Newly Diagnosed 15 year old cat

C

choyt

Member Since 2026
Hello All,
I am not sure where to start. My male cat has recently been diagnosed with diabetes but given my current financial situation I am considering medical surrender. I was able to cover his initial ER visit and overnight visit. We got the insulin for him and are using the libre 3 freestyle plus to track and the U 300 glargine. It is long lasting but can take 7 days to release in his system. He is only receiving 1 unit dose ideally every 12 hours but the diabetes specialist said as it is longer lasting 1 dose daily is fine. We are in the first 24 hours I gave him a dose 1 about 21 hours ago and dose 2 about 8 hours ago. He is currently having off the charts readings of high glucose. At this point due to my work constraints and financial constraints I am unable to take him in, not to mention the ER we have been going too is not particularly close by. A lot of resources says this is normal for the first 7 days but the vet really wants to test him themselves. My regular bey doesn't have an opening until Aug 28 so in 2 weeks. I am unsure what I can do as I want what is best for him but I can't poor from an empty cup.
 
Don't give up! I know it is overwhelming at first, we all have been there, but there's hope and solutions, you have been prescribed a good insulin, in this
Forum you can get assistance to a good health diabetic cat in no time by following good advice, in regard to your financial situation there are many foundations willing to assist you, below is a link for financial assistance. please keep posting, we would like you to create your signature and spreadsheet, also links below, please, keep posting we are here to help you in this journey!
in our main menu you will find many sticky notes and much important information on feline diabetes, I am sure there will be a member ready to assist you on dosing and feeding advice on Lantus

Sticky - New? How You Can Help Us Help You!
https://felinediabetes.com/FDMB/threads/how-to-create-a-spreadsheet.241706/
Financial Help Links
 
I agree with CORKY, please don’t give up!! I felt just like you just a few months ago, felt like I was stuck between a rock and a hard place. But my cat's glucose went from off the charts to very nice numbers from all the guidance/advice I received here! It can be treated at home and be relatively inexpensive. The first vet visit when my cat was diagnosed was the most expensive time but you're already past that! My vet also tried to push for in clinic testing but it's not even recommended by the AAHA anymore and I get more accurate readings at home. People are here to help!
 
Hello and welcome. What is your kitty's name?

We don't get many users here with the U-300 glargine, most use the U-100 glargine. You do have to give it twice a day, but there are some coupon programs that make it quite cost effective. Are you using the U-300 pen to give the insulin?

Don't worry about the initial high numbers. Glargine is a depot style insulin, it does take a while to build up in the body. When you say "high numbers" can you give me an idea of how high, the actual numbers? We are not as concerned about the high numbers, but rather the low ones and how low the dose is taking him (the nadirs). Can you tell me what the lowest number is that you have seen so far?

The only reason high numbers could be a concern is if he was otherwise acting poorly, lethargic and not eating and getting ketones. With a cheap bottle of ketostix, you can test him at home for ketones. Tips to catch and test a urine sample

Since you are using the Libre, this post might help you: Getting Started With Continuous Glucose Monitors (CGMs) for Diabetic Cats. A lot of people do their own installation of the Libres, to save money. A lot of us you blood glucose metersd, the human ones are OK. If you are gathering blood sugar data on your own, there is no reason to visit the vet for a curve or blood glucose test. I used to put my blood sugar data in the spreadsheet (Corky linked it above) and drop the week's worth of data off at the vet each week, at least in the beginning. Then I just started following the dosing methods we use here. Unfortunately we don't have a method for the U-300 glargine.
 
Wendy&Neko said:
Hello and welcome. What is your kitty's name?

We don't get many users here with the U-300 glargine, most use the U-100 glargine. You do have to give it twice a day, but there are some coupon programs that make it quite cost effective. Are you using the U-300 pen to give the insulin?

Don't worry about the initial high numbers. Glargine is a depot style insulin, it does take a while to build up in the body. When you say "high numbers" can you give me an idea of how high, the actual numbers? We are not as concerned about the high numbers, but rather the low ones and how low the dose is taking him (the nadirs). Can you tell me what the lowest number is that you have seen so far?

The only reason high numbers could be a concern is if he was otherwise acting poorly, lethargic and not eating and getting ketones. With a cheap bottle of ketostix, you can test him at home for ketones. Tips to catch and test a urine sample

Since you are using the Libre, this post might help you: Getting Started With Continuous Glucose Monitors (CGMs) for Diabetic Cats. A lot of people do their own installation of the Libres, to save money. A lot of us you blood glucose metersd, the human ones are OK. If you are gathering blood sugar data on your own, there is no reason to visit the vet for a curve or blood glucose test. I used to put my blood sugar data in the spreadsheet (Corky linked it above) and drop the week's worth of data off at the vet each week, at least in the beginning. Then I just started following the dosing methods we use here. Unfortunately we don't have a method for the U-300 glargine.
Click to expand...
Yes we are using a glargine pen for him.
 
The issue with using a pen versus a syringe is that in order to prime the pen, you have to waste a unit or so of insulin. If finances are an issue, wasting insulin can become a cost issue over time. Syringes are inexpensive and also allow you greater accuracy. The pens do not allow you to adjust a dose for less than 1.0u. We recommend making dose changes that are less than 1.0u.
 
choyt said:
Hello All,
I am not sure where to start. My male cat has recently been diagnosed with diabetes but given my current financial situation I am considering medical surrender. I was able to cover his initial ER visit and overnight visit. We got the insulin for him and are using the libre 3 freestyle plus to track and the U 300 glargine. It is long lasting but can take 7 days to release in his system. He is only receiving 1 unit dose ideally every 12 hours but the diabetes specialist said as it is longer lasting 1 dose daily is fine. We are in the first 24 hours I gave him a dose 1 about 21 hours ago and dose 2 about 8 hours ago. He is currently having off the charts readings of high glucose. At this point due to my work constraints and financial constraints I am unable to take him in, not to mention the ER we have been going too is not particularly close by. A lot of resources says this is normal for the first 7 days but the vet really wants to test him themselves. My regular bey doesn't have an opening until Aug 28 so in 2 weeks. I am unsure what I can do as I want what is best for him but I can't poor from an empty cup.
Click to expand...
Hey and welcome here.
I know it can be overwhelming at first when your kitty gets the diagnosis but I promise you it is getting better. My boy Regs was diagnosed in April and I'm just here for a couple weeks and got amazing recommendations here and slowly his Glucose is getting lower. The freestyle libre unfortunately only goes to 400mg/dL so right in the beginning that is not the best way to measure if your kitty has very high sugars. Many people here use a human glucose meter, if you are in the US from Walmart ReliOn, the meter and the test strips are quite inexpensive so it should not make such a big impact on your finacial situation then letting the vet make a curve and you can keep an eye on his glucose levels yourself.
The group is amazing and so helpful I'm sure someone could help you making a spreadsheet and put the numbers down, so you can have a great overview about your progress. Unless he is showing signs of illness I would monitor myself and maybe just send the vets the numbers here and there but I'm sure someone much more experienced can explain you better
 
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