What to do from here on out

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Lucioid

Lucioid

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Hi everyone! Sorry if the post is long.

Our senior cat (15) has been diagnosed around five months ago with diabetes. When he first got diagnosed, he had his sugar levels up to 500. Following the recommendation of our vet, we tried to lover his sugar blood levels with a new diet, which he initially took well, but after a month and half he started to deteriorate quickly, loosing weight and being lethargic. With that, we started him on ProZinc 0,4 every 12 hours. That seemed to help somehow, but he still wasn’t eating as well as before (except non-prescribed food, such as raw liver and boiled chicken or fish, which he loved). As he still was loosing weight, we had to lover his dosage of ProZinc to 0,2 and for the last couple of days he stoped eating by himself all together. We feed him with a syringe, just so he would have something in his stomach. Yesterday he started to have diarrhea and vomiting, which worried me more than anything and I suggested my family to get him to urgency care. Now, he’s signed in for 48h, and on our last visit the vet in that clinic told us that apart from having a high sugar count (440 if I’m not mistaken), he’s dehydrated, has some renal issues, low potassium, and a heart murmur. He went from being a big, chunky boy to skeleton in a matter or months, right now weighing around 3’8kg. He’s also have been suffering with mycoplasmosis for about four years, which we have been treating with steroids; but it seems that the same steroids caused his diabetes, and now that we can’t treat that, he’s back to having a lot of mucus and some difficulty breathing, which together with his diabetes surely causes his lack of appetite. Quite honestly, I’m desperate. I don’t know what to do after his 48h stay at the hospital. We live on an island, and there’s not really any cat specialist in the area.
 
Hi amd welcome to the forum. I’m sorry your kitty is unwell but I’m glad you took him to the vet. First of all I would not have recommended a cat diagnosed with diabetes be left without insulin for more than 2 weeks maximum if you are trying a low carb diet first. And even then I think his urine should have been tested for ketones. Leaving him 6 weeks without insulin is far too long.
Did the vets say if he had any ketones in his urine when he was admitted to hospital. If you could get all his lab results when he is discharged and post them on here, we can help you.
Did the vets mention he might have DKA?
Is he getting an antibiotic?
Is he on an IV drip?
Are you hometesting his blood glucose? The renal issues could just be because he is dehydrated and could return to normal once he is better…we see that quite a bit.
What are you feeding him?
Yes steroids can cause diabetes but if a cat needs the steroid to stay well then we work around that.
Where abouts do you live? Which country?
Keep asking questions
Bron
 
Our primary care vet did take some samples of urine a couple of months ago on our first visit when we got the diagnostic, but he never tested it for ketones, and only proposed the test last week. I’m personally not very keen on this vet, as he doesn’t seem experienced enough when it comes to diabetic cats.
In the new hospital, were we have admitted him for his 48h stay, they didn’t inform us about possible DKA, but I’ll ask them on today’s evening visit.
Yes, he’s on IV drip, also some antibiotics and medicine for his stomach, mainly gastric protector and for helping with nausea, as he’s had an upset tummy because of the vomiting.
No, we haven’t been checking his sugar blood levels at home, as that hasn’t been suggested by any of our vets, but as soon as he gets out of urgency care, I’m planning on buying some.
What we fed him at home was his prescription diet, Purina Pro Plan for Diabetes patte’s or Hill’s Diabetes Care for Cats. But he didn’t really like any of this food, and would only eat well natural foods (raw liver, boiled chicken, raw salmon; anything he could get from the table).
We live on the Canary Islands, in Spain.

Any necessary questions we need to ask our urgency care vet on today’s visit? They’re doing an eco today to see the state of his kidneys and an ex-ray, and the plan for now is to discharge him tomorrow morning.
 
Ask the vets
  • if they have tested for ketones in the blood / urine. And if he has DKA?
  • How much insulin are they giving him?
  • Are they going to send him home on an antinausea medication you can give at home?
  • Will they also give him an appetite stimulant?
  • Ask for a copy of the lab results today.
  • Is he eating at all for them?
  • Remember the kidney issues could be from dehydration so don’t be railroaded into any hasty decisions you are not happy with. Diabetes is a very treatable disease when treated properly.

