New Member and VERY new diagnosis

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Angela & Cleo

Angela & Cleo

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Hello All and thank you for all you do!
I am new at this as my darling Cleo (will be 10 yrs old on 3/1) was diagnosed on 1/3/2022. She is an extremely difficult cat (NOT a lap cat and has a four pet stroke maximum before swiping.)
On 1/3/22, we took Cleo in because DH suspected hyperthyroidism - she was losing weight, drinking a lot, urinating a lot and obsessively hungry. Well, it turned out that it wasn't hyperthyroidism but diabetes. Urine and BG's were through the roof. We were crushed!
Our Vet has her on 2 units of Lantus every 12 hours, 1/2 Can of Purina Savory in AM and the other 1/2 at PM. We've taken away all treats and dry food!!
On 1/17 we took her in for a follow up visit and her BG (per the Vet) was 120!
On 1/31 we took her in so that Vet could take blood for fructosamine test and a spot BG. Results were NOT good. Vet and I decided that since she was not exhibiting any symptoms, he was not inclined to increase the insulin dosage and that I would start to monitor her urine. Further, we would touch base in about a week (tomorrow) to determine if free style libre (implantation for 2 weeks) would be next steps. Please keep in mind that she is a VERY difficult cat and Vet isn't confident that we're going to be able to do a BGC at home. HOWEVER, after a ton of research, I think I have to give it a try. I purchased the AlphaTrak 2 kit and its supposed to be delivered today. DH also ordered organic chicken hearts and livers (for himself) and made him promise to share with Cleo! I think that I have to at least TRY home BGs before giving up. My plan is to slowly acclimate Cleo with the click of the lancet device with the chicken hearts/liver treat. I'm open for all suggestions, tips, tricks, etc to help this along. Thanks! Angela & Cleo
 
Welcome Angela and Cleo, I know you haven't started testing yet but
We cannot see your spredsheet
To set spreadsheet sharing permission:
* At the top right of the spreadsheet screen click on Share.

* In the pop-up dialog box click on the Get Link section.

* Change link access from 'Restricted' to 'Anyone with the link' and make sure that the permission on the right hand side is set to 'Viewer'.

* Click Done to save the changes.
 
Thank you for your response and warm welcome. Did as you described above. Let me know if you still cannot access it.
BTW your fur baby Tyler is ADORABLE!!!!
 
Hi and welcome @Angela & Cleo , sorry to hear about your Cleo, what a beautiful cat she is.

My boy Hendrick was just diagnosed 1/5/22 -- very new to this as you are.

I went from not being able to fathom the thought of home BG testing to doing it many times a day. I do not use the lancing device at all, that never worked for me it made him jump, that loud click noise right by his ear! I tried with that thing but got frustrated and was on the verge of giving up when my vet showed me to free hand with a longer lancet, so you can really see where you're going with it, and no CLICK!

Also, I wear my readers (I'm almost 50 ok!) and a LED headlamp so I can really see what I'm doing.

I sing a little song. I massage his ears to get them warm and he loves that. (YMMV)

I make sure to use a little vaseline -- attempts without have failed EVERY time.

Good luck you've got this!!
 
You might want to read all about lantus , all the yellow sticky's
Here is the link
https://www.felinediabetes.com/FDMB/forums/lantus-levemir-biosimilars.9/

Yes I can see your SS.
We usually start with a dose of 0.5 with lantus
I will tag some members for you about it.
There is no need to feed prescription foods.
Most of us feed Fancy Feast Classic Pates or Friskies
I will give you the link for the food list, we like to stay with 5% carbs or less
https://www.felinediabetes.com/FDMB/threads/dr-pierson-new-food-chart.174147/

Be sure to have med and higher carbs in case you need to bring Cleo's BG up
Such as
Med and High Carb food



Fancy Feast Gravy Lovers Gourmet Beef Feast in Gravy 20% High Carbs

Fancy Feast Gravy Lovers Gourmet Chicken Feast in Gravy 15% Med Carbs

Fancy Feast Gravy Lovers Turkey Feast in Gravy 15% Med Carbs

Fancy Feast Gravy Lovers Chicken and Beef in Gravy 15% Med Carbs

Good idea to mark the cans with magic marker how many carbs

Or any on the food chart
https://felinediabetes.com/FDMB/threads/dr-pierson-new-food-chart.174147/
 
Hi and welcome Angela and Cleo.
That is great you are going to attempt home testing. The thought can be daunting but slowly slowly acclimatising Cleo to the routine of testing will pay dividends. Have plenty of low carb treats on hand and give one whether you are successful or not. She won’t know and will expect a treat. My Sheba would come running when she heard me at the testing equipment.

hometesting is by far the best way to keep Cleo safe. And well done getting the spreadsheet set up and the signature! Very helpful to us.

