New member could use advice still figuring things out

Jance

Jance

Member Since 2026
Hello all. I have four cats total but only one was recently diagnosed with diabetes. So starting at the beginning my 8-year-old tabby Merlin started showing signs back in June, increased urination and drinking more water. He wasn't officially diagnosed until the end of August as thst was when I noticed he had started losing weight. He started out at a good 17+ lbs, he's down to 14 lbs now.

The vet put him on ProZinc starting at two units, after 2 weeks they did a fructosamine test and his numbers were still high (600?) so they increased it to three units and this last fructosamine test his numbers were normal but on the low side (200?). I'm not sure how the fructosamine test gauges the numbers. The vet never told me anything about home testing just to keep doing the fructosamine tests every 2 weeks.

I'm mostly concerned about getting a little more weight put back on him and how to best adjust his diet as all his life he's had free feed of dry food with liberal amounts of treats and a wet dinner each night. I have been trying to transition them all to two feedings a day of wet food but they're not used to eating a lot of food at once and I'm not sure if he's getting enough food to begin regaining any weight. The vet said to keep it to two meals and no snacks in between to keep his blood sugar from bouncing up and down.

I'm also not sure what to give them as they're all very picky, most of them won't eat hardly anything other than tuna and they're not big fans of the classic Fancy Feast pate. They like the Savory centers and the tuna Florentine but I know those both have a higher carb content. I've tried some other brands and flavors but these seem to be their favorites. I do still have some dry food in a timed feeder dropping a small portion at meal times for them if they don't eat the wet food I've offered.

 Merlin's usually good about eating at least something so I'm never sure if it's he's not hungry or has no appetite or if he just doesn't like what I've offered him. He's always ready to eat freeze dried treats which I've been giving him as an injection treat. Freeze dried treat sprinkles on the wet food helps a lot to get him to eat things he's turned his nose up at.
 
I usually feed around 11:00 a.m. in the morning and at 9:00 p.m. in the evening as 11:00 a.m. is when I get up and 9:00 p.m. is when they've always been fed their wet dinner though I could push that to 11:00 p.m. for the full 12 hour stretch though the vet said that wasn't really a problem.
 
So any advice or suggestions on how to get him to eat more at meal times, what to do about home testing and if there's anything I should be concerned about with his weight loss. The vet didn't seem too concerned about it and said 14 lb is better for him anyway but he's always been built like a brick house since he was a kitten but not obese, so this seems like a fairly drastic change to me.
 
Hi - welcome to FDMB! I'm so sorry to hear that your sweet boy Merlin was diagnosed with diabetes, but the good news is that diabetic kitties can live very long healthy lives.

A few thoughts / questions
  • Has Merlin been tested for ketones? Or have a history of DKA? This is important because it'll affect the advice that you get here on this forum about his dosing and nutrition.
  • Transitioning kibble addicts can be really difficult. The best option obviously is an all wet food diet, but in the interim, or if Merlin truly won't eat - have you considered nutritionally complete freeze dried food like Stella & Chewy's or Vital Essentials? If you think Merlin will eat wet food, have you tried different textures? There are low carb options for shredded and even gravy textures. Here are a few food charts that might be helpful for you - anything below 10% carbs is considered low carb. Some cats do better on higher carb low carb food anyway, so don't be afraid to try things that are 5-7% carb. If Merlin ends up loving gravy (like my Moonie) - the Weruva OMG Gravy lines are a lifesaver, and Weruva publishes % carbs on their website.
  • If you think Merlin's lack of appetite is not due to the food change - you may want to consider anti-nausea meds (ondansetron can be really helpful) or an appetite stimulant like mirtazapine. It's really important for him to eat. Right now you're not testing + he's not eating - this increases his risk of hypoglycemia.
  • Diabetic cats like diabetic humans do much better on small multiple meals a day. Your vet is uninformed on this unfortunately. If you're out during the day (or at night), you can use wet food feeders to dispense small snacks.
  • Home testing is really, really important. You would never give insulin to a diabetic child without testing their blood glucose, and it's no different here to ensure Merlin's safety. This link may be helpful to you. Human meters like Relion or Contour Next are very cheap, and while it can feel really intimidating at first to do home testing, the vast majority of cats tolerate it very well once they learn testing comes with treats :). And it's now just a part of our daily routine with Moonie
I hope this helps! And if you plan on sticking around (and hopefully you will) - you may want to create a spreadsheet so that you can get dosing advice etc. from more experienced members here. There's a wealth of support and knowledge on this forum and it's been invaluable for us.
Info - New? How You Can Help Us Help You
 
