insulin resistant cat
 

Hi. I have a cat whose diabetes was until recently manageable through diet.
He started to lose weight so I took him to see the veterinarian. She told
me that his blood sugar was high enough that dietary intervention alone
wasn't going to be good enough - that he'd require insulin. I left my cat
at the vet's office for a couple of days while they attempted to regulate
his blood sugar with insulin, but they were mostly unsuccessful. I'm really
at a loss here with the only thing in my mind to try is a taurine supplement
as I have read that it helps increase insulin sensitivity. Does anybody
have any ideas that might help? I'm grateful for any information you can
provide.

Thanks and take care,

MarkM

insulin resistant cat
 

On Feb 23, 6:03�pm, "BigBlocky!" wrote:
Hi. *I have a cat whose diabetes was until recently manageable through diet.
He started to lose weight so I took him to see the veterinarian. *She told
me that his blood sugar was high enough that dietary intervention alone
wasn't going to be good enough - that he'd require insulin. *I left my cat
at the vet's office for a couple of days while they attempted to regulate
his blood sugar with insulin, but they were mostly unsuccessful. *I'm really
at a loss here with the only thing in my mind to try is a taurine supplement
as I have read that it helps increase insulin sensitivity. *Does anybody
have any ideas that might help? *I'm grateful for any information you can
provide.

Thanks and take care,

MarkM

Mark,

Email me privately. I have some information for you.

Rene

insulin resistant cat
 

Hi Mark,

It takes awhile to regulate a cat's sugar. The best way is to start out
very low, like 1 unit per day, then recheck in a week. It takes a week
or two for the body to adjust to a new dose. If they were doing multiple
switches in a couple of days -- that will tell them nothing.

You might try another vet who is more familiar with diabetes, or ask to
be referred to an internist vet (you will need a referral for that.) We
took our diabetic cat to an internist and she saved his life.

Also, some vets start out insulin way too high, like 4-5 units, and it
overloads the cat's system. Their sugar levels start swinging wildly and
it looks like the cat is not responding to insulin, when really they are
responding too much and on the downswing of a wild curve.

There is a wonderful group of diabetic cat owners that helped me with
our cat. They know more than some vets! I can't say enough about the
support and knowledge that they share. It's the message board on this
website: http://www.felinediabetes.com/. It's under "communication" in
the column on the right.

Good luck with your cat!

Rhonda

BigBlocky! wrote:
Hi. I have a cat whose diabetes was until recently manageable through diet.
He started to lose weight so I took him to see the veterinarian. She told
me that his blood sugar was high enough that dietary intervention alone
wasn't going to be good enough - that he'd require insulin. I left my cat
at the vet's office for a couple of days while they attempted to regulate
his blood sugar with insulin, but they were mostly unsuccessful. I'm really
at a loss here with the only thing in my mind to try is a taurine supplement
as I have read that it helps increase insulin sensitivity. Does anybody
have any ideas that might help? I'm grateful for any information you can
provide.

Thanks and take care,

MarkM

insulin resistant cat
 

also read up on home testing. it is better if you can test your cats blood
sugar at home.. better for you financially, and better for the cat for less
stress. It was recommended to me to use a human glucometer several years
ago, and many studies have shown it to be effective and it has saved many
cats lives.

Diet is also highly important. if your vet is up on the current treatment
of diabetes, then chances are they prescribed Hills DM or some other high
protein diet. Hopefully you are feeding a canned food. There isn't a dry
food out there that is low enough in carbs to help diabetic cats. Check out
www.catinfo.org for more information regarding diet. I have not heard of
taurine helping increase insulin sensitivity. I would be very interested to
see where you got that from. A high protein low carb diet is an appropriate
diet for any cat, but is very important for a diabetic cat.

felinediabetes.com is a very helpful website! so is www.yourdiabeticcat.com
My kitty has been diabetic for almost 7 years now.. it is treatable, and
manageable, and insulin is quite easy to administer. Get your cat on the
right diet and boost the system with insulin, you might be able to get your
cat off insulin.


"BigBlocky!" wrote in message
...
Hi. I have a cat whose diabetes was until recently manageable through
diet. He started to lose weight so I took him to see the veterinarian.
She told me that his blood sugar was high enough that dietary intervention
alone wasn't going to be good enough - that he'd require insulin. I left
my cat at the vet's office for a couple of days while they attempted to
regulate his blood sugar with insulin, but they were mostly unsuccessful.
I'm really at a loss here with the only thing in my mind to try is a
taurine supplement as I have read that it helps increase insulin
sensitivity. Does anybody have any ideas that might help? I'm grateful
for any information you can provide.

Thanks and take care,

MarkM

insulin resistant cat
 

"~*Connie*~" wrote in message
...
also read up on home testing. it is better if you can test your cats
blood sugar at home.. better for you financially, and better for the cat
for less stress. It was recommended to me to use a human glucometer
several years ago, and many studies have shown it to be effective and it
has saved many cats lives.

