Can I get diabetes in remission with low carb diet and no insulin?

W

WVCatMama

Member Since 2026
Hello all. My 10yo cat Faye (aka Runt) was recently diagnosed as diabetic. I’m completely brand new to this. We took her to the vet Tuesday to start insulin injections, brought her home, and she’s had a rough several days since. We’ve not administered any more insulin than what was given to her at the vet. They prescribed ProZinc insulin, and Proviable-Forte because her stools were soft.

The vet said to give her 1 unit every 12 hours, and then bring her back in 2 weeks so they can get a curve. However they never mentioned a glucose meter to us, and we don’t know what her insulin levels are, especially since we’ve also moved her to an almost exclusive wet food low carb diet (mostly Fancy Feast classics and Sheba pate), which she currently isn’t eating much (on an antibiotic which I’ll explain below). Until 20 minutes ago while reading topics here, I didn’t know ketone monitoring was a thing either, and now I’m interested in that also.

Would it be best to start her on the twice daily insulin now, or get a glucose meter, and start checking her insulin levels first, especially with the diet changes? When we took her 2 weeks ago for blood work, her insulin was 553 (plus stress of vet), and when she went back Tuesday after we’d changed her to a more wet food low carb diet, it was in the low 400s (also could’ve been high from the stress). In a couple weeks, her level was down around 100 points.

Does anyone have any thoughts? She came home Tuesday from the vet, became very lethargic, peed outside the litter box, and was in pain around her back legs. We don’t know if the reaction was due to the insulin, or stress, or a combination of everything. They also did a urinalysis, which I never would’ve let had I known how they do it beforehand, so we think she developed a full blown UTI. So we called in an antibiotic thinking it’s a UTI, and started her on the probiotic. She’s now peeing in the box again, and her stools are little nuggets again since she hasn’t eaten a lot the last 4 days from the illness. Before the vet visit, she drank tons, and peed a lot, with a sweet smell, and she was constantly hungry but still lost weight. Now, she’s drinking less and her pee clumps are normal sized, the sweet smell is gone, and she’s eating less. Her eating habits actually remind me of how she used to eat in her younger days.

Thank you in advance for your thoughts. I just don’t know what to do and welcome any advice as I try to decide what’s best for her…insulin now, or get a glucose curve ourselves first, and give it some time to see what happens with a controlled diet and glucose and ketone monitoring. I really don’t want to take her back to the vet for another day for the glucose curve when she’s had such a rough week after the 6-hour Tuesday visit at the vet.
 
Welcome to FDMB
Sorry to hare you are going thru all this, but we all have at one point or another, but the most important thing is that Feline Diabetes is manageable, with the right insulin diet, food schedule, home testing, and lots of love, all you questions and concern are very valid, the best insulins for cats are ProZinc and Lantus, they are a 12 hour insulin and easy on your cat, so you are giving a good insulin, you did not mention the dose, The soft stool was most likely from the diet change, transitioning from dry or any other foods to any other wet like the Fancy Feast and Sheba you are feeding can cause stomach upset, and also a large dip in glucose levels, It is important to home test before each shot and 3-4 times during the day .Diabetic cats need to have a schedule diet between 0-10% carbs, most members use the Fancy Feast as well up to 5%, by feeding schedule I mean cats should have between 3-4 snack or small meals during the day especially two hours after shooting ProZinc hits the system 2 hours after shot, the Protocol for ProZinc are TEST, FEED, SHOOT, you do not need to take Faye to the vet for a curve, this you can do at home and save your money and street to Faye cats are very sensitive to stress and a curve at the vets' will result on higher glucose levels due to stress, and that can result on the vet making an unnecessary increase in dose, Most member use the ReliOn Premier human monitor and strips (Walmart) the monitor is $19.00 and the strips $9.00 for 50 and $17.88 for 100 is good to always have extra strips on hand, you DO NOT need a Pet Meter, the strips are outrageously expensive and just as accurate as the human monitor. regarding remission, Faye's glucose number are very high she needs insulin, the 100 number was most likely from the food change or a high insulin dose, but before you continue insulin, I HIGHLY advice you begin home testing, hypoglycemia is not a pretty site, and dangerous for
Faye beginning insulin and changes in her diet all at once and not testing, you are risking hypoglycemia; before remission, you must consider regulating glucose levels first, I do not give dosing advice, but I do know that this board advices to start insulin with a low dose, and with increases and deceases of 0.25units at a time it takes several cycles (about 2-3 days) to actually see how the insulin is working in a cat, all cats are different, so they may just need adjustment, increase, or decrease to stabilize, some cats are a lifetime diabetic like my Corky, he is tightly regulated, but will need ProZinc forever. a non diabetic cat's glucose numbers are between 50-120. We are very numbers oriented, in order to assist you better and we do not have to ask the same questions, we would like you to create your signature and Faye's spreadsheet links below, also on our Main Forum there are sticky notes with much valuable information, please continue to ask questions, we are here for you
and I can see that Fay is very lucky to have you 🤗 I will also tag a member that can assist you with dosing and any other concerns you may have, We are here for you
@Suzanne & Darcy