Welcome to FDMB
It is overwhelming that our fur baby is diagnosed with Feline Diabetes, especially having 4 at home, but the good news is that FD is manageable, with the right insulin, dose, diet and a good feeding schedule and home testing
1-ProZinc is a great insulin for cats it is a 12 hour insulin gentle on the cat, We recommend to begin with a low dose of 1unit and work from there, it takes approximately 2-3 cycles (days) to begin to see changes in the glucose levels. and 3 units of insulin is a very high dose to start with the protocol for ProZinc is TEST-FEED-SHOOT make sure you are using syringes with1/2 unit markings
2-A non-diabetic cats' glucose level is between 50-120
3-A diabetic cat needs to have a diet of wet can or raw food between 0-10% carbs, many members use Fancy Fest
Pate between 0-10% some feed up t 5% carbs. A feeding schedule is highly recommended, feeding 3-4 small meals or snacks during the day plus the two main meals before shots is highly recommended to keep the insulin in check (NO GRAZING) you want to make sure you know your cats' true glucose level before each shot, food raises BG. Dry foods contain between 20-30% carbs, cats cannot digest carbs.
4- Transitioning from High Carbs (dry food) to low carbs (wet) needs to be a slow process, since a quick transition can upset your cat's stomach and it tends to dive down the glucose level, so is important to test at least every 3 hours, a couple of days during this transition
5- Home testing is very important, you do not want to give insulin unless you know your cats' glucose level, especially with such high dose, you want to avoid a hypoglycemic episode. We recommend to test prior each shot and at lest 2-3 times during the day. Many members use the ReliOn Premier meter and Strips (Walmart) or any other human meter, you do not need a pet meter, the strips are $1.00+ each, and you need lots of strips, just as accurate, and cheaper.
6- Multiple cats - It would be wise for you to transition, schedule and feed the same way your other three cats.
it will ave you stress and you can save your other babies from FD. Kibbles (dry) food is one of the sources for Feline diabetes, and do not get sold on "prescribed" foods from your vet, please, there's nothing good in that food for your cat, they contain anywhere between 20-37% carbs
7- KETONES - was your cat tested for ketones? this causes high values in the glucose levels, ketones are tested with your cats' urine, you can purchase a simple Ketone kit at Walmart.
We are here to help you in all your concerns including dosing advice, in the meantime, I will tag a member that can help you with that high dose!, We are very numbers oriented, so we can all be on the same page you can create your signature (link on prior post) and spreadsheet,(link below) this way we can all keep track of your cat's levels and patterns with the insulin dose given, In our Main Forum are many sticky notes with much valuable information ;) :cat: 🫶

https://felinediabetes.com/FDMB/forums/spreadsheets-tech-support-testing-area.6/
@Suzanne & Darcy
 
Hello and welcome! Once you get set up with a spreadsheet and get some data recorded from your home testing, I can help you with your dosing and lots of other stuff. I see Connie provided you with the “help us help you”link, which has instructions for setting up a spreadsheet. She also provided tips for testing. If you are in the U.S., I would recommend a ReliOn glucometer from Walmart.

Let me explain a little bit about the fructosamine test. That test gives you an average of your cats blood glucose over a period of a couple of weeks. It’s a good test for diagnosing diabetes because if it’s elevated, it shows that your cat does have diabetes, however, after diagnosis, fructosamine tests are not particularly useful. You already know your cat is diabetic. A fructosamine test can tell you that the average glucose is maybe down a little bit, but that’s not what you really need to know and it should not be used to make adjustments to insulin doses. As you know, averages are based upon all of the highs and the lows put together and added together and then divided by the number of readings. If you buy a home glucometer like the ReliOn from Walmart, it can give you a 7 day average or a 30 day average from your own home testing readings, but we don’t really need that information either. The information that we need in order to measure progress and make dosing adjustments is: (1) the pre-shot numbers so that you know what the blood glucose is prior to giving each shot, and (2) then we need the nadir numbers. The nadir is the lowest point in the cycle. A cycle is just the 12 hour period between the two insulin shots. So there is a morning cycle and an evening cycle each day. We need to know that nadir BG number — that tells us how low the insulin dose is taking the cat. Then we make dose adjustments based on that information. That is the only way to keep the cat safe. An average such as the fructosamine doesn’t tell us how low the cat may have gone during any of the cycles.
 
Please head over to the ProZinc forum (where I live 😉) and read the sticky notes pinned to the top of the posts. You can read all about ProZinc dosing methods there. Unless you’re dealing with a post-DKA situation or a cat producing high ketones, I would recommend starting with the SLGS method for about a month and then reevaluating to see if MPM would be more beneficial for the cat.
 