Lucioid said:
No, we haven’t been checking his sugar blood levels at home, as that hasn’t been suggested by any of our vets, but as soon as he gets out of urgency care, I’m planning on buying some.
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Yes definitely get a human glucose meter, test strips to go with it, a box of 100 lancets size 26 or 28 to prick the ear and some cotton balls to hold behind the ear when testing. There is no need to buy an expensive pet meter. A human meter is fine and what most of us here use.
We have a spreadsheet which you can add the data into and we can help you with dosing. Also the signature..if you could get those set up while he is on hospital that would be good.
Here is the link to HELP US HELP YOU
Lucioid said:
What we fed him at home was his prescription diet, Purina Pro Plan for Diabetes patte’s or Hill’s Diabetes Care for Cats. But he didn’t really like any of this food, and would only eat well natural foods (raw liver, boiled chicken, raw salmon; anything he could get from the table).
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There is no need to feed a prescription food. They are expensive and cats don’t like them and they are nothing special at all. Normal low carb canned food is fine. What canned food do you have in the Canary Islands? I’m going to tag @Gill & George as she lives in Spain and may be able to help with the food side of things. You need to be feeding a balanced diet. Unfortunately scraps from the table is not balanced. If you are prepared to feed a home made diet I can give you a nutritionally balanced diet to follow…otherwise he may eat normal canned food. Can you get fancy feast there?

Initially we need him to eat any food, so whatever he will eat is OK but that can only be temporary. Eating is very very important, otherwise it leads to so many other problems.
I hope you get better news at the hospital.
I live in Australia and it is night time here but I will be around again tomorrow. I will also tag @Bandit's Mom and @tiffmaxee to keep an eye out for you.:)
 
Hi! Sorry for the belated response, we were waiting for our kitty to make some progress, but we're still having issues.

When I first made this post, the next day we went and brought him to a hospital for a 48h stay. During that stay, he regained some weight (not much, but it's something), his appetite back, and his sugar blood levels somewhat stabilized. We were sent home with a new diet and food routine, in which we would feed him only when giving him his insulin, so, two times a day. With this, he would eat all that he could in the morning, and 15 minutes after, he would get his shot, and the same procedure followed in the night. With this pattern, he eats pretty well, almost a can per serving, and his weight has stabilized (which is somewhat good, it would be awful if he kept loosing weight). The amount of ProZinc was 2IU, so, 0,2. They put a monitor on him that would allow us to keep track of his sugar level at any time of the day with an app, and we've kept track of the numbers.

His numbers kept swimming up and down, kind of inconsistently, but after a few days they started to remain always in HIGH (which is around500), so we brought him in for a check-up. High levels of sugar and ketones in 1,3. So, again for another 48h stay.

During this stay, he was given first fast acting insulin, to bring down his levels of sugar in blood and the ketones, and the next day he was given again ProZinc, but now they decided to give him 4IU, meaning 0,4. Yesterday, they discharged him, even though his sugar levels were around 400, which honestly baffled me today when my mother told me (they were the ones to pick him up). He still eats well, and acts okay, but our worries are that we will have to bring him in again, and it's honestly tiring because it seems the veterinary doesn't know what they're doing.
 
I’m sorry you are having so much trouble with Sima.
If he had been having ketones you need to be feeding him as much as he will eat. He needs to be eating 1 and 1/2 times as many calories as he would normally eat to keep the ketones away. So as well as the main meals before the insulin, I would give him a snack of low carb food every couple of hours. A snack is a teaspoon or two.

I would also make sure you are testing for ketones as we need to know what’s going on there and take action if needed. To do this you can either test the urine with Ketostix. Make sure you read it exactly 15 seconds after you dip the strip into the urine. Or you can buy a blood ketone meter and test as you would with the blood glucose. Either is fine but you must choose one.

You can also add a teaspoon of warm water to each snack to increase fluid intake which is important.

Remind me.. are you hometesting the blood glucose? If not I would strongly recommend you do. Increasing the dose to 4 units is a very big jump and I am concerned about Sima’s BG dropping too low. Do you have a hypo box set up in case of low numbers? If not please get one set up. I’ll link something below about it.

Could you take a photo of the syringe please with the dose drawn up so I can see please. I’m just concerned you are saying 4 units ( 0.4)
To do this you need to copy and paste the photo into this page.
 
After being discharged this Sunday, the vet clinic managed to get his ketones under control with the fast acting insulin.

