Thank You for this site I'm Renee and I have a newly diagnosed diabetic cat. Smokey is a 12-13 yr old DLH, neutered male, dedicated house cat. I first noticed a change in behavior a couple months ago. He started urinating in the dog bowls. We would have to pick them up as soon as they finished their food or he'd pee in it. Then he'd pee on the paper plate we fed wet cat food on. No blood, no straining. Off and on lethargy, eating well but just "off". We passed it off thinking he was grieving our elderly cat that had passed recently. Then I noticed he was drinking COPIOUS amounts of water, like 3-4 + cups daily. Off to the vet and after running the testing gamut, he's diabetic. Blood glucose 577. Weight 8.0 lbs Started him on 2 units ProZinc twice daily and Hills Glucose Support. Recheck in 2 weeks, was down to 293 at 5hr after insulin, weight 8.75 lbs. Increase to 3 u, recheck today at 6 hr mark he was 67, weight is 10 lbs which is closer to where he should be in weight. We are going to 2u at night and 3u in morning. He is back to his old self, grooming, zoomies with the other cats, sleeping with us. Yeah! Water consumption has decreased. I did research on dry diet because the prescription diet is cost prohibitive with three cats eating it. (From day one Smokey and the other two immediately ignored their old food and ate the prescription diet) I bought Instinct Original dry cat and Wysong, both diets not only have the kitties seal of approval but also the vet's. He gets "snacky" of a small can of fancy feast pate in the morning (he's not fond of pate) evening they get a can of Frisky's meaty bits, shreds, or prime filet. I only get the ones in sauce not gravy. I think we're on the right track, was a little freaked out at the 67 reading but I didn't give him wet food this morning. He's eating the lower carb dry really well. We free feed and he's really good about snacking throughout the day. He goes to eat when I tell him to get snackies and is absolutely amazing with the insulin shots. I'm going to be reading everything you have on testing and best meter for this. I'm sure it'll be a challenge. I welcome any and all feedback on what we're doing so far . Thanks again, it's nice having access to help
Welcome Renee and smokey ,I will tag a member who is familiar with Prozinc but for now can you fill out what we call our signature and set up our spreadsheet. If you have trouble setting up our spreadsheet just ask and one of our members will set it up for you . One thing we don't increase the dose by whole units , we increase the dose by 0.25 units at a time and don't give different doses in the AM and PM. Do you have the U-40 syringes with the half unit markings? I would suggest getting a humam meter ,that's what our numbers are based on Here is the link for the meter and test strips so you don't have to search for them Relion Premier Classic Meter at Walmart for 9 dollars https://www.walmart.com/ip/ReliOn-Premier-CLASSIC-Blood-Glucose-Monitoring-System/552134103 The tests strips are 17.88 for 100 https://www.walmart.com/ip/ReliOn-Premier-Blood-Glucose-Test-Strips-100-Count/575088197 Testing 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.Just keep rubbing the ears with your fingers to warm them up 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 he won’t stand still, you can get the blood onto a clean finger nail and test from there. When you do get some blood you can try milking the ear. Get you finger and gently push up toward the blood , more will appear You will put the cotton round behind his ear in case you poke your finger, after you are done testing you will fold the cotton round over his ear to stop the bleeding , press gently for about 10 or 20 seconds until it stops Get 26 or 28 gauge lancets A lot of us use the lancets to test freehand not the lancing device I find it better to see where I'm aiming Look at the lancet under a light and you will see one side is curved upward, that's the side you want to poke with Here is a video one of our members made testing her kitty She's using a pet meter that has to be coded ,with a human meter you don't have to code it. I have always used a human meter VIDEO: How to test your cat's blood sugar More testing tips https://www.felinediabetes.com/FDMB/threads/testing-and-shooting-tips.85113/ To set up your signature and spreadsheet Here is a link helping us to help you link. If you noticed, our members have some basic information about their cat's in their signature. This helps us to not pester you by asking the same questions (your cat's name, insulin type, date of diagnosis, etc.) repeatedly. We also have a link to our spreadsheet in our signature. We are very numbers driven. The spreadsheet is a record of your cat's progress. By linking it in your signature, we can follow along and provide feedback should you need the help Do you see mine about Tyler in gray
Thanks for the info. I'm not really good navigating this site. (I'm Technology challenged) Took me awhile to figure out how to post this I saw the link & will definitely try to do the signature and spreadsheet asap. Yes I am using U-40 syringes. I'm pleased with Smokey's response so far but I know we can do better. I'm a little concerned that the vets in my area aren't well versed in treating diabetic cats, we're in a rural area. I want to do the best I can for him and so far he's been a model patient. (He's always identified as a dog ) I hope he'll be tolerant with me learning to get blood from his ear. I'm nervous about that. He hates his ears touched. I'm capable of actually drawing from a leg or neck (former vet assistant) but the ear pokes I've never done. I'm going to Walmart tomorrow for the meter and strips. Thanks for the info and I appreciate having a support group in the wings.
@Renee M I had trouble with navigating the site in the beginning also, it will get easier ,just ask if you have a question If you have any trouble setting anything up just ask and I will ask one of our members to do it for you. About the U-40:syringes do the have the half unit marking ones?? Need to charge my tablet but I'll post some more info for you later I'm back lol Try start to rubbing his ears so he gets used to it Take him to the same place when you start testing him and give him a treat first .freeze dried treat so he will start to associate getting a treat and give him one after. Even if you fail the first couple of times still give him that treat. About the freeze dried treats Freeze dried treats Click on this link and look at post #6. Numbers are to the right You can get any freeze dried treats ,information is there https://www.felinediabetes.com/FDMB/threads/brand-new-many-questions-3.255627/#post-2878703 Freeze dried treats that only contain one ingredient (the meat or fish) is zero carb and fine to feed to a diabetes Smokey is a handsome dude !
