newbie- my vet just told me his sugar is off the chart

just came home from the vet. I thought it was A thyroid issue because he was skinny.... no his sugar was 700+ (the test onkly goes to 700). Now he is to go back in the morning to start a few days of the vet regulating by kitty and will give me an idea of what dossage i will be giving him. I am scared to leave him overnight with noone to watch him.

Is your vet's hospital a 24/7 one? I would not want to leave a cat getting insulin where there is no one checking on them overnight.

The usual starting dose is 1u. It is not possible, in a few days, to reach the optimal dose. So, this vet boarding/observation thing is a waste of time and money and stresses the cat. It takes time to reach the best dose as insulin is introduced and given a few days to start working - then the blood sugar is tested and a dose change figured out. Yes, most cats need a dose increase every week or so for a while, but they should be small increase (.5u or less) in most cases. You can learn to test his blood sugar at home using any human blood glucose meter. Walmart and Target both make one where the test strips are cheaper.

What are you feeding him? Dry food would be my guess with numbers that high. Dry food is loaded with carbs, especially the cheap stuff, but ALL dry food is too high in carbs. The Fancy Feast Classic flavors are a good food as they are low carb and wet, which much more closely matches natural prey (mice, birds, etc.), but you don't want to change his food after he starts insulin unless you are testing his blood sugar because insulin needs can dramatically drop. Sometimes just a diet change and a few weeks on insulin can put the diabetes into remission.

You probably want to find the FAQs and read up on feline diabetes. There is an FAQ button on the top, right side.

I really encourage you to take charge, learn to home test (we can coach you through that), and change his diet to low carb wet food.

Ditto everything Sheila said. That 700+ is high but probably also includes vet stress which can really raise the numbers up. No vet can regulate a cat in a few days. Strongly suggest you buy a meter, learn to hometest, remove all dry food and start canned unless you do start insulin tomorrow. Buy some Ketostix or KetoDiastix at the pharmacy also so you can test his urine for ketones. Please read the FAQ's and please come back tomorrow or today, depending on where you are located, and we can help you get started on helping your kitty.

I agree with the others--leaving you cat at the vet to be "regulated" is a waste of money and stressful for your cat. It can also be dangerous--if your vet is suggesting this treatment than it shows a lack of understanding of feline diabetes and the effects of stress on blood glucose levels. This could likely lead to your vet overdosing your cat, which is very dangerous for your cat. You'd be surprised how common this is with vets.

Regulation is slow process that takes weeks or months, not days. The three keys to successfully treating diabetes in cats is 1. The right insulin (Lantus or Levemir [1st Choice], or Prozinc [2nd Choice], and never Humulin N [NPH]), 2. The right diet (low carb, canned food, no dry), and 3. Regulation via home testing. If all three of these treatment guidelines are followed, cats have an 86% remission rate.!

I've attached an veterinary article for you to print and give to your vet that discusses these current treatment recommendations and here is the link to the AAHA diabetes guidelines as well: http://www.aahanet.org/PublicDocuments/AAHADiabetesGuidelines.pdf. Treatment guidelines for cats have changed radically in the past 3 or 4 years, so many vets are simply unaware of this, or they deal mostly with dogs and don't know that cats need different diabetes treatment than dogs.

My guy was terrified of the vet and would pee himself everytime I had to drag him in so I know the stress has got to elevate the numbers. It was amazing what happened when we started home testing (so he did not have to go on a car ride) and feeding only wet food. My Lee was in the high 500's and getting higher, but was still bright and alert so the vet did not try to keep him, I'm glad she didn't Iwould have been worried sick. Good luck to you!

bast has A uti AND ketones in his urine. So The vet kept him. I thought they were doing a curve but he said today i would have to bring him back (not going to happen- i will do it myself at home with your help!) so no I am just overwelmed- we are at 900.00 and I still don't have my kitty home. If i bring him home I still don't know quite what to do. I sent for the kit but I am freaked