*New Member 8/2* Newly Diagnosed Hostile Cat

LokiMomNc

Member Since 2026
Hello! I am Loki's mom. Loke is a temperamental almost 10-year-old cat who has been recently diagnosed with diabetes (7/29). The last 5 days have been so hard. She is described as fractious at the vet, so I do use Bonqat when I take her. It is a lifesaver. While at the vet Wed, she had a Libre 3 sensor installed and we were sent home with an rx for Lantus Solostar pen, 1unit every 12 hours. The vet advised the first dose to be Thur night after receiving her numbers earlier from the Libre app (in the 300s). Loki took her doses like a champ Thurs pm, Fri am and Fri pm. Saturday morning, her glucose was reading 175 and I withheld that dose because her Fri night dose was given at 7:30 and her Sat morning dose would have to be given at 5am before I left for work.

At some point Saturday, she pulled off the sensor leaving a raw looking, pinkish patch on her skin. I am keeping an eye on it. My issue is I work about 14+hours on the days I have to work, so for the insulin, I would have to give at 5am and when I get home at 730/8pm. Without her wearing the sensor, I am scared to do this because I have no numbers to work with. I cannot do bg checks on this cat, she tolerates the insulin, because small needle and she is distracted by food, but touching her ears or paws is not tolerated at all. Also with the time between doses being so wildly varied, I am scared to give insulin this way. I will be talking to her vet tomorrow and need some ideas.

The good:
Loki loves her new diet. 2 cans of Fancy Feast classic pate a.m. and p.m. +1/3rd cup Royal Canin Gluco-support kibble left out during the day
Loki doesn't mind insulin injections
I can collect urine fairly easy from the cat as we use the Breeze System.

The bad:
Loki will not keep a glucose sensor on
Loki will not submit to blood glucose test
My schedule is trash with a large gap during daytime hours and giving insulin twice a day like this is scary without numbers

I appreciate all help, tips, really anything at this point.
 
We've had people with spicy cats in the past. Someone put together this video:
How to Test a Fractious Cat

Any chance you can get her off the high carb Royal Canin kibble? It's not a good option for a diabetic cat - even though it's marketed as such.

Those members who are away from home most of the day invest in an automated feeder. The Petsafe and Catmate 4 or 5 compartment feeder are popular. That way you can program it to dispense food when her numbers are lowest, to help keep her safe while you are away.
 
I can definitely switch out the kibble for another can of fancy feast pate.

I watched the video, I wish Loki was this agreeable, but she would fight me. She is not going to let me get close to her ears to do this.
 
At some point Saturday, she pulled off the sensor leaving a raw looking, pinkish patch on her skin. I am keeping an eye on it. My issue is I work about 14+hours on the days I have to work, so for the insulin, I would have to give at 5am and when I get home at 730/8pm. Without her wearing the sensor, I am scared to do this because I have no numbers to work with. I cannot do bg checks on this cat, she tolerates the insulin, because small needle and she is distracted by food, but touching her ears or paws is not tolerated at all. Also with the time between doses being so wildly varied, I am scared to give insulin this way. I will be talking to her vet tomorrow and need some ideas.
Hello and welcome. I’m sorry it’s been a very hard week. We understand how you feel 💝

If the vet used glue to apply the Libre, that is the most likely reason that her skin is very raw.

If you have another Libre put on, please do not allow anyone to use glue. There is no reason for it and it only harms their skin and it can also shut down the Libre because it gets into the inner workings of the sensor and then it’s useless.
The best thing I can recommend is trying to put some kind of a wrap or a top on your kitty to protect the sensor. That way they can’t mess with it. If you read the guide previously posted here there are lots of good ideas in there on how to cover a Libre sensor.
I always recommend joining the Facebook group Freestyle Libre for dogs and cats. There is a great amount of information there which is much more extensive and people that can answer your questions.

It’s very easy to install a Libre yourself with some practice, I’ve been doing it for over three years.
And I have a very spicy cat as well. I would definitely call mine fractious too. I have to sedate her with gabapentin to take her to the vet, so it sounds like our kitties are pretty similar in temperament.

Even when using a Libre, we highly encourage you to be able to try to test their glucose, as many times the Libre will read low or under 50 and an ear poke shows they can be in higher numbers than that.
Some cats have shown to be within 10 to 20 points of the Libre reading and other
cats can show a 50 or more point difference between the Libre and a handheld meter.

If you have any other questions, please let me know 💕
 
Here are some examples of wet can feeders these are from CHEWY.COM. WALMART also has feeders
 

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