First curve attempt - advice would be great! 😊

Diabetes.sucks

Diabetes.sucks

Member Since 2026
Hi all; we have a cat with diabetes (I guess that's obvious being here haha).

She isn't very well and has lost a lot of weight. She's on Caninsulin and on 2 units (hopefully that makes sense). She was on 1 initially but wasn't improving so we went back to vets and told to up to 2.

We just did tests at these times. Any thoughts/feedback would be great. We have human tester (Contour) but meant to multiply by 18 I believe??

Just after breakfast/insulin @ 8:30am
18.8 (x18 = 338)

10:40am
6.7 (x18 = 121)

1:10pm
9.6 (x18 = 173)

3:40pm
14.3 (x18 = 257)

6:05pm
19.8 (x18 = 356).

When at the vets we did tests alongside their machine which were more like x22 conversion but it was a separate sample and probably stressed so I think 18-22x is a fair gauge.

From that would you say she needs a slightly higher dose?

Should they be around 5.5-16.6 range (100-300)?

We thought possibly up from 2 units to 2.5.

Thanks for any guidance; this isn't nice to deal with is it poor cats!

Sorry if posted to wrong place!

Kind regards
Ben @ Mila (and Lilly 🐈)
 
Hi Ben and Mila,

Welcome to the FDMB! When you have a moment, please read Sticky - New? How You Can Help Us Help You!. You'll want to set up a spreadsheet for Lilly, which will help track her progress, and also set up your signature on the forum profile. This information will help members to help you by giving us a glimpse at important information related to her treatment. If you have problems with any of this, just let us know.

It sounds like you've got the home testing situation going! Well done!!

Someone else with dosing experience will likely weigh in with guidance on a dose change.
 
Welcome to FDMB
You are in the right place. CANINsulin is a dog insulin it hits hard and fast in a cat, the best insulin for cats are ProZinc and Lantus they are a 12-hour insulin and easy on the cat, also a diabetic cats needs to have a diet of wet can or raw food between 0-10% carbs, having a feeding schedule is a good idea, as well as 3-4 small meals or snacks during the day, if you are feeding kibbels/dry food the transitions has to be done slowly since it can upset her stomach and it can cause a dip in glucose levels, also feeding before each shot, is great you are home testing make sure you test before each shot to avoid hypoglycemic episodes ,you might want to ask you vet to switch insulin to either ProZinc or Lantus, you will have better results in stabilizing the levels, please continue to post we are here for you to help you in this journey
 
Mary & Jude said:
Hi Ben and Mila,

Welcome to the FDMB! When you have a moment, please read Sticky - New? How You Can Help Us Help You!. You'll want to set up a spreadsheet for Lilly, which will help track her progress, and also set up your signature on the forum profile. This information will help members to help you by giving us a glimpse at important information related to her treatment. If you have problems with any of this, just let us know.

It sounds like you've got the home testing situation going! Well done!!

Someone else with dosing experience will likely weigh in with guidance on a dose change.
Click to expand...
Thank you! Will take a look in the week at the spreadsheet :)

I have ear pricking guilt after today!
 
CORKY said:
Welcome to FDMB
You are in the right place. CANINsulin is a dog insulin it hits hard and fast in a cat, the best insulin for cats are ProZinc and Lantus they are a 12-hour insulin and easy on the cat, also a diabetic cats needs to have a diet of wet can or raw food between 0-10% carbs, having a feeding schedule is a good idea, as well as 3-4 small meals or snacks during the day, if you are feeding kibbels/dry food the transitions has to be done slowly since it can upset her stomach and it can cause a dip in glucose levels, also feeding before each shot, is great you are home testing make sure you test before each shot to avoid hypoglycemic episodes ,you might want to ask you vet to switch insulin to either ProZinc or Lantus, you will have better results in stabilizing the levels, please continue to post we are here for you to help you in this journey
Click to expand...
Thank you. They have only mentioned that one insulin so far. We are from England if that makes any difference. She is on special diabetic food twice a day currently.
 
