New member* 10 year old Pip Worried about his dosage and home testing

SarahJeanne

SarahJeanne

Member Since 2025
Hello 👋
My name is Sarah, and my kitty's name is Pip aka Pippin aka Peregrine Took.

Yes it is him on my profile pic :)

Pip is 10 years old and was diagnosed on November 18th 2025 so we're at the very start of this journey.

He is very overweight and drinks too much water and has humongous pees many times a day which started about 2 weeks before his diagnosis and is the reason I brought him in for testing.

Aside from glucose, his pannel was good, no ketones, kidneys are good, no UTI. His glucose was at 29!

We started him on purino proplan dm wet food and cut him off kibble on the 18th of november.

He got his first dose of insulin (ProZinc) November 22nd along with a curve. He was at 19 when he came in, they gave him 2ui and he remained at 19 all day.

Vet sent me home yesterday told me to give him 3ui every 12 hours and order the alphatrack 3.

I order the meter for 150$ and it wont arrive until minimum december 5th. The strips are 120$ for 50!! Gasp!

Meanwhile I am reading up and 3ui seems a lot, especially without the ability to home test... it is making me very anxious 😟

Should I cancel my order and go get a meter at the pharmacy? I am in Canada is there a recommended meter?

I am obviously pretty overwhelmed but commited to my Pip man <3

Thanks for being there!
 
Welcome, and sorry you’re here, but I can tell you are going to do great for Pip!

Yes, the AlphaTrak strips are too expensive for no reason. I’d cancel that and pick up something at the pharmacy. Contour Next is another brand that has less expensive strips that I believe is available in Canada.

That’s a big jump in insulin dose. Maybe @Suzanne & Darcy can comment, she knows ProZinc really well.

While you wait for more replies, work on setting up the information in here:
Sticky - New? How You Can Help Us Help You!
 
Hi @SarahJeanne, glad to see that you found your way here from our FB group. It's the best place you never wanted to be.

SarahJeanne said:
I am in Canada is there a recommended meter?
Click to expand...
I'm going to tag a few members from Canada for suggestions for a human meter.

@Karolina & Nestle
@Gus the Furminator

ETA: Since he didn't have ketones, you might want to give the diet change a few days before starting insulin. In less than a week you should see a significant improvement in his numbers. He might still need insulin, but a lower dose. The few days of diet change will also give you an opportunity to get comfortable with home testing his blood sugar before starting insulin.
 
Hi Sarah and welcome

I'm just outside of Toronto and I got my meter and strips online. Will attach the link below. This is by far the cheapest I could find. Both meter and strips are affordable and their delivery is very fast. It's also been reliable as I've been using it for almost 4 years and no issues.

Ps. His profile pic is adorable

Diabetes Express, Canada's One Stop Diabetes Shop est. 2005

I actually just looked at their website and realized the meter I'm using (Bravo) is no longer available. But maybe you can checknthe website anyways and see if theres anything else that's affordable. I would look at the price of the strips as you will go through a lot of those.
Otherwise check-out your local Wal-mart or a pharmacy. I know back in the day it was common practice to get the meter for free as long as you purchased a specific amount of strips. Not sure if that's still the case but you can always inquire. Please let me know if you have any other question.
I know @Lara & Luciole (Lu) are also in Montreal so maybe she would have better info for you since she's local.

Good luck 🤗
 
SarahJeanne said:
Thank you so much!
I'm going to get the meter right now :)
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Welcome to FDMB!

Any human meter is good you do not need to go expensive, make sure you get the the strips that go with the meter you are buying, ProZinc is a great 12- hour insulin, Tim tagged Suzanne, tge Wizard of ProZinc and dozing, I can see you’ve done some homework so You will do great, you are in the right place,,we are here for to help you on this journey, Feline Diabetes is manageable
 
Karolina & Nestle said:
Hi Sarah and welcome

I'm just outside of Toronto and I got my meter and strips online. Will attach the link below. This is by far the cheapest I could find. Both meter and strips are affordable and their delivery is very fast. It's also been reliable as I've been using it for almost 4 years and no issues.

Ps. His profile pic is adorable

Diabetes Express, Canada's One Stop Diabetes Shop est. 2005

I actually just looked at their website and realized the meter I'm using (Bravo) is no longer available. But maybe you can checknthe website anyways and see if theres anything else that's affordable. I would look at the price of the strips as you will go through a lot of those.
Otherwise check-out your local Wal-mart or a pharmacy. I know back in the day it was common practice to get the meter for free as long as you purchased a specific amount of strips. Not sure if that's still the case but you can always inquire. Please let me know if you have any other question.
I know @Lara & Luciole (Lu) are also in Montreal so maybe she would have better info for you since she's local.