Regarding the food. There is no need to feed a prescription diet unless you want to. Ordinary low carb canned food is fine. I’ll put a link to a chart we have at the end. I would also recommend feeding during the cycle as well as before the shot. Only feeding twice a day is old thinking that went with old insulins. Cleo’s pancreas would be happier if she got two snacks during each cycle ( day and night) as well as the Preshot meal. I would suggest trying snacks at +3 and +6 ( 3 and 6 hours after the shots) and see how that works. A snack is a couple of teaspoons of low carb food.
Bron
I see Diane has listed a food chart!
 
As Hendrick's mom and dad said if Cloe doesn't like the sound of the lancet devise most of us freehand, we just hold the lancet and poke
Give Cloe a treat after testing , she will associate that she will get a treat after testing. You can also give her a treat before you test
I'll give you some suggestions about low carb treats
Here are some treats also
PureBites Freeze-Dried Cat Treats with Chicken Breast 2.3 oz ()https://www.amazon.com/dp/B071P

Also chewys has freeze dried treats also


The freeze dried treats you can get at petsmart, petco and order from chewy. Purebites is popular (cheaper if you buy the dog food ones). My crew like vital essentials it's dehydrated freeze dried raw comes in flavors

freeze dried minnows, made by Vital Essentials. I also buy the ones made for dogs. They're the same as the freeze dried minnows for cats. just cheaper. They also carry other freeze dried treats. I ordered mine through Amazon.

I think the vital essentials are more of a crunchy texture than the purebites

If you cat likes any of these you can buy the bigger bags for dogs they are the same ,you will get more for your money just break then up into smaller pieces
.

You can Google freeze dried treats and see what other ones there are and different flavors
Just make sure that is the only ingredient in them meaning turkey, chicken, minnows etc

Here is another one , I see you can get these in different flavors also just look
You may have to break any freeze dried treats in half if they are too big
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01B78672I/ref=twister_B08SGXLB53?
 
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
c2b8079a-b471-4fa6-ac36-9ac1c8d6dcca-jpeg.57072
fec17d29-5ab4-44a8-912b-3a91944c3954-jpeg.57073

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 20 seconds until it stops
Get 26 or 28 gauge lancets
A lot of us use the lancets to test freehand
I find it better to see where I'm aiming
You can even put the drop of blood on a clean finger nail and test it from there

Here is a video one of our members did
VIDEO: How to test your cat's blood sugar
 
Last edited:
Just wanted to add I would not increase the dose of insulin until you are home testing and can see how the dose is working. 2 units is a higher dose than what we normally start on.
When you do increase…. If it’s needed…. We recommend only increasing in 1/4 unit increments.
 
Angela & Cleo said:
Our Vet has her on 2 units of Lantus every 12 hours, 1/2 Can of Purina Savory in AM and the other 1/2 at PM. We've taken away all treats and dry food!!
On 1/17 we took her in for a follow up visit and her BG (per the Vet) was 120!
On 1/31 we took her in so that Vet could take blood for fructosamine test and a spot BG. Results were NOT good. Vet and I decided that since she was not exhibiting any symptoms, he was not inclined to increase the insulin dosage and that I would start to monitor her urine. Further, we would touch base in about a week (tomorrow) to determine if free style libre (implantation for 2 weeks) would be next steps.
Click to expand...

I'll tag some members about the starting dose, ladies I mentioned to Angela that we usually start with 0.5 with lantus
@tiffmaxee

@Bron and Sheba (GA)

@Wendy&Neko

@Sienne and Gabby (GA)

Thanks ladies
 
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Angela & Cleo said:
1/2 Can of Purina Savory
Click to expand...
The DM wet pate is ok at about 6% but the Savory Selects are 10% and again a little higher than recommended. We generally suggest 6% or under for most kitties.
Always add some warm water to her food
Cleo is an adorable kitty :cat:
Do you have the U-100 shrines with the half unit markings?
They are easier to use when you need to increase or decrease by 0.25 units
If not I can suggest where to get them, most vets don't have them
PLEASE READ WHAT
@Bron and Sheba (GA) said about the food below. She's absolutely right
 
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If you are feeding the Savoury Selects I would not change it to a lower carb food until you are testing the BG as the BG could drop lower with a lower carb food. And while this would be good, you need to be able to see it happening (by testing) and be able to adjust the dose of insulin accordingly.

you mentioned that the BG was 120 at one visit but at the next the results were “ not good”. What do you mean by that?
 