For feeding, please find a wet food with less than ten percent carbs. Feed at breakfast and then a small snack at +2 two hours after the shot and then +4 four hours after the shot. Those would be an excellent starting schedule for your kitty! We can customize it for your needs as you go along. The snack would be about a tablespoon or so of wet food. If you need to do more or wish to split up his daily calories between these meals (breakfast and the two snacks) you can do that too.
 
Thanks all for the links and other info.

As far as I know no the vet never tested him for Ketones or DKA nor did they ever mention it. Of the symptoms listed he's only ever shown signs of more urination and maybe drinking a little more than usual, though I think that's been going down but I can't be entirely sure since all 4 cats share the same boxes but one of the things I originally noticed is that I went from having to change their crystal litter every 2 weeks to every week because it was soaked through.

I'll see about getting the glucose monitor for testing I'm not sure how that'll go he really doesn't like his ears messed with.

So doing some small meals throughout the day would be alright then? What's considered a small meal exactly? He's always been a pretty big cat and I can't see how I can get him to eat a minimum of 3 cans of wet food or more in just two meals as he really only seems to be able to eat at most half a can in one sitting. His weight loss is my biggest concern and I just don't see how only 2 meals a day is enough for him to start regaining that weight. I also don't know if there's more going on as I know that the high blood sugar can cause the body to feed on itself which is what I think was/is happening so I don't know if that's stopped with his sugars coming down in the last fructosamine test or if there is a Ketone issue. When I asked at the last vet visit last week she didn't seem worried about the weight loss at all. I've been thinking of looking for another vet even though I've used this clinic their whole lives, but things there just seem to be going down hill and they're honestly not very informative or helpful of late.

Anyway, he does like the wet food most of the time, as I said he does seem to like the FF Savory Centers and Tuna Florentine but not as big on like the Classic Pate which I'll usually have to mix in a Churu treat to get them to eat. I am trying to get everybody on the same schedule and same food, the other three don't have any dietary restrictions so they can eat whatever he's eating just fine. Mostly they all like a smooth texture, something they can lap up rather than have to really chew like chunks or flakes though the Tuna Florentine's an exception and I've had some success with feeding them the Wellness brand in minced. I was also looking at offering them Dr. Eisley's pure protein dry food as only a supplement/snack for when I'm not home or asleep. I mostly just want to stop wasting money on wet food they don't eat or giving them large portions at once they can't finish. Four cats rarely completely finish even 2 cans at meal times. I do usually leave it out for about an hour and they'll keep working on it but still tend to have some leftovers.
 
He will begin to gain his weight back once his glucose levels stabilize, I feed a total of 4 cans a day 1/2 can each cat plus a 1% ham slice unsalted snack at +2 that’s when the insulin kicks in, in most cats ProZinc hits the cat’s system in about 2 hours so a small low carb snack or 2 tsp of wet food is enough t to keep them he insulin in check. Try to transition from dry food, too high in carbs, is important for Marlin to begin to heal his pancreas and stay off such high levels
 
Okay thanks. I'll keep working on finding him a better wet food he likes.

Tested him for the first time, had a RightTest meter I picked up from Publix last year assuming that'll work, though I don't know if it matters the strips say they're expired but he was in the high 300s last night and in the low 400s this morning. I'll probably pick up some new strips today.
 
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Jance said:
So doing some small meals throughout the day would be alright then? What's considered a small meal exactly?
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See what I wrote above in my reply about this. Here it is copied from above:
For feeding, please find a wet food with less than ten percent carbs. Feed at breakfast and then a small snack at +2 two hours after the shot and then +4 four hours after the shot. Those would be an excellent starting schedule for your kitty! We can customize it for your needs as you go along. The snack would be about a tablespoon or so of wet food. If you need to do more or wish to split up his daily calories between these meals (breakfast and the two snacks) you can do that too.
 
Jance said:
Okay thanks. I'll keep working on fiding him a better wet food he likes.

Tested him for the first time, had a RightTest meter I picked up from Publix last year assuming that'll work, though I don't know if it matters the strips say they're expired but he was in the high 300s last night and in the low 400s this morning. I'll probably pick up some new strips today.
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The ReliOn meter strips are $17.88 for 100 strips at Walmart
 
Dr. Elsey’s clean protein dry food low carb and is okay in small amounts as long as you are following SLGS protocol. Of course, you already know that feeding LC wet food is best. Sometimes it takes time to find the foods that they will accept.
 