Good luck 🤗
Click to expand...
I ended up getting the contour next from the pharmacy and some strips :)

Going to do the first test now, he had his dose 5 hours ago, wish me luck!

Thank you so much for the warm welcome I can tell this is an amazing community!
 
Salut et bienvenue SarahJeanne ! :bighug:

150 is way too much for a meter! Go to a Pharmaprix or Jean-Coutu and get a Contour Next meter for around 60$ at the very most!
This is a very popular meter for pets and humans so the strips are widely available as well.

However, to save money, I buy my strips online at eBay. You can find some good deals there. I buy many at a time.

I just saw in your signature that you're already using a Contour Next meter. Good choice!

Let me know if you need help with a good vet. I have at last, after living here for 20 years, found a very good one. And let me know if you have any other questions. I was lost, with my first diabetic cat in 2013, until a kind member here took me by the hand and showed me the way!

Thanks @Karolina & Nestle for tagging me 😺
 
Lara & Luciole (Lu) said:
Salut et bienvenue SarahJeanne ! :bighug:

150 is way too much for a meter! Go to a Pharmaprix or Jean-Coutu and get a Contour Next meter for around 60$ at the very most!
This is a very popular meter for pets and humans so the strips are widely available as well.

However, to save money, I buy my strips online at eBay. You can find some good deals there. I buy many at a time.

I just saw in your signature that you're already using a Contour Next meter. Good choice!

Let me know if you need help with a good vet. I have at last, after living here for 20 years, found a very good one. And let me know if you have any other questions. I was lost, with my first diabetic cat in 2013, until a kind member here took me by the hand and showed me the way!

Thanks @Karolina & Nestle for tagging me 😺
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Bonjour Lara :)

Thank you so much for this, I actually am wondering if I should get Pip a vet that knows more about diabetes.

I have been super happy with my vet for years and she has saved the life of my other cat who has very different health issues countless times... but I was very surprised at her suggestions and lack of clear treatment plan. Also I am still stuck on how high of a dose she is giving me with the plan to only do an in clinic curve in 10 days...

Ok I must not delay and actually take his levels now :)

merci pour tout!
 
he went from 29 3 days ago to 19 yesterday to 12.7 right now at +5...
I wonder if I should reduce to 1ui and take it slow instead of 3ui ?
 
Let your cat familiarize himself with the monitor , supplies test him where he is more comfortable, find a small sock fill tge bottom with rice about as big as a golf ball tie it,, you can use this to cup the inner ear, use the outer part of the ear to prick, that’s the sweet spot, in a week or so the capillaries will swell and it will be easier to blood, you can get a small flashlight so you can see where the veins are, don’t worry if you miss, try again, I still miss some times, that is why is good to always have extra strips handy. You can also after testing,have a mini snack low carb like a piece of 1% ham handy, reward him, he will be more than willing to be tested knowing that a snack follows😉 good luck, let us know how it went Also place the back of your palm between the ears for support so he won’t move his head when you prick, tge tiny needle can tear the ear
 
CORKY said:
Let your cat familiarize himself with the monitor , supplies test him where he is more comfortable, find a small sock fill tge bottom with rice about as big as a golf ball tie it,, you can use this to cup the inner ear, use the outer part of the ear to prick, that’s the sweet spot, in a week or so the capillaries will swell and it will be easier to blood, you can get a small flashlight so you can see where the veins are, don’t worry if you miss, try again, I still miss some times, that is why is good to always have extra strips handy. You can also after testing,have a mini snack low carb like a piece of 1% ham handy, reward him, he will be more than willing to be tested knowing that a snack follows😉 good luck, let us know how it went Also place the back of your palm between the ears for support so he won’t move his head when you prick, tge tiny needle can tear the ear
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I followed a video the whole way but thank you so much for the advice!
I will definitely do the sock and rice trick for the next testing :)

I am lucky that Pip is a big ball of purrs at all times. He lets me prick and poke and inject him and doesnt even stop purring <3
 
There are so many vets who, despite being good vets, don't know how to treat diabetes. Or have very outdated ideas about how to do it.

Don't take your cat to the vet for a curve. There's no need for this, it's very stressful for your cat, and a completely unnecessary expense. You are doing your own home testing, which is considerably more valuable and informative than at a stay at the vet, where the stress can cause very high #s, and which is not a good snapshot into how your cat is actually doing.

