Confidence to start insulin

M

Monstybender

Member Since 2026
Hello, I’m new here. I have a long haired diabetic girl that has been on quite a journey. She has multiple issues. Possible ibd, constipation, anal gland issues, diabetes , and previous struvite crystals, uti,s and hypercalcemia from a year long horrible journey on Bexacat. We are finally successfully testing twice a day to get ready to start insulin. She has had two libres that she ripped off. I have prozinc in the fridge and have not started it yet. She’s been off Bexacat since January of this year. I am transitioning to almost all wet food. We are just recently trying tiki cat glycobalance and it’s going well. Unfortunately she has to be on some form of ST/Ox formula for crystals , so I am feeding royal canin glycoadvanced wet, plus dry. Added in some tomcat chicken to each meal. I cannot afford to feed all wet food prescription diet. At 78.00 a case plus all other supplies, unaffordable. I am terrified to start insulin as her numbers go from 217 to 350. I work 6 days a week to pay for it all. Vet prescribed one unit as I feel it is too much.
 
Hello and welcome. Sounds like it's been a long journey so far. Sorry to hear the Bexacat didn't work out.

When my long haired girl Neko was diagnosed with diabetes, she used to try to raid my other cat's food all the time. He just after Neko's diabetes diagnosis, after got diagnosed with crystals. So I had a problem with her needing low carb wet food, and him supposedly needing the high carb food for his crystals. I talked to his vet about what food I could food both. The vet suggested raw food, so I switched to tgat. I found out later that what would also work is any low carb wet food that is lower in phosphorus, with plenty of water added. See this web page. Cat Urinary Tract Diseases: Cystitis, Urethral Obstruction, Urinary Tract Infection. The website is written by a vet specializing in feline nutrition.

You absolutely do not need to feed vet food. Besides being pricey, the ingredients are not the greatest and they are very often too high in carbs for a diabetic cat. This list of foods for diabetes and CKD includes lower carb and low phosphorus and should work for you too. CKD food Chart There are a couple options on that list that are novel protein (lamb, rabbit, pork or whatever meat she hasn't eaten before), that can also help with the IBD.

Prozinc is a good insulin for cats. If feeding a low carb wet food diet, you can start with 0.5 units. The glycobalance and crystals food are high carb and cats on high carb food we suggest 1.0 units.

If she has been off Bexacat since January and in higher numbers, you really do need to start her on insulin. There is some information in this post that will help you getting ready for low numbers. Happy to hear you have started home testing. New? How You Can Help Us Help You! Home testing and having high carb food around to counter any lower numbers are how you can keep her safe.
 
Our member @Diane Tyler's Mom GA recommends this food. She used it in her cat with urinary troubles.

The Purina Pro Plan Urinary Tract Health is low carb and low phosphorus
Beef and Chicken Entree pate
Carbs are around 4.80
Phosphorus is 1.44 dry matter

They also have Chicken Entree in Gravy which isn't pate it like tiny pieces of chicken like the size of a chicklet piece of gum lol remember them, they are like tiny tiny chunks
Carbs are 4.5
Phosphorus 0.78 dry matter

Purina pro plan urinary tract turkey and giblets
This variety contains approximately 1.2% Carbohydrate content on an as fed basis (5.3% on a dry matter basis).
If you want to just try a can of each to see if your kitty likes them PetSmart and Petco sells them in the store.
I know Chewy sells them also
 
imo, vet food is a scam. overpriced & i've never seen a cat like it.

my boy also had crystals when young- the main advice given to me by vets was just to feed all wet food. that even the cheapest wet is better than any dry. if you have dry leftovers, you can still give it as a treat (just a few pieces here & there)

i've had a lot of success with the weruva bff OMG Gravy!. almost all the flavors are low Carb & low phos. the nutritional info is here- Explore Detailed Nutrition Information For Weruva Foods

(the 'Rainbow A Gogo Variety Pack' in the pink box is all high Carb though- i keep it on hand for when BG is low)

