New member-newly diagnosed cat

B

Bre1055

Member Since 2025
Hi,

My cat was recently diagnosed with diabetes last week and spent 3 days at the emergency vet’s because the first day we started his insulin he wouldn’t eat when we tried to give him his second dose. He did have a slight fever when he arrived so they did a urine test and it came back with nothing but they still had us give him antibiotics just in case it was a false positive. He has been on it for 5 days not and has had diarrhea last night and this morning. I am waiting to hear back from his vets about this. Would this be from being on the Antibiotics? We have a Libre sensor on him as well. The doctor has changed his initial dosages from 1 unit to two units on Monday and sometimes it dips down from high and out of range on the ready which is over 350 to 150-100 after a few hours of insulin. He has been doing better, gaining weight, wanting to cuddle with me more but still sleepy but alert. . Yesterday I do not think we gave him his full morning dosage as he neck was a little wet after wards. His blood sugar on the Libre app did dip a little bit not like it usually does. We gave him his full dose at night and it did the same thing dipped a little bit not like it didn’t day before. If he did not get all of the first dosage would this mess up his blood sugar for the full day? He has also been walking on his back legs weird for a few day and I did read that is a sign of high blood sugar. Will this improve once we get his blood sugar under control? I am trying to research everything I can about diabetes in cats and I am glad I found this group. I have attached the last two days of reading from re Libre app. I appreciate any advice/tips you all have.
 

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Welcome to FDMB
For starters the dip can be cause by such a high dose change, our members that care for dose increase and decrease the protocol is always to do either by 0.25 units at a time, especially for a new y getting to get familiar with FD, you do not specify what insulin you are using and what and how you are feeding, diabetic cats need to have a diet of wet can or raw food between 0-10% carbs and an eating schedule, just like humans with diabetes they need to have two main meals on dosing and 2-3 small meals or snacks in between the day. You will find that the Libre does read low number much lower that reality, we suggest our member to have a manual meter such the ReliOn human monitor and strips or any other human monitor you’ll find them at Walmart, with the Libre when you have a very low number is important to double check not to get caught off guard, you should have handy what is called a HYPO KIT this contains some medium carb food between 11-15% some high carb food between 16-24% carbs soñé Karo syrup or honey, in case of a dive in BG you can regulate with food first the Syrups is a quick fix to raise the BG in case of hypoglycemia ,please let us :bighug: know the insulin you are giving so we can guide you to the members that can give you more advice and dosing and concerns you may have, you are in the right place, our members are dedicated, knowledgeable, and updated on FD most of the tines more than vets are on FD, again welcome
 
CORKY said:
Welcome to FDMB
For starters the dip can be cause by such a high dose change, our members that care for dose increase and decrease the protocol is always to do either by 0.25 units at a time, especially for a new y getting to get familiar with FD, you do not specify what insulin you are using and what and how you are feeding, diabetic cats need to have a diet of wet can or raw food between 0-10% carbs and an eating schedule, just like humans with diabetes they need to have two main meals on dosing and 2-3 small meals or snacks in between the day. You will find that the Libre does read low number much lower that reality, we suggest our member to have a manual meter such the ReliOn human monitor and strips or any other human monitor you’ll find them at Walmart, with the Libre when you have a very low number is important to double check not to get caught off guard, you should have handy what is called a HYPO KIT this contains some medium carb food between 11-15% some high carb food between 16-24% carbs soñé Karo syrup or honey, in case of a dive in BG you can regulate with food first the Syrups is a quick fix to raise the BG in case of hypoglycemia ,please let us :bighug: know the insulin you are giving so we can guide you to the members that can give you more advice and dosing and concerns you may have, you are in the right place, our members are dedicated, knowledgeable, and updated on FD most of the tines more than vets are on FD, again welcome
Click to expand...
Thank you for your reply? He is on vetsulin. I thought that was a big drop too but the specialist he goes to said he should be fine. I am feeding him fancy feast pate two cans a day. One in the morning with his insulin and one at night with his insulin. He also has access to diabetic dry food as well. We do have another cat so we have mixed the diabetic dry food with the science diet chicken food that they were on so that they both not get sick from the complete change of food. I really hope we are able to find the right dosage for him soon and he starts to feel better. He is starting to gain back weight while good.
 
