Welcome Chris and Boo,
This is a scary but wonderful place to be. We would love to help you with your sweet Boo. As you will read, we have a very successful protocol for feline diabetes:
1. First, a slow, long lasting insulin. Lantus, Levemir and ProZinc are popular as they have a slow onset; they are not harsh and they are easiest to use for regulation. Humulin and Canninsulin are less popular because, in most cats, they have a rapid onset and don’t last as long. We like new diabetics to start low and go slow. That is, start at a low dose of .5 or one unit twice daily every 12 hours. And increase slowly, by .25 or .5 units as the numbers indicate. Has your vet prescribed an insulin and dose yet?
2. A low carb, wet diet. We like to feed under 8-10% carbs. There are several food charts you can use:
Dr. Lisa’s food chart
Hobo’s Food Chart Rhiannon’s 8% and under list
Whatever food you can afford that your cat will eat in that lower range.
BUT do not change over to wet until you are hometesting. With our Oliver, the switch meant an overnight change of 100 points downward. If we hadn’t been testing and had given our usual amount., he could have hypoed.
2. And most importantly, hometesting. We think cats tend to be stressed at the vet and we know stress raises blood glucose levels. So we test our cats at home. You want to know what the number is before you give the shot to be sure the amount you are planning to give is safe. And testing midcycle will show you how the insulin is working. We use human glucometers and test on their ears or paws. Here is a video that shows you how it is done:
Video for hometesting If you'd like to learn how, we can teach you over the internet. We have done so for hundreds of diabetic parents.
Keep reading and ask questions and let us know how we can help. We were all overwhelmed and scared at first. Everyone who replies to your thread is paying it forward for help they received in those first scary weeks.