Good morning and welcome to you and Smokey! I believe the food you are feeding is way too high in carbs. There are only two kinds of kibble that are low enough in carbs for a diabetic cat. They are Dr. Elsey’s Clean Protein and Young Again. The rest are not low enough and will definitely work to keep blood glucose elevated and create instability in Smokey’s cycles. @Diane Tyler's Mom have you provided a food list link or some recommendations?
Have you seen this yet? https://felinediabetes.com/FDMB/threads/new-how-you-can-help-us-help-you.216696/
Welcome to FDMD! My first thought was the same as Suzanne's -- there are very few dry foods that are low enough in carbohydrates for a diabetic cat. If you're using a "diabetic" kibble, in reality, those dry foods are very high in carbs. It sounds like you're home testing which is great! With a drop in Smokey's numbers to 67, even on a diet that is high in carbohydrates, I would suggest reducing his dose. With Prozinc, we suggest dose reductions if numbers drop below 90. A bit of reading for you: Prozinc basics Prozinc dosing guide Food chart with carb info. You may want to check out Tiki Cat. They have very low carb food and many of their varieties are shreds vs pate style. It is a pricier line of food, though. Home testing links and tips Please let us know how we can help!
Dr Elseys you can buy on chewey site https://www.chewy.com/dr-elseys-cleanprotein-chicken/dp/146269?utm_source=google-product&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=12791446238&utm_content=Dr. Elsey's&utm_term=&show-search=1&gclid=EAIaIQobChMI0PvU2Zj79wIVRIdbCh3JawEkEAQYASABEgIInfD_Bw Dr Elsey's also at Walmart https://www.walmart.com/ip/Dr-Elsey...ViI3ICh0suwO_EAQYAiABEgJrOPD_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds Dr Elsey's Amazon https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07FCJHDPR/ref=twister_B09GHFJY65?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1 From what I have read on our site they are 5 or 6% carbs so that's ok I read the same thing about The Young Again Kibble stinky poops Dr Elsey's will send you a sample . You can see if Callie likes them before buying them ,get the chicken flavor. Dr Elsey's Clean Protein Dr Elsey's web site https://www.drelseys.com I think this is there phone number Phone: 877-311-2287
Hi there. I’m just checking in. How are things going? Have you gotten any successful tests yet? How can we help you? Remember, if you need help setting up a spreadsheet we have people who can do it for you in a jiffy.
OH boy, bought the ReliOn voice meter cause that was the only one they had. Took it to work to set it up, and the instructions don't match the prompts on the meter, plus I forgot the control solution. (Stupid of me because I ran the QA customer return lab for the One Touch meter back in the 1990's) I'm definitely going to need help setting up the signature and spreadsheet. Right now I need to master the meter set up. And run the 30 miles to town in the morning for control solution. Do I just turn it on and run his drop of blood and it's an accurate reading for a cat? I haven't read on this site that procedure yet. ( My vet was surprised we can use a human meter) I apologize for being so dumb and confused. We've got a lot of feather and fur babies and I'm working part time so I'm trying to squeeze in reading the info and learning the lingo. I can't thank you all enough for your patience and help. Gonna grab supper and read, read, read the newbie info. )
@Bandit's Mom Hi Bhooma can you please contact Renee and set up her signature and her spreadsheet Thank you Bhooma
I have never really used the control solution unless I started seeing crazy crazy numbers after seeing really good numbers @Renee M
Neither did I. I read somewhere that the ReliOn meters didn’t need to be calibrated (or whatever you call it). I can’t remember anyone where I read this, but I think it was in the pamphlet for my ReliOn premier or my ReliOn Prime meter. I had both. Once I did check the Premier just out of curiosity because I had some control solution that came with my Nova Max Plus glucose/blood ketone meter. I had been using the Premier for at least 6 months and it was working just fine when I checked it with the control solution.
Note the one should only use the control solution made for the specific meter/strips. The control solution is NOT a simple glucose solution. I once did check one meter with a different meter's control solution and the results were not even close. I only used a control solution in the past when meters came with control solution. Sees now that meters do not come with a control solution. Almost all meters today are self coding. In the past one had to enter a cide/check code with each box of strips. The most recent meter that I had to code the strips always had the same code for years. What coding was required if one forgot to change the code the reported BG values would be off and that seems to be the major reason. In that case a control solution test would show that.
@Renee M How are things going did you get the meter to work yet. If you want to try and set up your signature it's very easy You can just tap on your name above then tap on the word signature and add , do you see Tyler's after my post in gray Add info we need to help you: Caregiver & kitty's name DX: Date Name of Insulin (do not include dose or frequency) Name of your meter Diet: "LC wet" or "dry food" or "combo" Dosing: TR or SLGS or Custom (if applicable) DKA or other recent health issue (if applicable) Bexacat or Senvelgo (if applicable) and dates Acro, IAA, or Cushings (if applicable) Spreadsheet link. Please put the signature link on the bottom line of your signature information, on its own, so it is easy to find. Please do not put any information about your location in the signature for security reasons. If you wish to add your country location, please add it to your profile. Be sure to click the 'Save Changes' button at the bottom. If you need help urgently it is important we know these things at a glance. We don’t want to waste valuable time finding out information. I'm going to tag one more member to contact you to set up your spreadsheet for you @Chris & China (GA)
I'd be happy to help you out. I will send you a private message so watch for a message in your Inbox.
Thank you Chris @Chris & China (GA) I hope she comes back on ,she hasn't been in since last Sunday I just tagged her above and asked how things are going post #18