Thank you, well first Vetsilun is a dog insulin such as Caninsulin it hits hard and fast in cat and does not last long, the best insulin for cats are ProZinc and Lantus they are a 12-hour insulin and soft for a cat, second the diabetic cat food you are feeding, “prescribed” is extremely high in carbs about 20 % or more, there’s nothing good or diabetic or prescribed about it, a salesman sells it to the vet sells it to you, the vets don’t even know what’s in that food at times. humans with diabetes do not eat diabetic foods, they regulate with low carb foods and insulin and eating several meals during the day, the same goes for cats, Fancy Feast is great! It is US made so no waste goes in the food, most members including myself use FF pates between 0-10% carbs most feed up to 5%. Transitioning from dry to wet needs to be done slowly not only because it can upset the stomach but it can cause a quick dive in the BG, you might want to make sure vet is schooled on FD and updated, most vets that prescribe Vetsulin for a cat are not, vI also have two cats they were raised grazing on MeauMix, when Corky was diagnosed I put them both on FF and a schedule, they each eat 1/2 can of FF 4 times a day Corky uses ProZinc so, two main meals at shot time and 1/2 can each 4 times a day and he protocol for ProZinc are Test, feed, shoot, keep asking question we are here for you in the meantime I will tag a couple of member that can assist you on Vetsulin and add more and advice more

@Suzanne & Darcy
@Sienne and Gabby (GA)
@squeem3
 
CORKY said:
Thank you, well first Vetsilun is a dog insulin such as Caninsulin it hits hard and fast in cat and does not last long, the best insulin for cats are ProZinc and Lantus they are a 12-hour insulin and soft for a cat, second the diabetic cat food you are feeding, “prescribed” is extremely high in carbs about 20 % or more, there’s nothing good or diabetic or prescribed about it, a salesman sells it to the vet sells it to you, the vets don’t even know what’s in that food at times. humans with diabetes do not eat diabetic foods, they regulate with low carb foods and insulin and eating several meals during the day, the same goes for cats, Fancy Feast is great! It is US made so no waste goes in the food, most members including myself use FF pates between 0-10% carbs most feed up to 5%. Transitioning from dry to wet needs to be done slowly not only because it can upset the stomach but it can cause a quick dive in the BG, you might want to make sure vet is schooled on FD and updated, most vets that prescribe Vetsulin for a cat are not, vI also have two cats they were raised grazing on MeauMix, when Corky was diagnosed I put them both on FF and a schedule, they each eat 1/2 can of FF 4 times a day Corky uses ProZinc so, two main meals at shot time and 1/2 can each 4 times a day and he protocol for ProZinc are Test, feed, shoot, keep asking question we are here for you in the meantime I will tag a couple of member that can assist you on Vetsulin and add more and advice you with their amazing knowledge

@Diane Tyler’s Mom Ga
@Sienne and Gabby (GA)
@squeem3
Click to expand...
Thank you so much! I didn’t know that about vetsulin. It took his old primary vet three blood test to finally diagnose him. It was that vet the prescribed that insulin and I am in the process of finding him a new primary vet as this vet was horrible I am working with an internal medicine specialist now. I just talked to him office and it is on his list to look at my cats blood sugar monitor tomorrow and will call me and give me an update on how he thinks my cat is doing. I will definitely ask him about switching insulins. Thank you so much!
 
I had to bring to the emergency vets last weekend and they switched him over to internal medicine to help watch his blood sugar and try to stabilize it, which is the vet he know sees that specializes in internal medicine. They are great there and have a good reputation for animals that need internal medicine. They do not have a primary vet at their office, but he said he would can manage my cats diabetes since his primary vet was horrible.
 
