My Vina has Diabetes

[Kat2cat]

Hello-New to the group as of yesterday. My Vina girl was sluggish, losing weight, drinking (falling asleep in her water dish). BS-488. Got my education yesterday-2 u Humulin AM and PM. My question, is that she was used to getting a small meal around noon and is now wanting to eat. Can I give her something small to carry her over to 4:00 pm when I can give her another insulin dose? Thanks for this site. I loved reading all of the comments.
Kat2cat

 

[Larry and Kitties]

Welcome.
It is OK to feed a mid meal. Just be consistent.

By Humalin do you mean Humalin N since there are other kinds of Humulin since Humalin is Eli Lilly's trade name for a family of insulins. N insulinis not the bst for cats since it only lasts 8-10 hours
Good insulin are the human Lantus and Levemir and the pet insulins ProZinc and BCP PZI. For those two human insulin it is best to get the 5 pack of 3 ml disposable pens via a 10 ml vial. Although per ml the vial is less expensive most cats will not use up a 10 ml vial before the insulin goes bad/becomes ineffective. The human insulin N/NPH is sometimes prescribed but only lasts 8-10 hours. Same for the pet insulin Vetsulin/Caninisulin.
Most of us here test or cats blood glucose at home using a human meter. We test before each shot and periodically between shots. We record our reading and other info in a spreadsheet. See:http://www.felinediabetes.com/FDMB/...te-a-ss-and-link-it-in-your-signature.130337/
What are you feeding? A low-carb canned is best. Not reason for a prescription food. Here is a list of commercial low-carb cannedhttp://www.felinediabetes.com/FDMB/threads/shortcut-shopping-list-all-8-or-less-updated.117688/

Here is a link to home testing blood sugarshttp://www.felinediabetes.com/FDMB/threads/hometesting-links-and-tips.287/

2 units sis high stating does, especially for N.

 

[BJM]

Welcome to FDMB.
As Larry notes, Humulin NPH tends not to last a full 12 hours. Once you're home testing, you'll likely see this. If so, for good control, it may be necessary to shoot (give insulin) about every 8 hours.
For some other assessments you may make to evaluate your cat see my signature link Secondary Monitoring Tools, especially water intake/thirst, dehydration, urine volume and frequency, and urine ketones and glucose.

 

[Cat Ma]

My cat was on Novolin (same as Humulin; just different manufacturers) and was on 2 units. At best, she was getting 6-8 hours of benefit on it, not 12 hours. She soon went hypo. Novolin is fast and short acting and harsh on a cat.

Please see Larry's link for home testing blood sugars. This is a must while a cat is on insulin. Many of us use a human glucometer for home testing. A popular, inexpensive choice is Walmart's Relion Micro or Confirm glucometer and strips. Starting out, we recommend using a 26 or 28 lancet gauge (I use a 26). See the links Lary & Kitties and BJM gave you above. They are very handy.

Also keep on hand some honey, karo syrup or high carb gravy food in case Vina goes hypo.

Welcome!