Sticky - New? How You Can Help Us Help You!
https://felinediabetes.com/FDMB/threads/how-to-create-a-spreadsheet.241706/
 
CORKY said:
Welcome to FDMB
Sorry to hare you are going thru all this, but we all have at one point or another, but the most important thing is that Feline Diabetes is manageable, with the right insulin diet, food schedule, home testing, and lots of love, all you questions and concern are very valid, the best insulins for cats are ProZinc and Lantus, they are a 12 hour insulin and easy on your cat, so you are giving a good insulin, you did not mention the dose, The soft stool was most likely from the diet change, transitioning from dry or any other foods to any other wet like the Fancy Feast and Sheba you are feeding can cause stomach upset, and also a large dip in glucose levels, It is important to home test before each shot and 3-4 times during the day .Diabetic cats need to have a schedule diet between 0-10% carbs, most members use the Fancy Feast as well up to 5%, by feeding schedule I mean cats should have between 3-4 snack or small meals during the day especially two hours after shooting ProZinc hits the system 2 hours after shot, the Protocol for ProZinc are TEST, FEED, SHOOT, you do not need to take Faye to the vet for a curve, this you can do at home and save your money and street to Faye cats are very sensitive to stress and a curve at the vets' will result on higher glucose levels due to stress, and that can result on the vet making an unnecessary increase in dose, Most member use the ReliOn Premier human monitor and strips (Walmart) the monitor is $19.00 and the strips $9.00 for 50 and $17.88 for 100 is good to always have extra strips on hand, you DO NOT need a Pet Meter, the strips are outrageously expensive and just as accurate as the human monitor. regarding remission, Faye's glucose number are very high she needs insulin, the 100 number was most likely from the food change or a high insulin dose, but before you continue insulin, I HIGHLY advice you begin home testing, hypoglycemia is not a pretty site, and dangerous for
Faye beginning insulin and changes in her diet all at once and not testing, you are risking hypoglycemia; before remission, you must consider regulating glucose levels first, I do not give dosing advice, but I do know that this board advices to start insulin with a low dose, and with increases and deceases of 0.25units at a time it takes several cycles (about 2-3 days) to actually see how the insulin is working in a cat, all cats are different, so they may just need adjustment, increase, or decrease to stabilize, some cats are a lifetime diabetic like my Corky, he is tightly regulated, but will need ProZinc forever. a non diabetic cat's glucose numbers are between 50-120. We are very numbers oriented, in order to assist you better and we do not have to ask the same questions, we would like you to create your signature and Faye's spreadsheet links below, also on our Main Forum there are sticky notes with much valuable information, please continue to ask questions, we are here for you
and I can see that Fay is very lucky to have you 🤗 I will also tag a member that can assist you with dosing and any other concerns you may have, We are here for you
@Suzanne & Darcy

Sticky - New? How You Can Help Us Help You!
https://felinediabetes.com/FDMB/threads/how-to-create-a-spreadsheet.241706/
Click to expand...
Thank you so much for your reply Corky. It’s very informative, and I’m glad this community is here. Runt is definitely one of my babies and I want to make her as happy and healthy as possible.

The vet informed us to start with 1 unit for the first two weeks until we took her back for the curve (which I plan to get the glucose meter to get that curve ourselves to avoid her stress). Thank you also for the recommendation on the meter. Since it’s people-grade, I can get that through HSA too I think. 🥳

Since she’s currently getting over the infection, I’m thinking what I need to do is finish out her antibiotic, let her heal from that; and in the meantime as soon as the never ending snow melts, get the glucose meter, learn and start testing her, and then start the insulin every 12-hrs for 2 weeks, and then do the curve myself, share with the vet, so they can adjust insulin if needed. I do want to avoid the stress for her to avoid another infection; which I’m thinking it could be partly came from the cystocentesis. Poor baby. 😔

Also, should I test her ketones and if so, do you have a recommendation on how best to do that? I saw that some glucose meters will also test ketones. Since we’re changing her to a higher protein diet, I also want to try to avoid additional UTI-type infections (this one she has now is her second in her lifetime).

I saw the spreadsheet earlier, and will put together one when I’m able to start testing her glucose. After reading the instructions, I think I have it figured out.

As for diet, other than her Fancy Feast & Sheba which I plan to keep her mostly on (with occasional duck and rabbit), is there a recommendation for a low carb dry or raw food that would be good for her? If so and with the added protein, should I add a supplement for her to reduce added protein stress?

