Hi everyone

[Matt and Goldy]

Hey everyone
I posted in the new welcome area and now over here just wanted
so say thanks again, and say how much I appreciate the site.

I have an 11 year old cat named goldy that has been recently told he has
diabetes.
I took him in for lethargy, not wanting to eat like he used to, and just plain seeming worn out.
If you have happened to read my other post, he recently lost his best cat friend a few months ago
and he definitely has been going down hill since. Losing weight.
Its strange I see a lot of cats with diabetes and they seem to be over weight? Is skinny, losing weight also
a symptom of this? Seemingly tired, only eats on occasion, very finicky with his food, turns his head at
dry food (which is a good thing I guess), are these symptoms of diabetes?

If the human insulins are keeping the glucose in check, is it still a good thing to change him to the others?

The reason I ask this, the stuff that was prescribed for him at Walmart actually seemed to be working as far as keeping the number down but as far as his appetite and general over all condition seems to be the same he just seems worn out. Wondering if something is going on besides the diabetes? Will be taking him in
again soon...
could someone give me advice as to what to switch him to after being on Novolin for about a month?
Thanks to all cat lovers......

 

[Larry and Kitties]

Welcome.
Good insulins are the human Lantus and Levemir and the pet insulins ProZinc and BCP PZI. For those two human insulin it is best to get the 5 pack of 3 ml disposable pens via a 10 ml vial. Although per ml the vial is less expensive most cats will not use up a 10 ml vial before the insulin goes bad/becomes ineffective. The human insulin N/NPH is sometimes prescribed but only lasts 8-10 hours. Same for the pet insulin Vetsulin/Caninisulin.
Most of us here test our cat's blood glucose at home using a human meter. We test before each shot and periodically between shots. We record our reading and other info in a spreadsheet. See:
http://www.felinediabetes.com/FDMB/threads/fdmb-spreadsheet-instructions.130337/
What are you feeding? A low-carb canned is best. No reason for a prescription food. Here is a list of commercial low-carb canned

http://www.felinediabetes.com/FDMB/threads/shortcut-shopping-list-all-8-or-less-updated.117688/

Here is a link to home testing blood sugarhttp://www.felinediabetes.com/FDMB/threads/hometesting-links-and-tips.287/

Is skinny, losing weight also
a symptom of this?

Yes. It is common for an overweight cat to become diabetic. Then they lose weight since with high blood sugar they can process all the food and thus they lose weight.

could someone give me advice as to what to switch him to after being on Novolin for about a month?

Without knowing what is happening to BG over a typical day I can't tell how the "Novolin" is working. It is not the best for most cast.

Novolin is Novo Nordisk's trade name for a family of Recombinant DNA origin insulins. They include N (sometimes called NPH), and R (very fast actions) and mixture of the two. Only N/NPH is OK, but not that good, for cats.

 

[jayla-n-Drevon]

Hi and Welcome--

we first started don vetsulin and Dre was so depressed ugh it was awful--
he did better on pro zinc and even better now on lantus....

 

[Matt and Goldy]

thanks for the tips. and videos
yeah I was having problems with getting the blood from the ears and he is not liking it
I will now try a paw and alternate from ears to paws etc....