Four units twice daily is a lot of insulin. Some ProZinc cats here are on 2 units but many are under one unit. I would guess the dry high carb food keeps him high enough that he doesn't hypo. But it is like a human diabetic increasing his insulin dose so he can eat his 4 doughnuts every morning. :mrgreen:
I don't understand what your vet means by hometesting being risky. We think it is very risky to give insulin without knowing what the blood glucose levels are. If you look at other people's spreadsheets on this forum, you can see that new diabetics often change levels without warning as the insulin starts to work in their bodies.
I know it is hard to hear advice contrary to your vet. All I can say is that we deal with hundreds of new diabetics a month, while your vet may see one or two a month. We have a protocol that has worked for thousands of cats over the years:
1. We like to start with a slow, long lasting insulin. ProZinc is a good insulin that is mild and lasts the whole 12 hour cycle. 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.
2. We feed 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 It is not risky in any way. The cat learns to put up with the poke because we give treats every time. It may take a while to get your and your kitty's routine down and see what works for you, but the peace of mind that comes with knowing you are giving a safe amount of insulin every time is invaluable.
I know this is a lot to take in and contrary to your vet's advice. If it makes sense to you and you want help, we would love to help.