Instead, send your vet the link to your spreadsheet, and discuss it with her. Your spreadsheet is a much better view into how Pip is getting used to insulin. Curves at the vet is from the old notion that people can't or won't do home testing.

Something I would discuss with your vet, however, is switching Pip to Lantus, instead of ProZinc. Although cats can do fine on PZ and some go into remission, where they no longer need insulin, but still need to be fed a careful, low-carb diet and intermittently checked:
  • Lantus is more widely available. You can get it at any drugstore. ProZinc is available only from a vet.
  • Lantus is more gentle on a cat's body. It has a long duration, and generally a more gentle curve.
  • The Lantus forum here is very active, and you'll get a lot of eyes on how you & Pip are doing, because you'll post daily updates, and having all these guardian angels is a very good thing, especially when you're new to this!
We often have to educate our vets about feline diabetes, because they aren't specialists about this in any way. Here, however, there are people who have years of experience, and this board has been around for 30 years, helping people and their diabetic cats. There's very deep knowledge here.
 
Both Lantus and Prozinc are good insulins for treating feline diabetes and both are recommended by the American Animal Hospital Assn (AAHA). The only downside I can see with Prozinc is that if you are low on insulin and the vet's office is closed, getting more insulin could be a problem. At least in the US, there are online resources such as Chewys (they sell pet food and have a pharmacy) so you don't have to rely exclusively on your vet. Lantus is available at any human pharmacy.

A starting dose of 3.0u is a whopping big dose. Your cat's blood glucose numbers were likely artificially inflated due to the stress of being at the vet's office. You're already seeing that Pip's numbers are dropping based on his being more comfortable in his home environment and likely because he's eating a low carbohydrate diet. One of the reasons we strongly advocate for home testing is that the dose isn't based on numbers at the vet's office. Stress hyperglycemia is a real thing for cats and can result in the vet recommending a dose that is just too much insulin. We typically suggest a much more conservative starting dose. We suggest a starting dose of 0.5u of Prozinc providing your cat is on a low carbohydrate, canned food diet. This is the information on Prozinc dosing. You may want to look over the way we do dosing. The AAHA guidelines suggest a starting dose between 1 - 2u.

Given that you're just starting out and Pip had no other medical issues, I'd vote for starting out at a lower dose and working the amount up as Pip's numbers dictate. It's so much easier on your nervous system to not have to deal with numbers dropping unexpectedly when you're still figuring out how to test and shoot. (And should that happen, there are usually members around pretty close to 24/7 if you need help.)

Please make sure you have either some higher carb food stocked up or have corn syrup or honey around if you need something high carb just in case.
 
Sienne and Gabby (GA) said:
Both Lantus and Prozinc are good insulins for treating feline diabetes and both are recommended by the American Animal Hospital Assn (AAHA). The only downside I can see with Prozinc is that if you are low on insulin and the vet's office is closed, getting more insulin could be a problem. At least in the US, there are online resources such as Chewys (they sell pet food and have a pharmacy) so you don't have to rely exclusively on your vet. Lantus is available at any human pharmacy.

A starting dose of 3.0u is a whopping big dose. Your cat's blood glucose numbers were likely artificially inflated due to the stress of being at the vet's office. You're already seeing that Pip's numbers are dropping based on his being more comfortable in his home environment and likely because he's eating a low carbohydrate diet. One of the reasons we strongly advocate for home testing is that the dose isn't based on numbers at the vet's office. Stress hyperglycemia is a real thing for cats and can result in the vet recommending a dose that is just too much insulin. We typically suggest a much more conservative starting dose. We suggest a starting dose of 0.5u of Prozinc providing your cat is on a low carbohydrate, canned food diet. This is the information on Prozinc dosing. You may want to look over the way we do dosing. The AAHA guidelines suggest a starting dose between 1 - 2u.

Given that you're just starting out and Pip had no other medical issues, I'd vote for starting out at a lower dose and working the amount up as Pip's numbers dictate. It's so much easier on your nervous system to not have to deal with numbers dropping unexpectedly when you're still figuring out how to test and shoot. (And should that happen, there are usually members around pretty close to 24/7 if you need help.)

Please make sure you have either some higher carb food stocked up or have corn syrup or honey around if you need something high carb just in case.
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Thank you so much for your reply I am glad my gut seemed to be right on this one.

I will go down to 1ui for tonight's dose and check his levels a few times before I go to sleep and before tomorrow morning's dose <3

He is at 13 now after his pre dose food.