She loves dry food, although that could’ve been because her body was craving food. Also, any recommendations for how to get her weight back up?

She’s at 9.7 lbs which the vet said was a perfect weight, however she’s a larger (length-wise) cat than most and when I feel her shoulder blades, I feel like there isn’t much muscle there now, especially when I compare her to her sister…who’s around 14-15 lbs. I’ve always suspected they have some Maine coon in them; longer body frame, long fur, big neck tufts, long fur between the toes; so I’d like to see her around 10.5-11.0 lbs at a minimum, and then see how her muscles are feeling. We do have steps in our house and she likes our basement, so I can open that back up to her now that it appears her pain is gone or nearly gone. She finally quit growling at me Friday night.

Thank you so much again for your message. This will be an adjustment, but we’ll figure out the best times for everything and get a schedule.
 
That's what we are here for, we all have gone thru all the stress the overwhelming, thinking it is our fault, insecure if we can do this, cats hide their illnesses very well, also the infection will keep the BG high, see Corky's 2025 SS mid May , you will see a pattern of yellow levels, this is because he also had an infection and had a fever and he was not eating, as soon as he started the antibiotic and the fever went down his numbers began to get normal again, this is another major reason for home testing, when you start seeing the daily BG patterns, you will know your cat and the effects of the insulin in his body. when the antibiotics take effect Runt will start to feel better again and eat more, Corky is a very large cat, he lost in less then 2 months 8.5 lbs, he was weighing 16. lbs, he is now back to his weight, just feed low arbs as you are and several small meals a day, (see Corky's SS, scroll to the left , you'll see remarks, this is his daily schedule and what he eats, so you can get an idea, I also have Coco she is1/2 Main Coon as well, she weights 13 lbs, and I taught her how to eat the same things and at the same schedule as Corky, and they are both very satisfied, it is good to feed for the last time 2 hours after the PMPS second shot Corky's shot is at 6:00 AM/6:00PM so his last meal is at 10-11PM, You are doing a great job!
 
While it's possible for a cat to go into remission with only a change to a low carb diet, it doesn't happen very often. Your cat's blood glucose numbers were rather high at diagnosis. Do you know if the vet did a fructosamine test? The fructosamine is the equivalent of a human's hemoglobin A1c -- it gives you an average of blood glucose over the span of a few weeks so you know if blood glucose has been consistently high.

I find the UTI worrisome. This is why. One of the issues with not giving insulin is the potential for diabetic ketoacidosis (DKA) developing. This is why both testing for blood glucose and ketones is important. DKA can be a life threatening condition and it's an expensive hospital stay. It occurs if there's an infection or inflammation (for example, a UTI) + not enough calories + not enough insulin. It sounds like Runt may be checking all three boxes. I'd strongly encourage you to get Ketostix which if your cat will let you stalk her to the litter box, will tell you if ketones are present. Home testing for blood glucose will let you know if her numbers are coming down with a low carb diet. However, I suspect she's going to need insulin even if her numbers are now in the 300s.

If the vet did a. urinalysis by inserting a needle into your cat's bladder, that is the proper way to collect urine for a urinalysis. It's called a cystocentesis and it allows the vet to get a sterile sample. Having your cat do the equivalent of "peeing into a cup" generally means you get a contaminated sample. With a sterile sample, the vet can culture the urine to determine just which bacteria are present and prescribe an antibiotic that targets that specific bacteria.

I would encourage you to get a blood glucose meter and start insulin. You can do curves at home. Stress can affect numbers so doing the testing at home will give you far more reliable data.
 
Thank you both; she’s doing much better today and has a pretty good appetite back. She’s also back up on the bed, licking my face, and watching almost everything I do which is normal for her. Thank you Sienna & Gabby for the recommendation. Not sure if she’ll let me stalk her but I can give it a try. I do want to test her glucose before starting the insulin though instead of doing it blindly & then returning her to the vet. The vet did a urinalysis Tuesday, and didn’t see any bacteria in her bladder, however they saw some sediment on the ultrasound. They think maybe she had a UTI developing. She’s no longer growling when I touch her hindquarters, so that was probably right. There’s also no fructosamine on her bloodwork results, so no A1C equivalent. I’m glad to have her getting back to herself.

When you all first started, what and when did you start leaving your kitties home alone for periods of time? I’ve been snowed in for a couple weeks and anticipate being back in the office mid week this week; so I want to start the insulin when I know I’ll be home to monitor her too; and wonder when the comfort level of leaving her home alone comes. I’d be gone for 9 hours, 5 days/week. My husband will be home some, so her time alone would likely only be 4-5 hours at a time. It’s so scary to start, especially not knowing anything about insulin, sugar level fluctuations, and how slow or fast that can all occur. I have a lot of learning to do.
 