In regards to failing the home test do you keep trying to get that blood or try again later? Tried to get a test tonight at dinner but couldn't get enough blood.

And is it better to go ahead and feed them as it's meal time and hold off on the shot until later or go ahead and give him the standard injection.

Can you test right after eating?

Also I'm not sure if I'm doing injections right, I'd been doing around the scruff and that doesn't seem to bother him but I've read here that the scruff gives poor absorption so I've been trying around the shoulders but he always flinches from those and jerks away from me.
 
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Lifting the scrub and inserting the needle downwards not side ways should do, around the shoulder, you might be pinching a nerve or bone that could be a reason for the flinching
You can bleed the ear by pressing lightly, get a small sock fill the end with rice about a gulf size, tie it cut the left over, you can use it to cup the inner ear to have a better hold for pinching, once he capillaries swell it will be much easier
 

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Jance said:
In regards to failing the home test do you keep trying to get that blood or try again later? Tried to get a test tonight at dinner but couldn't get enough blood.

And is it better to go ahead and feed them as it's meal time and hold off on the shot until later or go ahead and give him the standard injection.

Can you test right after eating?

Also I'm not sure if I'm doing injections right, I'd been doing around the scruff and that doesn't seem to bother him but I've read here that the scruff gives poor absorption so I've been trying around the shoulders but he always flinches from those and jerks away from me.
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When I can’t get a blood drop for whatever reason, I take a 5-10 minute break and try again without feeding (only a testing treat to say thank you). It gives you and the cat a chance to cool down.

If you feed before testing again, your numbers will be food influenced (much higher from food) and you can be shooting into a number that you think is safe but only looks like that from the food.

If you really can’t get a reading you should come back here to ask what you should shoot but it won’t be the full dose.

Scruff injections are totally ok! I try to vary where I inject though so scar tissue doesn’t build up. Have you tried the side flanks? Moonie doesn’t even feel those as long as we stick to the top half.
 
Jance said:
In regards to failing the home test do you keep trying to get that blood or try again later? Tried to get a test tonight at dinner but couldn't get enough blood.

And is it better to go ahead and feed them as it's meal time and hold off on the shot until later or go ahead and give him the standard injection.

Can you test right after eating?

Also I'm not sure if I'm doing injections right, I'd been doing around the scruff and that doesn't seem to bother him but I've read here that the scruff gives poor absorption so I've been trying around the shoulders but he always flinches from those and jerks away from me.
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Okay thanks all. Testing's been frustrating as I'm trying to avoid that vein but I can't see where the lancet's going to hit, I tend to just keep missing his ear entirely.

Also what's the best thing to do on a fur shot? I figured you don't try again since you never know if you got any insulin in there so is it best just to not worry about it and do the next 12hr shot as usual?
 
Sorry to hear about the testing troubles and fur shot today.

You never shoot twice, because you don’t know how much insulin got in from the first shot and it could be very dangerous. You’d just give the next shot 12 hours later as usual, recognizing your cat might run a little higher than normal.

Honestly I don’t think it’s that terrible to hit the vein when you’re starting out. It’s not ideal obviously but the worst that’ll happen is that your kitty might bruise a little (just make sure to hold a gauze against the ear and apply pressure until the kitty’s ear stops bleeding). With practice I’m sure you’ll be a pro :)
 
When you insert the needle in the scrub, to avoid a fur shot, aim the needle down not sideways, but we ALL have had a fur shot and as Connie explain, if you do have a fur shot, DO NOT SHOOT AGAIN, some insulin could have gone in you want to avoid hypoglycemia at all costs, if you think you got a fur shot you can tell by testing 2-3, hour after shot by that time th insulin has kicked in, always wait for the next shot
And this is how your cats’ ear will soon look like, the capillaries will swell as well as that is what is called the sweet spot, the ear is not sore so don’t fear, I have been testing the same ear for 4 1/2 years, Corky’s other ear’s veins are tiny tiny tiny
 

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Jance said:
In regards to failing the home test do you keep trying to get that blood or try again later? Tried to get a test tonight at dinner but couldn't get enough blood.

And is it better to go ahead and feed them as it's meal time and hold off on the shot until later or go ahead and give him the standard injection.

Can you test right after eating?

Also I'm not sure if I'm doing injections right, I'd been doing around the scruff and that doesn't seem to bother him but I've read here that the scruff gives poor absorption so I've been trying around the shoulders but he always flinches from those and jerks away from me.
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Do not worry about injecting into the scruff. I did it for years. It works well for a lot of cats. It’s usually only after a long time where people aren’t getting results that they try another site than the scruff. Also, many cats do not like being injected into the flank.
 
