Lower numbers? stalling | Feline Diabetes Message Board - FDMB

Lower numbers? stalling

Yogi_Bear

Yogi_Bear

Member since 2025
This is my first post so im not quite sure the proper protocol..
We started our kitty last night 930pm on 0.5 lantus..
Preshot was 18.4 mmol
Tested this morning preshot and his number was 10.0mmol.
I am sure that may be a perfectly acceptable number to shoot but being so new i was so nervous.. i called the emergency vet and they said it would be okay but ive seen conflicting information online that 10 maybe on the lower threshold, as we dont have enough data to know how he responds yet. I decided to hold off on the am shot because i was so unsure, i figured better to err on the side of caution at this point. Any advice appreciated
 
Also wanted to add that i have been feeding 30 mins prior to shot as he is a grazer and takes his time. Then i check glucose, then shoot.. should i be checking bs before food? Friskies pate
 
Hi Vanessa! Welcome to the FDMB board! While you're waiting for one of the more experienced helpers to weigh in, let me ask if you have a spread sheet for Bear? We tend to be data-driven in this group and like to keep the information from tests and dosing on a spreadsheet so that when we might need assistance, someone can look at our spreadsheet to help with making decisions. Here is the sticky with information for creating that spreadsheet: Thread 'New? How You Can Help Us Help You!' Once you get the spreadsheet set up, you'll post the link in your signature.

With Lantus, we test, feed, shoot. Many of us administer the insulin shot while our cats are eating. The onset (the time the insulin begins working) for Lantus is about 2 hours, so even if Bear is a grazer, as long as he's eating a good amount of his food prior to onset, he should be okay. You don't want to feed prior to the test or you will run the risk of the food manipulating (raising) the bg number, and you don't want that. In fact (and there are some exceptions to this), it's best to withhold food two hours before the AM and PM preshots. Here is a sticky with excellent information on testing/shooting: Hometesting Links and Tips

Someone will weigh in soon to answer your other questions.

Also, don't be surprised if one of the moderators moves this post over to the main forum. They like for new folks to post over there first so that posts don't get 'lost' over on this forum, which tends to be quite active.
 
Hello and welcome. Can you tell me a bit more about how your kitty was diagnosed with feline diabetes. Was a fructosamine test done?

Did you shoot this morning?

For people with newly diagnosed cats, as long as there are not ketones or DKA in the picture, we suggest skipping at first if under 200 mg/dL, which is 11.1 mmol/L. Lantus is a depot style insulin, meaning it builds over time, so it's not common to see such a drop on the first dose.

Can you tell me what type of syringes you are using? I want to make sure the measurement of the 0.5 units is OK. Did the vet show you how to draw that?
 
hello!
I believe it was fructosamine test.. it was done with this bloodwork. His levels were 30 mmol.
Urine test showed no ketones.
He was mostly free fed authority chicken & rice dry food prior to diagnosis and friskies pate in the afternoon.. now hes strictly on friskies pate, about 2.5 cans ( hes 13 lbs)

I tried to upload my spreadsheet.. some early data is missing, but i dont have much in general atm.

My vet originally wanted him on 3 units of caninsulin but after finding the group, I asked for lantus. She wanted him on 1-2 units twice per day, but i wasnt comfortable with that to start and getting a glucose read solo doesn’t seem to be happening (i need a holder).

Unsure of the type of syringes, as i am not home atm but i will attach a picture of how much im drawing up..

Thank you
 

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Yogi_Bear said:
hello!
I believe it was fructosamine test.. it was done with this bloodwork. His levels were 30 mmol.
Urine test showed no ketones.
He was mostly free fed authority chicken & rice dry food prior to diagnosis and friskies pate in the afternoon.. now hes strictly on friskies pate, about 2.5 cans ( hes 13 lbs)

I tried to upload my spreadsheet.. some early data is missing, but i dont have much in general atm.

My vet originally wanted him on 3 units of caninsulin but after finding the group, I asked for lantus. She wanted him on 1-2 units twice per day, but i wasnt comfortable with that to start and getting a glucose read solo doesn’t seem to be happening (i need a holder).