As a 15 year diabetic, I recommend the Freestyle "Flash"
glucoseometer.....It uses only .3 microliteres of blood, which is so small,
you can hardly see it. The less the blood, the less traumatic for the
cat.....You should measure your own blood sugar in the cats presence a few
times, so she/he can see that it doesn't hurt you..........

insulin resistant cat
 

"~*Connie*~" wrote in message
...
also read up on home testing. it is better if you can test your cats
blood sugar at home.. better for you financially, and better for the cat
for less stress. It was recommended to me to use a human glucometer
several years ago, and many studies have shown it to be effective and it
has saved many cats lives.

As a 15 year diabetic, I recommend the Freestyle "Flash"
glucoseometer.....It uses only .3 microliteres of blood, which is so
small, you can hardly see it. The less the blood, the less traumatic for
the cat.....You should measure your own blood sugar in the cats presence a
few times, so she/he can see that it doesn't hurt you..........
I do use the freestyle flash.. Getting my cat to bleed takes a long time,
she's never liked doing it. There are 'generic' brands out there that take
small amounts of blood as well, and the strips are less expensive.

You can get the flash for free most of the time because they offer a rebate,
but the strips in the store sell for about a dollar each ($50 for 50 etc)
I buy mine on Ebay for about fifty cents a strip... but you have to be
careful of sellers and of expiration dates. If you can find a store brand
that takes a small amount of blood, I might recommend you go that route.

You might also want to buy a pair of baby socks (socks for human babies) and
fill one with some regular rice (not instant rice) so you can warm it up in
the microwave and then place that on the cat's ear to warm it up and help
with the blood flow. :)

the learning curve for FD is incredibly steep, but very short.

insulin resistant cat
 

"~*Connie*~" wrote in message
...

"~*Connie*~" wrote in message
...
also read up on home testing. it is better if you can test your cats
blood sugar at home.. better for you financially, and better for the
cat for less stress. It was recommended to me to use a human glucometer
several years ago, and many studies have shown it to be effective and it
has saved many cats lives.

As a 15 year diabetic, I recommend the Freestyle "Flash"
glucoseometer.....It uses only .3 microliteres of blood, which is so
small, you can hardly see it. The less the blood, the less traumatic for
the cat.....You should measure your own blood sugar in the cats presence
a few times, so she/he can see that it doesn't hurt you..........
I do use the freestyle flash.. Getting my cat to bleed takes a long time,
she's never liked doing it. There are 'generic' brands out there that
take small amounts of blood as well, and the strips are less expensive.

You can get the flash for free most of the time because they offer a
rebate, but the strips in the store sell for about a dollar each ($50 for
50 etc) I buy mine on Ebay for about fifty cents a strip... but you have
to be careful of sellers and of expiration dates. If you can find a store
brand that takes a small amount of blood, I might recommend you go that
route.

You might also want to buy a pair of baby socks (socks for human babies)
and fill one with some regular rice (not instant rice) so you can warm it
up in the microwave and then place that on the cat's ear to warm it up and
help with the blood flow. :)

the learning curve for FD is incredibly steep, but very short.



Yeah....I should have mentioned that the test strips are very
expensive.....My wife's endocrinologist gives her the Freestyle Flash units
away for free when he has them, because he gets them for free. The company
more than makes up for it by selling those strips for a dollar each.....I
always thought Polaroid should have given their cameras away for nothing for
the same reason.....Now they are out of business.......We get our test
strips for a lot less, because our health plan includes prescription drugs,
and our doctor prescribes the strips for us......It's too bad there isn't a
health plan for cats.....

insulin resistant cat
 

"William Graham" wrote in message
...

"~*Connie*~" wrote in message
...

"~*Connie*~" wrote in message
...
also read up on home testing. it is better if you can test your cats
blood sugar at home.. better for you financially, and better for the
cat for less stress. It was recommended to me to use a human
glucometer several years ago, and many studies have shown it to be
effective and it has saved many cats lives.

As a 15 year diabetic, I recommend the Freestyle "Flash"
glucoseometer.....It uses only .3 microliteres of blood, which is so
small, you can hardly see it. The less the blood, the less traumatic for
the cat.....You should measure your own blood sugar in the cats presence
a few times, so she/he can see that it doesn't hurt you..........
I do use the freestyle flash.. Getting my cat to bleed takes a long time,
she's never liked doing it. There are 'generic' brands out there that
take small amounts of blood as well, and the strips are less expensive.

You can get the flash for free most of the time because they offer a
rebate, but the strips in the store sell for about a dollar each ($50 for
50 etc) I buy mine on Ebay for about fifty cents a strip... but you have
to be careful of sellers and of expiration dates. If you can find a
store brand that takes a small amount of blood, I might recommend you go
that route.

You might also want to buy a pair of baby socks (socks for human babies)
and fill one with some regular rice (not instant rice) so you can warm it
up in the microwave and then place that on the cat's ear to warm it up
and help with the blood flow. :)

the learning curve for FD is incredibly steep, but very short.



