? How much Prozinc if kitty won't eat enough...

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nfcatlady44

nfcatlady44

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My kitty Mr. Black was diagnosed at 605 2-1/2 months ago. He's currently at 276 on 4 units of Prozinc twice daily. There have been 3 times now when he's thrown up shortly after receiving his shot and eating. Am I not getting him to eat enough before his shot or ??? If so, how do I adjust his dosage? Also for my info, is it possible to overfeed the cat at shot time? Could introducing a new food cause his throwing up too at shot time? The vet didn't seem to know much about this issue. Thanks in advance.
 
Hi Mr. Black's Bean, I'm assuming that he hasn't Gone Ahead so you may want to change your prefix to a ? instead of GA. Go to thread tools and edit your title.

Throwing up could be for a number of reasons including new food. I know Fern threw up shortly after eating Sheba wet food which was new for him and I've never given it to him again just in case. My Fern also doesn't do well with freeze dried food. I don't think it's overfeeding unless Mr. Black ate significantly more those 3 times. As far as dose advise there isn't enough information for me to feel comfortable giving it. Where is the 276 coming from? Are you home testing? Have you done a Blood Glucose curve at home? Are you only feeding 2x a day with the shots? (This is not necessary with ProZinc BTW) Does Mr. Black throw up at other times?
 
Thanks for the alert on the mistaken "GA." I changed to "?"

To answer your questions: The 276 was the vet's reading during kitty's peak time (5-7 hrs. after his morning shot). I haven't started home testing yet, but am learning everything today to get started. No curve yet - my vet hasn't even mentioned it probably since we're doing the BG checks only during his peak times, every week or 2 weeks. (To be honest, I really don't want to do curves on him unless it's really necessary.) No, not feeding just 2x a day - he's also free choice on dry (which is a new low carb food I'm slow-transitioning to, called Young Again Zero). The 3 throw-ups have only happened a few minutes after the evening meal and shot, pretty much like clockwork, but days apart, depending.
 
If Mr. Black isn't hungry enough at shot time and only eats a tiny amt., should I not give him the shot until the next 12 hr. time? It's confusing because I do keep dry out for him all day (I don't see him eat a whole lot tho).
 
Yes, a new food can cause an upset tummy. You might try spacing it out and giving him small snacks. Does he scarf and barf?

I'm glad you are working on home testing. It will be so helpful for you to know exactly what is happening with his levels and doses.
 
Twice since starting insulin, his throwing up looked very painful for him. The whole experience lasted several minutes too, not just a quickie like last night. He looked at me with his glassy eyes as if to say "Mommy, why aren't you helping me here? This hurts!" He would also howl. Then, he'd head for the litter box and poop. Not a pleasant experience for him (or me!). I'm trying to be very careful with the new food.
 
Young Again can definitely cause tummy troubles if it is not introduced slowly - usually diarrhea I think or issues with poop. Young Again is so calorie dense that they only need to eat a tiny amount - my 11 lb cat only needs 1/8 cup twice a day for his caloric needs (with a little wet supplement) Does he go back and eat more food later?
 
It can help to do changes about 20-25% different food per day or two until completely switched. With a cat that has a very sensitive stomach, going even slower with about 10% different food each day or two may be prudent.

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Well, Mr. Black had watery diarrhea last night one time. Otherwise, he's been in good spirits. Taking it real easy with the new food, but still persisting with it. I dropped his dosage from the vet's recommended 4 units to around 3 units this morning just in case because of starting a new bottle of ProZinc (may be stronger?) and because of the changes in his body from the food. Just guessing which I hate to do, but it's better to be hyper than hypo, right? He's not regulated yet. Still haven't started the home testing - a lot of steps to learn, plus I'm a bit nervous about it. Hopefully, today I can start during his peak time. Any suggestions?
 
It is quite scary to home test for the first time but it gets easier very quickly and it is so vitally important - click on the links and study them http://www.felinediabetes.com/FDMB/threads/hometesting-links-and-tips.287/ and
http://www.felinediabetes.com/bg-test.htm they offer everything you need to know about home testing the most important thing is to make sure the ear is warm - I use a small sock filled with rice and microwaved for about 15 seconds to put on his ear for about 20 seconds (he hates it) - you need only a tiny bit of blood and apparently there are few nerve endings in the ear tips, so they don't really feel any pain - practice with yourself a few times to get familiar with how the meter works home testing is vital, so please read the links and ask, ask ask questions about it - the sooner you start the better -- and we all do it - if we can do it- so can you - truly !!!
 
Also get some bribes...er...treats! Many of us use freeze dried chicken treats. Give a treat each time and they'll come running! Try to get blood 3 times and if it doesn't work give a treat and take a break for like 15 minutes. That will keep you both calm.

Also choose one place that is for testing. I tested Gypsy on a towel by our fridge. As soon as she heard me pulling out the supplies she'd go wait in our spot. She'd even go there before I got up and wait if it was time!

It gets easier the more you do it since the ear learns to bleed. You'll be a pro in no time!
 
Also, get some larger lancets. They are called alternate site lancets:; you want 25-27 gauges. Until the capillaries fill up, you may need a larger hole to get a sample. Warming the ear was vital for us as was having something behind the ear (we used a makeup sponge) to poke against. And three tries, bean and kitty get a break and a treat. (I liked chocolate). Some lucky people get blood on the first attempt. Some spend days perfecting their technique. We spent a whole weekend poking poor Oliver. It was finally heating the ear long enough that worked for us.
 
Another thought on not eating vs insulin - When vets want a diabetic cat to come in fasting (ex for a dental or for certain lab work), they either say to skip the insulin, or to give half of the dose. If you test and the glucose is high while the cat hasn't eaten, ProZinc has a gentle enough onset that a half dose can be safe. Check how much drop you've been getting on a dose and estimate what half the dose might do.
 
OK, sounds good - I'll do that next time. I didn't like not giving him any insulin this morning, but I had to consider how sick he was and didn't want to add to his problems just in case. Thank goodness he started eating mid-day (still a little runny poop tho), so I was able to give him his shot tonight.
 
Decided to stop the YA food completely and will be sending it back for a refund. Mr. Black ended up with watery diarrhea several times, PLUS my other cat (healthy) ended up getting diarrhea from it! Will be trying the all canned food diet next (which many of you recommend so highly), the only choice I have left. One huge problem with that idea is if I have wet food out all day, one of my cats will no doubt hog all the food! He's a big eater for sure. At least with the dry food, I could keep out a large bowl full and there'd be plenty for everybody. I'm thinking the only way to fix this is to separate Mr. Piggy from the other 2 (who know how to share!), and they're going to hate that. This little issue is the main reason I wanted to try YA Zero dry, but look how that turned out! So frustrating!
 
Have you thought about a timed feeder? You could set it to open partway through the day so food would be available later but no one could eat it all in the AM.
 
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