Taking your cat to a specialist to stabilize ? You do not need to have that expense, as well your cat will stress out too much and the glucose reading will be inaccurate causing to increase the dosage based only on that time he’s at the vet, you can do that at home with the right insulin , right diet , and no stress, the Libre is good, but at the same time it has its faults they are not accurate, on 2 digest BGs they read much lower than reality, if you go to our main Forum you will find a thread about the Libre they fall off , the sensor, most don’t last the 14 days and are expensive, if you decide to continue using the Libre you do not need a vet to replace the sensor, you can do it at home for free, is easy as pie, all you need is for the vet to send the prescription to the pharmacy of your choice, for at least 7 sensors at a time, as you know the sensors are expensive but at a pharmacy much less, always have at least 2 extra sensor at home, you never know when they will malfunction, ABBOTT, will replace them, do not throw the box of the sensor placed, there are serial number on the box needed, do NOT tell them is for a cat, if you do they will not replace them
 
I can see that by your concerns you are going to be be awesome regulating your precious fur baby, what is the name of you cat? Always remember you know you cat better than your vet, feel free to ask question your concerns and needs many vets are receptive to this and will appreciate that you are well informed. FD is manageable and you will be great at it you are on the right track, keep asking
 
The internal medicine vet he is seeing also has access to the readings from the Libre. It is only until we can get him on the right insulin dosage.
 
CORKY said:
I can see that by your concerns you are going to be be awesome regulating your precious fur baby, what is the name of you cat? Always remember you know you cat better than your vet, feel free to ask question your concerns and needs many vets are receptive to this and will appreciate that you are well informed. FD is manageable and you will be great at it you are on the right track, keep asking
Click to expand...
His name is Chester. Yes this vet has been really awesome. Thanks I just really want to get my poor kitties dosage right so he can feel better and get back to be his normal self
 
Great, actually tge dose is important but not more than the right insulin then both together, ask the vet to start you on a low dose that you are still learning and don’t feel comfortable with a high dose, he should start you with less than 1.unit, increasing the dose you can do it here normally we keep the same dose for several cycles to be see how it reacts, then we have amazing members that can help you on increase and decrease the dose, we are very numbers oriented, if you would like, we would like you to create your signature and spreadsheet, this way the forum/members that can assist your concerns are on the same page I’m sending you in a few minutes the links to do so, I’m answering your post as I feed my babies if you need help getting either of the two done let us know and we can get a member to do it for you
 
Sticky - New? How You Can Help Us Help You!
https://felinediabetes.com/FDMB/threads/how-to-create-a-spreadsheet.241706/

Also here is the link about the Libre, in our main Forum there a sticky notes with much valuable information. you can click on Corky's spreadsheet down below in green so you can have an idea how's is done, and you can scroll to the left I have his daily meals, amounts and feeding hours, which r very important to keep the insulin in check, of course, you can adjust your schedule as needed ;)

Getting Started With Continuous Glucose Monitors (CGMs) for Diabetic Cats
 
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Using an internal medicine vet is fine. Fundamentally, it's similar to using a family medicine MD vs an internal medicine MD as a human's primary care doctor. With animals, an internal med vet may just charge more that a general practice vet. If you like the vet and trust the advice your getting, then all is good.

I do agree that Vetsulin is not a great choice of insulin. In fact, the American Animal Hospital Assn no longer endorses its use for treating feline diabetes. This is a link to their guidelines if you want to discuss the options with your vet. The AAHC recommends either Lantus (glargine) or Prozinc. These two insulins have a longer duration and are gentler than Vetsulin. (I'm also not sure what Maria was saying in that Vetsulin and Caninsulin are the same insulin. Vetsulin is called Caninsulin outside of the US.) Given the way Vetsulin works, please make sure you are feeding Chester about 20 - 30 min before he gets his insulin shot.

I would not go as far as to say the Libre is not accurate. If is fine in mid-range numbers. It tends to give a falsely lower reading if a cat's numbers fall lower than roughly 100. We encourage members to also learn how to use a hand held glucometer so you can verify a lower reading and not panic if you get a suspiciously low reading from the Libre. I'm tagging one of our veteran Libre users: @Staci & Ivy

You may want to reconsider the use of dry food. Even the diabetic dry food is high in carbs. It's not appropriate for a diabetic cat. Frankly, most dry food isn't great for cats regardless of whether the cat is diabetic. The moisture content is almost nonexistent. Given that cats have a limited thirst drive, using a food that is low in moisture has long term effects on their health. This is a link to a website, written by a vet, on feline nutrition.
 
Hello and welcome. I see Sienne tagged me about using a Libre sensor.

