Cat Has Been Hiding

B

Brittanif

Member Since 2026
I’m so overwhelmed and stressed.

My cat has been hiding the last two days after her Libre failed and I’ve had to take manual readings again. I missed her dose Wednesday night and yesterday morning, and now I have to miss her dose again this morning.

I don’t know what to do- I’m only a month into this and I’m feeling so hopeless. I’ve spent so much money and worked so hard to figure everything out, and now I can’t even give her her insulin.

It’s also exhausting hearing from people that I’m supposed to be doing a million manual readings. This is what happens- my cat hates them.

I don’t know what to do.
 
Brittanif said:
I’m so overwhelmed and stressed.

My cat has been hiding the last two days after her Libre failed and I’ve had to take manual readings again. I missed her dose Wednesday night and yesterday morning, and now I have to miss her dose again this morning.

I don’t know what to do- I’m only a month into this and I’m feeling so hopeless. I’ve spent so much money and worked so hard to figure everything out, and now I can’t even give her her insulin.

It’s also exhausting hearing from people that I’m supposed to be doing a million manual readings. This is what happens- my cat hates them.

I don’t know what to do.
Click to expand...
Having all those feelings ae normal, we all have felt that way at first but it gets better, it takes you ad your cat to adjust, perhaps you can lure him out of hiding by associating the shot with a low carb treat, give him the treat in-between shots but just one, for now, then when he associate, give him the treat after the shot,
Is important for your cat not to miss a shot, his glucose levels are very high, stabilizing those numbers is very important, we don't want to damage the pancreas and other organs.
What are you feeding?
a diabetic cat needs to have a diet of wet can or raw foods between 0-10% carbs, also a feeding schedule, feeding 3-4 meals or snacks during the day plus the two main meals before shot the protocol for Lantus/Glargine is TEST-FEED-SHOOT, and grazing is not an option, you want to make sure that when you test before shot you get a true reading, since food, raises the level. if you are feeding dry/kibbles, they contain very high carbs from 20-30% carbs, cats cannot digest carbs, also no food two hours prion shot, I noticed you increased the dose, Lantus is a depot style insulin it basically means some of it goes into the blood stream and some is stored and slowly released over time. It can take 6 cycles to build up the depot so you can see what the dose given can do. I will tell you what was said to me at the beginning of my journey: take a step back, breath in, breath out, cats are very sensitive to stress your stress they stress"
We are here for you to help you in this journey; we have very knowledgeable members here for you! we can help you take the stress away and stabilize you cat, please keep posting, and your cat does not hate you!
when his levels begin to stabilize he will feel much better :bighug: :bighug:
 
Last edited:
CORKY said:
Having all those feelings ae normal, we all have felt that way at first but it gets better, it takes you ad your cat to adjust, perhaps you can lure him out of hiding by associating the shot with a low carb treat, give him the treat in-between shots but just one, for now, then when he associate, give him the treat after the shot,
Is important for your cat not to miss a shot, his glucose levels are very high, stabilizing those numbers is very impo
Click to expand...
We have plenty of treat protocols in place that haven’t been working recently. I am well aware how important it is, which is why I’m so stressed.

Nothing has worked to bring her out of hiding.
 
CORKY said:
Having all those feelings ae normal, we all have felt that way at first but it gets better, it takes you ad your cat to adjust, perhaps you can lure him out of hiding by associating the shot with a low carb treat, give him the treat in-between shots but just one, for now, then when he associate, give him the treat after the shot,
Is important for your cat not to miss a shot, his glucose levels are very high, stabilizing those numbers is very important, we don't want to damage the pancreas and other organs.
What are you feeding?
a diabetic cat needs to have a diet of wet can or raw foods between 0-10% carbs, also a feeding schedule, feeding 3-4 meals or snacks during the day plus the two main meals before shot the protocol for Lantus/Glargine is TEST-FEED-SHOOT, and grazing is not an option, you want to make sure that when you test before shot you get a true reading, since food, raises the level. if you are feeding dry/kibbles, they contain very high carbs from 20-30% carbs, cats cannot digest carbs, also no food two hours prion shot, I noticed you increased the dose, Lantus is a depot style insulin it basically means some of it goes into the blood stream and some is stored and slowly released over time. It can take 6 cycles to build up the depot so you can see what the dose given can do. I will tell you what was said to me at the beginning of my journey: take a step back, breath in, breath out, cats are very sensitive to stress your stress they stress"
We are here for you to help you in this journey; we have very knowledgeable members here for you! we can help you take the stress away and stabilize you cat, please keep posting, and your cat does not hate you!
when his levels begin to stabilize he will feel much better :bighug: :bighug:
Click to expand...
I’m not sure what you mean mean by a depot style insulin? I’m feeling what I was advised: glycoadvanced wet and Dr Elsey’s dry. I’m not understanding what you mean by “no grazing” but then 3-4 meals a day plus 2 meals before the shot, and snacks?
 