​

 
Last edited:
Thank you so much for all the help! I wish I would have found this group 2 years ago! Already you guys have given me options for food and so much knowledge! I just ordered the tiki cat glycobalance and the ph balance food. After that is gone I will try some of your recommendations! Her sugars were down from 350 to 300 this morning. We do have quite a mess with constipation and throwing up. It lasts about 3 weeks then gets better for a week, then starts all over again. Laxatone raises sugars quite a bit and so does pumpkin. Every time I get ready to start insulin, she starts throwing up and not wanting to eat. She loves the tiki cat shredded chicken and hardly wants to eat the royal canin. We are down to just one dry feeding per day. ( 5 grams ) I’m struggling with the 5 am feeding as the donut frost ice packs are only lasting about 4-5 hours in the humidity here. I may need to freeze it for that feeding. I don’t think it’s a good idea to start the insulin at the moment while I’m transitioning to an all wet diet and getting her off the Royal canin. She seemed much more playful and happy last night. We are still at 50% Royal canin wet and 50% tiki cat. I also see her losing weight but I don’t know if that is from the diabetes or not eating as much and throwing up. I really need to get this constipation under control before starting insulin. Pee’s are huge and really sticky for the last month or so . It’s a tug of war between helping her and waiting to start. I fear I have waited too long. What can I use for constipation and hairball issues?
 
Monstybender said:
What can I use for constipation and hairball issues?
Click to expand...

for poop issues, probiotic like this. you open the capsule & sprinkle the powder onto the food. you don't have to do it daily or even give the full pill each time.

if you eat baked sweet potato, a couple of quarter sized pieces of that helps.

for hairball, a few drops of unflavored fish oil mixed in with food.

i'm not a vet, but it seems to me that as long as she is eating, she can start the insulin. you have to adjust the dose over time anyway.
 
What insulin will you be using? this way I can have a member advice you with dosing. the transition from high carbs to low carb food should be a slow process, since a quick change can alter the BG, 1-2 tsp at a time removing the high carb and replacing it with the low carb 0-10% carbs are ideal for a diabetic cat, and home testing often during this process, a non-diabetic cats' glucose number is between 50-120. Most members use Fancy Feast
Pates between 0-10% most feed up to 5%, your cats' BG is quite high so starting insulin is best, for constipation, MIRALAX (over the counter 1/4 tsp twice a day, you can added to the food, also Lactulose (prescribed) 1.5ml also twice a day, both for 3-5 days until your cat starts to poop normally, when feeding wet can food 0-10% carbs the pooping routine will differ since there's no waste he will poop about every 2 days instead of every day, below is a Drs approved food list you can choose from, the third column contains the carb%, feel free to keep posting your concerns, let us know the insulin name 🫶 🫶

Links to FOOD CHARTS
 
So what happens when I were to give the morning shot at .50 and then I test her at night and she sits at what number is it safe to give insulin at then at night. My biggest fear is the hypoglycemia and me not being home or being able to help her get back to a safe bg number myself. We don’t have a vet here in town. Nearest vet is 20 miles away and I am unable to see in the dark and can’t drive at night.
 
I can’t give dosing advice without a spreadsheet. @CORKY Maria can you post the link for how to set up a spreadsheet, please, if not already done.

SEE CORRECTION BELOW:

However, to begin, what I can say is that If your cat is not on a 100 percent low carb wet diet, the starting dose should be 1 unit. If cat is on a 100 percent low carb wet food diet then starting dose recommendation is .5 unit.

It can be dangerous to not start your cat on insulin because you are putting kitty at risk of a life threatening DKA.
 
Last edited:
But you will need a spreadsheet to track BG, nadirs and trends. It’s not as intimidating as it looks at first. I was overwhelmed in the beginning too and said I would never do it— I was just emotionally overwhelmed and I was wrong. It’s such an essential tool.
 
Monstybender said:
So what happens when I were to give the morning shot at .50 and then I test her at night and she sits at what number is it safe to give insulin at then at night. My biggest fear is the hypoglycemia and me not being home or being able to help her get back to a safe bg number myself. We don’t have a vet here in town. Nearest vet is 20 miles away and I am unable to see in the dark and can’t drive at night.
Click to expand...
What are your typical morning BG numbers before your kitty has eaten?
 
I do check keytones daily . They were low today. When she was on Bexacat we had to check them every week, so I am used to doing that. When she has a puking episode I check them daily. Then usually every other day if not puking. They were low today. Yesterday was .02 from throwing up. I gave a hydra care 1/2 packet mixed with 1/4 cup water. Her keytones usually don’t go over .02 . Normally are .01 . I have been adding water to each wet meal.
 
Can you tell me what kind of hours you work? I mean, to be specific, when would you give her the shot and how many hours after that would you leave the house? You could use the day off to run a glucose curve. We can keep her safe.
 
Monstybender said:
I do check keytones daily . They were low today. When she was on Bexacat we had to check them every week, so I am used to doing that. When she has a puking episode I check them daily. Then usually every other day if not puking. They were low today. Yesterday was .02 from throwing up. I gave a hydra care 1/2 packet mixed with 1/4 cup water. Her keytones usually don’t go over .02 . Normally are .01 . I have been adding water to each wet meal.
Click to expand...
Very good. That is excellent that you are familiar with checking ketones and have a blood ketone meter. However, you already know that keeping her in higher BG numbers is harmful to her other organs like kidneys. She needs to start insulin.
 
