My cat that is not diabetic just got vetsulin

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Valerie123

Member Since 2017
Hi I am new to this group and had a mistake this morning. My cat that is not diabetic received a dose of 5 units of vetsulin. His BG is 160 and I have given him Kuro syrup, let him eat can friskys wet food and nutrition cal on his leg for him to lick off. My question is how long does the vetsulin last?
 
That's a lot of insulin for a diabetic cat, let alone a non-diabetic. I would strongly suggest that you ring the vet to explain, they may say take your cat in where they can monitor him. How long ago did you give the 5u and have you got any other numbers since then? We need to see if he's going up or down. The Vetsulin can last several hours so you need to know what's going on for a good while yet.
 
Which country and time zone are you in? What time is it now? He is dropping and we need to know where in the cycle of the insulin's action you are.

Can someone @Yong maybe link this thread to the Main Health forum please?
 
So the two numbers you've given us are an hour apart, yes? That's a big drop and he will probably drop now. I really do suggest you ring the vet.
 
Diana&Tom said:
So the two numbers you've given us are an hour apart, yes? That's a big drop and he will probably drop now. I really do suggest you ring the vet.
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Yes 1 hr apart bad thing is ural area no vet for three hours away. There are veterinarians local but they charge way to much for emergency visits.
 
@valerie, the karo will act for a while and then wear off. And it's working against the insulin all the time. So you need to keep testing, and keep giving high carb food and/or karo as necessary.

What kind of high carb food do you have?
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Your best approach would be to get your kitty to an ER vet ASAP. In the meantime I would give syrup (Karo. corn syrup, pancake syrup etc) If you can't get them to eat it with food then rub it on the gums. That amount of insulin for a non diabetic is a critical situation.
 
Valerie, how many HOURS ago did you give insulin?

Do you have any source of high carb food in the house?

5 units Vetsulin is a heck of a lot of insulin for a non-diabetic cat. It is going to take work to keep his blood glucose up, and it may be that the blood glucose drops faster than you are able to keep up with. I strongly suggest you seek vet help with this....
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Also Vetsulin is a faster acting insulin and can drop numbers rapidly, especially in the first 4 hours. An emergency visit is really the best advice in order to avoid a potential deadly situation.
 
Yes... Valerie, please heed what we're saying. This is an emergency situation and your cat needs medical assistance.
 
What flavour Friskies wet? Anything with gravy or is it pate? Dry food will take about an hour to kick in, hopefully he'll be at ER vet by then.
Eliz, pretty sure we're just at +1 :(. She gave shot at 7am her time, and it's now 8am her time.

Can you re-test, Valerie?
 
I'll add my voice to the clamour again: this is a true EMERGENCY. Your kitty's life might well depend on prompt vet attention. There's no gentler way I can say this. :(
 
How is he doing ?
He is probably going to need the vet to raise his numbers intravenously just food is probably not going to be enough, I also think this needs a VET
 
Elizabeth and Bertie said:
Valerie, how many HOURS ago did you give insulin?

Do you have any source of high carb food in the house?

5 units Vetsulin is a heck of a lot of insulin for a non-diabetic cat. It is going to take work to keep his blood glucose up, and it may be that the blood glucose drops faster than you are able to keep up with. I strongly suggest you seek vet help with this....
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He is 108 so that's better then 105 20 min ago
 
That may just be the karo, it lasts about 20 minutes. Those numbers are relatively the same, please do not think he's leveling out. Are you taking him to one of the ER's?
 
Yong said:
That may just be the karo, it lasts about 20 minutes. Those numbers are relatively the same, please do not think he's leveling out. Are you taking him to one of the ER's?
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Yes these numbers are the same. He has a long way to go yet before you can consider him safe. PLEASE take him to a vet as soon as you possibly can.
 
Vetsulin, as you probably know, will peak around 4 to 6 hours after a shot and generally lasts 8 to 10 hours in most cats. The drop from initial BG reading to nadir can be large. If I understand your posts, your kitty isn't yet 2 hours past injection time.
 
Valerie123 said:
He is 108 so that's better then 105 20 min ago
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With having given karo that number should be MUCH higher. Reaction times for Vetsulin can be most pronounced between 2-4 hours after the shot. The worst is still to come. PLEASE PLEASE take him to the ER right away. especially if it is a long drive. Quite frankly his life could depend on getting immediate treatment.
 