It’s ok we all have at first but it does not really hurts, find a small sock fill the end with rice to make a small ball that will fit in the inner ear tie it, use this for support to prick the ear, use the lancet sides way not downward, this way the needle doesn’t go thru the ear, you can take away the guilt by giving a low carb treat after
 
Have you ever seen a human eat diabetic food??? They eat a low carb diet, the same goes for cats those “ diabetic foods” or “ prescribed” they are everything but healthy for them they contain anywhere from 20-30% carbs, cats cannot digest carbs, save your money I will send you a link of Drs approved food list find the ones that are 0-10% carbs most members feed up to 5%
 
CORKY said:
Have you ever seen a human eat diabetic food??? They eat a low carb diet, the same goes for cats those “ diabetic foods” or “ prescribed” they are everything but healthy for them they contain anywhere from 20-30% carbs, cats cannot digest carbs, save your money I will send you a link of Drs approved food list find the ones that are 0-10% carbs most members feed up to 5%
Click to expand...
That would be great thanks, she isn't massively keen on it. We are from UK though so might be different ones available
 
Remember slow transition, and is best to start when you will be home the most this way you can test often at least the first couple of days in case of a dip in BG, also you should create a HYPO KIT, this should contain some medium carb foods between11-15% carbs some high foods between 16-24% carbs some honey or Karo Syrup, in case the glucose level dips too low, we can assist you if this were to happen, so don't panic, so when your Dr switches you to the right insulin ask him to start you on a low dose so you can feel comfortable managing the first few days , according the daily tracking, all cats react differently to insulin, you can learn to understand his diabetes, also we are very numbers oriented, we would like you to create your signature and her spreadsheet this way we can all be on the same page, links below
Sticky - New? How You Can Help Us Help You!
https://felinediabetes.com/FDMB/threads/how-to-create-a-spreadsheet.241706/
Food Info for UK
 
If your cat was started on Caninsulin, you cannot switch over to Senvelgo. The oral meds specify that the cat has to be a new diabetic that has not been prescribed insulin.

In the UK, for many years your cat vet had to prescribe Caninsulin as a first line choice. That is no longer the case. Vets can now prescribe Prozinc. This is a far better insulin for managing feline diabetes. Caninsulin is a faster acting insulin which can cause a sharp drop in blood glucose numbers. In fact, your cat dropped over 200 points within about 2 hours from shot time. That's a substantial drop. Also, Caninsulin does not last 12-hours so numbers tend to be rather high by the beginning of the cycle. Your vet may be more familiar with Caninsulin since it was used for many years. However, more and more vets are suggesting Prozinc. You may want to discuss the possibility of switching insulin with your vet.
 
Thanks all for the tips and help! It's a bit scary to start with but appreciate the help. She's so skinny now so need to get her stabilised and then slowly get the weight added back on
 
Remember slow transition two teaspoon at a time take away put new low carb food when you start the transition test 2,hours after shots and several times in between the day try having the SS ready so we can follow the BGs in the transition
 
Ben and Mila, There is SO MUCH to learn with FD. We've all been there, and it's overwhelming to begin with.

Once you get your spreadsheet set up (and you'll select the World Speadsheet template) it will do those calculations you're manually doing in your original post. This post is chock-full of information, including what sort of numbers you are looking for in terms of regulation: Sticky - GENERAL INFORMATION AND IMPORTANT LINKS—PLEASE READ

Sienne mentioned Prozinc to you: we have a sub-forum for Prozinc users here: Prozinc / PZI. I suggest that you read the information at the top of the page to familiarize yourself with the insulin. The New to the Group: Prozinc Basics sticky at the top is essential reading. Reading this information will allow you to have more informed discussions with the vet. Also, feel free to invite your vet to join us!

When Jude was diagnosed, his vet put him on Vetsulin (or Caninsulin) because that was all he had in his office at the time (it's designed for dogs), but we quickly switched to Lantus, and I feel that his numbers became much more regulated when we did.
 
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