? 147BG Should I be concerned?|Cosequin dose advice?

So my vet told me last Monday that Kitty Mao was in remission and to only test her every three days. KM was pleased with this information as she does NOT enjoy the test with her nervous newbie mom performing it.

I decided that every other day would be a safe compromise after I realized just how miserable she was with my ineptness. She's been in the green, eating LC/low phos wet food every 4-6 hrs and she's slowly getting more like herself, even getting playful at night again!

Today she's in the blue at 147. She was in a good mood, came to me for food at 10, so I tested first and fed. She hadn't eaten since around 2am and I tested at 1030am. Fed her a tbsp of Weruva (Karate Kitty) and now she's happily sleeping in her lil' hot box. I know it's still technically a good number but I'm on high alert for any changes...

As per the Cosequin, I know she needs a joint supplement because I can hear little snaps with her front leggies and when she lays down to tuck her arms under herself, she flicks her paw a bit. I'm unsure if I should start slow with 1/2 capsule twice a day for a few days, move up to 1 2x, then taper off? I've read that it can cause diarrhea and I'd like to avoid that as much as possible, her BM's have been a little off and I did introduce Miralax for a couple of days this last week.

Any and all advice would help immensely! I'm trying so hard with her...I just don't want to smother her with too much care if she's good. I try to read her body language as well as her bio language...but sometimes my emotional brain gets in the way and I wear myself out and annoy the crap out of her at the same time...Not ideal conditions lol.

Thanks all!!

 

Hi there! I don't know that 147 is something to be too alarmed about, especially if there are other issues, although we do like to see cats with BGs mostly below 100 to achieve a strong remission. Constipation/diarrhea and general GI distress may cause glucose levels to rise a bit. If the Cosequin is giving her trouble then I would try something else for the arthritis. Here is a good conversation I had about this same issue that might help you: https://www.felinediabetes.com/FDMB...-95-3-68-6-78-10-81-pmps-82-2-68-4-65.246351/

 

Yeah, I haven't started the Cosequin yet because she has such a sensitive tum and early kidney problems, I'm just on the fence as if it'll be an upset to her and she's had so many lately! And thank you so much for your reply, it really helps!

 

To get a strong remission we usually suggest reducing the dose from 1 unit to 0.75 unit, then 0.5, then 0.25 unit then 0.1
This gives the kitties pancreas a chance to completely heal and foe you to get a strong remission.

I would suggest getting a BG test in before you feed both morning and night and also to together a test in about 3 hours after the morning meal.
This will give us an idea if the pancreas is working as eating should stimulate the pancreas to produce some insulin and reduce the BG if the pancreas is in fact working.
Are you giving several smaller meals during the day and evening?

 

I am giving several smaller meals in between, she's picky but does love canned food, but it's been a bit of a struggle to find the right ones. She'll eat maybe a tbsp at a time, sometimes less but she's not turning food down. She would hork down a whole piece of tilapia if i let her but I know that's not good to feed her at all times so that's off the menu. So we're just trial and erroring Weruva/tiki cat and occasional FF pate. So for tonight, since it's so late, should I take the little bit of food away that I've put down and wait until 8-9ish to feed? Oops..she just came into the office smacking her lil' jaws so I think she just had some...Would I get an accurate reading if I fasted her until say 9am? I wish my vet would have had me reduce her numbers....it seemed too good to be true

 

Just do the trial with the feeding 3 hours after food. I’d wait until morning now.
If you could get a reading morning and night for the next 14 days and some spot checks 3 hours after she has eaten, that will give us a good idea if she is in remission.
You want a strong remission so it is always good to try and get it right the first time.

looks like you are feeding her good food although I have no idea what tilapia is!

 

I will! Thank you so much

tilapia is a white fish, and not a very healthy one! But she adores it!

 

So her BG was normal at 116 but she *mayyyy have* found a few stray K/D crunchies that had fallen from the plate of the outside kitties (I feed the strays her leftovers, and last night was kind of sloppy in my haste to get it done) There probably weren't any more than 5-8 pieces, but it makes me wonder if getting some Dr. Elsey's kibble as a treat would be a good idea? I hope that if she did find them (and not the dog) it wouldn't have spiked her BG too terribly? Gah, I STILL can't believe that I was feeding her that crap! And being told it was the best for her! Yeeeesh.

And is there ever a time where you start feeling less like an absolute monster because you have to test them? She's reallllllly becoming uncooperative and I fear we may soon have to resort to the "purrito" wrap....

 

Hey Lanerd!
I only give 1/2 capsule either once or twice a day to Nico and his brother Casper, because they do get looser stool while on it. Nico has the DM and Casper has urinary issues, but both seem to do fine on it. Tmk, Cosequin doesn't have any additives that will increase BG and I've not seen any adverse effects in terms of kidney problems. When I first started dosing, I started at 1/2 capsule once a day, then increased to 1/2 capsule 2x day after about a week or so. I stopped there because of the poo issues lol. But I think you're spot in slowly increasing and seeing how it goes - each cat is different.

