Curious if this has happened to someone else

Elliott&Kym

Elliott&Kym

Member Since 2026
Hi everyone,
My cat is newly diagnosed. Before you try to review my spreadsheet, my cat currently is not on insulin.

A week after starting insulin (.5), I did my first curve. Elliott went too low (69), so my vet made me stop after that curve and take days off. I did a mini curve today (attached).

His numbers off insulin look a bit above normal. His highest was 153 before breakfast. Now, I worry if insulin would drop him too low. Maybe this is because he is newly diagnosed? .5 was a tiny dose or so I was told…is there a lower dose?

He was a major dry food cat, but has now switched to Fancy Feast Classic pate. Could the food switch have brought his base numbers down overall?

I sent numbers to the vet, but I am curious if anyone else has had a similar experience where you kind of question if it was the dry food causing this whole thing? And is there anyone else with a cat without insulin in what I guess they call the management level so quickly?
 

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Hi and welcome to the forum.
I can only see one BG number on the SS. Can you transfer more over from the other sheet please?
Yes swapping food from high carb dry to low carb wet can drop the BGs a lot. In fact some cats BGs can drop back to normal.
Yes there are doses lower than 0.5 units. You can drop to 0.25, 0.1 and a drop.
I would suggest you get a couple of days data without insulin for us to see before suggesting a dose change.
In the meantime I would suggest you get a bottle of Ketostix from Walmart or a pharmacy and test the urine for ketones. This is just a safety check while not giving insulin.
Can you set up your signature please?
I will tag @Suzanne & Darcy as I see you are using Prozinc
 
Thanks I will work on updating my spreadsheet, but Elliott isn’t currently on insulin.

My vet only has me test BG when I do a curve so the only data I have would be feeding and shot time/amount. That may change after this mini curve. BUT, she was insistent I use Alpha Trak. That will have to change to a human monitor if I need to test more frequently because those AT test strips are insane $.

He was only on insulin for almost a week and then she paused it. Today’s mini curve numbers are without insulin. I will call the vet tomorrow and ask about testing keytones in the morning.

So it is possible for food to kick him back into a normal BG? He has lost a little weight so that might be helping too. He was a chunky boy because he ate so much dry.
 
You don’t have to ask the vet about testing for ketones. He might not agree but I would recommend you do it just until you establish whether Elliott needs insulin or not. It’s inexpensive and a good insurance.

You can swap to a cheaper human meter . If in the US you can get a ReliOn premier meter from Walmart.
I would like to see tests done before food am and pm and a test inbetween if possible. We want to see what is happening to the BGs when he’s not on insulin. Just put in the U column no insulin.
Yes it is possible for a cat on dry food and swapped to low carb food to have a significant drop in BGs . We would need to check over 2 weeks to see if it stayed in the normal range.
If I were you, I would buy a human meter, and the Ketostix, continue the low carb food and test as I suggested - and we can reevaluate in a couple of days.
Your vet may not agree but that is what I would do if Elliott was my cat.
 
Thanks for your advice! I will get Ketostix and a human monitor in the next few days. I sent the mini curve over to my vet so I will see what she says on the insulin. I didn’t realize it could go to a smaller amount, the syringe is so tiny as it is.

This is all still new and you all are a great help.
 
Normal healthy blood glucose levels for a cat is roughly 60 to 150 mg/dl. Any number within this range with or without insulin is good. Blood glucose levels will fluctuate hour by hour and daily so don't freak out if you see a number outside the range. Things like food and stress and hormones affect blood glucose numbers. My cat had a level of 37 recently which is considered a hypo number for a cat on insulin. But the 37 was 17 hours after the morning insulin dose which was only half the normal amount per the vet (my cat had an all day thing at the vet hospital). Another member once said her diabetic cat tested in the 50s while at the vet's office and was fine. An inexperienced newbie would totally be panicking over lower numbers.

There is no conversion of numbers if you switch between the AlphaTrak and a Human meter. AlphaTrak generally reads higher than a Human meter. Before AlphaTak was made, all vets used Human blood glucose meters which was accurate enough so no idea why now some vets are insisting only pet meters are accurate.
 
Elliott&Kym said:
A week after starting insulin (.5), I did my first curve. Elliott went too low (69), so my vet made me stop after that curve and take days off. I did a mini curve today (attached).
Click to expand...
69 is a perfectly healthy number. Normal, healthy blood glucose levels are between 50 and 120. You won’t want to see numbers much above 120 very often if you’re testing without insulin (to see if any insulin will be needed or if the switch to low carb was sufficient to bring the numbers down.) In non-diabetic cats, you will even see numbers in the 40s sometimes if they haven’t eaten, but that is below where we would want to allow a cat on insulin to go for safety reasons.

If you decide to begin insulin, I can help you with dosing and management.
 
Sorry, I got slammed with work. Vet has me holding off on insulin for another week. His number Sat night was 118 so she said it’s possible that the food shift from so much dry to the FF pate has triggered his pancreas to activate again. She is having me do another mini curve late this week to see if it’s holding.
 
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