Yama has no ears!

My cat had his ears surgically removed a few years ago due to skin cancer. How can I test his blood glucose elsewhere?

 

You can also use his paw to get blood from.

 

There is paw testing. Here are written instructions. Here is a video.

 

Hi there and welcome.

The others have already told you about paw testing so I'll leave it at that but wanted to invite you to tell us more about you and Yama. just diagnosed? Yama's age? type of insulin? food? etc......the usual questions you've probably seen around the board :smile:

 

Hi,

I see the others have already told you about paw testing sites. So I just wanted to extend a hearty WELCOME TO FAMILY!!

Terri

 

I want to add my welcome to the board!! I do hope you have success with the paw pad testing...and kudos to you for testing! I may want to touch base with you later about your sweet Yama as my civie, Abigail, may have skin cancer as well. Keep us posted on your progress.

 

Thanks to everyone for your responses. Yama was diagnosed in December. It was pretty much of a shock, because other than the skin cancer, he has never been sick and at the time, I didn't think he had any symptoms. I started him on insulin the first week of January. Offhand, I can't think of the name of the insulin. We started out on 2 units twice a day. My vet advised me to bring him back for blood glucose testing, but my schedule has prevented that. That's why I'm thinking home testing would be a good idea. I changed his food as soon as he was diagnosed to Hills W/D both wet and dry. Up until then, Yama had never had anything but dry food. After about a week, he refused to eat the wet and barely ate any of the dry. He has never been finicky, so this came as a complete surprise. We then switched to Hills M/D dry, which he loves and begs for. About 3 weeks ago, he had a bout of throwing up one night. I got him to eat a little and it went away. I talked to the vet, and she advised me to give him 3 units twice a day. He's been great ever since. He even plays again. I did discover since he's been on insulin, that he is peeing a lot less now.
I hope he takes to being stuck on his paws ok. He's not real good about being held. Any suggestions on how to hold him still?

 

If you took him off dry, you should drop the dose to 1u twice a day and you need to hometest. He may need less insulin without the dry.



Start hometesting...........3u twice a day is a pretty high dose without testing. nailbite_smile nailbite_smile




Welcome to our FDMB family and be patient with yourself. You sound like you really love your cats, so you have come to the perfect place. Get some chocolate, sit back and get ready to read. Also, remember Every Cat Is Different. (ECID) Also, remember opinions may vary sometimes on this board, so you may get different views. Unfortunately, that is human nature.
Sorry this is very long, but there is a lot to say! Also, remember we were ALL newbies once and are feeling just like you are right now! OK……..breathe………. :RAHCAT

This disease is very manageable and by no means a death sentence. There is just some learning we all had to do. You do not need any type of prescription food or “special” diabetic food. Janet & Binky’s chart is on the top of this page! Low carb is best for diabetics. I try to stay around 10% or under. I feed Whiskas, 9-Lives and mostly Friskies. If you are giving a high dose of insulin and feeding dry, be careful with switching to canned food. You MUST reduce the insulin at the same time you switch to canned food.

Please create a profile if you have not already done so. It will help us to help you. We need to know what kind of insulin you are on, what needles you are using (U-40 or U-100), what are you feeding, how much insulin you are giving and when, BG test results, etc. There are many people on this board from all over the world, so it will be helpful to know what area and time zone you are in.

Remember that your cat is YOUR cat, and YOU are paying your VET to help you take care of him; diabetes was probably a day or two worth of notes when the vet was in college; it is probably NOT a day-to-day existence with his own cat trying to maintain a quality of life. Sorry to say, but I would have overdosed my guys on insulin if I followed my vet's advice. Vets, unfortunately are not as knowledgeable as they should be on diabetes.

Sometimes, as I did, you have to take a leap of faith and trust these people on this board who deal with diabetes day in and day out. Trust me. You will not be disappointed. OK………..breathe again……….get some chocolate…….. cat_pet_icon

Also, please realize that it takes insulin about a week to settle. START LOW AND GO SLOW!! The usual starting dose from our experiences is 1u twice a day for at least a week. Insulin in cats is NOT and I repeat NOT based on weight. This is a misconception that a lot of us have gotten from our vets here. pc_work

You have to be patient, as I also had to learn!! Do not adjust the dose upwards based on one test. Don’t freak out based on one test result. As long as the levels stay on the high side, keep the same dose twice a day for at least the initial week period and you should see improvements. When you have some time (hee hee), read my profile.

If you are not hometesting already, you really need to start!! Hometesting is VERY important. Think of it as a human diabetic does. *If it were you or a child of yours, you'd be testing blood glucose levels at home prior to each shot; you'd be working with your doctor to determine a proper dose based on those shot results, correct?* Some vets do not agree with hometesting and I cannot for the life of me understand why. Most vets, sadly are not knowledgeable enough in feline diabetes. Insulin is a VERY powerful drug and you NEED to hometest before giving a shot. This is very important. The vet would rather have you bring the cat to them, stress it out more, which may spike the levels anyway and then they can charge you $$. Hometesting saved me a lot of money and it is VERY important for you personally to know the cat’s levels and how it is reacting to the insulin before you shoot so you do not pass up your ideal dosage.
Thanks to everyone's help here I learned to home test 2 cats and they both got off insulin within 3 weeks with diet change…but of course, they reacting both DIFFERENTLY with the process. If I can do it with 2 cats twice a day (and more on curve days), ANYONE can do it. It does NOT hurt them as much as you think it does. It just stings for a moment and then it is gone, you can try it on yourself. Also, put pressure on the ear after poking and it should minimize the nub. They won't mind it once they start feeling better. I use the True Track meter (CVS or Walgreens brand) which I love. And, the strips are also reasonable. Also, remember to give them a treat after the test. Here is a link to a member videos on hometesting:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_zE12-4fVn8
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cZ6iXetR398

I would not feed DRY food if at all possible. Of course, it is better than nothing – you MUST get them to eat if you are giving insulin, but if there is any chance, get them off the dry. I took my guys off dry and within a month they were off insulin. Again, remember that switching from dry to wet can cause a drop in blood sugars, so you MUST reduce insulin at the same time to make sure you are not giving too much insulin. I truly believe also that I saved some of my many others from developing diabetes. I also saved so, so much money changing them all to regular canned cat food.
When Blackie and Jackie got diagnosed, I was afraid to start shots. The people on this board made me realize it was no big deal. (They went on PZI insulin around 3-25-06 and went off on 4-18-06! Please also realize that diet plays a BIG, BIG part in insulin needs. I switched my cats off dry food to all wet and I was never so happy. It was a challenge to try to regulate 2 cats at once.


Welcome to the Sugar Dance. flip_cat
Welcome to the Vampire Club.

If I can do it, ANYONE can!!!
It does get easier. Trust us.

You need to test BEFORE you shoot. It usually goes: Test, Feed, Shoot



There's a saying something like "better the sugar level is too high for a day than too low for a minute".

 

I used to test Blackie' paws when I first started testing and it worked okay. If you can't get Yama to hold still, you can always try the clothes pin trick. http://www.felinecrf.org/giving_sub-qs_ ... _peg_trick Many here have used it with great success.
Please let us know how it goes.

 

There are good low-carb canned foods available at your grocery store. Many cats refuse W/D after a while because
it apparently does not taste very good.

Many here feed the low-carb flavors of canned Fancy Feast and/or canned Friskies. These are cheaper and BETTER
QUALITY INGREDIENTS than M/D....you do not need prescription food.