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CORKY said:
That's what we are here for, we all have gone thru all the stress the overwhelming, thinking it is our fault, insecure if we can do this, cats hide their illnesses very well, also the infection will keep the BG high, see Corky's 2025 SS mid May , you will see a pattern of yellow levels, this is because he also had an infection and had a fever and he was not eating, as soon as he started the antibiotic and the fever went down his numbers began to get normal again, this is another major reason for home testing, when you start seeing the daily BG patterns, you will know your cat and the effects of the insulin in his body. when the antibiotics take effect Runt will start to feel better again and eat more, Corky is a very large cat, he lost in less then 2 months 8.5 lbs, he was weighing 16. lbs, he is now back to his weight, just feed low arbs as you are and several small meals a day, (see Corky's SS, scroll to the left , you'll see remarks, this is his daily schedule and what he eats, so you can get an idea, I also have Coco she is1/2 Main Coon as well, she weights 13 lbs, and I taught her how to eat the same things and at the same schedule as Corky, and they are both very satisfied, it is good to feed for the last time 2 hours after the PMPS second shot Corky's shot is at 6:00 AM/6:00PM so his last meal is at 10-11PM, You are doing a great job!
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I noticed Corky’s numbers from May last year. How are you able to test him every two hours? Does he have a continuous read monitor or are you able to be with him? Corky really lost weight quick too. Was it from the diabetes or did he have a diet change? I’m so used to having kitties that are larger that I get nervous when they lose weight, and then the vet says she’s a good weight.

I saw online about feeding some plain chicken to get protein; so in addition to her Fancy Feast, I’m going to keep chicken cooked all the time, so she can have some of it and the broth. She loves the broth.
 
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I worked full time throughout Gabby's lifetime. I didn't have much of an option when it came to leaving her at home. She was pretty sick at the time of diagnosis. She'd been hospitalized on the kitty ICU with DKA, pancreatitis, and hepatic lipidosis. I had a weekend to get us both oriented to diabetes management.

A few things may help. Consider getting a timed feeder. It's a way to ensure that food will be available if you or your husband are not home. Give some thought to what will be an effective shot time given your schedule. I have a demanding schedule but I also have some degree of control over what I do. I also didn't live far from my office. In addition, Gabby had an early onset and nadir (when the insulin kicked in and when it hit its low point). I would shoot at 5:00. In the morning, the early shot time gave me an opportunity to see where Gabby's numbers were heading and whether I needed to intervene with higher carb food before I left the house. I could also run home at lunch time to check on her and if I needed to schedule a late meeting, I could run home at around 4:30 then test and feed, and be back at the office by 5:30 for a meeting.

At the time, there weren't continuous glucose monitors (CGMs). With those, you can get a reading on your phone. However, you still need a way to make food available is numbers are running low.

This is a link to a post on using the Tight Regulation Protocol and working full time. Regardless of whether you opt for this dosing method, there are some good suggestions if you're not at home during the day.
 
Do you have a link for the KetoStix? I found the ReliOn monitor and strips at my local Walmart, so placing a pickup order, but they don’t have the KetoStix.
 
WVCatMama said:
I noticed Corky’s numbers from May last year. How are you able to test him every two hours? Does he have a continuous read monitor or are you able to be with him? Corky really lost weight quick too. Was it from the diabetes or did he have a diet change? I’m so used to having kitties that are larger that I get nervous when they lose weight, and then the vet says she’s a good weight.

I saw online about feeding some plain chicken to get protein; so in addition to her Fancy Feast, I’m going to keep chicken cooked all the time, so she can have some of it and the broth. She loves the broth.
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Fortunately I’m home all the time and an obsessive tester this year since he’s so tightly regulated I have slowed some, but he lost the weight before diagnosed I had no idea about FD He was just himself, I did noticed more water drinking to the point that he wouldn’t leave the bowl, but I thought it was a play thing , when I adopted him at 8?weekd old, at the shelter some monster had declawed his front, so he was very scared and timid, not He would only allow cuddles in his territory, I couldn’t pick him up he would draw himself away, at 10 yo, one day I went to give both cats a treat I noticed that when I sat on the sofá he had not moved when I passed by, so I went up to him, he let me pick him up, he felt like a feather, being a big big cat I never noticed, Whrn I put him on the scale he had lost 8.5?lbs he had just been to the vet tge month before for his rabies shot, I rushed to an emergency vet, he’s glucose level was 650, he was hospitalized for 8 days, So it has been a long journey, I found this forum 3-4 months later and everything I have learned I did here, I felt like a failure at first but thank God to this forum the members, I learned how to manage him, He is a very healthy boy aside from diabetes, I have not taken him to the vet for anything relating to it either, I trust this forum blindly, I started to see changes in his levels by learning here what to feed, dose adjustments and home testing, none of this was said to me when he left the hospital, just a Libre sensor that went wrong every time until I began to test with the ReliOn, now he is completely tightly regulated, even though he will be a lifetime diabetic, he will be 14 in October, the right insulin doses first, along with low carb food ( he grew up on MEAUMIX dry food grazing) I began to see changes and healthy pancreas, I am not concerned with remissions, as long as I know he’s pancreas are and are healing, that’s a winner for me
 
