Newly diagnosed cat; emergency today

M

Morna

Member Since 2026
Hi. We are new here. My 17-year-old feral-born cat Hester Sue was recently diagnosed with diabetes. Her vet prescribed Glargine and I picked it up Friday night, but was unable to get a glucose meter. (I am planning to get the Contour Next Gen, but have not found it yet, and am hampered by being chemically sensitive, so can't go into a Walmart or most drug stores).

Hester Sue got her first dose of 1 unit Friday at 8pm, and her 4th dose this morning at 8am. I had to leave for the day. When I got back at 4pm I found her on her side on the bed, having **** herself. She was flat, and had her head under the covers, barely breathing. I cleaned her up and put her on a towel on my lap and petted her while making calls. Of course it's Labor day Sunday. She began to respond and her eyes got a little less dilated. If I put her on the floor to go get something, she would windmill but not be able to get up, only spinning in a circle on her side.

After talking with a friend on whether this was more likely a stroke are an insulin reaction, I put a little honey on my finger and rubbed it on her gums. She dragged herself to the food dish and began to eat ravenously. This is food she rejected before. She was incredibly wobbly and staggered and fell a lot, but ate everything I put in front of her. She has gotten more stable and more herself. So I think this was an insulin reaction.

I think I read on here (or somewhere recently -- i have been doing an overwhelming amount of reading; not saying I am retaining much of it -- that UTIs and gum disease can cause wonky blood sugar readings. She had a massive UTI in July, and is my kitty with chronic mouth problems. But on the blood test her fructosamine (?) was 595 when it should have been lower than 350.

She is now sleeping on the favorite chair and seeming more herself, but i am afraid to give her her evening dose.

Any recommendation? Is anyone here local to north Skagit County Washington who could loan me a glucose meter until i can get one? If anyone local is reasonably fragrance free and can help me get up to speed, I'd be especially appreciative.

I'd take her to the emergency vet in MT Vernon, but I spent over $1000 at the vet this past month (turns out keeping all 3 feral kittens 17 years ago meant I would have 3 geriatric cats at once. And now i have no income, and one of my girls just died of congestive heart failure and the other has been diagnosed with stage II CKD. That money I spent was supposed to be for my own healthcare, but I made the choice i did. Now I need to figure out what next.
 
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Welcome to you and sweet Hester Sue. That sounds pretty scary today. I’d be nervous too to continue giving insulin without knowing her BG. Have you looked into ordering from Walmart online? At least where I live they offer overnight delivery on these type of things for no added money, maybe that’s an option. Or Amazon if you have Prime.
 
Tim & Pookey said:
Welcome to you and sweet Hester Sue. That sounds pretty scary today. I’d be nervous too to continue giving insulin without knowing her BG. Have you looked into ordering from Walmart online? At least where I live they offer overnight delivery on these type of things for no added money, maybe that’s an option. Or Amazon if you have Prime.
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Thank you. It is scary and overwhelming. I have called a friend to see if she can pick up the Next Gen (not EZ) meter in town and get it to me. But I still need to get up to speed on using it.
 
The arrow points to the 1 unit mark. Is this how much you gave?

49823063143_3437e9e997_o.png
 
Did the insulin syringe have a red or an orange cap?

And can you tell us what size of syringe? Is it measured in units or mls? It should say on the package.
 
I wouldn't give the 1 unit dose again. If she needs insulin, it'll be a smaller dose. Syringes with half unit dose marking are easier to draw those smaller doses. Cat's who just had symptomatic hypos can be very sensitive to insulin. I'm glad she seems to have gotten over it. Here are a couple posts to keep handy:
You are right that UTI's can cause insulin resistance, as can other inflammation/infection as is commonly seen when they need a dental. But if she's over the UTI, then that should be a problem anymore. Ditto if she has a dental.

What food is she eating now? Did you make any changes with the diabetes diagnosis?
 
Morna said:
Orange caps. 30 gauge, 0.3cc on box. marked as units on syringe.
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Thank you for clarifying. And welcome to the best place you never thought you would ever be. Waving from Canada 🇨🇦. There have been instances of people given the wrong syringes or misunderstanding the markings on a syringe.

Is it possible that someone else in the household also dosed the cat?

Was the insulin shot 12 hours after the previous shot?

Today you dodged a bullet. Thank goodness you came home when you did and knew what to do. I agree with @Tim & Pookey – no insulin until you have a meter. In the meantime, review the Hypo Links and start to put together a hypo kit.

