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:

Time	BS	UNITS NPH
0900	362	0
2100	338	2
0700	325	3
1900	389	3
0700	444	3
1500	316
1900	398	3
0700	418	3
1900	399	3
0700	512	4
1900	460	4
0700	422	4.5
1900	363	4.5
0700	445	5
0915	236
1200	191
1415	401
1630	377
1900	371	5
0700	484	6
1900	222	4
0700	465	5.5
1900	422	6
0700	339	6
1300	204
1900	464	6
0700	457	6
1015	172
1330	128
1900	312	6

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!!!!!

0700	330	6	BEGAN ONLY WET FOOD
1100	57
1445	289
1900	351	6
0700	385	6
1200	59
1900	256	6
0700	326	5
1900	301	6
0700	241	6
1900	253	6
0700	327	6
1900	342	6
0800	326	5
2000	232	6
0800	87	0
1030	193
1300	293
1500	234
2000	302	6
0800	182	4
1530	99
2000	272	6
0800	293	6
2000	180	4
0800	251	6
2000	132	3
0900	265	6
1130	69
1615	76
2000	182	4
0000	44
0800	261	6
2000	120	0
0730	365	6
2000	169	4
0800	199	5
2000	125	2
0800	170	4
2000	117	2
0800	110	2
2000	158	4
0800	161	4
2000	109	2
0800	163	4
1300	54
2000	102	2
0800	106	2
2000	77	0
0800	133	2
2000	104	2
0800	112	2
2000	124	2
0800	95	0
2000	118	0
0800	82	0
2000	85	0
0900	117	0
2000	113	0
0830	79	0
2000	72	0
0730	134	0
1900	86	0
0800	75	0
2030	176	0
0800	68	0

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!