CORKY said:
Fortunately I’m home all the time and an obsessive tester this year since he’s so tightly regulated I have slowed some, but he lost the weight before diagnosed I had no idea about FD He was just himself, I did noticed more water drinking to the point that he wouldn’t leave the bowl, but I thought it was a play thing , when I adopted him at 8?weekd old, at the shelter some monster had declawed his front, so he was very scared and timid, not He would only allow cuddles in his territory, I couldn’t pick him up he would draw himself away, at 10 yo, one day I went to give both cats a treat I noticed that when I sat on the sofá he had not moved when I passed by, so I went up to him, he let me pick him up, he felt like a feather, being a big big cat I never noticed, Whrn I put him on the scale he had lost 8.5?lbs he had just been to the vet tge month before for his rabies shot, I rushed to an emergency vet, he’s glucose level was 650, he was hospitalized for 8 days, So it has been a long journey, I found this forum 3-4 months later and everything I have learned I did here, I felt like a failure at first but thank God to this forum the members, I learned how to manage him, He is a very healthy boy aside from diabetes, I have not taken him to the vet for anything relating to it either, I trust this forum blindly, I started to see changes in his levels by learning here what to feed, dose adjustments and home testing, none of this was said to me when he left the hospital, just a Libre sensor that went wrong every time until I began to test with the ReliOn, now he is completely tightly regulated, even though he will be a lifetime diabetic, he will be 14 in October, the right insulin doses first, along with low carb food ( he grew up on MEAUMIX dry food grazing) I began to see changes and healthy pancreas, I am not concerned with remissions, as long as I know he’s pancreas are and are healing, that’s a winner for me
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That’s great; I’m glad to hear his pancreas is healthy. Does he let cuddles now? I’m also glad to hear you’ve been at this several years now with him. That tells me with proper care, they can live a long, healthy life, even after diagnosis. Corky is lucky to have you; and it’s fortunate you can be home with him. I worked from home full time until May, however I’m only 25 minutes away when at work, so can come home if absolutely necessary. While I’m a fixer and will want to get to remission, I just want Runt to be healthy and happy, so if we have to do shots the rest of her life, that’s what we’ll do. She also doesn’t have other issues either; most of her recent bloodwork was perfect, with a few numbers that were some off, and when I looked a couple of those up, it says they can be off during infection, hence the UTI (or whatever infection she had). When I have time to build the spreadsheet (probably next weekend), I’ll add the #s in.

Your situation sounds almost like my Runt, although she’s lost only about 4 lbs, but actually about 6 from her highest weight, although some of that loss was managed by a decrease in food when her sister Little Kitty started really packing the pounds and breathing harder, so we had to get that under control. I just recently noticed (Sept/Oct 2025) Runt had been losing weight and was drinking and peeing more. My husband is also going through some health issues, so I told him once we get his routine established, we need to take her for bloodwork, so that’s where we are. We also found an awesome network of people on Inspire.com that really helped us down a healthy path for him. So I know how helpful communities of people with similar situations can be…so when her issues started Tuesday, finding an internet community was first place I went for help. I trust the people who’ve been through or going through it more than the vets. People who are living the same situations will know the most.

For the food, what kind of foods do you feed now and what’s your feeding schedule? For dry, I’m going to order the Hills M/D Diabetic Remission; and they said only 2 TBSP/day of it. Little Kitty may get it though…she’s a chow down eater. For wet, keeping the Fancy Feast for her, a will be using it for both with some Sheba pate too. I may try the Young Again dry, or even a raw freeze dried food…need to figure out what they’ll both like most because Little Kitty will be on the same diet.

I do have a Walmart order loaded and getting ready to schedule a pickup, so I’ll have that glucose monitor in a couple days.
 
Sienne and Gabby (GA) said:
KetoStix is just one brand of urine ketone strip. Any brand will be fine. Try Amazon or ADW (it's a diabetes supply site). Walmart may have their own brand.
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Ok, I found some ReliOn ones at Walmart. When I use those, do I want it to be negative or darker? Also, how often do you try to test ketones, and do you have any recommendations for trying to catch the urine? lol…I have so much to learn!!!
 
