Hello again

Well, you got a +6 on her yesterday and she is still extremely high. Excellent job with the testing really. I feel a little sad and quite frustrated looking at her spreadsheet. Let me know when she has completed the transition to wet food only. I think then we will need to increase her dose.
 
We're tryng to work out, or understand, how her reading is so high first thing in the morning, as she does not eat overnight, no food is left out.

Once the +5 or =6 test is done and she is fed, a small amount of wet food, she settles down for up to four hours now, and has done for three days.

Our main issue is the three other cats, and not to leave their food out for Scully to graze/steal, which she has done in the past.
 
Scully had no dried food today at all. It was tough to do with three other cats in the house. Readings not as good as I hoped they would be.

We did +5, 6 and 7 hours test on Saturday.
 
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Our vet raised concern over protein in her last blood tests, and feeding her a diet with no dry, all wet, means more protein.

Is the hope that we get the diabetes under control?

Is there a balance between the diabetes and protein levels?

My wife is concerned about the protein levels. Scully is going in for another blood test in 12 days.
 
Do you have the reference range for the bloodwork and the actual number for the protein in her blood at her last blood test? Slightly elevated blood protein isn’t a big concern. Proteinuria can be caused by diabetes as well as (most commonly urinary tract infections then kidney disease, diabetes, elevated blood pressure, hyperthyroidism, systemic inflammatory disease, etc.)
 
Hello. Are you talking about an elevated protein in her urine or is this strictly a blood value?
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When we told the vet we were going to eliminate dried food, or try to, she was very concerned. She said that in her last blood test there was high protein in her blood, which may indicate kidney issues.

As her blood sugars didn't drop, we eliminated dried food over the weekend. In the meantime, there has been an issue with the test strips, the upshot being that we only had two left for yesterday. We gave her a day off from testing yesterday.

This morning's AMPS was 19.1, we have new strips being delivered, but I am going into the city to see if Pets at Home stock the strips.
 
The test strips are only available via a pharmacy, and none of the pet stores near us have such a facility, so we are relying on the courier to bring them. I will test Scully at +6 to see her nadir.
 
Jelltex said:
When we told the vet we were going to eliminate dried food, or try to, she was very concerned. She said that in her last blood test there was high protein in her blood, which may indicate kidney issues.

As her blood sugars didn't drop, we eliminated dried food over the weekend. In the meantime, there has been an issue with the test strips, the upshot being that we only had two left for yesterday. We gave her a day off from testing yesterday.

This morning's AMPS was 19.1, we have new strips being delivered, but I am going into the city to see if Pets at Home stock the strips.
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Do you have a copy of her bloodwork? Was a urinalysis done? If her BUN and Creatinine were within normal limits and her USG (Urine Specific Gravity) are within normal limits then she does not have kidney disease (as long as there is no other condition present that could “mask” kidney disease, such as hyperthyroidism, which I am sure has been screened for in a senior kitty.

Protein in the blood is not a reliable marker for kidney disease. What’s more, limiting protein intake even for a cat who has confirmed kidney disease is controversial and is considered “outdated thinking.” Limiting protein intake even a cat, who is an obligate carnivore, leads to weight loss and muscle wasting.

Her high BG numbers are much worse for her kidneys that have to process all that blood glucose, than any intake of protein in food. Also, what makes the vet think that feeding an unnatural dehydrated food (dry food) which is inherently bad for a cat’s kidneys and keeps them in a state of dehydration is going to be beneficial to her kidneys? The whole thing doesn’t make sense from so many angles. And there’s no research to prove that a so called slow release of protein is beneficial for kidneys.

I really do understand your anxiety though. Kidney disease is something we all fear in our cats, especially since it’s prevalent in cats. That’s one reason I am so concerned when I see her high BG numbers— I fear for her kidneys as well as other organs.

Another thing, being an unregulated diabetic puts her into a state of dehydration and that, in and of itself, can cause protein levels in blood to appear elevated. Was her hematocrit also elevated or at the high end of normal?
 
Here is an informational page that was written by a veterinarian, Dr. Lisa Pierson, regarding dry food:
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Understood.

The good news is that she has been sleeping since more food at +3 hours, and that has not happened for over a year. Coming after the 19.1 blood glucose measurement of her AMPS. We will measure her again in ten minutes.

More test strips being delivered in the next hour, we have heard.

I have sent your long message earlier to Jools, and I will reply with all the information we have.

Thanks.
 
