New member (post DKA)!

[Elohelay]

Hi all!
I wanted to introduce myself and my newly diagnosed cat.
I also wanted to thank you for the help you've already provided by kindly sharing links to blood glucose monitors and test strips!

I'm Sarah, and Lola is my heart cat.

Lola is a spunky 10-ish year old Sphynx cat. She was diagnosed with diabetes on 12/23/25 and spent the last few days being hospitalized due to DKA in my area's only 24 hour clinic. Her liver values have me worried, but she's anxiously awaiting her 6:30 PM meal time, so I hope we can get them back into normal ranges soon.

To say that she had been difficult around eating for the past month or so is definitely an understatement. She would fall in love with a canned food flavor or texture for about 4 days, I'd stock up at the pet store, only to have her go on hunger strikes until I found her a new flavor/texture. Then she would only eat 1 spoonful at a time in her dish. Then she would only eat off the spoon. Then she would only eat out of the can. Then she would only eat out of the can on the floor. It got to the point that last weekend she would only eat the wet food when I would hide freeze dried minnows in the food. She'd eat enough to get the minnow out, but wasn't happy about it. I was concerned, but we had an upcoming appointment on Wed (12/24), so I was just trying my best to keep her going. When she refused plain baked salmon on Tuesday morning, I knew something was horribly wrong and got her in with the vet ASAP.


Honestly, I'm spiraling. I'm hoping that we can get everything under control and where it needs to be. We've lost two senior doxies over the past year and a half, and I want to make sure she sticks around for a long time. Please point me in the direction of any threads you think are required reading!

 

[squeem3]

Many of the threads here are good for reading: Health Links / FAQs about Feline Diabetes

A 2025 guide to managing diabetes in cats, mostly for vets but a good read for cat owners: https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/1098612X251399103 The one in the Heatlh Links section is an old guide.

The main FDMB page has basic info in the drop down lists at the top: Felinediabetes.com

If you can edit your post and add "post-DKA" to it members here who have experience with DKA will see it and be able to help.

 

[Elohelay]

Many of the threads here are good for reading: Health Links / FAQs about Feline Diabetes

A 2025 guide to managing diabetes in cats, mostly for vets but a good read for cat owners: https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/1098612X251399103 The one in the Heatlh Links section is an old guide.

The main FDMB page has basic info in the drop down lists at the top: Felinediabetes.com

If you can edit your post and add "post-DKA" to it members here who have experience with DKA will see it and be able to help.

Done! Thanks for that tip!

 

[Elohelay]

Many of the threads here are good for reading: Health Links / FAQs about Feline Diabetes

A 2025 guide to managing diabetes in cats, mostly for vets but a good read for cat owners: https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/1098612X251399103 The one in the Heatlh Links section is an old guide.

The main FDMB page has basic info in the drop down lists at the top: Felinediabetes.com

If you can edit your post and add "post-DKA" to it members here who have experience with DKA will see it and be able to help.

Hi, I'm hoping you can help. The emergency vet handed us the meds, but didn't explain. How much is .5 units?
the directions state "Give .5 units (1/2 unit) every 12 hours, after feeding.

The syringe they gave us goes from 5 - 20 units.
Am I correct that this is .5 units?

 

[Elohelay]

We did a blood test 30 mins after eating, right before giving her vetsulin.
She was at 314.
I'm not sure how much insulin she actually got because after my husband pulled the needle out, some of the insulin trickled out onto her back/shoulders.

Do we wait 30 mins, test again and then re-dose?

 

[Kat & Trixie]

Hi Sarah and welcome.

Never re-dose if you are unsure how much insulin was given. Since you don’t know how much was actually absorbed, if you were to give more, Lola could experience a hypoglycaemic reaction and those can be fatal.

Continue to test as you normally would and continue with her regular dose at the beginning of her next cycle.

 

[Elohelay]

Hi Sarah and welcome.

Never re-dose if you are unsure how much insulin was given. Since you don’t know how much was actually absorbed, if you were to give more, Lola could experience a hypoglycaemic reaction and those can be fatal.

Continue to test as you normally would and continue with her regular dose at the beginning of her next cycle.

I don't know what normal testing looks like! How frequently should I be testing?

 

[Kat & Trixie]

I am not overly familiar with Vetsulin since my girl was on Lantus.

Here is the link to the Vetsulin sticky that has more information.

Sticky - BEGINNER'S GUIDE TO CANINSULIN/VETSULIN

With Lola being newly diagnosed and new to insulin, it does mention that she should be closely monitored in the first few days of starting insulin, testing 3, 6 and 9 hours after her dose.

Are you feeding her small meals throughout her cycle on top of her main meal at shot time?

Here is another link that has more information about Vetsulin.

Sticky - INTRODUCTION TO CANNISULIN/VETSULIN & N/NPH

 

[Elohelay]

Are you feeding her small meals throughout her cycle on top of her main meal at shot time?

No. We were told to feed only twice 12 hours apart and no snacks.

I did see that freeze dried minnows would be an appropriate snack for after an ear prick. I think I'll give her one after testing from now on.

 

[Elohelay]

I would like to feed her small meals throughout the day as I feel that may help her put on weight and help her liver values improve. How can I do that safely?

 

[squeem3]

Hi, I'm hoping you can help. The emergency vet handed us the meds, but didn't explain. How much is .5 units?
the directions state "Give .5 units (1/2 unit) every 12 hours, after feeding.