WVCatMama said:
Ok, I found some ReliOn ones at Walmart. When I use those, do I want it to be negative or darker? Also, how often do you try to test ketones, and do you have any recommendations for trying to catch the urine? lol…I have so much to learn!!!
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Oh yes, now Corkyvis glued to me and I love it. Well the Hills diabetic remission you stay away from there’s nothing prescribed about that food is very high carb over 20% and remission, if it happens, it will not be with that food, stick to the FF see Corky’s SS scroll to the left and and get an idea Lon what to feed and how much and when, you can also purchase a wet food feeder also at Walmart or Chewy. Com below are a couple of brands some even have camera you can monitor, about the ReliOn I do not know what you mean by negative or darker, and if your baby tested negative for Ketones, you do not need to test often Corky has never had them, so I personally have never tested. Sienne, I will tag her I do not know much more about Ketones, or you can go on the Main menu there’s a thread on Ketones, your baby is also lucky to have you
@Sienne and Gabby (GA)
Ketones questions
 
Here are the wet food feeders
 

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CORKY said:
Oh yes, now Corkyvis glued to me and I love it. Well the Hills diabetic remission you stay away from there’s nothing prescribed about that food is very high carb over 20% and remission, if it happens, it will not be with that food, stick to the FF see Corky’s SS scroll to the left and and get an idea Lon what to feed and how much and when, you can also purchase a wet food feeder also at Walmart or Chewy. Com below are a couple of brands some even have camera you can monitor, about the ReliOn I do not know what you mean by negative or darker, and if your baby tested negative for Ketones, you do not need to test often Corky has never had them, so I personally have never tested. Sienne, I will tag her I do not know much more about Ketones, or you can go on the Main menu there’s a thread on Ketones, your baby is also lucky to have you
@Sienne and Gabby (GA)
Ketones questions
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Oh wow, glad I didn’t order it! I know it’s expensive and you’d think with a name like “Diabetic Remission,” it would be good…so maybe that’s why the vet said no more than 2 TBSP/day. They probably knew.

I see Corky’s food now. What’s the ham treat? So he’s getting 2 cans/day. That’s where I need to get her back to; she’s currently at about 1 can plus some chicken broth and just a little FF dry food since we’ve just been trying to get her to eat more again. She’s coming around now; slept in the bed earlier beside me, so she’s getting back to herself. She is still on the antibiotic, so probably not too much of an appetite yet. I love how you put the food types to the right!

Got it about the ketones. I’ll also find the thread about ketones this week so I can read up on it too. You’ve been so helpful!
 
I buy it at Walmart I cut up small squares 1 1/2 slice give it to him at +2 2 hour after shot to keep the insulin in check is very low sodium and 1% carbs Publix also has it but $3+ more
 

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CORKY said:
I buy it at Walmart I cut up small squares 1 1/2 slice give it to him at +2 2 hour after shot to keep the insulin in check is very low sodium and 1% carbs Publix also has it but $3+ more
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Thank you! I bet Corky loves that! I’m not sure if she’ll eat ham, however I can try something similar…I’ve started keeping plain chicken cooked. She loves the broth.
 
Ketones should be a trace level or below.

This is a post on ketones.

As far as getting a test, some cats will let you swipe the strip through their urine stream. With others, you may need to have a spoon or ladle that you use to get a bit of urine. For the totally "shy" cat, you can put plastic wrap over the litter so there's a puddle you can use.

I'd suggest getting a ketone test on a daily basis if possible providing all is good. At this point, you just want to be sure that there's not a problem with ketones. If your cat is developing ketones, you need to test more often.
 
WVCatMama said:
Thank you! I bet Corky loves that! I’m not sure if she’ll eat ham, however I can try something similar…I’ve started keeping plain chicken cooked. She loves the broth.
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That’s good, I tried the boiled chicken and boiled tilapia but neither liked it
WVCatMama said:
Thank you! I bet Corky loves that! I’m not sure if she’ll eat ham, however I can try something similar…I’ve started keeping plain chicken cooked. She loves the broth.
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just make sure that whatever snack you give to be low carb read the labels, also some cat owner feed shrimp, or boil chicken breast and freeze it in small portions
 
Sienne and Gabby (GA) said:
Ketones should be a trace level or below.

This is a post on ketones.

As far as getting a test, some cats will let you swipe the strip through their urine stream. With others, you may need to have a spoon or ladle that you use to get a bit of urine. For the totally "shy" cat, you can put plastic wrap over the litter so there's a puddle you can use.

I'd suggest getting a ketone test on a daily basis if possible providing all is good. At this point, you just want to be sure that there's not a problem with ketones. If your cat is developing ketones, you need to test more often.
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Thank you! I also watched a vet video where they use popcorn kernels in an empty litter box, so I can try that too. I wonder if the vet checked ketones with the urinalysis…waiting to hear back on that.