Unsure of the type of syringes, as i am not home atm but i will attach a picture of how much im drawing up..

Thank you
Click to expand...
Forgot to add, I did not shoot this morning.. and his bs levels were back up to 18.4 4 hours post feed
 
Those syringes are U100 3/10 cc with half unit markings, the ideal ones to use for cats :)

Yes, where the plunger is in the picture is 0.5 units. Here's an image of the markings that I made years ago and seems to be all over the Internet now:

49823063143_3437e9e997_o.jpg


If you are able to, try to kneel on the floor and tuck your cat between your knees to test the blood glucose level from the ear. Alternatively, put your cat on a table sitting and facing away from you and you can sort of wrap both arms around the cat to hold him close to your body and then test from the ear.
 
Good thing you followed your instincts and got a better insulin and lower dose that suggested. With an all wet food diet, that probably is helping lower his blood sugar numbers and amount of insulin he needs.

Regarding the spreadsheet, we indicate half a unit as 0.5 on the U(nits) column, not 0.05.

Which brand of BG tester are you using? And what country are you in? We might have some ideas on easier/cheaper testers. There might be something in this post to help you with testing:
Regarding dosing, I have a couple thoughts. First, sometimes kitties have a strong initial reaction to insulin and you get lower numbers on a dose than you normally would. However, given that you are still getting used to testing, you might want to consider seeing if you can draw a 0.25 unit dose. That does mean eyeballing the dose half way between the zero and 0.5 units line. Since he had not ketones, it's easier to start with a lower dose, and work your way up as you get more practice testing.
 
Wendy&Neko said:
Hello and welcome. Can you tell me a bit more about how your kitty was diagnosed with feline diabetes. Was a fructosamine test done?

Did you shoot this morning?

For people with newly diagnosed cats, as long as there are not ketones or DKA in the picture, we suggest skipping at first if under 200 mg/dL, which is 11.1 mmol/L. Lantus is a depot style insulin, meaning it builds over time, so it's not common to see such a drop on the first dose.

Can you tell me what type of syringes you are using? I want to make sure the measurement of the 0.5 units is OK. Did the vet show you how to draw that?
Click to expand...

Wendy&Neko said:
Good thing you followed your instincts and got a better insulin and lower dose that suggested. With an all wet food diet, that probably is helping lower his blood sugar numbers and amount of insulin he needs.

Regarding the spreadsheet, we indicate half a unit as 0.5 on the U(nits) column, not 0.05.

Which brand of BG tester are you using? And what country are you in? We might have some ideas on easier/cheaper testers. There might be something in this post to help you with testing:
Regarding dosing, I have a couple thoughts. First, sometimes kitties have a strong initial reaction to insulin and you get lower numbers on a dose than you normally would. However, given that you are still getting used to testing, you might want to consider seeing if you can draw a 0.25 unit dose. That does mean eyeballing the dose half way between the zero and 0.5 units line. Since he had not ketones, it's easier to start with a lower dose, and work your way up as you get more practice testing.
Click to expand...
Thank you!
I have updated the spreadsheet..

I was also thinking of drawing 0.25 for his next dose at 930 tonight.. i am going to try to get a sample but no helper so im not sure how it will go.. i will have someone around 1030, but by then the dose will already be given.

This is meter im using, in Canada
 

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squeem3 said:
Those syringes are U100 3/10 cc with half unit markings, the ideal ones to use for cats :)

Yes, where the plunger is in the picture is 0.5 units. Here's an image of the markings that I made years ago and seems to be all over the Internet now:

49823063143_3437e9e997_o.jpg


If you are able to, try to kneel on the floor and tuck your cat between your knees to test the blood glucose level from the ear. Alternatively, put your cat on a table sitting and facing away from you and you can sort of wrap both arms around the cat to hold him close to your body and then test from the ear.
Click to expand...
Thank you for the info! Very helpful

I tried the knee trick earlier today and he clawed and bit me lol still looking for the method that works for him.. burrito no, i will try facing him away from me and giving him a “bear” hug 😅
 
Waving at you from BC.

