Is it possible some cats can't take Prozinc?

[acsmith1972]

Ever since we started using the Prozinc again after our weekend where we ran out, it's been bad. Fluffed was great off med even though his levels were really high. In the last year and change his quality of life seems to generally suck on insulin compared to off. Last night he had a really bad night. I was watching him all night and found him passed out face first in the morning. He wasn't moving. This was after a lower dose because of the same issue the day before. I thought he might've given up. So I skipped his morning shot. I gave him a bunch of junky treats and even some catnip, which he usually ignores. He ate half the junky treats and before I left to go to work he was walking around, drinking water again, smiling, tail wagging, he even used the litter box without making a mess.

Is it possible Prozinc just doesn't get along with him? Vetsulin didn't work. Maybe Lantus would? As for his diet, he's really impossible. A few of you said if you change it eventually he'll go for the new stuff and when I did that he went from 12 pounds to 8 pounds. He used to be 24 pounds. I wasn't going to let him die miserable just to be right about his diet. Even the vet said any food he'll eat is better than food he refuses to eat. For wet food he only likes pate or those licky things. And he won't go near anything good for you. He's so finicky. So would Lantus maybe regulate him better or should we try an even lower dose like 1 unit?

 

[Chris & China (GA)]

Is it possible Prozinc just doesn't get along with him?

The simple answer is yes, it's possible.

For wet food he only likes pate or those licky things

Pate's are usually fine!!….A lot of them are low carb and perfectly fine for sugarcats!!

Do you have an up to date spreadsheet? Without seeing the numbers he's been getting, it's really impossible for us to give you much in the way of helpful advice.

I am concerned that some of his behavior may be due to him being on too high a dose....Are you still home testing?

 

[JL and Chip]

Did you check his blood glucose when he was "passed out?" If so, what was it?

I too am curious as to his current dose.

I'd also like to see a picture of his insulin syringes as well as what mark on the syringe you draw the insulin up to for each shot.

 

[acsmith1972]

No, I don't have a spreadsheet. First of all, I was never able to get that thing to work for me. I had to "ask permission" to post on the spreadsheet on my own Google account? It didn't make sense to me. Using Excel would've been so much easier for me, but apparently no one here uses it. I can't test him regularly. He's very uncooperative and no amount of treats have worked for him. When we were doing that he hated us and was spending more and more time under furniture to get away from us. That from a cat who spent his whole life cuddling pretty much all day. It was killing me to see him more miserable from the combination of food he hated, the shots, and getting stuck in the ear several times a day. What good is a cat's life if they're miserable? I switched to testing him when he was out of it as opposed to all the time just for the sake of checking. He had been stable at around 2.5 units twice a day. As long as we gave him his shots exactly 12 hours apart he seemed okay. But right before I ran out he started to go sideways. He was moping around, not cuddling, hiding again, in really good spots, too that would take me a while to find. And then I ran out of insulin and wasn't able to get any for three days because of the holiday. And that's when he did a 180. His fur got much softer, he was smiling, he was actually running around chasing Luna, cuddling, even meowing and purring. I tested him and he was really high, like 450, but he was also really happy and otherwise seemed fine. When I started the insulin again we went right back to 2.5 units because the vet said not to start lower. I had thought with a few days off maybe he needed to build back up to it. So we did 2.5 like the vet said. It was like before with all the bad symptoms. His levels were okay, 85 one day, 200 the next, but he was way out of it.

I didn't test him when he was passed out, and he wasn't really passed out, more like fell asleep on his face. I wound up baby feeding him his wet food with a spoon and giving him water from a water syringe. I saw an offer for some huge syringes for people to do funny shots at parties, no needle, just the plunger and plastic tip for the alcohol. They're perfect for giving him water. So I gave him a little water, spent some time with him, kept checking up on him and it was probably 7am yesterday when I made it rain crunchy treats and he popped out of it and gobbled most of them up. He was better most of the day, but not great. He seems happy right now resting, but he's getting up every few minutes for water and that's worrying me.

His syringes are regular U40 syringes. https://www.adwdiabetes.com/product/16/ulticare-vetrx-u-40-insulin-syringes We draw it between the 2 and 3 to get to 2.5

 

[FurBabiesMama]

No matter what type of insulin you use, without testing, you cannot know what his glucose levels are. It does sound like he may be getting too much insulin.

 

[JeanW]

Home testing is the most important thing of all. It is THE way to keep your kitty safe. Someone here can help you set up the spreadsheet. @Marje and Gracie are you able to help?

I am not an expert by any means but 2.5 units (twice a day?) seems like a lot to me. Have you gotten a second opinion?

 

[jayla-n-Drevon]

my boy was terribly depressed on vetsulin...he does well on lev

 

[acsmith1972]

Home testing is the most important thing of all. It is THE way to keep your kitty safe. Someone here can help you set up the spreadsheet. @Marje and Gracie are you able to help?

I am not an expert by any means but 2.5 units (twice a day?) seems like a lot to me. Have you gotten a second opinion?

He was originally at 2 units twice a day and when I tested him semi-regularly I noticed his levels were always around 400, so I went up. When we did that he'd drop down to like 80-200. I checked him tonight and he was at 486, but we stopped after starting again from the bad reaction. I'm going to restart his shots in the morning. I'm going to ignore what the vet said about jumping right back in at the full strength and start at 1 unit twice a day and see how his numbers do.

 

[Elizabeth and Bertie]

Is it possible Prozinc just doesn't get along with him?

Cats who have allergy to salmon may have a problem with Prozinc because it contains salmon protamine. This is pretty rare though.

I wholeheartedly agree with what others say about the importance of home testing.

I tested him semi-regularly I noticed his levels were always around 400, so I went up. When we did that he'd drop down to like 80-200. I checked him tonight and he was at 486

It may well be that the dose is too high and is causing your cat's blood glucose to drop too low (or too fast). And that can cause the blood glucose to 'bounce' up high again and to possibly stay high for a while until it crashes down again.
Not only does this make the cat feel pretty lousy, but it can be extremely dangerous. If the cat's blood glucose drops too low and the body's own glucose stores are depleted the cat can die (or suffer organ damage) from hypoglycemia.

I strongly recommend that you test before every insulin shot, and also aim to get some mid-cycle tests whenever you can so that you can see what is happening between insulin shots.