How to treat HYPOS - THEY CAN KILL! Print this Out!!

jojo and bunny's HYPO TOOL BOX

There is a wealth of information and experience on this forum. Feline diabetes can be a steep learning curve but becomes second nature rather quickly. :bighug:
 
Wendy&Neko said:
I wouldn't give the 1 unit dose again. If she needs insulin, it'll be a smaller dose. Syringes with half unit dose marking are easier to draw those smaller doses. Cat's who just had symptomatic hypos can be very sensitive to insulin. I'm glad she seems to have gotten over it. Here are a couple posts to keep handy:
You are right that UTI's can cause insulin resistance, as can other inflammation/infection as is commonly seen when they need a dental. But if she's over the UTI, then that should be a problem anymore. Ditto if she has a dental.

What food is she eating now? Did you make any changes with the diabetes diagnosis?
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Food is an issue. Her remaining sister has been diagnosed with Stage II CKD, and these are cats who have always shared a dish. And now their dietary needs are very very different from each other. I've had them since they were feral kittens, and I weaned them on raw venison and rice cereal mixed with goat milk. For the majority of their lives they have had Taste of the Wild kibble, plus raw venison and cooked chicken. Figuring out how to feed them now is not going well. Sibyl hates the prescription food. Hester Sue has refused a lot of the canned food, even the Fancy Feast. I may try to make food, but I am dealing with my own "stuff" right now and don't have a lot of spoons to spare. I did order PORUS for Sibyl. I have some hard decisions to make. But I want them to have as good a quality of life as they can for as long as they can, i'm just not sure what that is going to look like, and no matter what, it's going to be too short from my point of view. Sibyl also seems to have suffered a fibrocatilaginous embolism right after her sister Sunny died of congestive heart failure, and now is wobbly in the hind legs. It's a lot.

Hester Sue's UTI is finally vanquished, but the dental issue is ongoing and I can no longer afford to have the work done, even if sedating a 17-year-old cat made sense. She has had 2 sedations/extractions in her life. Only one of the 3 littemates with this issue.
 
Red & Rover (GA) said:
Thank you for clarifying. And welcome to the best place you never thought you would ever be. Waving from Canada 🇨🇦. There have been instances of people given the wrong syringes or misunderstanding the markings on a syringe.

Is it possible that someone else in the household also dosed the cat?

Was the insulin shot 12 hours after the previous shot?

Today you dodged a bullet. Thank goodness you came home when you did and knew what to do. I agree with @Tim & Pookey – no insulin until you have a meter. In the meantime, review the Hypo Links and start to put together a hypo kit.

How to treat HYPOS - THEY CAN KILL! Print this Out!!

jojo and bunny's HYPO TOOL BOX

There is a wealth of information and experience on this forum. Feline diabetes can be a steep learning curve but becomes second nature rather quickly. :bighug:
Click to expand...
There is no one else in the household. Yes, the doses were 12 hours apart, and I am careful that they are subcutaneous only.

I am reading the links.

I had a friend who was able to go to the drug store and get me the Contour Nex Get meter, but now i have to learn to use it. I have asked on a local general community page if anyone who has experience with this would be willing to come help me get up to speed. I am on overwhelm, and not tracking all that well.

And yes, I really thought she was going to die in my arms and am amazed she came out of it. I also was syringing in drops of water mixed with pet rescue remedy, as she had been doing mouth things that looked like dry mouth. Then the honey, then food.
 
Wendy&Neko said:
I wouldn't give the 1 unit dose again. If she needs insulin, it'll be a smaller dose. Syringes with half unit dose marking are easier to draw those smaller doses. Cat's who just had symptomatic hypos can be very sensitive to insulin. I'm glad she seems to have gotten over it. Here are a couple posts to keep handy:
You are right that UTI's can cause insulin resistance, as can other inflammation/infection as is commonly seen when they need a dental. But if she's over the UTI, then that should be a problem anymore. Ditto if she has a dental.

What food is she eating now? Did you make any changes with the diabetes diagnosis?
Click to expand...
Good to know there are syringes with smaller gradations. The 1 unit is already so little that it feels like the plunger doesn't go down at all. I would like more control. But now i have a box of 100.

I answered the food question elsewhere here. It's complicated. But i think one issue may be that she hates the food I've been offering them, and didn't have much in her stomach, only a little Churu, when she got this morning's dose. Then I had to be gone for 8 hours, so was not here to see her distress.
 
In this list of food charts, is one that lists foods good for both CKD and diabetes: CKD food Chart. My Neko had CKD and diabetes, and I fed her raw food. I just looked for (or made) ones that used alternatives to ground bones, such as eggshell calcium, to make it low phosphorus. You don't need to feed the prescription food. Making raw food with a meal completer doesn't take much time.

Not having enough food would definitely contribute to low blood sugars.
 
Wendy&Neko said:
In this list of food charts, is one that lists foods good for both CKD and diabetes: CKD food Chart. My Neko had CKD and diabetes, and I fed her raw food. I just looked for (or made) ones that used alternatives to ground bones, such as eggshell calcium, to make it low phosphorus. You don't need to feed the prescription food. Making raw food with a meal completer doesn't take much time.