He eats well at home right now, we usually feed him half a can of Purina Pro Plan or more, depending on his appetite (he usually eats more than that, thank god). If he gets a bit fussy about it, we add some Applaws treats (mackrel fillet, tuna fillet, salmon fillet) to get him to eat with more willingly. Would be a broth be better for the hydration of his food? It's already a wet diet, he barely eats any of the dry food that my other cat eats.

We haven't yet bough a glucose tester, as on his first discharge the vet clinic installed a sort of insulin pump? It's not really an insulin pump, just looks like it, but it allows us to measure his BG stats trough an app on the phone. We always measure it before giving him his shots, to see what numbers he shows, and we check it also a couple of times a day to see his fluctuations. The thing is, he's not having any. He's always on HIGH, which is around 500. So even though we keep in mind a possible drop in BG, it's the least of our worries right now. But just in case, we keep a bit of honey on our hands.

Even with 4IU of ProZinc, his BG won't go down. I'll attachs photos of the syringe that we're using and how much we're giving him. The vet told us that maybe our method of giving him his insulin was wrong, but we demonstrated it to them and everything was right.

(I tried attaching the photos but it won't let me do it from my phone, I'll try tomorrow morning on my computer).
 
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Lucioid said:
After being discharged this Sunday, the vet clinic managed to get his ketones under control with the fast acting insulin.

He eats well at home right now, we usually feed him half a can of Purina Pro Plan or more, depending on his appetite (he usually eats more than that, thank god). If he gets a bit fussy about it, we add some Applaws treats (mackrel fillet, tuna fillet, salmon fillet) to get him to eat with more willingly. Would be a broth be better for the hydration of his food? It's already a wet diet, he barely eats any of the dry food that my other cat eats.

We haven't yet bough a glucose tester, as on his first discharge the vet clinic installed a sort of insulin pump? It's not really an insulin pump, just looks like it, but it allows us to measure his BG stats trough an app on the phone. We always measure it before giving him his shots, to see what numbers he shows, and we check it also a couple of times a day to see his fluctuations. The thing is, he's not having any. He's always on HIGH, which is around 500. So even though we keep in mind a possible drop in BG, it's the least of our worries right now. But just in case, we keep a bit of honey on our hands.

Even with 4IU of ProZinc, his BG won't go down. I'll attachs photos of the syringe that we're using and how much we're giving him. The vet told us that maybe our method of giving him his insulin was wrong, but we demonstrated it to them and everything was right.

(I tried attaching the photos but it won't let me do it from my phone, I'll try tomorrow morning on my computer).
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I think there may be an issue with the site for upload files. Try just copying the photo and pasting it.
 
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This is the type of syringe that we use, which was the smallest that we could find. And that’s the amount of insulin we’re giving him, 4Units (if I’m not mistaken, that’s the correct amount. I may be incorrect; the one that administres the shots is my mother).

Of course, we're not giving him this ammount without the aproval of the vet clinic. This is the amount (if I'm correct) of insulin they told us to give him. At this point, we're thinking of switching his insulin to another, because this one doesn't seem to be working.
 
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Thank you for posting the photos.
If you are giving Prozinc it is a U40 insulin and you need to be using a U40 syringe.
You are using a U100 syringe so you are not giving the correct dose even though you are drawing up 4 units.
Did the vet tell you to use those syringes or did you just get them yourself?
There is a conversion chart whereby you can use the U100 syringes to give the Prozinc but it is more complicated then using the U40 syringes and you need to know what you are doing to avoid mistakes..
You need to ring the vet who prescribed the 4 units and tell them you are using the U 100 syringes as the dose you are giving is much less than if you were giving 4 units via a correct U40 syringe.

Do you still have the freestyle libre attach to Sima?
I’m going to ask @Bandit's Mom to set up a spreadsheet for you so we can see what is happening with the blood glucose.
 
To follow up on what Bron said, if you are drawing Prozinc to the “4” line on a U-100 syringe, then you are actually giving 1.6 units of Prozinc.

U-100 and U-40 insulins have different concentrations, hence the different syringes. As Bron said, you can use your current u-100 syringes BUT you will need to do a conversion to know what line to draw the insulin to on the syringe to get an actual 4 units of Prozinc, and the conversion isn’t something I’d recommend when you’re first starting out given the confusion it can cause. I used u-100 syringes with a u-40 insulin for years and did the conversion, but it takes some getting used to.

