Evening, Surfcat!
That's good news.
Mousey's BG, while lower than you're used to seeing, was well within the normal range for a cat as measured on a human meter (lower threshold is 2.8mmol/L / 50mg/dL on human meters). Albeit good news and something we all hope to see, it can be something of a shock to the system to see healthier numbers in a cat on insulin for the first time. (Scared the willies out of me.
Even nowadays there are times when I completely bottle out of giving Saoirse insulin when I know I might pass out and not be able to monitor to keep her safe should she run on the low side during a cycle - especially as she runs lower at night.)
You're doing great with home testing Mousey. Now that she's starting to see better numbers as the food transition progresses you really need to test every cycle at preshot and also from +3 (or +2 if she starts showing increased signs of hunger earlier in the cycle). Make sure Mousey eats well after the preshot test and leave about 20-30 minutes before giving the insulin injection. This will 'preload' some carbs into Mousey's system prior to onset of the Caninsulin. For info, when Saoirse was on Caninsulin I used to give Saoirse half her daily food allowance in each cycle. I fed her half of the allowance for the cycle 20-30 minutes before administering the insulin injection so that the Caninsulin had something to work on. I fed her again after her +3 BG check and then gave her a small meal at at +6 followed by a small snack at +9. (Note: I'm disabled so I was home to intervene if required. If I had had to leave Saoirse unattended I'd have tried to work out a way for her to have free access to food in my absence if she was on Caninsulin.)
As Saoirse's treatment continued the onset time for the Caninsulin happened progressively earlier in the cycle; sometimes she would reach nadir at +2! Watching for an uptick in appetite early in the cycle is a good clue as to when the insulin is kicking in and it can act as a signal for you to start checking BG. The amorphous fraction of Caninsulin has the greatest BG lowering effect and nominally that reaches peak action at +3 (although it is possible to see nadirs even earlier in the cycle, especially if the dose is too high) and the period of maximum effect typically lasts for a number of hours thereafter. The crystalline fraction of Caninsulin has a later onset and a less powerful BG lowering effect; it reaches peak effect between +7 and +10 so sometimes you might get a second dip around that time. The possibility of a second dip in BG levels is of greater concern if a cat has already been running in lower numbers during the earlier part of the cycle, so it's important to test in the latter half of the cycle if at all possible. At minimum, you need to do preshot BG tests every cycle and a +2 (or preferably +3 test if you can only do one) before bed every night, and then supplement that data with full curves on days/nights when you are at home for longer periods. The full curves are important for determining the duration of effect that Mousey is getting and also whether there are any dips later in the cycle when the crystalline fraction of the insulin reaches its peak period of effect.
Thank you for the information on Mousey's clinical signs. The tiredness could be due to the higher numbers, or it could potentially be down to the BG roller coaster that is a very typical response to Caninsuln treatment; it can be very hard on the cat's body. Saoirse was absolutely miserable on Caninsulin with the exception of the hours when the dose hadn't kicked in or when it was wearing off. The rest of the time she was wiped out when she was being treated with it. It was like having two completely different cats. Lantus makes her a bit sleepy for an hour or so after administration but the rest of the time she was 'herself', if you follow my meaning.
I hope some of the above helps you. I'm sorry it has taken me so long to write this response (I'm struggling with chronic fatigue issues).
Mogs
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