She definitely is not drinking and peeing as much and her urine spots in the litter are a more normal size. Still don’t know if that’s because we’ve changed her diet to the almost all wet food, or if it’s where she’s been sick. She also doesn’t scarf her food down and is slow graze eating again like she used to always do.

She loves dry food and I’ve read the Young Again may be a good option. What’s your thoughts on it, and which one should I try? I’d like to be able to leave her a little dry food out, especially at night for overnight eating and when no one may be home for 4-5 hours during the daytimes. I need to get some weight (ie 1-2 lbs slow gain) back on her.

As for today…I’m over a whole can of wet food in her with a little no salt added turkey lunch meat, a little plain chicken, and a little chicken broth with her probiotic in it. This is the most she’s eaten in a week, so I pray we’re making progress.

If all goes well and we get the glucose testing figured out this week, plan to begin insulin Friday evening since I can be home all weekend with her, and only need to be gone a few hours Monday afternoon.

So to sum up for now, my new questions:
1. Thoughts on Young Again and which one should we try for her? Looking to add more calories for weight gain.
2. What should I do before leaving her alone after insulin injection? She’ll be on 1 unit of ProZinc initially. I worry about leaving her but I’ll have to go back to work next week. 😔

Thank you so much again! I appreciate you and Corky so much, and know all will be fine as soon as I get the routine down. Then maybe somewhere down the road, I can help someone else who’s in my shoes now. 🤗
 
CORKY said:
That’s good, I tried the boiled chicken and boiled tilapia but neither liked it

just make sure that whatever snack you give to be low carb read the labels, also some cat owner feed shrimp, or boil chicken breast and freeze it in small portions
Click to expand...
Thank you! Yes I’m definitely paying close attention to carbs now, and for Runt’s sister (blood sister) Little Kitty too. Keeping the wet food and real meat going to them both; and Little Kitty, also 10.5 is getting more energetic too! So, I cook a crock pot of plain chicken, and we all eat it as a family for several days. I love your idea about freezing it too! I could get some of those little salad dressing sealable containers, and fill them up with chicken & broth to make individual snacks. 🥳
 
Also in regards to the litter box, once both your cats are on wet low carbs, they will not poop as often as with dry high carbs, you will most likely see pooping every other day or so, so don’t be alarmed, wet food,,especially FF has no waste so they digest most of all the food😉
 
Sienne and Gabby (GA) said:
Ketones should be a trace level or below.

This is a post on ketones.

As far as getting a test, some cats will let you swipe the strip through their urine stream. With others, you may need to have a spoon or ladle that you use to get a bit of urine. For the totally "shy" cat, you can put plastic wrap over the litter so there's a puddle you can use.

I'd suggest getting a ketone test on a daily basis if possible providing all is good. At this point, you just want to be sure that there's not a problem with ketones. If your cat is developing ketones, you need to test more often.
Click to expand...
Thank you! I also watched a vet video where they use popcorn kernels in an empty litter box, so I can try that too. I wonder if the vet checked ketones with the urinalysis…waiting to hear back on that.
CORKY said:
That’s good, I tried the boiled chicken and boiled tilapia but neither liked it

just make sure that whatever snack you give to be low carb read the labels, also some cat owner feed shrimp, or boil chicken breast and freeze it in small portions
Click to expand...
Vet also recommended the Purina Pro Plan DM. I checked the nutrition on it and it has 3.97g carbs per 100 calories and 26.6g per cup; so I could maybe try up to .25 cups/day (or even less) with the rest being wet food/fresh chicken. It would also add a lot of extra calories for her and it promotes a good urinary environment.
 
CORKY said:
Also in regards to the litter box, once both your cats are on wet low carbs, they will not poop as often as with dry high carbs, you will most likely see pooping every other day or so, so don’t be alarmed, wet food,,especially FF has no waste so they digest most of all the food😉
Click to expand...
Thank you! I’ve already noticed that and was worrying. Little Kitty normally has large poops and I’ve noticed smaller pieces in the litter box she normally uses. Plus I’ve been now worried that my Runt is constipated since I’m not seeing much and didn’t like me touching her tail earlier. I also got some Miralax handy just in case it would be needed. Good to know they poop less on FF!
 
MIRALAX, 1/4 tsp in the food twice a day for 4-5 days should do the job, both Corky and Coco get constipated, is the fish I feed, I feed them a balance of chicken, beef, beef and fish
 
CORKY said:
Did you calculate the fed carbs or dry matter carbs because the dry matter carb is the correct%
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Here’s what it shows on Chewy…I’m not sure what it means: “This recipe has a Carbohydrate content of 15.06% as fed and 16.34% on a dry matter basis.”
 
I thought so, that’s considered high carbs
0-10% low carbs 11-15% medium carbs, 16-24% high carbs
 
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CORKY said:
MIRALAX, 1/4 tsp in the food twice a day for 4-5 days should do the job, both Corky and Coco get constipated, is the fish I feed, I feed them a balance of chicken, beef, beef and fish
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Thank you! I’m trying to keep her separated a day or two to see if she goes but it’s hard.
 
