9 year old newly diagnosed diabetic

Hello Everyone:
My 9 year old cat, Max, has just been diagnosed with diabetes around Nov. 17th. He is currently on Lantus, 2 units every 12 hours. I stopped feeding him dry two years ago. He is thinner now, than when we first adopted him 8 years ago. All he does is sleep, eat, pee, and poop. He doesn't like playing anymore. Even though he is purring all the time, he looks so depressed. We tried doing a glucose curve, but the only ones that bled were my husband and I. Any advice you can give is greatly appreciated!

 

Welcome. Love your cat’s name! Has he been on the same dose the whole time? We have lots of information to read in the Lantus forum at the top of the forum. FD you try to test his ear or paw? What type of meter do you have? What gauge are the lancets? You need the ones for alternate sites that are about 25 gauge or larger. My vet actually taught me with a needle and then I bought the sharp Terumos 25 g which worked very well. Max Start playing with his years and give him a treat. For treats freeze dried 100% protein works well. Give one after each test attempt. Most cats associate the treats with the poke and come to the testing spot to be tested.
In order to see if your dose is right you need to find out how low the dose takes Max. That usually occurs between 4-7 hours after insulin but can be earlier or later.

https://felinediabetes.com/FDMB/threads/the-basics-new-to-the-group-start-here.18139/

 

Always aim for the sweet spot warm the ears up first, you can put rice in a sock and put it in the microwave, test it on the inside of your wrist to be sure it's not to hot, like you would test a babies bottle. You can fill a pill bottle with warm water and roll it on the ears also

6. As the ears get used to bleeding and grow more capilares, it gets easier to get the amount of blood you need on the first try. If she won’t stand still, you can get the blood onto a clean finger nail and test from there

 

I was just about to post that, Diane.

 

Hi Elise lol

 

• when you get a chance ,It would be helpful if you can set up your signature so we don't have to ask you the same questions over again. Members will look at this first .
• It appears after each post in gray, look at mine,

• On the left, under Settings, Click on Signature. This is where you will put information that helps us give you feedback.
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  • Add any other text, such as
  • Caregiver & kitty's name (optional)
  • DX: Date
  • Name of Insulin
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tap on your avatar where it says your name ,then hit profile page ,tap on that ,then go up to the very top, upper right hand side and tap on your name ,it will bring down a drop box, tap on signature, the signature will be under settings, tap on the signature then and you can start to add what I posted above, make sure you hit save ,
Welcome to the best place you could ever be and an awesome group of people
You can also add where you live in your profile, not your signature

 

Has your vet been testing him or have you been doing any testing at home?
Any BG numbers that you have.

 

https://felinediabetes.com/FDMB/threads/fdmb-spreadsheet-instructions.130337/

Here are instructions for setting up the spreadsheet we use to record our cats
BG. You want to see how the insulin is working , how low it's taking Max
Do you need to adjust his insulin dose. We need to see this in order to give you any advice if needed.

If you need help setting it up just ask, we have 2 members that will help you
Take a look at mine it's at the end of my signature , Tyler's spreadsheet.
You can look at others also

 

https://felinediabetes.com/FDMB/threads/fdmb-spreadsheet-instructions.130337/

Understanding the spreadsheet


+2. Means you will test 2 hours after giving insulin in the AM (AMPS) means AM Pre-Shot This is when you test them first thing in the morning ,
+4. testing 4 hours after giving insulin ditto
+6. testing 6 hours (Mid- Cycle)
+7. And so on up until +11

Then same thing starts over when you give the night time shot (PMPS) means PM Pre-Shot. This is your night time test (12 hours after your morning test) So if you test at 8:00 AM
your night test (PMPS) would be at 8 PM.




Do not feed anything 2 hours before AMPS and PMPS
We feed the bigger meals during the AMPS and the PMPS
Then we feed smaller meals in between or any freeze dried treats
Most of us feed Fancy Feast Classic Pates
We try to stay under 10 % carbs most of the classics are 2 or 3 % carbs

I will post the food chart for you to look over

Perhaps 2 hours after giving insulin, then 4 hours after insulin , or 6 hours after giving insulin

Same with the PMPS

On the SS there is a remarks column you can list what time you fed the smaller meals

Example
@+2. FF Pate
@+4. Treats or FF Pate
@+6. FF Pate
Usually 2 or 3 teaspoons or some treats

We do +2 , +3 because we are all in different time zones, so putting 10:30 isn't helpful

Look at my SS and see how I do it



You want to test a couple times after the AMPS to see how the
insulin is working and how low it's dropping

Same with the night time PMPS , you want to scatter the times of the
tests , so it's like a puzzle being filled in.

 

https://felinediabetes.com/FDMB/threads/dr-pierson-new-food-chart.174147/

Food chart

 

Are you using syringes with half unit markings?
We increase or decrease by 0.25 units, so using syringes with half unit markings makes it a lot easier.

Are you using the vials or pens of lantus
It's expensive in the US , don't know how much you are paying but we can
save you a lot of money , most of us buy from Marks Marine in Canada
if you are interested
Has your vet been increasing Max's dosage by whole units?

 

https://www.felinediabetes.com/FDMB...-low-go-slow-slgs-tight-regulation-tr.210110/

Dosing methods Lantus



https://www.felinediabetes.com/FDMB/threads/what-is-the-insulin-depot.150/

 

Learn how YOUR kitty is responding to insulin:

• Onset - the length of time before insulin reaches the bloodstream & begins lowering blood glucose
• Peak/Nadir - the lowest point in the cycle
• Duration - the length of time insulin continues to lower blood glucose
• How to do a Curve - a simple explanation