Not having enough food would definitely contribute to low blood sugars.
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Thanks. i need to figure out the recipes and methods. I do have lots of crushed eggshells I haven't yet given back to the hens.
What did you use for the meal completer?
 
Some meal completers are EZComplete, TC Feline, Alnutrin, and Know Better. All can be purchased online.

Keep the whole unit marked insulin syringes for when your cat needs a whole unit dose. Do get half unit marked insulin syringes so that you can measure half and other smaller doses when needed. You can buy insulin syringes from Amazon with no prescription. You may be able to buy from other web sites without a prescription if your state law allows it. Some brands of half unit marked insulin syringes are mentioned in this thread: Need Advice Was in Remission Relapsed started Lantus again just wants to lay Walmart sells the Relion syringes which many people use.

All your cat's diabetes supplies except insulin and maybe some store specific brands can be bought online. For things you need right away, it would be best to have a friend or someone go to the store for you.

How was the diabetes diagnosed? Was your cat showing common symptoms like excessive peeing, sugary smelling and sticky urine, excessive hunger but losing weight? Did the vet do any blood work?
 
squeem3 said:
Some meal completers are EZComplete, TC Feline, Alnutrin, and Know Better. All can be purchased online.

Keep the whole unit marked insulin syringes for when your cat needs a whole unit dose. Do get half unit marked insulin syringes so that you can measure half and other smaller doses when needed. You can buy insulin syringes from Amazon with no prescription. You may be able to buy from other web sites without a prescription if your state law allows it. Some brands of half unit marked insulin syringes are mentioned in this thread: Need Advice Was in Remission Relapsed started Lantus again just wants to lay Walmart sells the Relion syringes which many people use.

All your cat's diabetes supplies except insulin and maybe some store specific brands can be bought online. For things you need right away, it would be best to have a friend or someone go to the store for you.

How was the diabetes diagnosed? Was your cat showing common symptoms like excessive peeing, sugary smelling and sticky urine, excessive hunger but losing weight? Did the vet do any blood work?
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It was diagnosed solely through blood work. She had had the UTI which was not knocked out by the first round of antibiotics, and I wanted to be sure it was gone, plus Sibyl had just been diagnosed with the CKD when I took her in after her rear end got weak and the blood test was done. Hester Sue had no symptoms, but the change in diet has been hard for them both. also, I think Hester Sue is having some sort of mouth pain, as she sometimes suddenly hiss/growls and runs away when eating.

I do sometimes buy through Chewy, but I do not buy through Amazon, for various reasons, but including that their packages often have fragrances on them. I was able to use the Costco pharmacy for the insulin and syringes, and I only had to change clothes and shower afterwards.

I am not well myself, and while i used to be a competent person, this is all being more than i can quite handle. I was given a prescription, but no real guidelines. I had looked at the foodlist charts before, but that quickly became overwhelming and is not in a form my brain is making sense of. Watching my cats starve because they won't eat the food offered, and not being able to hunt where i now live so i can get them venison, is especially hard.

Hester Sue is still a little wobbly, but is doing so much better today, but I have not given the last 2 insulin doses as she is still not eating much. She did cuddle all night andis now on the table next to the laptop. I will go to town today or tomorrow and try to find some of the foods on the diabetic CKD foods list, but also find doable recipes for making them food at home.
 
If your cats were already eating raw food, that is fine with feed them if you add a completer. I've used EZ Complete for years. I believe that may be what Wendy uses, as well. It's much easer to use a completer than buying all of the supplements individually. Once I mix up the food, I freeze in in ice cube trays and defrost the food overnight (in the refrigerator) as I need it.

If Hester Sue needs a dental and the cost is more than what you can handle right now, check with your vet to see if an antibiotic will help to get the inflammation under control.
 
Thanks all. I appreciate the information. I have not been able to test her blood, so have not given more insulin. A friend brought a Contour Next GEN monitor last night, and I watched the video and read the instructions, looked at the info on how to get the blood from Hester Sue's ear, then was not able to get it to work. It took until today when i was on the phone with Ascensia customer service that I realized that my friend got me the wrong test strips. So now I need to right ones, and since i opened the box and one of the bottles, i can't return these.

Now that she's not actively hypoglycemic she is again snubbing the canned cat food. I have only a little venison left. (I guess there's a buck in the ditch out front, but it's been there a little too long, and I lack the energy to deal with butchering it anyway. Don't even know where my gambrel is.)

I will call her vet in the morning.

If she survives this episode, I am sure i will have more questions.
 