Also, always speak in terms of actual units of insulin administered, not what line you drew to on the syringe. So for now, you’ve been giving 1.6 units of Prozinc(despite drawing to the “4” line) so 1.6u is what you’d log in the spreadsheet or report to your vet.

I can tell you where to draw on the u-100 syringe to get an actual 4u of Prozinc if you’d like, but I don’t want to complicate things unnecessarily. If you choose to continue using the current u-100 syringes, please post here before making any dose changes so we can confirm what line you need to draw to.
 
JL and Chip said:
can tell you where to draw on the u-100 syringe to get an actual 4u of Prozinc if you’d like, but I don’t want to complicate things unnecessarily. If you choose to continue using the current u-100 syringes, please post here before making any dose changes so we can confirm what line you need to draw to.
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I agree. I hesitated to give the amount on the U100 syringe in case the vet were using that syringe. But I think it is a strange way to start out with a new diabetic without explaining it properly and why didn’t the vet give them the correct syringes?
It needs to be clarified.
 
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Just to be sure, here’s another photo of the syringe. It’s a 30 unit syringe, so it should be correct? We have checked about the use of this specific syringe with our previous vet and the clinic where they are treating our cat right now. Both said that it’s fine to use this one.
 
Lucioid said:
Just to be sure, here’s another photo of the syringe. It’s a 30 unit syringe, so it should be correct? We have checked about the use of this specific syringe with our previous vet and the clinic where they are treating our cat right now. Both said that it’s fine to use this one.
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That syringe you have just posted is a U100 0.3ml insulin syringe which is used for insulins such as Lantus. They have an orange cap.
The U40 syringes have a red cap.
If you are drawing up 4 units on the above syringe you are not giving 4 units of Prozinc.
But I want you to go back to your vet and ask him about it.
How experiences is your vet with feline diabetes…it concerns me they have told you it is ok to use this syringe with Prozinc.
Prozinc is a U 40 insulin and needs a U40 syringe unless you are using a conversion chart, which I doubt you are otherwise your vet would have told you. It is also very unusual for a vet to start a new caregiver on a conversion chart with Prozinc. You need experience and undrstanding to use them
The difference between the two syringes is the size of the barrel and the amount of insulin each holds. Cats are only tiny creatures so a small amount of insulin can make a huge difference.
I am going to tag @Suzanne & Darcy as she is a Prozinc user. She probably won’t be around tomorrow.
And I’m going to try and find someone who uses Prozinc to post a photo of a U40 syringe.
 
Yes, I see it now on the side of our syringe.
So, what can we do from here on? It seems like we've been giving him the incorrect amount of insulin, because we didn't know about the U-40 syringes nor did our vets inform us.

My mother wants to take Sima to another vet, to get a third opinion, because she doesn't like our currect vet clinic. Our doctor is never the same, they always change from one to another, and it stresses her out that our case is being handled by multiple people with different opinios. I'm not entirely sure on taking him to another vet, as he's been just discharged this Sunday and even though our cat is very calm, internaly I'm sure it causes a stress to be handled by so many people. The thing is, we have to take him to a vet anyway, because the insulin tracker is expiring tomorrow, so they have to remove it. Also the ProZinc is expiring in the next week, so we either stay on it, or change to another type of insulin (maybe Lantus).

Any advice? Our cat is pretty relaxed right now, he eats well and goes to the bathroom as usual, no vomit or lethargy. But with the BG levels not changing, his ketones will go up sooner or later.
 
Here is a photo of the syringes side by side.
The U-40 syringe is on the left, the U-100 syringe is on the right.

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By way of explanation (this requires a bit of numbers/math):

The “U” indicates how many units of insulin are in one milliliter.

U-40 insulin has 40 units of insulin in a ml.
U-100 insulin has 100 units of in a ml.
Basically, that means a U-100 insulin is “stronger” (more concentrated) than a U-40 insulin on a volume basis. It’s 2.5 times more concentrated, to be exact.

The reason that using the appropriate syringe is critical is because of this difference in “strength.” Mismatch the insulin and syringe, and you’re not giving the dose you think you are.

edited to add: If drawing to the “4” on a u-100 syringe, you are giving 1.6 actual units of Prozinc.
 

