Friday, January 3, 2014

How To Tackle and Win At your Cats Diabetes in Just Over One Month!!!!

Our Story With Our Cat Hairy:




In November on the 22nd we took him to the vet to see if he might have diabetes because he had been urinating in puddles and drinking bowls of water at a clip. He hadn't lost weight, and hadn't been sluggish, but he certainly had less luster too his mane and was looking a bit different. Our wonderful vet checked his glucose level which registered 361 after having nothing to eat since midnight. It was now 9AM.  She said that we could send his blood out for a lot of expensive tests or we could just give him some insulin and we could monitor his blood sugars at home. I am a Registered Nurse, and felt comfortable bringing him home and doing so.  She also recommended a very expensive ($210/vial) Lantus insulin for the insulin for him. My jaw dropped.  Don't get me wrong, but that is a bit much.  She saw my face and said that we could try NPH ($21.00/vial OTC at Walmart). She also recommended a prescription cat food. I got out of that one too, and she said I could get a high protein low card metabolism dry food for him. Also to give him some wet food. Perfect. Ok, that is better. So she wrote us a script for the syringes, and off I went to Walmart.  Here is what you need people...

HUMAN TESTING SUPPLIES WORK! Don't spend a million bucks on pet stuff.  TRUST ME!

All sold at Walmart:

1. Reli On Prime Glucose Monitor : $17.00
2. Syringes (30) (PRESCRIPTION) : $5.00
3. Reli On Prime Test Strips : $9.00/50 ct
4. Sharps disposal holder for the lancets/syringes
5. 1 Vial NPH insulin
6. Reli On Thin Lancets 100ct ($5.00)
7. Reli On Prime Lancing Device ($4.00)

So we got the stuff and watched a great video on YouTube for how to check the cats blood sugar HERE: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3PDK3bZ4pDc

At first it was tricky to get his sugar, but you will get the hang of it. Relax and give the ear some time to offer the blood.  Gently massage up the ear to stimulate blood flow. You will see a little dot of blood, that is all you need.

I always give him treats after the check also, makes him like to get the sugar tested.

In the beginning we were feeding him 2 times a day 1/2 c. dry food and 1 can wet food with one can of wet food in the afternoon. 

Here is our spreadsheet.  It is in military time and BS stands for Blood Sugar.  i put him on a little sliding scale and adjusted the insulin dose based upon his blood sugar results. Where you see a blank, that is just a random check of his glucose, and we were monitoring the effects of the insulin on his blood sugars throughout some days.  We generally check his blood sugar in the AM (0900) and PM (2100), and administer the insulin if needed at those times. 

Here is a great video of how to administer insulin : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IHrUu8DXlYk

Sorry about the spread sheet, Blogger was having a migraine ;)

Here are his trends:

TimeBSUNITS NPH
09003620
21003382
07003253
19003893
07004443
1500316

19003983
07004183
19003993
07005124
19004604
07004224.5
19003634.5
07004455
0915236

1200191

1415401

1630377

19003715
07004846
19002224
07004655.5
19004226
07003396
1300204

19004646
07004576
1015172

1330128

19003126









































































































































































































































































Then I read something online about cats being whats called obligatory carnivores and that they truly are not supposed to be able to metabolize carbohydrates so that is why a lot of cats are diabetic because their pancreas can't secrete enough insulin naturally to take care of the carbs they are ingesting.  So I had a light go off, and I decided not to give him any dry food and only give him wet food and see how he did.  I gave him approximately 4 cans a day and let him eat at will. I basically left a can out any time I saw the previous one getting low or empty. For the record we use good old Friskies Pate, and Fancy Feast Grilled wet food cans as our choice for him. We alternate, and just mix it up a bit. We have not given him any diabetic or prescription cat foods.

NOTE: Please make sure that you make sure your cat has food available throughout the day as the insulin reaches its peak approximately 6-8 hours after administration. you don't want them to be hungry with no food available because their blood sugar could be critically low.

Here is what happened over the next approximately 3 weeks!!!!!

07003306BEGAN ONLY WET FOOD
110057

1445289

19003516
07003856
120059

19002566
07003265
19003016
07002416
19002536
07003276
19003426
08003265
20002326
0800870
1030193

1300293

1500234

20003026
08001824
153099

20002726
08002936
20001804
08002516
20001323
09002656
113069

161576

20001824
000044

08002616
20001200
07303656
20001694
08001995
20001252
08001704
20001172
08001102
20001584
08001614
20001092
08001634
130054

20001022
08001062
2000770
08001332
20001042
08001122
20001242
0800950
20001180
0800820
2000850
09001170
20001130
0830790
2000720
07301340
1900860
0800750
20301760
0800680

It took his body a few weeks to get adjusted, but finally his pancreas was secreting enough insulin to cover his bodies own metabolism of sugars, and he is now in remission!!!!  We are still checking him 2 times a day, but have not given him any insulin in 1 week! Our Vet is amazed, and we are so happy. Hairy is doing great, he has  a ton of energy, his hair is beautiful and soft, he is barely drinking water, and his pee has slowed down too!   All in all, he is doing great! From November 22 - Jan 1st...down to no insulin!  

Please feel free to comment here if you have any questions.  Also,every cat is individual, I am just sharing our story for anyone who might want to try an unconventional treatment plan!

Here he is, a very happy boy! 








1 comment:

Anonymous said...

My Funny Face loved dry food which I stopped n only fed him Low-carb pate. HE went into remissin in a few months...no more neuropathy in back legs...weight stabilized.
I read about giving EVO Low -carb dry. Give him about 2 Tlb spoons a day. He loved it along with his continued Pate. Unfortunately, he is back on insulin again. Did I do this to him with the EVO?