Brittanif said:
I’m not sure what you mean mean by a depot style insulin? I’m feeling what I was advised: glycoadvanced wet and Dr Elsey’s dry. I’m not understanding what you mean by “no grazing” but then 3-4 meals a day plus 2 meals before the shot, and snacks?
Click to expand...

Glargine (Lantus) works a little differently from regular insulin. After it is injected, it forms tiny deposits under the skin. The insulin is then slowly released from those deposits over time, which is why glargine lasts much longer than regular insulin.

Therefore, each dose can overlap with the doses given before and after it. This means that what happens during one 12-hour cycle can affect the next cycle, and sometimes even the next several cycles.

This overlapping, long-lasting effect is often called the depot. The depot is one of the reasons Lantus and other forms of glargine, such as Basaglar and Semglee, as well as Levemir, can produce those nice, flat blood-glucose curves. Understanding how the depot works can make it much easier to understand why numbers sometimes behave the way they do.

Is the glycoadvanced wet a prescription diet? They’re often really high in carbs unfortunately. And do you think that Phoebe will allow you to transition her off the dry into 100 percent wet? Not every cat will permit it, but if she will, that will make her blood glucose much easier to regulate. Many people here feed FF pate (though phosphorus can be high and not suitable for CKD kitties). Here’s a food chart if that’s helpful - https://catinfo.org/docs/CatFoodProteinFatCarbPhosphorusChart.pdf

The problem with letting your cat free feed is that you shouldn’t let them eat 2 hours before their shot. The food influences blood glucose so you won’t know if it’s safe to shoot when you see the preshot number. But diabetics do great with multiple small meals a day to keep their blood glucose more stable. Over time, people end up experimenting with different carb foods at different times to try to flatten their cats’ blood glucose curves as much as possible - but I probably wouldn’t worry about that too much right now.

I hope this helps!
 
Brittanif said:
I’m not sure what you mean mean by a depot style insulin? I’m feeling what I was advised: glycoadvanced wet and Dr Elsey’s dry. I’m not understanding what you mean by “no grazing” but then 3-4 meals a day plus 2 meals before the shot, and snacks?
Click to expand...
Some cats are used to grazing ( have food handy at all times) 3-4 meals or snacks during the keeps the insulin in check(balanced) and of course the two main meals before shot, this way when you test before shot the cat has not fed, which raises the BG levels, which you will get an unrealistic reading, this is why you do not feed 2 hours prior shot, the protocol is TEST-FEED-SHOOT, Depot: with Lantus it takes 6 days (6 cycles) to begin to see results in the glucose levels, unlike ProZinc insulin, it takes only about 2 cycles to see results in the levels. You may want to look at Corky's spreadsheet (below in blue) you can scroll to the left you can see how, when, what, and feeding schedule to get an idea.
 
Last edited:
***The protocol is to not feed 2 hours prior to shot time (not 3 hours) for a non food influenced BG reading.
I feed Ivy at shot time, then a small snack at +2 and +3 (I reserve about 2.5 tablespoons of her meal for each snack). It helps to keep her more stable as the insulin is onsetting (kicking in).

Some people feed at +4 (instead of +3).
As time goes on, you’ll have to see where you think she is onsetting with the insulin and feed snacks accordingly.
As mentioned before, it helps to give small snacks through their cycle to keep them more stable.
Just like a diabetic human would eat small snacks throughout their cycle as they use insulin to keep their glucose more steady.

We call it “feeding the curve” with our cats, it’s better to feed a little bit throughout the cycle instead of all the food at their main meal.

For overnight cycles, you can use an automatic timed feeder to dispense those small snacks.
When using with wet food, you use them with a cooler pack that it comes with the feeder that goes under the food and keeps it fresh.