Yong said:
That may just be the karo, it lasts about 20 minutes. Those numbers are relatively the same, please do not think he's leveling out. Are you taking him to one of the ER's?
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I was told what I am already doing is working I have to monitor him all day on the hour and continue kuro and testing. The lowest he will be with the vetsulin I was told will be in four hours from time of injection.
 
Kris & Teasel said:
Vetsulin, as you probably know, will peak around 4 to 6 hours after a shot and generally lasts 8 to 10 hours in most cats. The drop from initial BG reading to nadir can be large. If I understand your posts, your kitty isn't yet 2 hours past injection time.
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Yes so I will be testing all day long before he is out of the woods
 
Valerie123 said:
I was told what I am already doing is working I have to monitor him all day on the hour and continue kuro and testing. The lowest he will be with the vetsulin I was told will be in four hours from time of injection.
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Is that what the ER clinic said:eek:? I know it might be tough on his ears but I would not wait every hour to test him and there is no guarantee his lowest point will be at +4 from injection.
 
Valerie, can you tell us why you can't get to a vet? Is it distance or money, or both? Do you have friends or family around who can help? This is really very serious and it is far better to be safe than sorry.
 
Diana&Tom said:
Valerie, can you tell us why you can't get to a vet? Is it distance or money, or both? Do you have friends or family around who can help? This is really very serious and it is far better to be safe than sorry.
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It's the money. I live in a very ural area and the vets charge way to much here. My mother in law took a dog that had a puncture on it side and they charged her over $500 for a e collar and an ex ray and meds that were double the cost. When I found out my other cat was Diabetic I was charged over $1000 at the end of getting him regulated on the vetsulin only to find out that I can do a blood curve on my own with a alpha trak 2 for pets.
 
Valerie123 said:
It's the money. I live in a very ural area and the vets charge way to much here. My mother in law took a dog that had a puncture on it side and they charged her over $500 for a e collar and an ex ray and meds that were double the cost. When I found out my other cat was Diabetic I was charged over $1000 at the end of getting him regulated on the vetsulin only to find out that I can do a blood curve on my own with a alpha trak 2 for pets.
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If you have any temptations treats they work fast for bringing up bg
 
Yong said:
Is that what the ER clinic said:eek:? I know it might be tough on his ears but I would not wait every hour to test him and there is no guarantee his lowest point will be at +4 from injection.
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JanetNJ said:
If you have any temptations treats they work fast for bringing up bg
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I don't think I have those but I'll check I do have some treats I'll check the carbs and sugar in them.
 
Valerie123 said:
The lowest he will be with the vetsulin I was told will be in four hours from time of injection.
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That's not quite right.
What the vet meant was that the insulin may have it's peak activity (greatest effect) at around 4 hours after the shot. But we've had cats here who had insulin peak up to 6 or 7 hours after the shot with Vetsulin. Cats vary in their response to insulin. Also, when the dose is too high the peak may happen later than is 'typical' for the cat.

And be aware that cat's blood glucose can drop too low way before the peak of the cycle if the dose is too high.

You will need to keep testing often until you are sure that the blood glucose is no longer dropping and is definitely rising on it's own accord (and not due to food intervention). At this point I'd suggest you test every 15 to 20 minutes so you can get a picture of what the cat's blood glucose is doing, and try to 'nip any problems in the bud'.

Are you using a human glucose meter or an Alphatrak?
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Elizabeth and Bertie said:
That's not quite right.
What the vet meant was that the insulin may have it's peak activity (greatest effect) at around 4 hours after the shot. But we've had cats here who had insulin peak up to 6 or 7 hours after the shot with Vetsulin. Cats vary in their response to insulin. Also, when the dose is too high the peak may happen later than is 'typical' for the cat.

And be aware that cat's blood glucose can drop too low way before the peak of the cycle if the dose is too high.

You will need to keep testing often until you are sure that the blood glucose is no longer dropping and is definitely rising on it's own accord (and not due to food intervention). At this point I'd suggest you test every 15 to 20 minutes so you can get a picture of what the cat's blood glucose is doing, and try to 'nip any problems in the bud'.

Are you using a human glucose meter or an Alphatrak?
.
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Alfa trak and he just hit a low he is 66 but he did it more wet food and I did give more karo syrup
 
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