I am having a hard time figuring out the carb contents of most foods but I will read up on it.
Worst comes to worst can I give him a little bit of his old kibble and or some maple syrup?

thank you again so much for all the support!
 
There's a Canadian food chart list: Links to FOOD CHARTS Any food under 10% carbs is good for diabetics. Keep some higher carb food on hand to use in case of a hypo. Usually any food in gravy will be high carb. I've used junky Science Diet pate food that was over 20% carbs before. Syrup will temporarily raise blood glucose levels but not for long. Kibble takes too long to be digested and raise blood glucose levels.

@Wendy&Neko is on the west coast side of Canada, BC area, if you need suggestions for what is available there.
 
Here is a Cat food carb calculator, I use it all the time, you use the nutrients % of the food on hand, place them in ech cell, the Dry Matter carb is the one to look for, even though you are in Canada, you can still go to the CHEWY.COM web site, look for the food on hand, click on the can, then scroll down to ingredients, the nutrients will be below. ;)
http://scheyderweb.com/cats/catfood.html
 
Waving from the west coast. :)

A lot of the Canadian Food Chart is out of date, the Presidents Choice are no longer available. This food chart is a bit more current, though still out of date, and is US foods, but a lot are also available in Canada. You may have to go to pet food stores, like Pet Valu.

I too had to debate whether to stay with my vet who I been with a long time. The clinic started us on Caninsulin instead of Lantus. However, a locum got us on Lantus. My vet was willing to learn with me as Neko was "complicated", and she was great for Neko's other conditions, so I stayed with her. Until she "fired" me to an internal medicine vet when Neko became too complicated.
 
I had a bad morning...
Pip was back to 19 last night at +2...

I didnt sleep well and I had to leave the house at 7 to go to school... its exam week

I completely failed to hit the vein in his ear and poked too many time and didnt even manage to get enough blood for a reading.

I gave him his one unit.
I wont be back till 4pm and it is stressing me out.

I put him alone in my room with his food and water and litter and a webcam so I can semi check up on him.

Oh also do you put anything on the ear after to clean it gently?
Ive been doing a warm compress I don't know...

Very overwhelmed this morning :(
 
You're not aiming directly for the vein, just the space between the vein and the edge of the ear :) There's a picture of where to poke in this info thread: Hometesting Links and Tips

Warm ears bleed best. The info thread has tips on how to warm ears. The rice sock method works well.

You don't need to do anything with the ear after testing. Just hold a tissue to the ear if it won't stop bleeding.

Did you leave food out for your cat to snack on? Small snacks throughout the day works best for diabetics.
 
SarahJeanne said:
I had a bad morning...
Pip was back to 19 last night at +2...

I didnt sleep well and I had to leave the house at 7 to go to school... its exam week

I completely failed to hit the vein in his ear and poked too many time and didnt even manage to get enough blood for a reading.

I gave him his one unit.
I wont be back till 4pm and it is stressing me out.

I put him alone in my room with his food and water and litter and a webcam so I can semi check up on him.

Oh also do you put anything on the ear after to clean it gently?
Ive been doing a warm compress I don't know...

Very overwhelmed this morning :(
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You are doing amazing! I cried so many times when I was poking Sevy and now a month later is like nothing. Like squeem3 mentioned the links help alot! The people here are seriously amazing! Sevy just recently got diagnose and honestly it would not have been as "easy" if I didn't have my friend (Seth and bell) who introduced me to this forum and help me through this.

You got this 💕
 
You've cried, they cried, I have had tantrums, screamed, cried till there were no more tears, We all have been there just like you, it will pass once you become more confident, find a small hand help lighter that has an on and off switch, take the light on the inner ear, study were the veins are. it may sound dumb but I take the lighter still after all these years place it in my mouth and aim for the vein and I can see the droplet of blood, you left him in the yellow BGs as long as he has food until you come back I think he will be ok. I am sending you pictures of a good option since you work, you can purchase a wet food feeder t5his way you program it, and you can lose some of the stress. You are doing great your baby knows it, give yourself some slack, I was told by Suzanne at the beginning of my almost nervous breakdown: " step back, breath in, breath out, cats are very sensitive to stress, you stress they stress" and it worked 🤗 ;):cat::cat:
 
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Here are an example of 2 wet food feeders
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I was all happy to be let out early and ran home to Pip to do a glucose test... I just spent 30 minutes trying again and it was a traumatic experience for both of us.

I poked at least 6 times and barely got any blood... not enough for the strip.

I'm giving us a break for now and will try again in 30 minutes I guess.