Yeah....I should have mentioned that the test strips are very
expensive.....My wife's endocrinologist gives her the Freestyle Flash
units away for free when he has them, because he gets them for free. The
company more than makes up for it by selling those strips for a dollar
each.....I always thought Polaroid should have given their cameras away
for nothing for the same reason.....Now they are out of business.......We
get our test strips for a lot less, because our health plan includes
prescription drugs, and our doctor prescribes the strips for us......It's
too bad there isn't a health plan for cats.....


That's a bit high. I pay $79.00 for 100 Freestyle strips -- at Kroger's
pharmacy, of all places. I checked every pharmacy in the area, and they
were the least expensive. So, you might want to see if there is a Kroger's
pharmacy in your area. It's still expensive, but not quite as much as you
are paying.

I agree. I really like Freestyle. I have both Freestyle and Freestyle
Flash, and they use a tiny drop of blood and return results almost
instantly. My doctor's nurse was amazed when she saw how quickly I could
get results (and the results were very close to what she got with their lab
tests).

MaryL

insulin resistant cat
 

"MaryL" -OUT-THE-LITTER wrote in message
...

"William Graham" wrote in message
...

"~*Connie*~" wrote in message
...

"~*Connie*~" wrote in message
...
also read up on home testing. it is better if you can test your cats
blood sugar at home.. better for you financially, and better for the
cat for less stress. It was recommended to me to use a human
glucometer several years ago, and many studies have shown it to be
effective and it has saved many cats lives.

As a 15 year diabetic, I recommend the Freestyle "Flash"
glucoseometer.....It uses only .3 microliteres of blood, which is so
small, you can hardly see it. The less the blood, the less traumatic
for the cat.....You should measure your own blood sugar in the cats
presence a few times, so she/he can see that it doesn't hurt
you..........
I do use the freestyle flash.. Getting my cat to bleed takes a long
time, she's never liked doing it. There are 'generic' brands out there
that take small amounts of blood as well, and the strips are less
expensive.

You can get the flash for free most of the time because they offer a
rebate, but the strips in the store sell for about a dollar each ($50
for 50 etc) I buy mine on Ebay for about fifty cents a strip... but you
have to be careful of sellers and of expiration dates. If you can find
a store brand that takes a small amount of blood, I might recommend you
go that route.

You might also want to buy a pair of baby socks (socks for human babies)
and fill one with some regular rice (not instant rice) so you can warm
it up in the microwave and then place that on the cat's ear to warm it
up and help with the blood flow. :)

the learning curve for FD is incredibly steep, but very short.



Yeah....I should have mentioned that the test strips are very
expensive.....My wife's endocrinologist gives her the Freestyle Flash
units away for free when he has them, because he gets them for free. The
company more than makes up for it by selling those strips for a dollar
each.....I always thought Polaroid should have given their cameras away
for nothing for the same reason.....Now they are out of business.......We
get our test strips for a lot less, because our health plan includes
prescription drugs, and our doctor prescribes the strips for us......It's
too bad there isn't a health plan for cats.....


That's a bit high. I pay $79.00 for 100 Freestyle strips -- at Kroger's
pharmacy, of all places. I checked every pharmacy in the area, and they
were the least expensive. So, you might want to see if there is a
Kroger's pharmacy in your area. It's still expensive, but not quite as
much as you are paying.

I agree. I really like Freestyle. I have both Freestyle and Freestyle
Flash, and they use a tiny drop of blood and return results almost
instantly. My doctor's nurse was amazed when she saw how quickly I could
get results (and the results were very close to what she got with their
lab tests).

MaryL


Well, my health plan pays the bulk of the price for my test
strips....Actually, since I am over 65, and on Medicare, it's the government
(read YOU) who is paying......:^) But thanks for the information about
Kroger's......

insulin resistant cat
 

"William Graham" wrote in message
...

"MaryL" -OUT-THE-LITTER wrote in message
...


That's a bit high. I pay $79.00 for 100 Freestyle strips -- at Kroger's
pharmacy, of all places. I checked every pharmacy in the area, and they
were the least expensive. So, you might want to see if there is a
Kroger's pharmacy in your area. It's still expensive, but not quite as
much as you are paying.

I agree. I really like Freestyle. I have both Freestyle and Freestyle
Flash, and they use a tiny drop of blood and return results almost
instantly. My doctor's nurse was amazed when she saw how quickly I could
get results (and the results were very close to what she got with their
lab tests).

MaryL


Well, my health plan pays the bulk of the price for my test
strips....Actually, since I am over 65, and on Medicare, it's the
government (read YOU) who is paying......:^) But thanks for the
information about Kroger's......


Fortunately, my insurance also pays a good percentage of my cost -- but it
is a percentage, so lower cost means that I pay a smaller amount (and I
think it is always worthwhile to do some comparison). This will be
particularly important for those who have cats with diabetes because
insurance will not cover that.

MaryL