New member Introduction 02/17/26

QEW26

QEW26

Member Since 2026
Hi all! I’m Quinn, my cat is TayTay. She is 14 years old and was diagnosed as a diabetic in late 2024. My husband and I took her in after my grandma could no longer care for her after my grandfather passed in 2023. It’s been a long road, but just last night she got the zoomies again! Her GI issues have also improved. She’s a sweet little cat (who used to be a very chunky cat, but is now at a healthy weight!!) and very silly.
 

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Welcome to FDMB
Hello to you and Tay Tay How can we help you? are you giving insulin? Lantus and ProZinc are the best insulin for cats they are a 12 hour insulin and easy on the cat, if so, what dose? Are you home testing? Is important to test glucose levels before each shot to avoid a hypoglycemic episode. and testing several times 3-4 times a day is also recommended, a low carb diet of et can or raw food between 0-10% carbs is also essential. The more we know about Tay Tay the better we can assist you, 🤗 Also, are you in the Us or another country? so we can send you the correct information
Sticky - New? How You Can Help Us Help You!
 
CORKY said:
Welcome to FDMB
Hello to you and Tay Tay How can we help you? are you giving insulin? Lantus and ProZinc are the best insulin for cats they are a 12 hour insulin and easy on the cat, if so, what dose? Are you home testing? Is important to test glucose levels before each shot to avoid a hypoglycemic episode. and testing several times 3-4 times a day is also recommended, a low carb diet of et can or raw food between 0-10% carbs is also essential. The more we know about Tay Tay the better we can assist you, 🤗 Also, are you in the Us or another country? so we can send you the correct information
Sticky - New? How You Can Help Us Help You!
Click to expand...
Hi! Yes, we are giving insulin (prozinc 2-3 units a day). The vet only let us know about urine glucose test strips which are very hard to use since as I had said she’s been having GI issues (it does seem to be on the up though!). I wasn’t entirely sure if I could use a different kind of test so some guidance there would be wonderful. My friend has helped me do some research and we found a low carb wet food that’s a pate since she has pretty much no teeth. It’s fancy feast brand, she seems to have decreased thirst and feels better on it. I have a ton of human diabetic experience both personally and professionally, but I feel so lost when it comes to her :( I am located in the US specifically in West Virginia, I usually take her to a vet in Maryland because Virginia is so expensive (I live near northern Virginia), but even their prices are climbing and on top of everything else going on (my husband is a diabetic and I am going through some health issues my self). Any help and guidance is greatly appreciated! Thank you!!
 
Thank you for that information Fancy Feast pates is great! And so is ProZinc, however if you are not home testing, and giving 2-3 units a day??? You are risking a hypoglycemic episodes and that is not pretty ProZinc needs give the same dose each 12 hours, you might want to consider CGM, The Libre by ABBOTT, but you need to know the glucose level before each shot, I will tag a member that can assist you with ProZinc dosing,,we are here for you and Tay Tay
@Suzanne & Darcy
 
Thank you for the information!! I actually was just telling my husband that I wish they made a cgm for cats the other day! This is great news! I already know how to use Libre for humans so hopefully it’ll be a kinda similar set up. I’ve been giving that dosage because that’s what the vet had recommended since her sugars were very high 400s one visit 300s another. I do have another question, if you have an issue getting prozinc filled in your area, is there a way to order it? Or to get a paper script and go to different pharmacies and ask if they have it?
 
Yes they are the same, just that it has a small flaw as you may know already, even for humans, it reads low numbers lower than reality so you will need to test for comparison with a human monitor, just to be sure in two digit levels, most members use the ReliOn Premier monitor and strips(Walmart ) or any human monitor will do, is always good to have extra strips handy as well as extra sensors as you know they last 14 days some less, Tay Tay may remove it or fall off, they are guaranteed so do not throw away the box of the sensor placed until a new one ir replaced, and you can replace it yourself, no need for a vet for that, tge same application as your husband, just a bit more shaving😂 but when you call ABBOTT, do not tell them is for your cat or they will not replace it. In our main page there’s a thread on CGMs all you need to know for Tay Tay
 
Please continue to pot on this same thread, so we can all be on the same page, also we would like you to create your signature, and Tay Tay's Spreadsheet. link below, also I am adding a Drs approved food list, the third column contains the carbs %, we are looking for the Dry matter carbs, you can go on Chewy.com look for the food you are feeding or want, click on the can, scroll down to ingredients you can calculate the carb % also with the carb calculator link below, in our main Forum are sticky notes with much valuable information

Sticky - New? How You Can Help Us Help You!
https://felinediabetes.com/FDMB/threads/how-to-create-a-spreadsheet.241706/
Info - Dr. Pierson - new Food Chart
Carb Calculator - Felinediabetes.com
 
Also, please create A HYPO KIT this includes some medium carb foods between 11-15% carbs some high carb food between 16.24% carbs, some KARO syrup or honey, this is in case the glucose level lowers to 50 or less. we can assist you to hike up the BG with food rather than the syrup, since these are just a quick fix., also several meals/snacks during the day is very important to keep the insulin in check. If one before shot you do not feel comfortable shooting , please post us, and we will guide you, there are times that it may be necessary not to shoot, but is also important not to miss a shot, with ProZinc you can stall the shot, we are here for you, my Corky uses ProZinc (click his SS in blue below) so you can have an idea what you want to look forward to, FD is manageable, and we are here for you to help you stabilize Tay Tay 🤗 a non diabetic cat's BG is in the range of 50-120, so eventually this is where we want to be, it does not happen over night, but it happens
 
Chewy's pharmacy sells ProZinc. You just need to provide a prescription or the vet's phone number. https://www.chewy.com/prozinc-protamine-zinc-recombinant/dp/173715

No Human pharmacy sells ProZinc or veterinary medicines / supplies.

Does your husband take insulin for his diabetes? There have been members in the past who were diabetic themselves or had a diabetic family member and were using Lantus insulin. They just shared the insulin and things like insulin syringes and test strips with the cat. The cat would have its own dedicated insulin bottle or pen and syringes and meter, all clearly labeled and kept separate from the diabetic person's own supplies. I assume the cat's diabetic costs were just (sneakily) covered by the person's health insurance or something like FSA / HSA. Just a thought if ProZinc ends up not working well for your cat. There are members who ended up switching insulin and their cat had a much better response.

Not all vets are up to date on treating diabetes. Here's a 2025 guide to treating diabetes: 2025 iCatCare consensus guidelines on the diagnosis and management of diabetes mellitus in cats

Urine testing is only really good for ketones. Glucose builds up in the urine between trips to the litter box. When you do get a sample, all that glucose will just give you a high reading.

If your cat doesn't mind her ears being messed with, give manual testing a try with a Human blood glucose meter. Hometesting Links and Tips

CGMs have their pros and cons. They can fall off a cat if you don't cover it with a baby t shirt, occasionally malfunction, and are pricey. If it reads LO, you do need to manually test to see exactly how low. If your husband uses a CGM, you may be able to just buy more for the cat to use 🤫
 
Squeem3 is right only the vet which he will raise the price for commission bu he can send the prescription with several refills to Chewy pharmacy and the price is $125.00 a 10ml vial that will last a few months according to the dose of course Corky uses 1.50units so the vial last about 3 months but after that what’s left I throw it away and that’s about 1/4 of vial , a fresh vial is good for 60 days but you can use it for a bit more, the raise in BG if one, should tell you is time to throw it away
 
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