As for the hiding issue, can you block off places she hides like under a bed or something like that.
Ivy has certain places she likes to go and if I need to give her medication or something like that I’ve had to ultimately block off those areas. I have pillows stuffed under certain pieces of furniture in my house or old shoe boxes so she can’t get under a piece of furniture that she likes to go under. Sometimes you just have to get creative so that they can’t use those hiding spots.
 
Connie & Parker & Moonie said:
Glargine (Lantus) works a little differently from regular insulin. After it is injected, it forms tiny deposits under the skin. The insulin is then slowly released from those deposits over time, which is why glargine lasts much longer than regular insulin.

Therefore, each dose can overlap with the doses given before and after it. This means that what happens during one 12-hour cycle can affect the next cycle, and sometimes even the next several cycles.

This overlapping, long-lasting effect is often called the depot. The depot is one of the reasons Lantus and other forms of glargine, such as Basaglar and Semglee, as well as Levemir, can produce those nice, flat blood-glucose curves. Understanding how the depot works can make it much easier to understand why numbers sometimes behave the way they do.

Is the glycoadvanced wet a prescription diet? They’re often really high in carbs unfortunately. And do you think that Phoebe will allow you to transition her off the dry into 100 percent wet? Not every cat will permit it, but if she will, that will make her blood glucose much easier to regulate. Many people here feed FF pate (though phosphorus can be high and not suitable for CKD kitties). Here’s a food chart if that’s helpful - https://catinfo.org/docs/CatFoodProteinFatCarbPhosphorusChart.pdf

The problem with letting your cat free feed is that you shouldn’t let them eat 2 hours before their shot. The food influences blood glucose so you won’t know if it’s safe to shoot when you see the preshot number. But diabetics do great with multiple small meals a day to keep their blood glucose more stable. Over time, people end up experimenting with different carb foods at different times to try to flatten their cats’ blood glucose curves as much as possible - but I probably wouldn’t worry about that too much right now.

I hope this helps!
Click to expand...
What?! The prescription diabetic food is high in carbs? That makes no sense. She does have elevated kidney values so I don’t want to exacerbate that. What food is low in carbs and phosphorus?

I don’t free feed her.

Thank you.
 
Yes the prescribed food is high carbs, there's nothing "prescribed" good for a diabetic cat, below is a cat food calculator, use the nutrients on the label of the food you are feeding in the cells, we are looking for DRY CARB MATTER, , or you can post a picture of the label with the nutrients, and we can give you the carb %, I search for the food you described and I did not find the glycoadvanced wet and Dr Elsey’s dry food
Carb Calculator - Felinediabetes.com
 
Brittanif said:
I’m so overwhelmed and stressed.

My cat has been hiding the last two days after her Libre failed and I’ve had to take manual readings again. I missed her dose Wednesday night and yesterday morning, and now I have to miss her dose again this morning.

I don’t know what to do- I’m only a month into this and I’m feeling so hopeless. I’ve spent so much money and worked so hard to figure everything out, and now I can’t even give her her insulin.

It’s also exhausting hearing from people that I’m supposed to be doing a million manual readings. This is what happens- my cat hates them.

I don’t know what to do.
Click to expand...
Are you putting the Libre on yourself or is the vet? We have some good guidance here on the forum for you if you're doing it. Here's one: Getting Started With Continuous Glucose Monitors (CGMs) for Diabetic Cats You can do this yourself!

The number one thing new caregivers on this forum seem to experience is feeling overwhelmed (myself included!). There is SO MUCH to learn, at the very beginning especially. And it's not unusual for vets to give poor advice (like dietary advice)--some vets simply don't have a good grasp of treating feline diabetes. Ask questions here and search the forum--we're here to help.

There is also a feline kidney board associated with the forum; you might pop over there and ask about food for kitties with higher kidney values (the link is at the top of the forum).
 
Mary & Jude said:
Are you putting the Libre on yourself or is the vet? We have some good guidance here on the forum for you if you're doing it. Here's one: Getting Started With Continuous Glucose Monitors (CGMs) for Diabetic Cats You can do this yourself!

The number one thing new caregivers on this forum seem to experience is feeling overwhelmed (myself included!). There is SO MUCH to learn, at the very beginning especially. And it's not unusual for vets to give poor advice (like dietary advice)--some vets simply don't have a good grasp of treating feline diabetes. Ask questions here and search the forum--we're here to help.

There is also a feline kidney board associated with the forum; you might pop over there and ask about food for kitties with higher kidney values (the link is at the top of the forum).
Click to expand...
Thank you- I’ve really been digging into the resources the last couple days and it’s been helpful. I insisted to the vet that I do the Libre application at home- I’ve just found the Libre groups and learning more about that now, too. The way they taught me to apply it was wrong, of course. Thanks for your help.
 
