Making the Diet Change: how long till insulin?

[RuthC]

George Pusskins was diagnosed in November and his BG at the vet's was 342. After initially advising the Hills high fiber dry food, the vet agreed to let me change him over to your recommended diet and check again in 4 weeks. I found that Merrick BG food gave him pretty consistent diarrhea (about put my husband over the edge) but George does fine with 4 small meals a day of Fancy Feast Classics. I bought a Relion meter and have been doing blood tests. Today he was at 203 - a nice improvement! I'm wondering how much longer his numbers will continue to come down with the diet change. I know the vet will want me to start insulin when I go back next week. After 4 weeks have I seen about as much improvement as I can get with diet changes alone?

 

[Hillary & Maui (GA)]

Normal BG level is 60-120 - with the cat staying below 100.

It's great that the food has helped lower the BG, but food alone in this case is not enough. a cat that is above this and especially in the 200's needs insulin. Maybe only a small amount and for a short period of time, but honestly, insulin is needed and I wouldn't wait any longer to get started on it. If this were my cat, I'd be giving insulin now.

 

[BJM]

Ditto on the insulin ... a LOW dose (0.5 units) to start of a long-acting insulin such as Lantus or Levemir (buy the pen pack, not the vial), ProZinc of BCCP PZI. NOT Humulin, NOT Novolin as they do not last long enough in the cat.

My signature link on Secondary Monitoring Tools explains how to test for ketones. Ketones form when the body breaks down fat for energy; ketones are a byproduct. Too many are toxic and cause ketoacidosis, a very expensive to treat condition. Since he is not on insulin yet, please test for ketones asap, as they are a medical emergency. (If he ever smells like nail polish remover, that is a very high level of ketones)