Bron and Sheba (GA) said:
If you are feeding the Savoury Selects I would not change it to a lower carb food until you are testing the BG as the BG could drop lower with a lower carb food. And while this would be good, you need to be able to see it happening (by testing) and be able to adjust the dose of insulin accordingly.

you mentioned that the BG was 120 at one visit but at the next the results were “ not good”. What do you mean by that?
Click to expand...
Thanks for adding that about not switching to a lower carb food , I was just going to add that, thank you Bron :cat:
I just added that to my post #12
@Bron and Sheba (GA)
 
Diane Tyler's Mom said:
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
c2b8079a-b471-4fa6-ac36-9ac1c8d6dcca-jpeg.57072
fec17d29-5ab4-44a8-912b-3a91944c3954-jpeg.57073

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 20 seconds until it stops
Get 26 or 28 gauge lancets
A lot of us use the lancets to test freehand
I find it better to see where I'm aiming

Here is a video one of our members did
VIDEO: How to test your cat's blood sugar
Click to expand...
oMG sooooooo helpful! Thank yo for the video
 
Diane Tyler's Mom said:
The DM wet pate is ok at about 6% but the Savory Selects are 10% and again a little higher than recommended. We generally suggest 6% or under for most kitties.
Always add some warm water to her food
Cleo is an adorable kitty :cat:
Do you have the U-100 shrines with the half unit markings?
They are easier to use when you need to increase or decrease by 0.25 units
If not I can suggest where to get them, most vets don't have them
PLEASE READ WHAT
@Bron and Sheba (GA) said about the food below. She's absolutely right
Click to expand...
So wonderful of you to share! We have the U100 syringes with 1/2 markings. Cleo actually had a diarrhea and vomiting episode after eating the pate. So we switched her back to savory...for now. She is VERY food motivated so the test and treat method for BGs seems to be the best option. She's still on a round of antibiotics for the diarrhea and vomitting so I am going to hold off on traumatizing her for now. I do have it in my stubborn head that BGCs are the ONLY way to get DM under control.
 
you mentioned that the BG was 120 at one visit but at the next the results were “ not good”. What do you mean by that?[/QUOTE]

Thanks so much for further clarification on the food. Much, much Appreciated!
Two weeks after the good 120 bg reading was 495. Vet said that even accounting for stress hyperglycemia he still felt it was high. About two days later the fructosamine test came back "poor". This was on Wednesday last week. He was leaving for vacation and did not want to change anything. He just said to urine test for now and watch for clinical changes and we would discuss next steps in a week, ie tomorrow. He was leaning to implantation of a libre for bg monitoring because of how difficult she is. I was inclined to agree but its a temp solution and this is a long haul disease. The actually fructosamine number he will give me tomorrow.
 
I would suggest the same thing as Bron on dose. Don't change anything until you are able to get blood sugar data. When you change food, do it very slowly, maybe start with just a tsp of the new food on the old and gradually increase. Sudden food changes can cause upsets.

By the way, it's very common for newly diagnosed cats on insulin to have numbers "all over the place". I think that's the most common phrase I hear. We determine who to change the Lantus dose based on the nadirs or low points, or how low the dose can take the cat, and tend to mostly ignore any higher numbers. A cat's body has to get used to normal BG numbers again and can dump sugars (we call it bouncing) to bring their numbers up if they see a number lower than they are currently used to.

If you haven't seen it yet, this post may help: Hometesting Links and Tips After the videos is a link to video on testing a fractious cat.
 
Angela & Cleo said:
you mentioned that the BG was 120 at one visit but at the next the results were “ not good”. What do you mean by that?
Click to expand...

Thanks so much for further clarification on the food. Much, much Appreciated!
Two weeks after the good 120 bg reading was 495. Vet said that even accounting for stress hyperglycemia he still felt it was high. About two days later the fructosamine test came back "poor". This was on Wednesday last week. He was leaving for vacation and did not want to change anything. He just said to urine test for now and watch for clinical changes and we would discuss next steps in a week, ie tomorrow. He was leaning to implantation of a libre for bg monitoring because of how difficult she is. I was inclined to agree but its a temp solution and this is a long haul disease. The actually fructosamine number he will give me tomorrow.[/QUOTE]
@Bron and Sheba (GA)
 
Also because of upset stomach issues, I took her to the ER Clinic on Saturday 2/5. Her BG was 325. She hadn't eaten nor had insulin.
 
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