Introduction: My Cat is Diabetic, help!

[Jennybags123!]

Hello all, I hope someone here can help. My cat was diagnosed with diabetes at the start of November. He has been on insulin since then. We started at 2 units Novolin, twice a day. We also put him on Purina DM, dry and canned food. He will not eat the wet DM. He eats about 2 TBSP at the times when he gets his insulin. My question is, how long does it take to get a cat "regulated"? Meaning, should my cat be getting to the point if being in the " normal" range? He is still staying in the 200's to the 400's. He mostly stays in the high 300's all the time. Is this usual? My vet keeps acting like it's fine and it just takes time to get better numbers. I'm thoroughly confused about the whole situation. Please help! I don't know what to do!

 

[CORKY]

Hello all, I hope someone here can help. My cat was diagnosed with diabetes at the start of November. He has been on insulin since then. We started at 2 units Novolin, twice a day. We also put him on Purina DM, dry and canned food. He will not eat the wet DM. He eats about 2 TBSP at the times when he gets his insulin. My question is, how long does it take to get a cat "regulated"? Meaning, should my cat be getting to the point if being in the " normal" range? He is still staying in the 200's to the 400's. He mostly stays in the high 300's all the time. Is this usual? My vet keeps acting like it's fine and it just takes time to get better numbers. I'm thoroughly confused about the whole situation. Please help! I don't know what to do!

@Bron and Sheba (GA)

 

[Bron and Sheba (GA)]

Hi and welcome Jenny and your Kitty,
It is overwhelming and confusing in the beginning.
Are you hometesting the blood glucose or are you just going to the vet for random tests or curves?
We recommend considering hometesting as that is the only way you will be able to see what is happening with the blood glucose and to keep your kitty safe.
Is the insulin you are using Novolin N? This is not a good insulin for cats. It is a fast acting and harsh insulin which drops the blood glucose fast and then it shoots back up before the next dose is due becasue it does not last the 12 hours. I would recommend you ask the vet to swap you to either Lantus (or biosimilar) or ProZinc. These are the two insulins recommended by the American Animal Hospital Association. Novolin N is not Recommended. 2 units is a large dose to start a cat on as well. Lantus and ProZinc are longer lasting, more gentle insulins and you will get better results with these.

Are you feeding him 1 hour before giving the dose of insulin? Novolin N needs to have food aboard before the dose is given because it hits hard and fast. Here is a link to using Novolin N
BEGINNERS GUIDE TO NOVOLIN N

Meaning, should my cat be getting to the point if being in the " normal" range? He is still staying in the 200's to the 400's. He mostly stays in the high 300's all the time. Is this usual? My vet keeps acting like it's fine and it just takes time to get better numbers. I'm thoroughly confused about the whole situation. Please help! I don't know what to do!

Your vet is correct in that it takes time to get into better numbers, but you need to
1. Be feeding a suitable low carb food and
2. be giving an insulin which is suitable for cats. And even when you are doing everything right, it is going to take time.

If I were you I would ask the vet to swap you to a better insulin now and I would look at better food. The DM dry is high carb food. I will link a food for you to look at and choose food that is 10% or under carbs.
But do not swap to a low carb food unless you are testing the blood glucose because lower carb food can drop the BG (blood glucose ) by up to 100 points. And the 2 units of Novolin N would most likely be too much insulin.

FOOD CHART

 

[Jennybags123!]

Hi and welcome Jenny and your Kitty,
It is overwhelming and confusing in the beginning.
Are you hometesting the blood glucose or are you just going to the vet for random tests or curves?
We recommend considering hometesting as that is the only way you will be able to see what is happening with the blood glucose and to keep your kitty safe.
Is the insulin you are using Novolin N? This is not a good insulin for cats. It is a fast acting and harsh insulin which drops the blood glucose fast and then it shoots back up before the next dose is due becasue it does not last the 12 hours. I would recommend you ask the vet to swap you to either Lantus (or biosimilar) or ProZinc. These are the two insulins recommended by the American Animal Hospital Association. Novolin N is not Recommended. 2 units is a large dose to start a cat on as well. Lantus and ProZinc are longer lasting, more gentle insulins and you will get better results with these.

Are you feeding him 1 hour before giving the dose of insulin? Novolin N needs to have food aboard before the dose is given because it hits hard and fast. Here is a link to using Novolin N
BEGINNERS GUIDE TO NOVOLIN N


Your vet is correct in that it takes time to get into better numbers, but you need to
1. Be feeding a suitable low carb food and
2. be giving an insulin which is suitable for cats. And even when you are doing everything right, it is going to take time.

If I were you I would ask the vet to swap you to a better insulin now and I would look at better food. The DM dry is high carb food. I will link a food for you to look at and choose food that is 10% or under carbs.
But do not swap to a low carb food unless you are testing the blood glucose because lower carb food can drop the BG (blood glucose ) by up to 100 points. And the 2 units of Novolin N would most likely be too much insulin.

FOOD CHART

Thank you so much for your help! I am monitoring Calvin's BG with a Libre 2 sensor. His numbers show big spikes just like you described, fortunately we have only had one low blood glucose event, which was scary. Calvin came out of it ok, but I am convinced that this insulin is not best for him. We were told to feed just prior to giving the insulin. If we switch to a new type, do you feed an hour prior or just prior to shooting? We used to free feed and so Calvin is struggling to stick to our new schedule, 2 main meals at insulin time with some food available mid day. Calvin's appetite has definitely decreased since we started giving insulin. Overall he acts ok, except for vocalizing a lot and excessive drinking. He is only in the "good" range a small percentage of the time. I appreciate any advice and I will continue reading about all of this and try to figure out how to proceed. Thanks again!!!