tigersmom said:
Mary & Stormy Blue said:
tigersmom said:
Thank You!!! He is Orange,and he is 10 years old. I was worried because I had not seen all this black during the oral dosing period when I had to open his mouth twice a day. It just came to my attention today and I was afraid the insulin was causing it or he was getting worse with the diabetes. Also,he seems to be on a high dose (6u twice a day).It just seems like a lot since he weighs only 9lbs.
*blink*
Six units twice a day??? That is a
lot of insulin for a cat diagnosed only 9 weeks ago.
Seriously -
a lot of insulin.
Could you please advise what insulin Tiger is on and what, exactly, that you are feeding him?
Also, are you home testing Tiger?
~M
He is on Pro-Zinc Insulin and I am feeding him Hills Prescription Diet W/D Formula and I am home testing him with the AlphaTrak Blood Glucose Monitoring System twice a day and I thought the dose was high but was not sure enough to question the vet
okay, I am not a vet, so take what I am about to say as helpful advice from a non-vet who is very familiar with treating diabetes in cats, dogs, and humans....
Pro-Zinc is a U40 insulin - I will assume that you are using U40 syringes, (if you are using U100 syringes, please tell me, okay?) If you are not using U100 syringes to dose with, you might want to get some with 1/2 unit markings because they are much easier to fine tune a dose with and there is a handy dandy conversion table to use for U40 insulin in U100 syringes.
http://felinediabetes.com/insulin-conversions.htm
I strongly encourage you to
immediately start Tiger over on insulin at 1 unit bid and read the primer on PZI, which is, I believe, the closest out there to the newly prescribed Pro-Zinc (located, conveniently, in the PZI sub-forum)
viewforum.php?f=24 I will cross post in the PZI forum that you are seeking information on how to help your kitty and people that are using the same insulin for their babies will assist you, too.
Hills w/d canned is
extremely high in carbohydrates (26%) and not at all appropriate for a diabetic cat.
Dry is even higher in carb content @ 37%! With the dose of insulin that Tiger has been receiving, I am betting that the Hills W/D is the only thing that has kept him from going hypo on you.
Testing before every single injection is a must. Testing at the midpoint, too, would be even better - in other words, a minimum of four tests per day - testing approximately every 6 hours, is even better because that way, you know how Tiger is reacting to his insulin better. The more informed that you are, the better you can help Tiger manage his disease.
Please be sure to read this next link thoroughly and print it out to keep somewhere for immediate retrieval in the event that he does hypo on you: viewtopic.php?f=14&t=1122
You can find much more appropriate food choices here:
http://binkyspage.tripod.com/canfood.html Try to choose foods that are below 10% in carbs, but the lower, the better. My diet controlled baby gets nothing over 5% in carbs. Wet (canned) is always better than dry for kitties.
However, please do not change his food to lower carb food until you decrease his insulin dose to 1unit, or less twice a day.
Lastly, I encourage you to ask questions, lots of questions. We have all been where you are now. Every single one of us has walked in your shoes.
Regards,
~M
You've come to the best place to help Tiger and yourself. It is such a wonderful community of help, support, and information. As others have said, we have all been where you are and we know how overwhelming, scary, and frustrating it can be. Ask any questions you think of, read all you can, and remember that while 99% of the people here are not vets or vet techs, they do have years of daily experience with feline diabetes, something that a lot of vets cannot lay claim to. 