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I think you need to establish from the vet how much insulin Sima was getting in the hospital.
Were they using the same syringes you were? If so they were only giving 1.6 units of Prozinc. You don’t want to be jumping to 4 units of Prozinc with the U40 syringes until you have a definite answer about the dose being given in hospital.
Suzanne , being a Prozinc user can help you with dosing.
 
Bron and Sheba (GA) said:
I think you need to establish from the vet how much insulin Sima was getting in the hospital.
Were they using the same syringes you were? If so they were only giving 1.6 units of Prozinc. You don’t want to be jumping to 4 units of Prozinc with the U40 syringes until you have a definite answer about the dose being given in hospital.
Suzanne , being a Prozinc user can help you with dosing.
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Okey, I'll ask about that. I also have to take into account that when he would stay at the hospital, they would put him on IV and fast-acting insulin, so that's probably why he would get better.
 
Lucioid said:
Okey, I'll ask about that. I also have to take into account that when he would stay at the hospital, they would put him on IV and fast-acting insulin, so that's probably why he would get better.
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Yes. This does make sense. What we know right now is that he is not receiving enough insulin to lower his BG (it appears from what you have said). If he has been receiving 1.6 units of ProZinc then I will need you to get a spreadsheet set up and to input the BG numbers that you have from the Libre Sensor (continuous glucose monitor that the vet pit on him.). We can start safely increasing his dose as soon as I can see these numbers and as soon as you can have a way of testing him at home (either with the sensor or with a handheld glucometer.). At least at first (because of his history of ketones and hospitalization) I would like to move quickly to adjust his dose as long as someone will be able to get the BG numbers and monitor him.). Also, you need to test for ketones.
 
So the next steps are: 1) find out from vet what dose of insulin he was getting at the hospital. Was it all rapid acting insulin?
Even if we don't know that and we are using the 1.6 units as a starting point, we can move on from there with the dosing.
2) set up a spreadsheet and input as much data as you can from the Libre sensor so we can try to determine what his nadir (lowest point in the cycle) is. Knowing the nadir is key to adjusting the dose safely. Has someone already sent you the "How to set up a spreadsheet" instructions? Or have you seen it? It may be a part of the "How to Help Us Help you" link.
 
Suzanne & Darcy said:
So the next steps are: 1) find out from vet what dose of insulin he was getting at the hospital. Was it all rapid acting insulin?
Even if we don't know that and we are using the 1.6 units as a starting point, we can move on from there with the dosing.
2) set up a spreadsheet and input as much data as you can from the Libre sensor so we can try to determine what his nadir (lowest point in the cycle) is. Knowing the nadir is key to adjusting the dose safely. Has someone already sent you the "How to set up a spreadsheet" instructions? Or have you seen it? It may be a part of the "How to Help Us Help you" link.
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Hi everyone! So, some updates are in order.
This evening we brought him in to a new clinic, and I think we finally found someone competent enough to handle our case. Our new vet listened to our history with all the details, and here’s a few things we corrected:
1. His syringe and insulin shot. We brought in the syringe we’ve been using until now and told her the amount we have been administering. As you all said, not only was the syringe the wrong one, but also the amount of insulin is not enough. So, she gave us a few U-40 syringes for the next days and ordered us a box of those too, and upped the dose of ProZinc to 3 units (we have been giving him only 1,6 units, and explained to us about the difference in conversion). This was enough for me to give me the confidence that this woman knew what she was talking about, as all the previous vets never even told us about the correct syringe for ProZinc or the right amount.
2. By her orders, we bought a glucometer, and have been told to measure a BG curve in the next 24h to see how the new dose is acting. We tried to take some blood samples, but is harder than we thought, and didn’t get any results. We can’t pinpoint the right place to prick him in the ear to take the sample, but at least for now we still have the sensor on his chest working, which also helps us tracks his BG.
3. She took some blood samples for a pancreatitis test, for which we’ll know the results tomorrow. I personally don’t think he has it, or any underlying condition which impedes his recovery, but it’s good to know still, just to be sure.
4. She also tested him for ketones, which were low and safe, I think she said 0,2. So that’s great.

With this, we finally have the right tools to keep treating him, and a vet that seems knowledgeable enough and invested in our kitty, and not just the money. We’ll keep practicing with the BG strips, any advice on how to draw blood easy and without much suffering for the kitty would be much appreciated. Also, tomorrow I’m planing on starting that spreadsheets, just to keep a check on his numbers.
 