Inject the needle PARALLEL to the back/neck and into the tent of skin that you raise up on the scruff. You can almost point the needle up into the scruff slightly. Do not inject so that the needle will hit the muscle below.
 
CORKY said:
When you insert the needle in the scrub, to avoid a fur shot, aim the needle down not sideways, but we ALL have had a fur shot and as Connie explain, if you do have a fur shot, DO NOT SHOOT AGAIN, some insulin could have gone in you want to avoid hypoglycemia at all costs, if you think you got a fur shot you can tell by testing 2-3, hour after shot by that time th insulin has kicked in, always wait for the next shot
And this is how your cats’ ear will soon look like, the capillaries will swell as well as that is what is called the sweet spot, the ear is not sore so don’t fear, I have been testing the same ear for 4 1/2 years, Corky’s other ear’s veins are tiny tiny tiny
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Corky’s ear looks pretty irritated in that photo. Do you alternate between the left and right ears and move up and down the ear near the edge?
 
You are correct! In case of a fur shot or a suspected fur shot, you NEVER EVER give a second injection of insulin. You have no way of knowing how much insulin actually got into the cat. So injecting more presents a risk of hypoglycemi!
 
To answer the question about testing and feeding— if the cat has been eating only for a minute, that’s not long enough to have raised the BG — or if you are doing it while the cat has just begun to eat. Optimally we want to test before feeding, but if you need your cat distracted for a minute then okay…. As long as the food is low carb wet food and as long as it hasn’t been more than a few minutes. Let’s not stress over these little details in the beginning while everything is so new to both you and your cat.
 
Jance said:
been frustrating as I'm trying to avoid that vein but I can't see where the lancet's going to hit
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Let me ask this — are you using the lancing device that comes with many kits? Please DITCH THE LANCING DEVICE!! Hold the lancet in your hand and make sure you have good lighting or have a headlamp of some sort. Do it free hand. You will be able to see where you are aiming and not hit the marginal vein. Many cats HATE the sound of the lancing device anyway. Generally, free handing the lancet/testing is best.

If you do hit the vein, it’s not the end of the world, just apply pressure to the ear until it stops bleeding. We all have done this on occasion.

If you don’t get a test when you’re trying…. At some point you need to just stop trying! Let your cat rest and you rest too. Unless your cat is in super low numbers, the test can wait! Always give a low carb treat pr two EVERY TIME you attempt to get a BG reading.
 
Suzanne & Darcy said:
Let me ask this — are you using the lancing device that comes with many kits? Please DITCH THE LANCING DEVICE!! Hold the lancet in your hand and make sure you have good lighting or have a headlamp of some sort. Do it free hand. You will be able to see where you are aiming and not hit the marginal vein. Many cats HATE the sound of the lancing device anyway. Generally, free handing the lancet/testing is best.

If you do hit the vein, it’s not the end of the world, just apply pressure to the ear until it stops bleeding. We all have done this on occasion.

If you don’t get a test when you’re trying…. At some point you need to just stop trying! Let your cat rest and you rest too. Unless your cat is in super low numbers, the test can wait! Always give a low carb treat pr two EVERY TIME you attempt to get a BG reading.
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Yea I have been mostly because I don't know how much pressure I need to use to use the lancet and I'm worried about stabbing him too hard, the lancing device makes that a bit easier but I can try free handing it. The one I've got is pretty quiet and he doesn't seem to even notice the noise but yea I'll try it without next time. Oh and he definitely gets lots of treats.
 
Jance said:
Yea I have been mostly because I don't know how much pressure I need to use to use the lancet and I'm worried about stabbing him too hard, the lancing device makes that a bit easier but I can try free handing it. The one I've got is pretty quiet and he doesn't seem to even notice the noise but yea I'll try it without next time. Oh and he definitely gets lots of treats.
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I also use a pressure activated safety lancet if you want to try that. I found freehanding intimidating at first though I know many people prefer that.
 
Jance said:
Yea I have been mostly because I don't know how much pressure I need to use to use the lancet and I'm worried about stabbing him too hard, the lancing device makes that a bit easier but I can try free handing it. The one I've got is pretty quiet and he doesn't seem to even notice the noise but yea I'll try it without next time. Oh and he definitely gets lots of treats.
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Just try to hold the lancet at a 45 degree angle instead of going straight in.

Most of us have pierced our cat’s ears before when learning. It doesn’t take long to get a feel for how to do it free hand. Once you get the hang of it you will not want to use the lancing device at all.
 
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