And I see Maria already linked the post we’ve made to give you more information about using a sensor.

As has been stated, it’s great to be able to blood test Chester in case he drops very low in the Libre to know how low the insulin is taking him.
The Libre is a great tool for general patterns and knowing how he is doing.

It can read lower than a blood test (an ear prick checked with a handheld glucometer).
You will learn how your Libre compares your a glucometer if you check a low number.

Some people notice the meters aren’t too far apart.

I notice a bit more of a spread. If my cat is reading Lo on a Libre, she can be 60-90s on a handheld device (still safe numbers, but needs to be watched).

If you have any questions, please let me know 🥰
 
CORKY said:
Sticky - New? How You Can Help Us Help You!
https://felinediabetes.com/FDMB/threads/how-to-create-a-spreadsheet.241706/

Also here is the link about the Libre, in our main Forum there a sticky notes with much valuable information. you can click on Corky's spreadsheet down below in green so you can have an idea how's is done, and you can scroll to the left I have his daily meals, amounts and feeding hours, which r very important to keep the insulin in check, of course, you can adjust your schedule as needed ;)

Getting Started With Continuous Glucose Monitors (CGMs) for Diabetic Cats
Click to expand...
Thank you. I will do this tomorrow when I am at work on my computer
 
Staci & Ivy said:
Hello and welcome. I see Sienne tagged me about using a Libre sensor.

And I see Maria already linked the post we’ve made to give you more information about using a sensor.

As has been stated, it’s great to be able to blood test Chester in case he drops very low in the Libre to know how low the insulin is taking him.
The Libre is a great tool for general patterns and knowing how he is doing.

It can read lower than a blood test (an ear prick checked with a handheld glucometer).
You will learn how your Libre compares your a glucometer if you check a low number.

Some people notice the meters aren’t too far apart.

I notice a bit more of a spread. If my cat is reading Lo on a Libre, she can be 60-90s on a handheld device (still safe numbers, but needs to be watched).

If you have any questions, please let me know 🥰
Click to expand...
Thank you so much!
 
Sienne and Gabby (GA) said:
Using an internal medicine vet is fine. Fundamentally, it's similar to using a family medicine MD vs an internal medicine MD as a human's primary care doctor. With animals, an internal med vet may just charge more that a general practice vet. If you like the vet and trust the advice your getting, then all is good.

I do agree that Vetsulin is not a great choice of insulin. In fact, the American Animal Hospital Assn no longer endorses its use for treating feline diabetes. This is a link to their guidelines if you want to discuss the options with your vet. The AAHC recommends either Lantus (glargine) or Prozinc. These two insulins have a longer duration and are gentler than Vetsulin. (I'm also not sure what Maria was saying in that Vetsulin and Caninsulin are the same insulin. Vetsulin is called Caninsulin outside of the US.) Given the way Vetsulin works, please make sure you are feeding Chester about 20 - 30 min before he gets his insulin shot.

I would not go as far as to say the Libre is not accurate. If is fine in mid-range numbers. It tends to give a falsely lower reading if a cat's numbers fall lower than roughly 100. We encourage members to also learn how to use a hand held glucometer so you can verify a lower reading and not panic if you get a suspiciously low reading from the Libre. I'm tagging one of our veteran Libre users: @Staci & Ivy

You may want to reconsider the use of dry food. Even the diabetic dry food is high in carbs. It's not appropriate for a diabetic cat. Frankly, most dry food isn't great for cats regardless of whether the cat is diabetic. The moisture content is almost nonexistent. Given that cats have a limited thirst drive, using a food that is low in moisture has long term effects on their health. This is a link to a website, written by a vet, on feline nutrition.
Click to expand...
Thank you. How long did it take for you to find the right dosage of insulin for your cat? I am going to talk to the vet tomorrow about changing his insulin. I will also try to feed him 20-30 mins before we give him insulin. It just seems like the vetsulin just does not seem to really lower his blood sugar for long.
 
