New Member - Needing Help with Big Kitty!

Our 12-year old boy, Bandit AKA "Big Kitty" was diagnosed on 10/2/2020 after loosing 4-lbs in a very short time. He was a large 22-lbs previously and is currently down to 16lbs. The Vet prescribed him Novalin N starting at 2units twice per day and I perform frequent glucose curves and spot checks at home with my Alphatrax. His sugar has been at an average of 500-600 daily and the vet now has me giving him 5 units twice a day. His appetite is good and he eats about 2-full cans of low carb wet food daily but he still seems to be loosing weight. I have read many articles on this site with solid advise on how to best care for a diabetic cat so I am now reaching out for some help with my sweet boy.

My vet has steadily increased his insulin 1 unit at a time and he suffered a bounce when I increased to 4 units when he went from a low of 282 6-hours after administration (peak) to 600's two hours later. I panicked and lowered his dosage back to 3 units and the vet yelled at me stating I should not decrease his insulin. His numbers are still high so I have him on 5 units twice per day and planning on increasing and changing insulins. I have added Big Kitty’s spreadsheet to my signature and hopefully it shows as this is my first post.

I have read that Lantus is a preferred insulin to stabilize cats and that Novalin N is not long acting enough so I have requested to switch asap. My vet now wants me to increase his dosage from 5 units to 7 units and I don't feel a 2 unit jump is the right thing to do. This has been so stressful trying to get him stabilized and I am trying to do everything I can to help my sweet boy in anyway I can. I am so appreciative for this wonderful site that offers helpful feedback for cats in need and their owners!

 

Good call. ProZinc or lantus are much better choices!!

BAD call. We recommend raises in dose in 0.25-0.5 increments. Raising 2 units is super dangerous.


What are you feeding?

 

Big Kitty was primarily on a dry food kibble for most of his life which I know contributed to his diabetes. The day he was diagnosed back in early October I changed his diet immediately to primarily low carb wet food (Weruva, Nulo, Tiki Cat, and sometimes chicken breast and plain tuna.) I also transitioned him with a low carb dry food (Farmina N&D Urinary) that I gave him very small amounts of.

My vet just wrote me saying that he doesn't prefer Lantus and that he never increases by half doses. I made an appointment to see a vet who has great reviews for treating feline diabetes and we will be seeing her on Feb. 10th. Until then, I'll try to keep him in stable numbers the best I can and any advise is always welcomed. Thank you JanetNJ. Is the NJ from New Jersey? That's where we are.

 

Yes! I am in lower Bergen County... what part are you from?

 

We're in South Jersey.

 

I’ve moved posts to the Main Health forum where we ask all new members to start. Thank you.

Once your profile is set up and you have basics on feeding down as well as general questions asked, then it’s reasonable to move to the ISG. If you are considering a change to Lantus, Main Health is a good place to ask about that.

Thank you and welcome to FDMB.