The syringe they gave us goes from 5 - 20 units.
Am I correct that this is .5 unit

Yes, halfway between the zero line and the 1 unit line is 0.5 units. The purple line is correct. To make it easier, you can get U40 syringes with half unit markings. Here's one brand available:

You can buy syringes from Amazon with no prescription. Here's the listing for the above syringes: https://www.amazon.com/UltiCare-Ins...kings/dp/B08HX9BPH7?tag=felinediabetesfdmb-20

I don't know what normal testing looks like! How frequently should I be testing?

Always test before giving insulin. That way you know if it safe to give insulin or now. Newbies are generally advised to not give insulin if the cat is under 150 mg/dl.

Spot checks in between the insulin shots are ideal so you have an idea of how the insulin and dose are working for your cat. This doesn't need to be done every day but you can if you want. Keep track of the blood glucose levels. Many people here use a shareable Google spreadsheet. Instructions: https://felinediabetes.com/FDMB/threads/how-to-create-a-spreadsheet.241706/ The instructions are now slightly inaccurate since Google has changed a few things in Sheets If you get stuck, we can help.

No. We were told to feed only twice 12 hours apart and no snacks.

I did see that freeze dried minnows would be an appropriate snack for after an ear prick. I think I'll give her one after testing from now on.

You can ignore the vet about food and timing Many people here use a programmable timed feeder to give snacks throughout the day. Canned food is fine to leave out all day. There are various ways to keep food fresh like using a feeder that has a cooling feature or freezing canned food in portion sizes and putting the frozen chunk into the feeder to slowly defrost.

Any freeze dried treat works

 

[squeem3]

@Wendy&Neko @Sienne and Gabby (GA) OP needs post-DKA advice.

Just a thought - Vetsulin isn't an ideal insulin to use. It's good for dogs, not so much for cats. Ask the vet about Lantus or ProZinc insulin once your cat has recovered from DKA. If you go with ProZinc, you can use the same U40 syringes. If you go with Lantus, you need to use U100 syringes which you can buy at any pharmacy (may need a prescription from the vet) or just buy online (may need to provide a vet's phone number to buy, depending on your state law. Or just buy from Amazon).

 

[Christie & Maverick]

A few things that you need to manage post-DKA. You need to monitor for ketones at home, daily. That can be done either with a meter that tests the blood, or with urine test strips. You can pick up the Ketostix to test the urine at any pharmacy.

Part of managing at home as well is to make sure your cat gets 1.5 times more calories than you would usually feed and if she will tolerate it, add some water to her food as well to help with her hydration. Actually feeding smaller snacks throughout the day is more helpful with kitties who have had DKA, so please continue to feed her often.

 

[Wendy&Neko]

In addition to needing lots of food as above, most post DKA cats are nauseous. You might want to see if you can get an anti nausea medication to give at home, such as ondansetron or maropitant/Cerenia. I find ondansetron works better for nausea, but it doesn't last as long as maropitant which can be given just once per day. If that still doesn't increase how much she eats, you may need an appetite stimulant in addition, such as Mirataz. Also a post that may help:

• Suggestions on How to Stimulate Kitty's Appetite

 

[Sienne and Gabby (GA)]

The other feedback I'm mention is that while we typically suggest to skip a shot (or delay) if numbers are below 150 and if you're new at managing your cat's diabetes, if your cat is recently recovering from DKA we are more aggressive. Unfortunately, some cats are very susceptible to developing ketones. We try to avoid having you skip a shot. If Lola's numbers are lower than you're comfortable shooting, please post and ask for help.

I also agree that Vetsulin is a less than desirable insulin for cats. The American Animal Hospital Assn no longer recommends its use for managing feline diabetes. They recommend either Lantus or Prozinc. Vetsulin does not last for 12 hours. Especially with DKA, you want a longer acting insulin.

 

[Elohelay]

Hello, all! Thank you for your support! We had a post-hospital follow up this morning, and it looks like Lola is improving slowly, but she did lose a little more weight.

Our normal vet didn't feel comfortable with her being on Vetsulin and switched us over to Prozinc.

We're continuing Elura until she's eating consistently and puts on more weight.

I've searched the forum and just want to make sure that I'm not using outdated information: Is Tiki Cat Seafood Selects Variety Pack Grain-Free Wet Cat Food low carb enough/appropriate if I can get her to eat it? We have 1/2 a box left from when she decided to stop eating it this summer and it would be nice if we could finish it. If not, I can get something else. I need to return a lot of food to Petsmart anyway.

I plan on getting her some Vital Essentials freeze dried nibs tomorrow when the local pet store is open so that she has something out to graze from all day.

I'm off to read the Prozinc threads. Thank you very much for any feedback and/or comments. I feel a lot more level headed today and Lola's been a little mischievous today, so I think she's getting better, too!

​

 

[squeem3]

Yes, those Tiki Cat are fine. Generally you don't want to fed too much seafood because some cats get addicted to eating it. See if you can include chicken or other protein canned food into the diet.

Canned food is fine to leave out all day It's a cooked product so it won't go bad. Most people here use a programmable timed feeder. There are ways to keep food fresher longer in a feeder such as using a feeder with a fancy cooling feature (https://felinediabetes.com/FDMB/thr...tlibro-polar-wet-food-feeder-read-this.302714) or freezing canned food into portion sizes and putting the frozen chunks into the feeder compartments to defrost.

Air dried raw would be a better option to leave out than freeze dried. Freeze dried is ideally rehydrated before feeding otherwise it acts like a sponge inside the tummy and soaks up all the water which can cause dehydration. Air dried raw is fed straight out of the bag. Ziwi Peak is one brand.