Okay so I am looking at her spreadsheet and I am totally excited. She had a pink AMPS this morning of 344! First time EVER having a pink AMPS (or PMPS for that matter.) Progress. I will be looking forward to your +6 test. I was “letting you be” this past weekend when I noticed many blanks on her spreadsheet. I assumed you had not updated her spreadsheet yet, but now I see that you were running out of test strips. I believe she is ready for another dose increase, but I am waiting on the +6 test.
 
Jelltex said:
The good news is that she has been sleeping since more food at +3 hours, and that has not happened for over a year
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She must be beginning to feel better. This is a very important development. So what would she previously have been doing instead of sleeping? Was she always looking for food? I am really happy to hear about this because … this is why we are here — to get the cats healthy again and having a much better quality of life. Thanks for telling me this about Scully because it has really made me smile this morning (that and her lower morning preshot test.)
 
So what would she previously have been doing instead of sleeping
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Meowing for food, following us around. Meowing.

Last week she began to sleep after the +6 feed. And today, we gave her more at +3 and she was happy to sleep right through to 15 minutes before +6. Sadly, the +6 test failed, so she was fed, then the new test strips arrived, which gave a reading of 14.2.
 
Good. A yellow (256) at +6 is an improvement. I recommend an increase to 2.75 units. You can start at the next dose.
 
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With the dose increase to 2.75 units and the newer yellow nadirs, I recommend (and I think I have probably said this before) feeding a small snack of 1-2 teaspoons of wet food at +2, which is when ProZinc will onset and begin to lower BG. Then another snack at +4 is very helpful. It might sound ridiculous at this point, and I didn’t bother over it because her numbers have been so high, but as we start getting Scully into better numbers it will be important to feed at strategic points in the cycle to prevent her from dropping too quickly. This schedule can be adjusted if her numbers show us, for example, that the insulin onsets either earlier or later. Also, we don’t want to feed her much after her nadir as that can shorten the duration of the insulin, causing numbers to rise prematurely as we approach PMPS.
 
Lastly, please don’t forget to put the number of units you shot into the units cell (both a.m. and p.m. ) and fill in any other tests you got. There are quite a few blanks over the last few days. Thanks, I appreciate this.
 
Lastly, please don’t forget to put the number of units you shot into the units cell (both a.m. and p.m. ) and fill in any other tests you got. There are quite a few blanks over the last few days. Thanks, I appreciate this.
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Did this soon after you posted this.

Trying to understand the high AMPS reading this morning as Scully had not eaten in 12 hours. Upped the dosage as suggested, and 15.4 at +5 hours.

After a little food she has now settled down.
 
Oh that is sooooo good! Not just one but two lovely blues on her spreadsheet! Oh, I am really happy now! Good girl, Scully! Keep up the good work!
 
It looks like she is slowly trending upward. I would not feed her more until PMPS, unless she’s absolutely famished and restless. Then go ahead and give her a snack of low carb. Just don’t feed after +10. You will probably have a lower PMPS today.
 
She really rises up a lot at the end of the cycles. She isn’t yet getting a full length of duration from the ProZinc. That should start improving over time and also her preshot numbers will hopefully start to come down also.
 
Hopefully, Scully's latest blood work attached.
Screenshot 2025-09-17 160317.png
 
We did our very best today.

So that no food after +6, and the result was 17.5 for PMPS.

After feeding, she settled down, and on top of that, is washing much more. In fact she had stopped, pretty much. I have just watched her wash for half an hour.
 
That’s great to hear she’s grooming herself more! She must be feeling a bit better. That is a better PMPS last night.

I had a cat go in for some surgery yesterday and several other appointments so I didn’t get a chance to fully look at her bloodwork yesterday. I saw some parts of it, but didn’t want to comment until I had full time to study it. I do see that a lot of things were “off” and it’s not surprising. Many cats have things off kilter when they’re first diagnosed. My own cat did. You two are doing well and I am really happy it’s improving Scully’s quality of life.
 
I had a cat go in for some surgery yesterday and several other appointments so I didn’t get a chance to fully look at her bloodwork yesterday
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I understand fully, and sorry to hear that.

Scully has been a bit frantic beyond +10 hours, but it is working. Lowest ever reading at +6 earlier.
 
That is wonderful to see!
If she’s really getting frantic then you can try giving her a spoonful of something really low carb (which I believe your wet food is) or a little boiled or roasted chicken that’s unseasoned. You can experiment with a small amount and see if that helps settle her and what impact it has on her BG.
 