Finding the right dose is not only depending on the cat but Corky’s dose started at 3.00 Units he was hospitalized for 8 days with 650 BG, now he’s at 1.50 units has been for almost 2 years so now this is his right dose, but his increases and decreases have always been of .25 units as the members suggest, I have taken Corky to the numbers you saw on the SS with the assistance of this forum, although he will be a lifetime diabetic, he is one of the few most regulated cats in this forum with BG numbers of remission, the new dose needs to stay the same at least 3 cycles, 3 days, that’s about how long it takes to see how the insulin actually works, each cat is different, unless the BG number dives down then is decreased, I explain this on Corky’s experience I do not give dosing advice, but just so you get an idea how it works
 
Oh that’s awesome that he is so regulated now. I know it takes a while to get some cats dosage. Chester just started going down again so we will see what it is at tonight before I give him his insulin. It says it’s 288 right now when it is usually higher at this time. It is good to know it takes 3 days to really see how the insulin is working. I am sure his body is still getting used to it all together
 
The weak back legs is likely neuropathy. It can be treated with methyl B12. Zobaline is one popular product but there's a cheaper alternative:

posted by @Diane Tyler's Mom GA

the Vitacost brand another member told me about
Vitamin B-12 Methylcobalamin -- 5000 mcg - 100 Capsules

Same as Zobaline , but the Zobaline is so expensive as you know
This is the same thing
The only difference is the Zobaline has 200 mcgs of folic acid
So I bought the folic acid at the supermarket and crush it up and added it to the Vitacost brand
If you can't find the 200 mcg get the 400 mcg and cut it in half and crush it up and add it, some members didn't even add the folic acid and the neuropathy improved
The Vitacost brand is a capsule so just open it and pour the powder on the wet food
Has no taste, no need to crush it up, I still give it to Tyler every now and then and he has never tasted it in his food , I always add water to his food and just stir up the methyl B-12 good
I switched to the vitacost brand because the zobaline was too expensive,
Even though the vitacost brand is 5000 mcgs and the zobaline is 3000 mcgs
What they don't need they will pee out because it's water soluble.

The Zobaline is expensive for 60 pills, 30.00 some other places want 33.00
I used to use the Zobaline when I joined, then a member told me about the Vitacost brand .

It took about 2 months for Tyler to get back to walking normal, jumping on to the couch, running around
But every few weeks I did see a slight improvement
Some members didn't even add the folic acid to the vitacost brand and it still helped and the neuropathy was gone

https://www.vitacost.com/vitacost-vitamin-b-12-methylcobalamin-5000-mcg-100-capsules-6
Click to expand...


I use an internal medicine vet for both my cats. The vet has seen my cats since they were both kittens. Probably a bit too much for a kitten but I knew it was pretty much guaranteed that at least one of them would have health issues as they get older. Leroy is a hot mess now 😵‍💫
 
Thank you so much! I will definitely look into this as well. He just ate and we gave him his insulin and he then threw up. I think he ate too quickly. Should I try to feed him a little bit of food in a little while since he got his insulin? I do not want his blood sugar to get too low.
 
I tried to give him a little
More food and he threw that up too. He is acting fine. I don’t know what to do. Any suggestions? His sugar is dropping and is around 200 now. We put an anti nausea pill in the second round of food and I am not sure if he ate it or not.
 
Give him just a tsp of watered down wet food, see if he will keep that down. If he does, then you can try some more. How long after his shot was that 200?

What was the name of the anti nausea pill you gave him?
 
CORKY said:
@Wendy&Neko
@squeem3
Wendy&Neko said:
Give him just a tsp of watered down wet food, see if he will keep that down. If he does, then you can try some more. How long after his shot was that 200?

What was the name of the anti nausea pill you gave him?
Click to expand...
can you please send me the sheet to fill out again? I can not find it in the chats. My cat has had diarrhea for two days now and he is peeing and pooping outside of the liter box which is clean. I did get him a different kind of liter and he only had one accident outside of it. His sugar is at 239 after he ate. I should skip his dose right?
Click to expand...
 
One type of probiotic fungus that can help with diarrhea is called s. boulardii. More information and dosing on this web page: Probiotics – IBDKitties

If your cat had ketones or DKA at diagnosis, you shouldn't skip the shot. You can give a reduced shot instead.
 
Thank you so much. I ended up fixing him half his shot and his blood sugar was really good today. I also talked to his vet this morning to. I will look into probiotic
 
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