give you a heart attack! Glad you got her back on track

 

I think Maxie and Menace are competing to see who can blindside their beans better!!

 

The only other recent behaviour change was the emergence of aggressive actions at time of insulin dose administration (lashing out). Looby had to skip several doses in a row but Smiffy was more accepting of the next few injections. Looby did note that Smiffy actually seemed better in herself during the treatment hiatus. Looby advised that Smiffy was in fairly good sorts for the first couple of days after insulin treatment was resumed but now Smiffy is back to displaying aggression - and I am assuming from Looby's OP that this latest display was mid-cycle.

Although not a depot insulin, it is possible to get some carryover of effect from the crystalline fraction from one dose to the next. (It could tamp Saoirse's numbers down a bit for 24 hours or more.) I am wondering whether a potential carryover effect might be in play with Smiffy (conjecture). There's also no way of knowing whether her pancreas might be sputtering.

It's only anecdotal but a little while ago Saoirse hissed at me a couple of times after I increased her Lantus dose (very small dose so not a stinging issue - increase was from 0.25 to 0.50). After only a few cycles I got upside down curves. I dropped the dose back, Saoirse's antsy behaviour stopped straight away, and her BG levels improved. She managed to let me know the dose was wrong. I have been wondering for days whether Smiffy might also be signalling that something is wrong. (For info, Caninsulin turned out not to agree with Saoirse. Part of the way she let me know something was wrong was to do her level best to hide come injection time.)


Mogs
.

 

Looby's earlier thread describing aggression at injection time is here:

http://www.felinediabetes.com/FDMB/threads/smiffy-lashing-out-now-when-i-shoot.156957/


.

 

Thanks for the background. That just makes me agree with your thinking that much more. It's Vet time!

 

I think she may just be in a bit of a mood today because since she has gone all soppy again tonight .... Shots have gone well - still a bit of a hiss and a grim blue but she is not running away ..... She has never liked being picked up but today she got cross with me swishing her tail when I played with her and her mouse ..... Spelling above 'grumble' not 'grim blue' (iPad predictive text) ....she's as bright as a button as I say but wondered if the insulin could still be upsetting her as she gets used to it two weeks in and making her grumpy at times?

 

Thanks for info ..... We are seeing Vet on Friday and I'm making notes about Smiffy for him to see .... Wasn't worried that she was in hypo but possible she doesn't like the Caninsulin as you say ...

 

Without home testing you have NO way of knowing that for certain, Looby. I still strongly recommend that you at least phone the vet today. Insulin is an extremely powerful hormone. Unusual aggression is one of the symptoms a cat may display when hypoglycaemic. Hypoglycaemia can be fatal. Just because she was OK afterwards it does not guarantee that her sugars may not have been too low when she displayed the aggression. Her mood may have improved as the Caninsulin dose wore off and her BG levels rose again. (ETA: Speculation, granted, but without home blood glucose monitoring one needs to speculate and take whatever other actions one is capable of in order to protect the cat.)

Please don't ignore unusual clinical signs. In the absence of home blood sugar tests they're the only clues you've got available to help you keep Smiffy safe.


Mogs
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@Looby & Smiify

Looby, am I right in thinking that you do actually have a glucose meter now?
If so, then it was for exactly this kind of eventuality that you bought it.
Instead of guessing what the blood glucose is you'll be able to see what the blood glucose is. Not all hypos have obvious symptoms.

I'd strongly suggest that you learn how your meter works. Can you do that today - for Smiffy's sake?
And if you can't work it out on your own then DO ask someone (husband/friend/carer/neighbour/postman) for help.
I cannot stress enough how important this is, and I do believe that you can do this. Please try....
.

 

@Looby & Smiify

As I recall you have an accu-chek meter. If you google the 'name of your meter' set up there are lots of youtube videos showing you how to set up the meter and take a sample (obviously aimed at human testing) but watch them and get your meter set up and learn how to use the lancets. The code is on the side of the little pot of test strips and you need to put this in as part of the set up and when you open a new pot.

I tried the ear testing but failed because the black ears meant I couldn't see any blood drop even if I got a sample and she just got fed up. I am using the big pad at the back of the rear paws and it is working out well. You do need to make sure the paws are really warm before you take the blood sample and then it is quite simple as the strip just sucks up the blood and the meter beeps to let you know you have a good sample. Start with the pre meal samples so Smiffy associates this with food reward, and if testing at other times give her a little treat once you have done a test even if you can't get a reading. You may not get blood each time but it does get easier the more you try. Try her paws, it will give you confidence if you can get a sample to test.

This is what I do - Cappuccino is quite happy being cuddled for testing and she has even let me take blood a couple of times when she is curled up on her towel and without being held. I leave it on the floor when I am home all day and she often has a nap on it now. Smiffy may need a different kind of holding depending on how she like to be cuddled, you may want to sit on a chair next to a table - whatever makes it easier for you.

First set out your equipment. A large towel on the floor, some alcohol gel or wipes - something to clean the paws. Some vaseline. Cotton wool wipes. An old sock with a handful of rice in it and then knotted to make a little bag. Load up the lancet machine. Push the strip almost into the meter but not far enough to activate it. Make sure you have spare strips to hand in case the blood doesn't go onto it the first time. Everything should be in easy reach for when you sit cross legged on the towel with the cat. Warm the sock in the microwave for 30 seconds, throw it down on the towel then go get the cat. Have good light to work by.
Sit cross legged on the floor, cradle the cat between your legs and on her back, and grasp one of the back paws, apply a tiny blob of alcohol gel and rub in well.
Place the warm sock over the pads and while the foot is warming up make a big fuss of the cat so she associates this with getting good attention.
Once the pads are warm place the lancet machine firmly onto the rear large pad, I have the alphatrak set on 4 which goes nicely into the pad. Press the button and hold for 2-3 seconds before withdrawing and as you put the lancet down push the strip all the way into the meter.
Gently squeeze the paw pad until you see a little blob of blood, the meter should now be ready to read.
Hold the very edge or end (depending on which meter you use) of the test strip onto the top of the blob and it sucks it up and beeps, put the meter down.
Press gently on the paw pad for several seconds with the cotton wool pad to prevent bruising, then rub a small amount of vaseline onto the pad whilst making a fuss of the cat.
By this time the meter should have given you a reading.
Let go of the cat and reward her with a food treat and more fussing.

Using this method seems pretty painless for her, her ears flick as the lancet goes in but she has never tried to struggle to get away. I have had some failures and had to go in a second time to get the blood but I think I didn't leave the sock on long enough. The vaseline helps make the pads soft so testing gets easier as you go along.

If you can build the pre meal testing into your daily routine you can start testing at other times as well. I use the timer on my phone to get some between meal readings and when I am doing a curve.