cat lost appetite after insulin shots-what is wrong?

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Pepe seems slower and with less energy since his insulin injections.
The Vet highly recommended insulin to begin with (1 unit twice a day )
but we wanted to start by try ing oral meds-He seemed better but not quite his old self and when we brought him in to get his numbers checked they said we need to start with insulin-after giving the injections he is not eating even 2/3 what he normally would eat.

after searching on line I am realy lost-I feed the cat Purina Cat Chow Indoor Formula and I'm worried that this dry food is too high with Carbs and I am intimidated with glucose monitoring
 
I would strongly encourage you to go out and buy a human glucometer with test strips, and pick up some urine ketone test strips while you're at the pharmacy. You don't want to reduce his carbs too quickly, until you are home testing as his sugars can go way down if you reduce the carbs he's currently getting all at once, and that could be dangerous. We can help you learn to home test, and hold your hand.
 
Dyana said:
I would strongly encourage you to go out and buy a human glucometer with test strips, and pick up some urine ketone test strips while you're at the pharmacy. You don't want to reduce his carbs too quickly, until you are home testing as his sugars can go way down if you reduce the carbs he's currently getting all at once, and that could be dangerous. We can help you learn to home test, and hold your hand.
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I appreciate that very much !

I will do what you suggested ASAP-

meanwhile I plan on skipping a injection until Pepe eats a little more
 
We find the oral meds do not result in the pancreas healing and suggest not using them.

Lantus (glargine) may be obtained from Canada for less.

How much less? With insulin, the body is able to use what it eats, so the cat may not be as hungry as before.

Go to Cat Info to read more about feline nutrition, including normal amounts to feed, appropriate choices, and more.

Now that you are using insulin, you must be home testing before changing any food. The glucose may drop 100 mg/dL and the insulin dose needed could drop by 2 units with a food change.
 
My cat didn't want to eat for the first 24-48 hours that she was on insulin which I think was caused by too high of a dosage. The vet put her on 1 unit and she only needs about half of that amount of insulin. I would highly suggest you home test! It is an eye opener as to what might be bothering your cat because you can immediately check the BG level to make sure he isn't going hypo. I was overwhelmed at first about having to poke my kitty all the time, but she now comes running for her tests because she knows she is getting a treat afterwards.

Also, if you want a good low carb food....Fancy Feast Classics are low carb and only about $0.50 at Wal-Mart. My cat will only eat the Beef tenders, so that's what she has been getting for weeks now. I try other flavors but she just won't eat them. It might take a little trial/error and time to get Pepe switched over to a low carb food but it brought my cat's numbers down substantially so make sure you are regularly home testing as well.

As for a meter - I use the ReliOn Confirm and love it. (The meter was $16 and the strips are $36 for 100 count at Wal-Mart).

Good luck! Pepe will thank you for the effort you put into his care. I think my cat loves me more since all this started because she knows she is feeling better plus she gets tons of treats!!
 
Pepe is in fact doing better !! ))) Until this morning my wife was the only one to give him Wiskias cat milk as a treat.
This morning while Pepe was out in the garage taking care of some business I drew his dose. He came in and I put him on the pedestal
that I use to put his harness on him and injected his dose. For the first time I gave him the treat instead of my wife who was still sleeping. So this evening I go to draw up his dose and out of nowhere, here comes Pepe acting like he does when my wife is prepping a treat all the while I am preparing the syringe. (rubbing on my leg and putting his front paws up on the cupboard.) I couldn't believe it but he does have more experience with the treats than I do.

I purchased a glucometer and some strips today but I have not tested Pepe yet.
Is it ok to give Pepe cooked chicken breast-? he seems to like it-I realize that I should not change foods without testing
Thanks for the help y'all.
 
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