I was hoping see a return to blue numbers today since she seems to be in a pattern of having blue numbers and then a cycle(or two?) of bouncing. Today, I see she’s gone quite high, and I am wondering if she had another low number last night that has caused this bounce reaction. It’s very common for cats to drop into lower numbers at night (lower than the typical daytime numbers.)
 
I don't know what to say. We did nothing different, really.

I was hoping to see lower numbers too. She has been demanding again this morning, so some food given at +5, but as Jools is doing crochet in the living room due to rain outside, Scully stopped meowing for food and has settled down, and been there 90 minutes so far.

I am not going to disturb her for the +6 test.

It could just be boredom with her? Though anthropomorphising cats probably doesn't work.
 
Jelltex said:
I don't know what to say. We did nothing different, really.

I was hoping to see lower numbers too. She has been demanding again this morning, so some food given at +5, but as Jools is doing crochet in the living room due to rain outside, Scully stopped meowing for food and has settled down, and been there 90 minutes so far.

I am not going to disturb her for the +6 test.

It could just be boredom with her? Though anthropomorphising cats probably doesn't work.
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You two did nothing to cause the high numbers. It’s quite likely that she’s having what we refer to as a bounce reaction. Scully’s body could be reacting to lower numbers that she is not used to anymore since becoming diabetic. It’s a protective mechanism where the cat’s central nervous system perceives either a steep drop in blood glucose or just being in lower numbers — and releases adrenaline, cortisol, glucagons and growth hormone, all of which create insulin resistance and can keep numbers high for up to six cycles (the bounce). Bounces don’t have to last that long, but in some cats they will. Over time, many cats will start to clear the bounces more quickly.

It can be very frustrating to see higher numbers after you have already been getting better ones. I was noticing the blue yellow blue pattern, and was hoping today was going to be a blue day, but then she went pink! We will be waiting for her to come back down.
 
It can be very frustrating to see higher numbers after you have already been getting better ones. I was noticing the blue yellow blue pattern, and was hoping today was going to be a blue day, but then she went pink! We will be waiting for her to come back down.
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Thank you very much for explaining it so well.

Tomorrow is a new day, lets see shat that brings.
 
I hope all goes well at the vet today. I like the 124 blue at +5 for her today. I think she may be getting a little more used to the blue numbers.Let me know how it goes.
 
I hope all goes well at the vet today.
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Weight 4.65 kg, 240 gram increase in a month, the first weight increase in over a year.

She climbed up to the window to look outside and relax whilst in the consultation room.

New blood sample taken, results on Friday.

4.3 at +6 hours upon her return.
 
Jelltex said:
Weight 4.65 kg, 240 gram increase in a month, the first weight increase in over a year.

She climbed up to the window to look outside and relax whilst in the consultation room.

New blood sample taken, results on Friday.

4.3 at +6 hours upon her return.
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Good news! And wow. A green number! Sometimes cats do that after being at the vet … and sometimes stress makes them go high, but from what you say, it sounds as if she was pretty relaxed! I am pleased about the weight gain!
 
Jelltex said:
We made sure she did.

She ate it and is now sleeping.

Happy.

As are we.
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When she has a number as low at 77 (4.3) it’s a good idea to feed a little food and to retest in a half hour to an hour just to be certain that her numbers will not continue to drop. Since it was already at +6, I wasn’t that concerned about her dropping too low, but sometimes they can surprise us. You can use food to “steer” the numbers and, oftentimes, a little of the LC food will help them stay in green numbers. Anyway, she doing beautifully.

Oh, I forgot to ask… what was the attitude of the vet this time when you brought her in. I hope it was positive and that she could see a positive difference in Scully so that she feels you should continue with what you are already doing (you know… keep up the good work and all that.)
 
Oh, I forgot to ask… what was the attitude of the vet this time when you brought her in
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We kinda shut her up with facts and results.

She warned us that allowing her readings to get below 10 was dangerous. I replied that we test her near and at the nadir, and one of us is around to monitor Scully.

She was concerned at the dosage of insulin, but we have the test results to back it up.

I would like to think she is thinking about how she treats diabetic cats in the future. That she is the diabetic "expert" in the practice makes me concerned. This is since a multi-national company took it over and the original five star vets retired.
 
Also, Scully is washing, is perky, and was clearly so relaxed to go and lay in the sunshine. In the examination room.

I dread to think if we would have accepted her claim at the beginning of August that the condition was under control due to one reading of about 13.

No need to test her. We were told.
 
Scully has slept all morning, and still is, so it seems a shame to wake her to test her. But will do at +6. This is an incredible development.
 
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