diabetic cat is constantantly hungry

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gogogore

gogogore

Member Since 2014
Hello, my cat Frank was diagnosed a little over a month ago. Since then he has been put on Novalin twice a day (3 units) and is only eating 3/4 of a can of wet food twice a day. He was prescribed DM, and that is what we started with, but after reading some reviews on it and only being able to buy it via the vet or online, I switched him to Wellness. Thanks to a chart I found that broke down the carb percentages, he is only eating flavors with 8% or fewer carbs. Problem is, he INHALeS his food and cries all day for more. The vet said no food in between feedings. He just had a glucose curve and all was fine. I don't know what to do for him!
 
Welcome Frank and Owner!

First things first, how much was Frank eating before and was he a grazer or did you have him on only two meals a day? You might be interested in having a read-through on this thread about feeding kitty as much as they want (within reason).

Next issue is the insulin you're using is considered fast-acting when used on cats and can cause steep drops so it's very important that you feed Frank before every shot. It also wears off a lot quicker than the 12 hours between shots, so Frank's numbers are probably spiking up significantly during the last 4-6 hours of the cycle, which can also cause more hunger.

3u is a fairly large starting dose, especially for Novolin and especially for him having been switched to low carb food. I have a feeling his numbers might be dropping quite low during the cycle and he's wanting to eat to help keep him from a hypo.

Are you home-testing yet or just doing the curves at the vet?
 
You'll want to read this. Humulin N Primer

Most importantly, test, feed, wait 30-60 minutes, then shoot.

You need to be home testing to keep him safe - to be able to know when he is too low to shoot, or too low between shots and needs intervention.

The dose may be too high; he may be getting hungry because he is going too low. He may need more food to keep up with the insulin, or a decrease in dose, or both. Either of those situations may cause him to go too low; this can be fatal.

It might work better as 2 units every 8 hours, with feeding 3 times a day.
 
Thanks for the replies and all of the wonderful resources!

Our vet recommended the 3 units at twice a day. She also said to inject WHILE he is eating. She prescribed Purina DM pate', however I'm not sure if there was a specific reason other than that is what the vet sells.

Prior to being diagnosed, Frank ate 1/2 can wet food at dinner time and munched on dry food whenever he was hungry (it was left out for him). He is a very active cat - always jumping and climbing as high as he possibly can. At his heaviest, he was 11.5 lbs. At his thinnest, he was 8.9 lbs. He is currently around 9.2 lbs and still very active. We have no issues with vomiting, urine, defecating...it's just that he seems constantly hungry. I guess my question is, would I be jeopardizing his BG (sorry if that's not the correct term) if he gets fed 3x a day?

Additionally, we were not given or told to buy a test kit to monitor his sugar. We are currently just doing curves at the vet.
 
If you had a diabetic child, you would always test before giving insulin to make sure it was safe to give it and to monitor the dose. We believe in doing the same for our cats. Many vets don't recommend it because they think the owner won't do it, however the 2010 American Animal Hospital Association Guidelines do recommend it and several research articles validate the importance of doing so.

The AAHA guidelines also recommend using Lantus (glargine), a long acting insulin. Other 12 hour insulins in cats include PZI, Levemir, and ProZinc. Humulin/Novolin N lasts 6-8 hours, resulting in 4-6 hours with no insulin coverage. Home testing will show that very clearly. As I noted previously, good control may require dosing every 8 hours, to avoid steep rises which happen when the insulin wears off.

Point blank: your vet is out of date and blindly following his instructions may kill your cat.. We live with our diabetic cats; most vets see 1 or 2 during the course of a year. Ask him how many he is treating and how many have gotten off insulin. Yes - cats can get off insulin if you use a good insulin, feed low carb, and follow a protocol for regulating the glucose levels.

Stress at the vet's office will raise the glucose level from 100 to 180 mg/dL, resulting in dose recommendations which may be excessive. Changing the diet to low carbohydrate canned food, such as Friskies pates, may drop the glucose levels as much as 100 mg/dL.
 
The Wellness is a great choice and is on the list at [http://www.catinfo.org[/url].

To home test:

We suggest using an inexpensive human glucometer with pet-specific reference numbers. One many of us use is the WallMart Relion Confirm, or Confirm Micro, which is also sold at American Diabetes Wholesale as as the Arkray USA Glucocard 01 or 01 Mini (same manufacturer - Arkray USA). It uses a tiny blood droplet and the cost is significantly lower for test strips (like $0.36 each).

[Glucose reference ranges are unsubstantiated and have been removed by Moderator]


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Examples of using the chart:

Ex. You are a new insulin user and you test your cat before giving insulin. The test is 300. It probably is safe to give insulin.

Ex. You are an established user of Lantus, following the Tight Regulation protocol. You've tested around +5 to +7 to spot the nadir. It is 200 mg/dL. You probably need to increase the dose, following the instructions for the protocol.

Ex. Your cat is acting funny. The eyes are a bit dilated. You are concerned and test the glucose. The number is 35 mg/dL. ACK! The cat may be in a hypoglycemic state. You quickly follow the HYPO protocol linked in the glucose reference values chart. (which we really, really, suggest you print out and post on your refrigerator.)
 
Thats a high insulin dose and a very harsh insulin. I would discuss a better insulin with your vet.. however it does worry me he doesn't like home testing. Shooting without testing is like driving with a bag over your head!!! Many cats go into remission with a low carb diet and if you aren't testing and that happens, you could overdose!!

Testing doesn't harm him so I don't know why the vet would care... and in fact it provides the vet more valuable information. Although it would mean you wouldn't need vet curves so the vet may be worried about his finances.

I would feed him as much as he wants and weigh him every week or two and adjust food accordingly.

Wendy
 
My cat has been a 13 year grazer eat what ever he wants kitty. When he was diagnosed I started him on twice a day and that was it. He didn't like it but its best for him. After a couple weeks of testing his BG I decided to go with 3 times a day. 2.5oz each time. He still seems hungry in between but he is going to have to get use to it lol. His numbers are to good to give in. I know its hard to know they are hungry and you cant give them treats or anything anymore. If it makes him healthy then that's what he gets, even tho he sits at my face and trys to eat my head when im sleeping in the morning when its feeding time lol.
 
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