New member. Big post incoming 🙈

C

Chickydoodle

Member Since 2026
Hi all! I've just come across this message board recently which is wonderful that it exists! 😁 My cat Cuthburt is 10years old, last month/month before he ended up very poorly. He had been at the vets for a check up as he had lost lots of weight and she fell a growth. A couple days later he was incredibly lethargic and struggling to function. We brought him to the emergency vets and they admitted him with DKA. He was in for about 5 days and then discharged home. He was more himself and was discharged with insulin on 1 unit twice daily. He was already booked in to have an ultrasound and biopsy at his regular vets on the Monday but that required him to be nil by mouth so I called my usual vets and they said if that wasn't possible to keep him NBM then they could still do the ultrasound but not the biopsy.

They did the ultrasound and found a lump which the vet said could be lymphoma and was quite hard for him to find but they won't know what it is until a biopsy could be performed. I was referred to an animal hospital for the biopsy. Unfortunately my vet suggested he may not be a true diabetic and his sugars were probably being affected by this mass growth and to stop the insulin and feed as normal.

Once again, Cuthburt ended up very poorly and barely responsive which led to another hospital admission. He ended up in DKA again. When discharged he was increased to 1.5 units twice a day. He was discharged with a Libra the first time which stopped working after a couple of days. My regular vet has transferred him to a vet cgm instead but that only lasted about a week. When discharged from the hospital the second time he came home with another Libra but as this was higher up on his body compared to the other two, it irritated him and ended up pulling it off after a few days despite keeping it covered.

So, we decided to get a home tester kit. We have had to cancel the appointment at the hospital for the biopsy because his second hospital admission used up the last of his insurance covers. (Admission price had practically doubled as he was admitted over a weekend and cost nearly as much as his first 5day admission for his 2 day admission 😠)

Anyway, we have made charts for his food intake, urine output, blood sugar readings, insulin given -time and site and bowel movements.

We are currently taking from the ear but it is not always possible to get a good amount of blood from there and it's distressing him being held for constant pricking so we're only getting 1 maybe 2 good readings a day. He is currently on 2units prozinc twice daily. His blood sugars are still high, last one about an hour ago was 18 which is lower for him and that was nearly 5hours after insulin.

I know this is a long post, sorry, I appreciate the time for you reading this. My partner has mentioned doing a glucose monitoring pattern to see if we can find the curve without several blood sugar readings but I'm just wondering if anyone has any advice about any of this. At all. I know it's a lot.

He's currently on Untamed wet food which he's eating very well. I'm monitoring mmol and based in UK

Thanks in advance for anything you can help with

X
 
Welcome to FDMB
So sorry to hear about all you and Cuthburt is going thru, It was a good idea for you to take the initiative to switch from the Libre to manual testing, the CGM is a good source but it has its flaws, like you experienced it falls off, malfunctions, ,it also reads low numbers lower than reality, if Cutburt's skin was irritated, that means that the vet glued the sensor on the skin, and this is a no no, not only because of the irritation but the sensor malfunctions.
ProZinc is a good insulin it is a 12-hour insulin gentle on the cat. The same dose needs to be given every 12-hours for at least 3 cycles (3days) all cats are different but ProZinc takes about long to begin to react in the system, and see results. You do not increase or decrease according to the glucose levels.
It is important to test prior to shot to avoid hypoglycemia. and testing 2-3 times during the day to be able to get a pattern on how the insulin is working during the day. Many member Like Fancy Feast Pates between 0-10% some feed up to 5%, Also, many members use the ReliOn human meter and strips (Walmart) or any other human meter, you do not need a pet meter, it is also recommend to start slow on the dose 1.0units, and go from there. Cats are very sensitive to stress, an the biggest stressor is a vet visit, so you will have higher glucose levels during those visits, that perhaps cause an unnecessary dose increase
I understand that Catburt has some illness issues, and that his diet may be a bit different, but the norm is that A diabetic cats needs a diet of wet can or raw foods between 0-10% carbs, a feeding schedule feeding 3-4 small meals during the day plus the two main meals prior to shot, this keeps the insulin in check during the day ,with ProZinc you can stall the shot up to two hours, a non-diabetic cats' glucose level is between 50-120. the Protocol is TEST-FEED-SHOOT, do not give insulin if he has not has fed some food
I will tag a couple of members that can assist you with the illnesses concerns and dosing advice for Catburt. We are very numbers oriented, so we can all be on the same page and be able to assist you better, we would like you to create a spreadsheet link below, please keep posting, we are here for you, in our Main Forum we have sticky notes that contain much valuable information ;)

https://felinediabetes.com/FDMB/forums/spreadsheets-tech-support-testing-area.6/
@Suzanne & Darcy
 
Hello and welcome to our feline diabetes message board! You really have been through a lot with your cat. I am so sorry. Since you have already had two instances of DKA, it is very important for you to test ketones at home. This can be done with either a blood ketone meter where you get a drop of blood and test it just like you would test glucose — or you can use the urine test strips that can be purchased from the chemist. It will be very important to make sure that you get his ketones down as quickly as possible if they are elevated.
 
The way to keep the ketones down is to make sure that your cat gets plenty of food and hydration and an adequate dose of insulin. I cannot comment on the dose of insulin at this time since I cannot see your blood glucose numbers. I would definitely like to help you with that though. The testing of the ear does get easier as you go along, so don’t give up yet. At first, it can be difficult to get some blood out of their ear… warming the ears with something can really help. Many people recommend using a small sock filled with a little rice and warming that in the microwave and holding that next to the ear to warm it. Personally, I used a very small bottle and put warm water in it and held that against my cats ear to warm it. Some people will use pill bottles for that purpose. After a while, though I didn’t need to bother warming the ears anymore as they bled freely.
 
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Here is the sock Suzanne spoke of, you place it in the inner ear hold the tip of the ear with your thumb for better control, as the capillaries swell(pic above) it will be much easier to draw blood, you can also bleed the vein by lightly pressing above the prick, My Corky has dark hair, so I use a small flashlight I place in my mouth while pricking and picking up the droplet to the strip, it’s all trial and error, I have been testing for almost 4 years, an obsessive tester and yet, I still prick 3 times in one test, so is always good to have lots of strips
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I definitely can get blood on the first prick. I couldn’t in the beginning though. One thing to note is to hold the lancet in your hand and to prick at a 45 degree angle and not just straight. Many cats do not like those noisy lancing devices that come with some glucometers. Another tip is — if you find the blood spreading into the fur and not beading up, put a small bit of vaseline petroleum jelly on the surface of the ear. This helps it to bead up and not disperse.
 
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