I’m glad you have found a new vet who knows about the correct syringes to use with Prozinc.
Can you tell us what type of glucose meter you have? is it a pet or human meter?
I’m very glad to hear the ketones were Ok
If you need help with the spreadsheet, @Bandit's Mom can help you
I’ll give you a link to HOMETESTING which will give you lots of hints
Also a photo of where to test.
I won’t comment on the dose, I’ll leave that up to @Suzanne & Darcy as she is a Prozinc use
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Massaging and warming the ear can help a lot. You can use an old small pill bottle with hot water in it (not too hot) or a small sock with rice in it that you warm in the microwave. Even a warm washcloth can help. Their ears usually get easier to bleed as you go along. In the beginning it can be difficult. If you put a little Vaseline petroleum jelly on his ear it will help the blood to bead up for easier testing.
 
As for the dose. The vet’s recommendation is to almost DOUBLE the current dose. I do think that is a dramatic increase. Cats are small creatures and small increases and decreases in insulin can have dramatic impact. It may be an appropriate amount, but if you decide to go with 3 units please monitor very carefully and be ready with high carb food and honey or corn syrup and the knowledge to manage a hypo situation.
 
Bron and Sheba (GA) said:
I’m glad you have found a new vet who knows about the correct syringes to use with Prozinc.
Can you tell us what type of glucose meter you have? is it a pet or human meter?
I’m very glad to hear the ketones were Ok
If you need help with the spreadsheet, @Bandit's Mom can help you
I’ll give you a link to HOMETESTING which will give you lots of hints
Also a photo of where to test.
I won’t comment on the dose, I’ll leave that up to @Suzanne & Darcy as she is a Prozinc use
View attachment 70917
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The glucose meter the vet recommended is human intended, but both in the clinic and in the pharmacy they told us that it is used frequently on cats.
 
Suzanne & Darcy said:
As for the dose. The vet’s recommendation is to almost DOUBLE the current dose. I do think that is a dramatic increase. Cats are small creatures and small increases and decreases in insulin can have dramatic impact. It may be an appropriate amount, but if you decide to go with 3 units please monitor very carefully and be ready with high carb food and honey or corn syrup and the knowledge to manage a hypo situation.
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Yes, this night I’m going to be monitoring his state for any heavy drops in BG, and we have honey and high carb food on hand.
 
Update on the first night with the new dose:

I was a bit worried about the increase of insulin, so I told my mother I would stay up and monitor him with the BG tracker that he still has on his chest. His BG descended from 558 around to 150 in 4h, and when I saw the number spike down so fast I panicked. I know 150 is a safe number, but we've never saw such a low number at home, so in a moment of panic, I gave him just a drop of honey. Now I feel dumb and awful, because I didn't really have to do that. His numbers rose a couple of hours later to his usual range, between 250-450. I'm feeling mentally exhausted after weeks of having to drive him from one veterinary to another and monitoring his every move, and this last thing just broke me a little because I'm not helping the situation and I feel I did something irreversible.

We're still having issue with the ear prick. His ears are very thin, and the only time we managed to take a drop of blood was this morning, because we hit the Marginal Vein (it was not intentional). We're thinking of trying with his paws, maybe?

Edit: right now he's stable. Following the BG curve instructios, he test his blood every 2h. At 11am he was HIGH, but now at 1pm he was at 314, which is good.
 
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Hi Lucy. You certainly did not do anything irreversible! It’s okay. Pretty much all of us have panicked in one way or another when we were new to all this. Next time you can just give him a small amount of low carb food if you are concerned- a teaspoon or two - and retest in 30 minutes to see if the numbers are stable (or check the sensor if that’s what you are using.)

Regarding the ear testing, be sure that you are pricking in at about a 45 degree angle with the lancet instead of going straight in at 90 degrees to the ear. Also, it can really help to have a bright light shone on the ear. You can buy a headlamp or headlamp with magnifying capability to help see what you are doing.
 
Oh, you aren’t loading the lancets into the lancing device are you? Most people feel that they have better control holding the lancet in their hand. And a lot of cats hate the noise of the lancing device next to their ear.
 