Too much research from different sources, can become confusing, this forum is world-wide, the members here are incredibly knowledgeable in Feline Diabetes, even more than some vets, this Forum has saved many cats’ lives including Corky’s I trust them blindly. In regards to the Libre sensor, you can do this yourself, the instructions are elementary, and you will be saving a lot of money in vet vistes, the replacement of the sensor, and the vet charges more for the sensor, as well as you will be saving a lot of stress to your cat, if you choose to have your vet place the sensor, make sure he does NOT apply it with glue, not only the sensor will malfunction, but it will irritate your cats’ skin.
 
CORKY said:
Too much research from different sources, can become confusing, this forum is world-wide, the members here are incredibly knowledgeable in Feline Diabetes, even more than some vets, this Forum has saved many cats’ lives including Corky’s I trust them blindly. In regards to the Libre sensor, you can do this yourself, the instructions are elementary, and you will be saving a lot of money in vet vistes, the replacement of the sensor, and the vet charges more for the sensor, as well as you will be saving a lot of stress to your cat, if you choose to have your vet place the sensor, make sure he does NOT apply it with glue, not only the sensor will malfunction, but it will irritate your cats’ skin.
Click to expand...
I’ve been learning all of this recently! It’s so frustrating- I had to beg my vet to teach me how to apply it because I knew it was easy enough to be done at home, and they actually did it terribly! Thanks for the info and support.
 
CORKY said:
Yes the prescribed food is high carbs, there's nothing "prescribed" good for a diabetic cat, below is a cat food calculator, use the nutrients on the label of the food you are feeding in the cells, we are looking for DRY CARB MATTER, , or you can post a picture of the label with the nutrients, and we can give you the carb %, I search for the food you described and I did not find the glycoadvanced wet and Dr Elsey’s dry food
Carb Calculator - Felinediabetes.com
Click to expand...
I researched a lot of different foods based on phosphorus and carb values, and just started feeding her Tiki Cat tonight (low in both carbs and phosphorus). I’m so grateful for this group!! Holy cow.

Here’s the link for Dr. Elsey’s protein food:
Your pet will love this Dr. Elsey's cleanprotein Duck Kibble Cat Dry Food, 6.6-lb bag:
https://www.chewy.com/dr-elseys-cle...4354?utm_source=app-share&utm_campaign=304354
 
Dr. Elsey's is one of the very few low carb dry foods. I'd offer a word of caution, though. One of the health issues that affect many cats as they age is kidney disease. It sounds like this is a concern for Phoebe. Using a low phosphorus diet is very helpful. Also, keeping your cat hydrated is very important. Cats have a limited thirst drive (even though it may not seem that way with a diabetic cat since water consumption is a symptom of diabetes). Canned food has a lot more moisture than dry food. As a result, it's much better for kidney health. If you want to feed your cat the Dr. Elsey's, I'd try to minimize how much of the dry food you give Phoebe.

I hope you're feeling less overwhelmed. There is a lot to learn starting out on this venture. I've been here a long time and even some of the medical and veterinary professionals who show up here are overwhelmed. You are in good company! the members here are also generous with their time and knowledge.
 
Sienne and Gabby (GA) said:
Dr. Elsey's is one of the very few low carb dry foods. I'd offer a word of caution, though. One of the health issues that affect many cats as they age is kidney disease. It sounds like this is a concern for Phoebe. Using a low phosphorus diet is very helpful. Also, keeping your cat hydrated is very important. Cats have a limited thirst drive (even though it may not seem that way with a diabetic cat since water consumption is a symptom of diabetes). Canned food has a lot more moisture than dry food. As a result, it's much better for kidney health. If you want to feed your cat the Dr. Elsey's, I'd try to minimize how much of the dry food you give Phoebe.

I hope you're feeling less overwhelmed. There is a lot to learn starting out on this venture. I've been here a long time and even some of the medical and veterinary professionals who show up here are overwhelmed. You are in good company! the members here are also generous with their time and knowledge.
Click to expand...
Thank you! I’m aware of being cautious of phosphorus values- I mentioned above working on food to fit both needs. I’m not less overwhelmed yet- she’s still hiding to avoid manual readings and I missed her dose this morning. But learning from the communities has been helpful.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top