Have you used MiraLax for constipation? You mentioned Lactulose increased her BG? Is that right? Or you said Laxatone? If Laxatone, that makes sense because it has three different forms of sugar in it (corn syrup, malt syrup and molassas. It’s not appropriate for diabetics. MiraLax will not increase BG.
 
ProZinc will not onset (start to lower BG) for about two hours so if she vomits her breakfast you still have time to get food into her before her BG starts going down. Cerenia is excellent at controlling vomiting, although I am sure the vet will want to get to the bottom of the vomiting. It would be very helpful to have some on hand for emergencies. How often does she vomit?
 
I do know that. I do need to be prepared and have the knowledge of what to do if say the morning shot brings her down to in the 100’s , do I give evening shot then or skip? Or half dose. I have a whole box of U-40 syringes. It’s hard to read the .25 mark which I’m guessing is the first line on the syringe. These are the questions that I have to feel more confident and prepared so I don’t make a deadly mistake. I am so grateful for you guys helping me answer these questions. 😁 I also need to know if the glycoadvanced food will be enough to give her in a hypo event ? It is 10% carbs according to the internet. I do have some other options too.
 
Monstybender said:
I do know that. I do need to be prepared and have the knowledge of what to do if say the morning shot brings her down to in the 100’s , do I give evening shot then or skip? Or half dose. I have a whole box of U-40 syringes. It’s hard to read the .25 mark which I’m guessing is the first line on the syringe. These are the questions that I have to feel more confident and prepared so I don’t make a deadly mistake. I am so grateful for you guys helping me answer these questions. 😁 I also need to know if the glycoadvanced food will be enough to give her in a hypo event ? It is 10% carbs according to the internet. I do have some other options too.
Click to expand...
not high enough. You need something like Fancy Feast Gravy Lovers food for managing low numbers. Keep in mind that I am talking about using it for numbers below 50 (human glucometer.)
 
I have to take a cat to the vet now but I will check in with you and read your replies and questions and respond.

If you feel more comfortable starting with .5 units, we can begin there.
 
I’m in Mn . It’s 12:28 pm here now. I plan to start on Sunday when I will be home all day. I am hoping to get the libre on her myself this weekend. I am struggling with morning ritual. I keep sleeping in till 7:30 am and she eats right away when I get up. She eats 5 grams dry at 5:00 am . This morning the feeder fed her 10 grams ugh. I’m very tired when I wake up so doing the testing and feeding and insulin will be difficult for both of us at that time.
 
Monstybender said:
I do know that. I do need to be prepared and have the knowledge of what to do if say the morning shot brings her down to in the 100’s , do I give evening shot then or skip? Or half dose. I have a whole box of U-40 syringes. It’s hard to read the .25 mark which I’m guessing is the first line on the syringe.
Click to expand...


Do the U40 syringes have half unit markings? Check the box. If the syringes only have whole unit markings, each line is for each unit (1, 2, 3, etc). If the syringes have half units, the first line past zero is 0.5 units.

81XmVNfSSJL._AC_UF350,350_QL80_.jpg


No syringe has markings for 0.25 units. You have to use half unit marked syringes and eyeball in between the half unit line and the whole unit line.
 
Monstybender said:
I’m in Mn . It’s 12:28 pm here now. I plan to start on Sunday when I will be home all day. I am hoping to get the libre on her myself this weekend. I am struggling with morning ritual. I keep sleeping in till 7:30 am and she eats right away when I get up. She eats 5 grams dry at 5:00 am . This morning the feeder fed her 10 grams ugh. I’m very tired when I wake up so doing the testing and feeding and insulin will be difficult for both of us at that time.
Click to expand...
There’s only one hour difference between us then. That’s good.

You will need to test her blood glucose before giving her any food. That way we will know she is at a safe number to shoot the insulin. Then she can eat and you can give insulin right away. In the beginning, you should not feed her for two hours prior to the morning and evening pre-shot tests. This way we know the BG isn’t elevated by food/carbs and we will know if it’s safe to shoot.
 
Suzanne & Darcy said:
I can’t give dosing advice without a spreadsheet. @CORKY Maria can you post the link for how to set up a spreadsheet, please, if not already done.