Usually they alway go on the same spot in the box, at least I know when Coco has pooped in the from of the box, Corky in the back of the box check it out
 
CORKY said:
Usually they alway go on the same spot in the box, at least I know when Coco has pooped in the from of the box, Corky in the back of the box check it out
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Mine are the same way but they’ll use any of the three boxes, so we’ve just started separating them most of the day except at night.
 
Weather you feed a tsp or a portion IT IS HIGH CARBS, and some cats are very sensitive to carbs, just a lick and is enough to hike up the BG
 
CORKY said:
Weather you feed a tsp or a portion IT IS HIGH CARBS, and some cats are very sensitive to carbs, just a lick and is enough to hike up the BG
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Okay, I’ll stay away from the vet foods and consider the Young Again…LID I think it was. Do you have recommendations on urinary or other supplements that are good? I want to get her back to her better health.
 
For what I calculated the dry matter for this food is 4.6%, that's good but it has 0% moisture, so make sure little Runt drinks water to keep her kidneys healthy, you can always add a tsp of water to each meal, as well as again, transition to a different food slowly, you do not want an upset stomach, do you think you can fill in the SS?, you are testing already, right?
 
Thank you; she’s typically pretty good about drinking water…although she’s not drinking/eating as much currently but she is still on the antibiotic for another day or so. Not testing yet. The glucose meter is in our Walmart pickup order today so want to test first. I used my iPhone to set up the SS on Google Drive, so I may need to play around with it a little more to figure out how to get it to load. What happens when you click it in my signature block?
 
WVCatMama said:
Thank you; she’s typically pretty good about drinking water…although she’s not drinking/eating as much currently but she is still on the antibiotic for another day or so. Not testing yet. The glucose meter is in our Walmart pickup order today so want to test first. I used my iPhone to set up the SS on Google Drive, so I may need to play around with it a little more to figure out how to get it to load. What happens when you click it in my signature block?
Click to expand...
Once you have it here, you don’t need to upload it on your phone you just open here and click on Faye’s SS and it pops up on your phone, you can try now if you like,
 
Go easy on the YA introduction. It's a rich food and some cats get digestive issues with it.

I have no recommendations on supplements. Maybe the vet does?
 
CORKY said:
That's what we are here for, we all have gone thru all the stress the overwhelming, thinking it is our fault, insecure if we can do this, cats hide their illnesses very well, also the infection will keep the BG high, see Corky's 2025 SS mid May , you will see a pattern of yellow levels, this is because he also had an infection and had a fever and he was not eating, as soon as he started the antibiotic and the fever went down his numbers began to get normal again, this is another major reason for home testing, when you start seeing the daily BG patterns, you will know your cat and the effects of the insulin in his body. when the antibiotics take effect Runt will start to feel better again and eat more, Corky is a very large cat, he lost in less then 2 months 8.5 lbs, he was weighing 16. lbs, he is now back to his weight, just feed low arbs as you are and several small meals a day, (see Corky's SS, scroll to the left , you'll see remarks, this is his daily schedule and what he eats, so you can get an idea, I also have Coco she is1/2 Main Coon as well, she weights 13 lbs, and I taught her how to eat the same things and at the same schedule as Corky, and they are both very satisfied, it is good to feed for the last time 2 hours after the PMPS second shot Corky's shot is at 6:00 AM/6:00PM so his last meal is at 10-11PM, You are doing a great job!
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Re-reading this message; so Corky is now back to his normal weight? How long did it approximately take to get there? That’s promising…as soon as I can get Faye off this antibiotic, she may gain some appetite (and weight) back.
 
He was diagnosed January 2023 I can say in about 6 months or so, when I brought him home I was force feeding him for 1 week with a syringe it was really hard, he was so frail the first photo was the day he was hospitalized, then when I got him home the last 2 now!
 

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CORKY said:
He was diagnosed January 2023 I can say in about 6 months or so, when I brought him home I was force feeding him for 1 week with a syringe it was really hard, he was so frail the first photo was the day he was hospitalized, then when I got him home the last 2 now!
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Oh wow! He looks so healthy now! You’ve done great work with him; he’s lucky to have you. That’s so promising! I hope I don’t have to syringe feed…did that once with another cat in liver failure; feeding pumpkin to try to get just a tiny piece of liver to regrow. Unfortunately, liver was too far gone when we noticed.

We’re going to get Faye there. Hubby is ready to start insulin so we can get things under control for her. I think when she comes off the Amoxi-Drop her appetite may come back. I read loss of appetite is one of the side effects. She can’t have more than a day or two of it left in the bottle.
 
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