About testing

[Lise Bourassa]

Hi,

my cat is not on insulin as of yet, when is the best time to check her glycimic level
is it right after she eats
before she eats
or betwen meals?
Thank you for your help!

 

[Chris & China (GA)]

You want to always test before shooting to make sure they're high enough to have insulin at all and then test somewhere mid-cycle to see how low that dose is taking them

You want to take food up 2 hours before shot times so that when you get the Pre-shot test, it's not influenced by food

Do you know what kind of insulin you'll be using?

What kind of food are you feeding?

 

[Lisa and Smoky]

It is best to check your cat's BG levels before she eats. Generally, there should be at least a two hour window in which no food is given before testing her.

 

[Lise Bourassa]

You want to always test before shooting to make sure they're high enough to have insulin at all and then test somewhere mid-cycle to see how low that dose is taking them

You want to take food up 2 hours before shot times so that when you get the Pre-shot test, it's not influenced by food

Do you know what kind of insulin you'll be using? Not Yet

What kind of food are you feeding?[Wellness ]

 

[Lise Bourassa]

It is best to check your cat's BG levels before she eats. Generally, there should be at least a two hour window in which no food is given before testing her.

And on the glutomiter do I indecate After meal if I test a lunch time withc is 4 hours after her mornig feed or empty stomach?

 

[Chris & China (GA)]

Some of your questions can't really be fully answered until you know which insulin you're going to be using. Lantus, Levemir and ProZinc are the 3 types of insulin that are best for cats.

Generally, we Test/Feed/Shoot in the morning....Test to make sure they're high enough for insulin, Feed to make sure they're eating, and shoot....all within about 5-10 minutes....BUT, if you're using a harsher insulin like Vetsulin/Caninsulin, you want to Test/Feed and then wait about 20-30 minutes before shooting so when the insulin "hits", there's food on board......then 12 hours later you repeat the process

The only time it's really important that they don't have food is for the 2 hours right before shot times so that when you test, it's not a food-influenced number.....so take all food up for 2 hours before shot times

After those tests, it's OK to feed several small meals...most cats do better with mini-meals anyway because it's easier for the pancreas to deal with small meals versus big ones. You just need to try to get at least 1 mid-cycle test on the AM cycle and at least a "before bed" test on the PM cycle. Most cats go lower at night, so it's important to get that "before bed" test in at night so you can sleep without worrying if they're going to drop too low on you

Is the food Wellness canned or dry?

 

[Lisa and Smoky]

I have a relion meter and usually put down after a meal if it's been more than two hours. I think it's more of a personal preference. I don't actually use that feature a lot unless I'm doing a weekly curve.

 

[Lise Bourassa]

Some of your questions can't really be fully answered until you know which insulin you're going to be using. Lantus, Levemir and ProZinc are the 3 types of insulin that are best for cats.

Generally, we Test/Feed/Shoot in the morning....Test to make sure they're high enough for insulin, Feed to make sure they're eating, and shoot....all within about 5-10 minutes....BUT, if you're using a harsher insulin like Vetsulin/Caninsulin, you want to Test/Feed and then wait about 20-30 minutes before shooting so when the insulin "hits", there's food on board......then 12 hours later you repeat the process

The only time it's really important that they don't have food is for the 2 hours right before shot times so that when you test, it's not a food-influenced number.....so take all food up for 2 hours before shot times

After those tests, it's OK to feed several small meals...most cats do better with mini-meals anyway because it's easier for the pancreas to deal with small meals versus big ones. You just need to try to get at least 1 mid-cycle test on the AM cycle and at least a "before bed" test on the PM cycle. Most cats go lower at night, so it's important to get that "before bed" test in at night so you can sleep without worrying if they're going to drop too low on you

Is the food Wellness canned or dry?

It´s the canned Wellness, none of my cats eat dry the other two are on Boréal
The insulin my vet talked about is Lantus
but Iread about Dr Hodgkins and the PZI insulin french abreviation do not now if same in English?

 

[Chris & China (GA)]

Lantus is an excellent insulin for cats, so if that's what your vet is recommending, I'd go with it!

You're lucky that you live in Canada and can buy it without a script and at a reasonable price!

The Hodgkins method of dosing isn't the same as the one we do here. It was originally set up to use with a totally different kind of insulin (ProZinc or PZI) which work better with a sliding scale.

Lantus works best when given at the same dose both AM and PM and then adjusting the dose every few days in small increments (while home testing to see how well they're responding)

There are two dosing methods we use for Lantus...The Tight Regulation Protocol and the Start Low, Go Slow method.....both can be found at the top of the Lantus forum in the "Sticky's"