scienceofcats
Member Since 2018
Hey guys. So, my little black cat Lola (4 years old) has been diagnosed with diabetes. Her blood glucose is all over the place... could use some advice. I have a spreadsheet for her that you can access here. Some background information:
My understanding is that it's generally a good idea (despite my vet saying it's not necessary) to test blood sugar before every insulin dose, so that's what I'm doing. Originally, my vet said to not give insulin when her blood sugar was less than 20 mmol/L until she could confirm the correct cutoff with an internal medicine specialist. After consulting with the specialist, she advised that I should give 1 unit of insulin if either 1), Lola eats at least half of a portion of wet food and her bG>8 mmol/L, 2) Lola eats only a little bit of wet food and her bG>12 mmol/L, or 3) Lola doesn't eat and her bG>14 mmol/L. For reference, I am feeding her twice daily before insulin with a high-protein, medium-fat, low-carb (8% dry matter) wet food and then leaving Purina DM dry food out during the day, which all of my cats eat now.
There's a chance that her diabetes is caused by, or being worsened by, the prednisolone, which is known to cause insulin resistance. We are going to try to taper her down, but only after we have had her on insulin regularly for a little while. Anyways, how do her numbers look to you guys? Would you give different advice? Any advice is much appreciated!
- Lola is 4 years old and is a rescue cat; she was born on the streets but was rescued @ 2 months
- Severely asthmatic (diagnosed last summer; takes 3.75 mg prednisolone in the morning by mouth)
- 6 weeks after starting on 2.5 mg prednisolone, developed weak hind legs, severe dehydration, and changes in the liver and gallbladder consistent with cholangiohepatitis - prescribed antibiotics (4 weeks) and 1 mL of 50 mg/mL ursodiol oral suspension to prevent recurrence
- Developed rapid breathing in September and was diagnosed with pneumonia secondary to asthma; prescribed antibiotics and increased to 3.75 mg prednisolone
- Last week, developed abdominal distension and was found by X-ray to have eaten far too much (polyphagia); co-occurrence with increased urination (polyuria) prompted us to urinalysis with culture & sensitivity
- Culture was negative, but urine was found to have a great deal of sugar
- Blood tests performed; found dehydration, high blood sugar (24 mmol/L), and other changes consistent with feline diabetes mellitus
- Prescribed 1 unit ProZinc insulin every 12 hours
- Advised to do glucose curve at home after 7 consistent days of twice daily insulin
My understanding is that it's generally a good idea (despite my vet saying it's not necessary) to test blood sugar before every insulin dose, so that's what I'm doing. Originally, my vet said to not give insulin when her blood sugar was less than 20 mmol/L until she could confirm the correct cutoff with an internal medicine specialist. After consulting with the specialist, she advised that I should give 1 unit of insulin if either 1), Lola eats at least half of a portion of wet food and her bG>8 mmol/L, 2) Lola eats only a little bit of wet food and her bG>12 mmol/L, or 3) Lola doesn't eat and her bG>14 mmol/L. For reference, I am feeding her twice daily before insulin with a high-protein, medium-fat, low-carb (8% dry matter) wet food and then leaving Purina DM dry food out during the day, which all of my cats eat now.
There's a chance that her diabetes is caused by, or being worsened by, the prednisolone, which is known to cause insulin resistance. We are going to try to taper her down, but only after we have had her on insulin regularly for a little while. Anyways, how do her numbers look to you guys? Would you give different advice? Any advice is much appreciated!
Last edited:
