New member, need help please

Hello, I’m very inexperienced with forums and threads, I hope I’m in the right place here..I’m 19, from Canada.

My cat, Beanie, was diagnosed with diabetes around 2 months ago. Vet said he was surprised he wasn’t in a diabetic coma upon arrival, suggested I put him down that day. He went to the vet for a suspected bladder infection, but now they want me to put him down? Then I was told, “Well actually, he is treatable.” out of no where…so here I am now.

Beanie is on 1 unit of the U40 Caninsulin, 2x daily. 28 gauge needles. He absolutely hates his shots, and it kills me to have to fight him and prick him with a needle twice a day. About one week after diagnosis, vet said his blood glucose was ‘excellent’ and decided to stay on 1 unit. He’s also on a questionably expensive prescription diet. I will say, he is losing weight and he is incredibly active and curious. Seems like he is back to his old self, really. However, I’m still just very stressed over Beanie. I dont leave my house anymore. I stress over him and making sure he still loves me. The vet never recommended that I home test him, and I’m terrified to even try that because of how much he hates his insulin. I’m tired, frustrated, and still really confused. It’s straining my relationship with my family and partner, because I am constantly worried about my cat.

In conclusion, how can I get beanie to accept the Caninsulin shots, is Caninsulin safe, should I start home testing, is the expensive food really worth it, and is 28 gauge too big?

Thanks in advance. Any advice would be hugely appreciated. I’m really struggling.

 

Welcome. Sorry about the diagnosis. The good news though is that it IS treatable and they can live long healthy lives with it. Caninsulin is ok. Mostly ment for dogs. My cat did good on it in the beginning when she was on vetsulin which is the same thing. Many find they don't get a long enough duration of that it drops them too quickly and for that reason we usually suggest ProZinc or lantus. Since you already have it you might as well see how he does on it. You can always switch if you need to.

The perscription food isn't necessary. Most feed low carb canned food such as fancy feast pate.

Try doing the shot while he's eating, and make sure the bevel is up. There are also 31 gauge u40 syringes now which might be more comfortable.

I have a video in my signature showing how I tested my cat CC at home.

 

Thank you Janet. I appreciate your help. I’ll definitely look into getting smaller syringes, I’m sure that has to have something to do with his aversion to ‘insulin time’.

 

These are the ones I mentioned. Not sure if they are available in Canada but worth a look. Your pet will love this PetTest U-40 Syringes, 31 Gauge x 5/16-in, 0.3-cc, 100 syringes:
https://app.chewy.com/6VZBGjD9Pjb

If he won't eat while you shoot try giving a special treat immediately after so he associates the shot with treats.

 

Oh! Another option is to use a u100 syringe that's thinner and use a conversion chart. So 1 unit in a u40 would be 2.5 in a u100.

 

Chart

 

Thank you so much! To clarify, he is at 1 unit in the U40 syringe, but in a U100 syringe I need to pull up to the 2.5 mark?

 

Right. Look at the conversion chart I posted.

 

Syringes U-40 with half unit markings

https://www.chewy.com/pettest-u-40-syringes-31-gauge-x-516/dp/284666