SEE CORRECTION BELOW:

However, to begin, what I can say is that If your cat is not on a 100 percent low carb wet diet, the starting dose should be 1 unit. If cat is on a 100 percent low carb wet food diet then starting dose recommendation is .5 unit.

It can be dangerous to not start your cat on insulin because you are putting kitty at risk of a life threatening DKA.
Click to expand...
Here is the link to create your signature and spreadsheet, let us know if you need help creating the spreadsheet
to add to Suzanne's input the protocol for ProZinc are TEST-FEED-SHOOT, I shoot Corky while his face is in the bowl, it is advised to test 2 hours after shot, since it takes about 2 hours for the ProZinc to kick in, you may want to see Corky's Spreadsheet below in blue to have an idea when to test, know that I am an obsessive tester even after 4 years, testing before each shot, at +2 and at least tow more times during the day we can get an idea how the Prozinc is working throughout the day, it takes about 3 cycles (3days) to begin to see results on her BG

https://felinediabetes.com/FDMB/threads/how-to-create-a-spreadsheet.241706/
to create your signature
https://felinediabetes.com/FDMB/threads/creating-a-fdmb-profile.159626/
 
I am just checking in on you. Let me know how things are going. It would be good if you can get a few BG tests between now and Sunday. And try to set up the spreadsheet. But, please, if you are having trouble, we can get it set up for you. Just let us know. In the meantime, just write down the BG numbers you get and the time.
 
I can get bg numbers but idk bout getting the spreadsheet done. My family just gave me the your not giving that cat insulin speech , so I’m feeling very discouraged. I do think that we need to finish diet change fist and see if numbers change. When I looked up tiki cat glycobalance, it said it was way less carbs then royal canin glycoadvanced. I still need to cut out dry food feeding in the morning. I did order the ph balance tiki cat which came today so I will be using both entertained. I’m afraid that when I cut out all the dry she will have urinary problems. Do you know if anyone has had success with the weurva foods? She loves the tiki cat but it is about the more money than the royal canin.
 
Monstybender said:
done. My family just gave me the your not giving that cat insulin speech
Click to expand...
I am sorry that your family is not supportive. That must be really hard. Someone is going to have to stand up for what is best for your cat. I really don’t understand that opposition. Respectfully…. Are they experts on feline diabetes? Do they understand the consequences of not giving insulin. Not giving insulin will shorten your cat’s life. Who is in charge of making the decisions regarding the cat?

Anyway, you are in charge as far as I can tell, but I am not there.

How long do you think it will take to complete the food transition ?

Monstybender said:
I’m afraid that when I cut out all the dry she will have urinary problems
Click to expand...
Are you aware that dry food is about the worst food that can be fed to a cat with urinary problems? Not to mention very dehydrating for the kidneys.

Here is a post written by a veterinarian who was a very active member of this Board.

Info - Dry Food - PLEASE consider more than just carbohydrate content

And here is Dr. Lisa Pierson, DVM’s website which has tons of invaluable information on feeding our cats, dry food, urethral obstructions, etc.

Feeding Your Cat: Know the Basics of Feline Nutrition – Common Sense. Healthy Cats.
I hope you can work things out. I know you love your cat. I can tell.
 
Monstybender said:
I do know that. I do need to be prepared and have the knowledge of what to do if say the morning shot brings her down to in the 100’s , do I give evening shot then or skip? Or half dose. I have a whole box of U-40 syringes. It’s hard to read the .25 mark which I’m guessing is the first line on the syringe. These are the questions that I have to feel more confident and prepared so I don’t make a deadly mistake. I am so grateful for you guys helping me answer these questions. 😁 I also need to know if the glycoadvanced food will be enough to give her in a hypo event ? It is 10% carbs according to the internet. I do have some other options too.
Click to expand...
 
I have no family, but 4 years ago when Corky was diagnosed, my most intimate neighbors like family, told me to put him down, I was offended, I adopted Corky from the shelter at 8 weeks old, I depleted my savings, he was hospitalized for 8 days, I am alone my pets are my family, and I am pleased I made the right decision, 4 years later, Corky is in excellent health tightly regulated, and makes my world a happy place. Follow your instincts, Corky will be 13 in a couple of months, and taking care of him has been the best decision made. Keeping you cat without insulin is a major risk of risking organ damage and complications
 
See my post from earlier today. No. Ten percent is not enough

Here’s my post from today. Please look through this entire thread. I know it got long. Take your time.


Suzanne & Darcy said:
not high enough. You need something like Fancy Feast Gravy Lovers food for managing low numbers. Keep in mind that I am talking about using it for numbers below 50 (human glucometer.)
Click to expand...
That is where I was saying that 10 percent is still low carb and is not what you want for raising BG when you need to.
 