Contour Next is a good option. The Freestyle Lite needs a drop of blood half that size, so if getting enough blood is the issue then that would be a suggestion. Also use a lancet of size 26-27 to start for that bigger blood drop. But it sounds like it's more getting Bear comfy with testing. He is getting a treat each and every attempt?
 
Wendy&Neko said:
Waving at you from BC.

Contour Next is a good option. The Freestyle Lite needs a drop of blood half that size, so if getting enough blood is the issue then that would be a suggestion. Also use a lancet of size 26-27 to start for that bigger blood drop. But it sounds like it's more getting Bear comfy with testing. He is getting a treat each and every attempt?
Click to expand...
I will definitely look into that one! I do find sometimes im not getting enough blood so upping the lancet and switching the meter might help.

Yes hes never liked his nails trimmed and has always been a two person job. Shooting hes okay with so far.
Ive been giving him pieces of fresh cooked chicken breast as his reward as “chimkin” is his fave, (next to french fries, but thats a thing of the past lol)
 
Vanessa, something to keep in mind in moving forward is that some kitties don't eventually take to testing, and for those kitties, there is the option of a continuous glucose monitor, the same used by humans. If this is something you are interested in learning about, let us know; we have several members here who use them and information on the forum about them. That said, it does take some time to get them used to testing and it takes some time for US to get used to testing. Hang in there!!
 
Mary & Jude said:
Vanessa, something to keep in mind in moving forward is that some kitties don't eventually take to testing, and for those kitties, there is the option of a continuous glucose monitor, the same used by humans. If this is something you are interested in learning about, let us know; we have several members here who use them and information on the forum about them. That said, it does take some time to get them used to testing and it takes some time for US to get used to testing. Hang in there!!
Click to expand...
Thank you! I did just successfully test him myself 🥹 it was a struggle but i tried to be calm and persistent :)
I think the lancet/meter switch will help as i did have to poke several times to get enough blood. Sock thing he hates so i just kinda gotta go straight for it lol.

I was reading about the libre? On the forum.. because i thought that might be a good option for him.. i did read about the lows being unreliable and still having to meter test so im not sure if it would help?
We’re at a pre meal shot of 16.6 so wel be shooting 0.25 in 10 mins :)
 
Yogi_Bear said:
HUGE!! I felt confident testing and shooting tonight.. really appreciate everyone on this thread + beyond for all the help 🩷 🐾
Side note, i was testing post meal and have switched to testing pre meal.. is this going to skew my data so far?
Click to expand...
Food typically causes the bg to go up. So your numbers, when you've fed pre-test, were likely influenced by that food, and they just might have been higher than what you would have seen without that food. Once he eats (after his test and shot), his numbers typically will go up. I say typically because every cat is different as relates to how carbs affect their bg. Also, there have been times that I gave Jude his shot, fed him, and his numbers remained flat or went down. They like to keep us on our toes 😉
 
I never used the sock thing. You can use a pill bottle with warm water in it as an option. Make sure you do a very tiny smear of Vaseline on his fur where you are going to poke. Otherwise the blood will dive into his fur and make it hard to see. Speaking of toes, paw pad is an option for people who can't do ears for some reason.
 
Mary & Jude said:
Food typically causes the bg to go up. So your numbers, when you've fed pre-test, were likely influenced by that food, and they just might have been higher than what you would have seen without that food. Once he eats (after his test and shot), his numbers typically will go up. I say typically because every cat is different as relates to how carbs affect their bg. Also, there have been times that I gave Jude his shot, fed him, and his numbers remained flat or went down. They like to keep us on our toes 😉
Click to expand...
Thanks for the information! Im going to try and do a curve this week to see what Bear’s habits are :)
 
Wendy&Neko said:
I never used the sock thing. You can use a pill bottle with warm water in it as an option. Make sure you do a very tiny smear of Vaseline on his fur where you are going to poke. Otherwise the blood will dive into his fur and make it hard to see. Speaking of toes, paw pad is an option for people who can't do ears for some reason.
Click to expand...
I did try the paw pad before and wasn’t able to get much blood- going to try the new meter/lancets!
 
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