Suzanne & Darcy said:
Oh, you aren’t loading the lancets into the lancing device are you? Most people feel that they have better control holding the lancet in their hand. And a lot of cats hate the noise of the lancing device next to their ear.
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No, we aren't using the lancet device, because we tried last nigth and it was imposible to draw any blood and it made a lot of noise and tressing our kitty . So we're using it manually, by hand, and trying to see it under light (his ears are easily see-trough, so we're trying to be more careful).
 
Suzanne & Darcy said:
Hi Lucy. You certainly did not do anything irreversible! It’s okay. Pretty much all of us have panicked in one way or another when we were new to all this. Next time you can just give him a small amount of low carb food if you are concerned- a teaspoon or two - and retest in 30 minutes to see if the numbers are stable (or check the sensor if that’s what you are using.)

Regarding the ear testing, be sure that you are pricking in at about a 45 degree angle with the lancet instead of going straight in at 90 degrees to the ear. Also, it can really help to have a bright light shone on the ear. You can buy a headlamp or headlamp with magnifying capability to help see what you are doing.
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Thank you for the reasurrance :bighug:. It's nice to know everyone was starting at the same point of not knowint what to do. This will be a long learning curve, but we want to give our kitty the best quality of life and hopefully make him stay with us for many more years. :cat:
 
Lucioid said:
Thank you for the reasurrance :bighug:. It's nice to know everyone was starting at the same point of not knowint what to do. This will be a long learning curve, but we want to give our kitty the best quality of life and hopefully make him stay with us for many more years. :cat:
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I was totally incompetent at getting blood at first. I cried over and over and told myself I was never going to be able to do it — but I refused to give up (and fortunately my boy was a sweetheart about it - and I kept giving him low carb treats each time) and I finally got good at doing the tests.
 
The other piece of information about home testing is that it can take a week or two for the capillary bed in your cat's ear to more fully develop. The more you poke, the more capillaries will grow and it will be easier to get blood. Also, what gauge are the lancets. Most of the time, people will buy 30 gauge lancets. That's fine once your cat's ear bleeds more easily. In the beginning, a thicker lancet works best. I generally recommend a 28 gauge if you're just starting out.
 
Sienne and Gabby (GA) said:
The other piece of information about home testing is that it can take a week or two for the capillary bed in your cat's ear to more fully develop. The more you poke, the more capillaries will grow and it will be easier to get blood. Also, what gauge are the lancets. Most of the time, people will buy 30 gauge lancets. That's fine once your cat's ear bleeds more easily. In the beginning, a thicker lancet works best. I generally recommend a 28 gauge if you're just starting out.
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It's not conventional, but right now we're using the gauge of one of the excess syringe that we had. It works better than the lancet gauge's, as those are very thin and small.
 
Lucioid said:
It's not conventional, but right now we're using the gauge of one of the excess syringe that we had. It works better than the lancet gauge's, as those are very thin and small.
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Ah, okay. It sounds like your lancets are ultra fine/small. Just make sure your syringe is sterile and if you reuse it, the point will get dull rather quickly.
and be more painful (unless you’re using a new one each time.) It’s definitely true that the ears do bleed more easily after a while, as Sienne noted. Also, you may find that one ear will bleed better for you than the other, although it’s still nice if you can alternate ears and move a little bit up and down the sweet spot of the ear so that you aren’t poking the same place all the time.
 
Suzanne & Darcy said:
Ah, okay. It sounds like your lancets are ultra fine/small. Just make sure your syringe is sterile and if you reuse it, the point will get dull rather quickly.
and be more painful (unless you’re using a new one each time.) It’s definitely true that the ears do bleed more easily after a while, as Sienne noted. Also, you may find that one ear will bleed better for you than the other, although it’s still nice if you can alternate ears and move a little bit up and down the sweet spot of the ear so that you aren’t poking the same place all the time.
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Yes, we always sterilize both the area where we prick and the gauge before and after testing. And we do alternate the ears, so that he don't bruise too much in one single area. He's taking it very well, doesn't complain, and gets a small treat after every test.

Today's reading were all around the 380-450. It's not the best, but we're being patient, and honestly it's better than all the previous numbers we had weeks ago (which were above 500). We have an appointment scheduled next week with our vet, but right now we're recording all the numbers and readings that we get so she has a general idea about how his new dose is affecting him.
 
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