I had no problem yesterday... now I'm all up in my own head and the more advice or videos i see the more stressed I am the less it works 😞

I know it's not the end of the world

Should I get 28gage needles instead of the lancet?

Thank you everyone I dont want to sound like I'm a whiny person I just wish this was less painful for Pip and I suffer from anxiety.
 
Use 26-28 gauge lancets to start. I never used the needles. Follow the tips about warming the ear first. I put a very tiny smear of Vaseline on the ear where I was going to poke, so that the blood pooled on it instead of hiding in fur. Which is hard with dark ears! Hold the ear below the poke spot, the veins go down. The hold will create a little dam. You can then "milk" above the poke if needed. Yes more testing tips here: Testing and Shooting Tips and lots of videos here: Hometesting Links and Shooting Tips
 
SarahJeanne said:
I was all happy to be let out early and ran home to Pip to do a glucose test... I just spent 30 minutes trying again and it was a traumatic experience for both of us.

I poked at least 6 times and barely got any blood... not enough for the strip.

I'm giving us a break for now and will try again in 30 minutes I guess.

I had no problem yesterday... now I'm all up in my own head and the more advice or videos i see the more stressed I am the less it works 😞

I know it's not the end of the world

Should I get 28gage needles instead of the lancet?

Thank you everyone I dont want to sound like I'm a whiny person I just wish this was less painful for Pip and I suffer from anxiety.
Click to expand...
your not whiny! this is tough but just know you are doing your best! don't be too hard on yourself 💕 That happen to me and wow confidence does go down. I found the words that Suzanne used that really helped me Here . "Are you holding/applying pressure for a minute after you do the test? Are you alternating ears and pricking up and down the outer edge of the ear so that you aren’t pricking in the same place each time? Holding the lancet at a 45 degree angle? You can put a little coconut oil on his ears."

Mostly this worked because of the simplicity of the words and questions since at that time I was easily overwhelmed.

It still hurts to see his red dots in his ear but! they do heal which has helped me alot when I see them now... I give him a nice message rub in his ear, put a tiny bit of vaseline/coconut oil so that is basically light layer and then poke him 45 angle with the point facing down. Still a struggle at times but just keep reminding yourself that you are doing what you kitty needs and that they know that too
 
Irate tou pricking the lancet from the outer ear? Or from the side that has no hair( the inside) tge redness goes away, soon enough his capillaries will swell is normal, just clean tge ear with a wet tissue, you don’t need that much blood, just tip the end of the strip on the corner of the bit of blood, you should get a reading
 
I
CORKY said:
Irate tou pricking the lancet from the outer ear? Or from the side that has no hair( the inside) tge redness goes away, soon enough his capillaries will swell is normal, just clean tge ear with a wet tissue, you don’t need that much blood, just tip the end of the strip on the corner of the bit of blood, you should get a reading
Click to expand...
I am pricking the outer ear yes :)

I have succeeded 3 times since yaay!

Thank you for all the help!
 
Good morning everyone and their sugarcats :)

I am getting the hang of the glucose testing but pretty worried because Pip's levels seem to fluctuate a LOT.

He was at 18.6 pre shot yesterday, went down to 10.8 at +2. This morning he is at 21.6 pre shot and pre food :(

I will try to take a day off tomorrow to do a full curve and understand his levels better

Thanks everyone have a great day!
 
Bandit's Mom said:
Hi @SarahJeanne, glad to see that you found your way here from our FB group. It's the best place you never wanted to be.


I'm going to tag a few members from Canada for suggestions for a human meter.

@Karolina & Nestle
@Gus the Furminator

ETA: Since he didn't have ketones, you might want to give the diet change a few days before starting insulin. In less than a week you should see a significant improvement in his numbers. He might still need insulin, but a lower dose. The few days of diet change will also give you an opportunity to get comfortable with home testing his blood sugar before starting insulin.
Click to expand...
I personally use the freestyle lite meter because strips are all somewhat the same cost here (~$75-80) … so I figured same price, may as well go for a meter with the smallest blood sample needed, same as the alpha trak … I’ve been using it for 5 years and love it
 
Gus the Furminator said:
I personally use the freestyle lite meter because strips are all somewhat the same cost here (~$75-80) … so I figured same price, may as well go for a meter with the smallest blood sample needed, same as the alpha trak … I’ve been using it for 5 years and love it
Click to expand...
You are definitely getting the hang of things, is what feels more comfortable and stress free for the both of you, and always follow your instincts they are usually correct, you know your cat better than anyone ,but do ask advice for increase/decrease of dose
 
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