And I feel you on the testing... Sometimes Nico runs from me even when I tempt him with treats!! Like Mom, no not again!! I resorted to laying on the floor and talking to him before I test, give him a treat, and "trap" him in my arms lolol.... Oh my, what we gotta do sometimes.

 

Brava to you for figuring out the OOO when it comes to testing Nico! I pulled her test off with no issues earlier, she seemed like it was no big deal so I felt like I was winning!

Idk if I'm overreacting, I probably am but she puked up her food about 30 mins ago and just doesn't seem "happy" now. She looks thinner today than recent days, I'm not sure if it's because I'm feeding her better food at shorter intervals or what. I'm wondering if the Cattyshack Weruva food is messing with her? She's always had a sensitive stomach... I'm starting to feel that old creepy fear coming over me and I'm not liking it. So...I don't know if I should feed her again and then test, or test on an empty stomach for the third test. Any advice, as always, is welcome!!! Thank you all!

 

As she is not getting insulin, you don’t need to worry about hypos at all.
If you think the Cattyshack is not agreeing with her, I would withhold it and try something else.
if you could put a little * in the spreadsheet square each time you feed her, that would be great and will show us when she eats in relation to the BGs. So if she is fed at say +3 in the am cycle, out a * in that square. Does that make sense?

 

Just another thought……as she has vomited and doesn’t seem happy, do you have some Ketostix you could test her urine with for ketones?.
If you don’t have any, it would be worth while getting some (from a chemist or Walmart ….not expensive) and eliminating any ketones in the picture.
You just need to collect a urine sample and test it and compare the result with the colours on the side of the bottle.

 

I had ketostix but they were expired gonna grab some more tomorrow!! And yeah, I gave her some tiki cat and she was a lot better. sleeping happily and seems ok....but that also means that i didn't get her BG before she got food because I was worried that she was gonna be in a bad spot w/ no food....I will def. put the * in the spreadsheet for feeding!

 

Are you able to get a pm test in as well before you feed?

 

I sure did! 79 and feline finnnne I couldn't get her midday reading, she was sooooo upset with me... If I only get her AM and PM readings, am I doing her a disservice? Should I really push for a third test?

 

Getting the am and pm readings is great. If you can sometimes get a test in 3 hours after food…especially if the previous reading was a blue reading, that will tell us if the pancreas is starting to kick in and working.

 

I will absolutely definitely sneak in and get a midday reading, I missed the 3 hr mark by a couple of hours today but tomorrow should be better, time frame wise. Thank you so much for your knowledge!

 

How are things going with Kitty Mao?

 

Ahh, yesterday was a bad day for me, inundated with familial woes so off to the rescue I went. Inasmuch, Kitty Mao did not get the testing done because my husband is not adept at ALL, but I was pretty confident that her levels would be stable. Tested her as soon as I got home this AM, BG 80

I believe we've found the good stuff when it comes to something she'll eat! Wellness chicken/chicken liver pouches with low phos. levels., she's not leaving anything on the plate like everything else I've tried!! Good stuff! I'm also thinking that we may have to get her checked out for tooth problems, I know in the recent past the vets have made mention of tartar but lately it seems like she's a little more tender in the mouth area. Or I'm just overdoing my due diligence, sheeesh. I don't know anymore these days

Since she's been OTJ for over 2 weeks now, would intermittent testing be okay or should we continue the 2-3 checks a day for another 2 weeks? I'm sure she was SO grateful that I wasn't hovering with the clicky pen of pain before breakfast and dinner

 

Sorry I have been so late in replying.
Here are a couple of cats SS that went OTJ. Have a look at the last couple of weeks and see that almost all the BGs are green. This is what a cats SS should look like if you want a strong remission
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet...PwJ8HdYC3at0le8fRu7F5y-e29IULOPHL7p-d/pubhtml

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet...PwJ8HdYC3at0le8fRu7F5y-e29IULOPHL7p-d/pubhtml

We need to see more testing ….at least twice a day before we can safely say your kitty is in remission. Try and keep the SS up to date if you can please.

 

I really am trying....but I'm just having such a hard time getting her tests done and she's realllllly suffering because of it. This morning I had to poke her ear at least 5 times, now just went for the midday test and another 5 times with absolutely no results. My BG monitor requires a pretty good drop of blood and I'm just wasting strip after strip and I'm getting low on them...I'm so frustrated and scared that I'm doing things wrong!!! And I'm wondering if her higher numbers are because I suck so bad at this. Ugggghhhhhh this is the worst. I'm so concerned about her pancreas and kidney levels too because that was what spurned her vet into suggesting the k/d diet, which in turn made her diabetic...So I just feel like I'm at square one again and it's so hard

 

Hi, what size lancet are you using? A 26 or 28 gauge is better and will give you more success.
Are you warming the ear first and milking it to encourage blood?
I see you are still giving snacks during the cycles…that is really good!
How’s her appetite?
Don’t give up…..you are doing a good job!

 

I've not seen cosequin to really effect bg.

If the cosequin isn't enough to help, ask about adequan shots for arthritis.

 

I used cosequin with Sheba and it did not affect the BGs at all