Sienne and Gabby (GA) said:
If your cats were already eating raw food, that is fine with feed them if you add a completer. I've used EZ Complete for years. I believe that may be what Wendy uses, as well. It's much easer to use a completer than buying all of the supplements individually. Once I mix up the food, I freeze in in ice cube trays and defrost the food overnight (in the refrigerator) as I need it.

If Hester Sue needs a dental and the cost is more than what you can handle right now, check with your vet to see if an antibiotic will help to get the inflammation under control.
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Wait, is EZ Complete for cats with CKD? Because it would need to be. I am reading up on that is this does not seem like a good overall or easy solution. Back to the drawing board.
 
TC Feline has a formula for cats with kidney issues: TCfeline Special Formula Premix It would be fine for the diabetic to eat too.

Tip: if you contact a Human blood glucose company for customer service, do not tell them that you are using the product on a cat. They will refuse to help because their product is not intended for use in pets and they don't want to be held liable in any way. Just say you are using it for a family member.

You can post the wrong strips in the Supply Closet: https://felinediabetes.com/FDMB/forums/supply-closet-for-sale-or-free.15/ Someone might be able to use them.
 
I went to town and got the right strips. Just successfully tested. The reading was 194. But I have no real idea what is normal for a cat, or how the Contour Next Gen relates to that. I did look at some rather contentious discussions on here. Still going to ask for input.

Still do not have the better syringes with the half step markings.
 
Liz & Crowley said:
You can find some info about how people figure out dosing here and you can find some more info on ranges here!
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Thanks. I read that this meter reads a little low, so she is probably hyperglycemic, but not insanely so. I am going to wait and talk with her vet, then go see if I can get the other syringes so I can better calibrate.
 
194 is higher than normal, but not by a lot. Normal range is around 50-120. I say "around" because I've tested one of my non diabetics at 49 and we've seen other people also test there. Probably some variance between meters too, though not a large percent. I'd try testing again tomorrow if you can. The low numbers she saw a couple days ago could have resulted in a bounce, definition here:
Bouncing is simply a natural reaction to what the cat's system perceives as a BG value that is "too low". "Too low" is relative. If a cat is used to BGs in the 200's, 300's, or higher for a long time, then even a BG that drops to 150 can trigger a "bounce". Bouncing can also be triggered if the blood glucose drops too low and/or too fast.The pancreas, then the liver, release glucogon, glycogen and counter-regulatory hormones. The end result is a dumping of "sugar" into the bloodstream to save the cat from going hypoglycemic from a perceived low. The action is often referred to as "liver panic" or "panicky liver". *Usually*, a bounce will clear kitty's system within 3 days (6 cycles).
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That 194 might still be the result of the dumped sugars in her system. It would be interesting to see if she comes down some more.
 
Wendy&Neko said:
194 is higher than normal, but not by a lot. Normal range is around 50-120. I say "around" because I've tested one of my non diabetics at 49 and we've seen other people also test there. Probably some variance between meters too, though not a large percent. I'd try testing again tomorrow if you can. The low numbers she saw a couple days ago could have resulted in a bounce, definition here:

That 194 might still be the result of the dumped sugars in her system. It would be interesting to see if she comes down some more.
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Thanks. I should probably test her non-diabetic littermate as a control, too. I'll test again in the morning. Sooner is she seems unstable.
 
Red & Rover (GA) said:
The arrow points to the 1 unit mark. Is this how much you gave?

View attachment 80212
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I went to look for half-unit syringes and saw on Chewy that the UltiCare syringes were getting very bad reviews. Many people said that about April of 2025 the syringes changes and are poorer quality and also, especially alarmingly, not consistent in calibration. This is the brand of full-unit syringes I got at Costco, and I am wondering if i inadvertently gave Hester Sue more that the one unit prescribed.

More to the point, is there a brand of syringes available in the US that are better? What should i be looking for?
 
I never had problems with Ulticare - but that was well before 2025.
Rover has been gone for many years. Like quite a few members here, I stuck around to pay it forward.
A popular brand of half unit syringes is BD Ultra Fine II syringes (purple and yellow box)
BD-Ultra-Fine-II-Sterile-Syringe-with-31G-Needle-1-mL-Latex-Free-Needles.webp


This post talks about Walmart's Relion syringes.
Some people use calipers to accurately measure the dose.
See Dosing with Calipers
 
See the link I posted above for some brands of half unit marked insulin syringes: Need Advice Was in Remission Relapsed started Lantus again just wants to lay UltiCare is not the only brand you can use. Brand is preference. Many people buy the Relion syringes from Walmart.

BD spun off their diabetes products into a new company called Embecta. If you can't find BD syringes, look for Embecta syringes. Of, if you order from a web site that still lists BD syringes but you get Embecta syringes instead just a FYI.

Human U100 insulin syringes work just fine. You don't need the veterinary specific ones which just cost more money and, depending on brand, you get only 60 syringes in a box.
 
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