New Member - Zoe2012

Z

Zoe2012

Member Since 2026
Greetings. I have a newly-diagnosed diabetic 14-year old, 12.7 pound female tabby. Relevant medical history includes successful I-131 treatment for hyperthyroidism 09/2025 and stable kidney values following treatment.

While my vet suggested Bexacat, after doing some research, I was concerned with the seemingly low probability of significant complications. As such, Zoe was started on Lantus 1U on 07/31. I use a ReliOn meter for home testing prior to each injection and at the ~six-hour mark. After six days, Zoe's BG fluctuates mainly between 225 and 375, with a high reading of 420 and one day of excellent readings in the 120's. I had a Libre 3 monitor placed yesterday, which appears to consistently read 80-100 points higher than the ReliOn meter - unsure as to its reliability.

Zoe is fed Fancy Feast Pate, when she'll eat it, Fancy Feast Grilled, Deli sandwich chicken, some canned salmon, and very limited dry food. I have some Royal Canin Glycobalance (thin slices in gravy (carbs!)) and of course my vet recommended Hills MD (never) and Purina DM (gross - even the strays won't eat it). I'm awaiting an order from Smalls, am considering Stella & Chewy's freeze-dried raw, and two varieties that appear to have low carbs - Instinct Original Chicken (pate) and Sheba chicken/turkey (pate). I have also started using FortiFlora to entice her to eat the pate, with reasonable success.

Zoe is my third diabetic cat, so I'm no stranger to taking blood samples and administering injections. But it's been 14 years since my last diabetic cat, and I have much to learn.

Thank you for welcoming me to the group and for being with me on this journey to remission!
 
Hello and welcome back. Zoe is lucky to have such and experienced caregiver,

I have no idea why @CORKY tagged me. Do you have any current questions? BTW, the Lantus nadir is typically 6 hours after the shot, but cats are unique and often don't like to be typical. 🤣 Mixing up those mid day tests is good.

If you can put those blood sugar readings in a spreadsheet, we'll be able to help you with dosing. Details on how to do that in this post: New? How You Can Help Us Help You!

Ditching any dry food will be best for her. And I agree on the vet food - waste of money and high carbs. What was she eating before diabetes?
 
Thanks for your response. I saw the spreadsheet and will get that posted. Prior to the diabetes, she ate mainly Fancy Feast Grilled varieties combined with dry food as treats between meals. I just gave her some FF Chunky Chicken, but she only ate maybe 20% of the can and generally turns down the varieties CORKY has posted in their spreadsheet. The FortiFlora entices her, but only to some extent, and I'm careful with the FortiFlora so I don't have a constipated cat.
 
I didn't feed the FF foods, I was looking for something lower in phosphorus. Thankfully Neko was not picky. TikiCat and Weruva have some chunky foods with gravy, that is actually low carb. ie. not made with wheat. Look for 10% and under carbs in this list:

You could try topping with crumbled freeze dried all meat treats, you can get them in many proteins. Purebites is one brand of many. Chicken has been referred to as kitty crack.
 
Wendy&Neko said:
Hello and welcome back. Zoe is lucky to have such and experienced caregiver,

I have no idea why @CORKY tagged me. Do you have any current questions? BTW, the Lantus nadir is typically 6 hours after the shot, but cats are unique and often don't like to be typical. 🤣 Mixing up those mid day tests is good.

If you can put those blood sugar readings in a spreadsheet, we'll be able to help you with dosing. Details on how to do that in this post: New? How You Can Help Us Help You!

Ditching any dry food will be best for her. And I agree on the vet food - waste of money and high carbs. What was she eating before diabetes?
Click to expand...
Good Evening. I've created/posted Zoe's spreadsheet.
 
The spreadsheet looks good, and thank you. One small recommendation - there isn't much data after PMPS. If you are still up at 2-3 hours after the PM shot, it would really help us figuring out what to do next if you can get some night time data. Many cats go lower at night.

It looks like you've selected SLGS as your dosing method? If so, and if you have a day off, it'd be great to get a curve done. That means either testing every two hours for the one cycle (12 hours), or every three hours for 18 hours. So far the data looks like you could increase to 1.25 units, but that curve and a bit of night time data would let us know for sure.
 
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