I saw this post earlier. I planned to walk with you through this and help you. You will learn to shoot low numbers. We will get there gradually and in a safe manner. I will help you. In the beginning, we do not recommend giving insulin of your cat’s preshot BG is under 200 (UNLESS YOU POST FOR HELP AND HAVE GUIDANCE.) The recommendation is to post for assistance before shooting. Slowly, as we gather data on your spreadsheet that shows us how your cat is handling the insulin and the dose, we adjust the dose. We need to know the preshot numbers and the nadir to make good decisions.It takes time, but you have to start somewhere.
 
Have you read any of the sticky notes on the ProZinc forum? We would start you out with the Start Low Go Slow dosing method (SLGS.) But take your time! It can be very overwhelming. You do not have to master everything all at once. That’s what we are here for — to help and guide you.
 
CORKY said:
I have no family, but 4 years ago when Corky was diagnosed, my most intimate neighbors like family, told me to put him down, I was offended, I adopted Corky from the shelter at 8 weeks old, I depleted my savings, he was hospitalized for 8 days, I am alone my pets are my family, and I am pleased I made the right decision, 4 years later, Corky is in excellent health tightly regulated, and makes my world a happy place. Follow your instincts, Corky will be 13 in a couple of months, and taking care of him has been the best decision made. Keeping you cat without insulin is a major risk of risking organ damage and complications
Click to expand...
@Monstybender you should take a look at the spreadsheet for Maria’s boy, Corky. It’s attached at the bottom of her signature. You do not have to test as often as she does, but what I would like to have you do is to click the tabs at the bottom of her spreadsheet (there are tabs for each year) and see what kind of high numbers she started with. And look at the different years. And look at his beautiful spreadsheet now. It took Maria and I a long time and a lot of dedication on her part to get Corky into such healthy numbers. It can be done.

You need to take care of yourself too!
 
Suzanne & Darcy said:
Talk to you tomorrow or Sunday if you want to.
Click to expand...
Thank you. I appreciate that! I will have to go back and read posts. She is not doing so good. I’m not sure what is going on, hard to tell if it is pancreatic, cystitis, or constipation. We just had a vet appointment last week and she had a libre put on and anal glands done. I have been giving her pumpkin instead of laxatone and she seems full. She ripped her libre off within 24 hrs. I was able to give cerenia today but had to put it in a tiny piece of cheese. I am emailing and texting all three vets with questions with food, belly problems etc. I’m going to have to give her laxatone in the morning. It is a lot plus UTI’s frequently and anal glands, hairballs, etc. plus me having to work that much , I don’t feel I can take care of her the way I should be.
 
Suzanne & Darcy said:
Have you read any of the sticky notes on the ProZinc forum? We would start you out with the Start Low Go Slow dosing method (SLGS.) But take your time! It can be very overwhelming. You do not have to master everything all at once. That’s what we are here for — to help and guide you.
Click to expand...
I have not read them. I only have one unit syringes. I would like to start out at .25 but that’s going to be hard to read on those syringes. She bounces from 217 to 350 on the last libre. Which probably is off because it’s a human meter. I spent all day at work and I am exhausted. The last thing I want to do is try to put a libre on an angry cat that doesn’t feel good by myself. If I open the prozinc and I’m not ready I will have less days when I do want to open it.
 
Just keep the ProZinc in the refrigerator. When you do open it, never shake it up. To mix the ProZinc…. gently roll the vial on a countertop a few times. Always put it back i the refrigerator when you are finished. Also, do not re-inject excess ProZinc from the syringe back into the vial. Excess insulin that is drawn into the syringe should be expelled onto a paper towel or into the The reason is that insulin syringes contain lubricants, and you don’t want to contaminate your ProZinc vial with any of the lubricants.
 
Monstybender said:
Which probably is off because it’s a human meter. I
Click to expand...
A human glucometer is quite adequate for measuring blood glucose. Vets have used them for many years to measure animal BG. There were no “pet meters” until recent years. I think they’re a scam to charge people a LOT more money for the test strips after you have convinced them that they must have it. Anyway, a Libre is made for humans, yes, and it measures interstitial glucose as opposed to blood glucose. They are a useful tool, but there is a huge caveat to that — Libre sensors generally read much too low in the low numbers under 100. This can be scary for the caregiver. You need to be able to test the ear BG manually when the Libre reads low — or you will be making dosing decisions based on faulty data. Just a point I wanted to mention. It can be such a help for when you are not at home.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top