New Member

[Cali58]

Hi all, my 14 year old Kitty, Kisses was just diagnosed with diabetes on 1/19/24.
She is my world, companion, my life!
I am 66 yo & disabled and I don't know what I do without her. We just started her on glargine insulin, one unit twice a day after being fed twice a day. This has been quite a terrifying ordeal but I think I'm getting the hang of it!

 

[Diane Tyler's Mom GA]

@Cali58
Hi there , welcome to the best group you could have found.
Glargine is a good insulin
We feed our cats more than twice a day. You can feed Kisses small snacks around @+3( 3 hours after giving insulin ) and around @+5 .
Any low carb wet food is fine around 1 or 2 teaspoons , add a little water to it.
Are you home testing ?
What are you feeding Kisses?
Here is a link in case you ever need any help with Kisses
Here is a link helping us to help you link. If you noticed, our members have some basic information about their cat's in their signature. This helps us to not pester you by asking the same questions (your cat's name, insulin type, date of diagnosis, etc.) repeatedly. We also have a link to our spreadsheet in our signature. We are very numbers driven. The spreadsheet is a record of your cat's progress. By linking it in your signature, we can follow along and provide feedback should you need the help

 

[Cali58]

Hi & thank you,!
Kisses, 14yo, DOB 4/1/2010
Dx 1/19/2024
glargine vial 1 Unit 2x day, (every 12 hrs). 1 hr after eating ( every 12 hours)

Just started Fancy Feast pate today.

Vet says not to start testing yet until she is stabilized.
She crys ALL DAY for more food! ( even as soon as about 20 minutes after her meal)

I know she is miserable as well as myself! I'm so afraid I'm going to do something wrong but there must be something I can do or give her to tide her over, even though the vet doesn't really want me to.

 

[Cali58]

Hi & thank you,!
Kisses, 14yo, DOB 4/1/2010
Dx 1/19/2024
glargine vial 1 Unit 2x day, (every 12 hrs). 1 hr after eating ( every 12 hours)

Just started Fancy Feast pate today.

Vet says not to start testing yet until she is stabilized.
She crys ALL DAY for more food! ( even as soon as about 20 minutes after her meal)

I know she is miserable as well as myself! I'm so afraid I'm going to do something wrong but there must be something I can do or give her to tide her over, even though the vet doesn't really want me to.
Oops..just figured out how to put vital info in my signature.

 

[Hendrick Cuddleclaw]

Hi and welcome. It sounds like your vet, just like my vet, said to only feed twice a day with the insulin shot.

This is very old and outdated info! Feel free to give her more food! How much does she weigh and how much fancy feast are you giving at meal time?

Most people here with diabetic cats feed two MAIN meals, larger meals at shot time but also feed a few smaller meals during the day -- just not towards the end of the insulin "cycle" (a cycle is 12 hours).

So please, feed her! Just withhold food for the last 3-4 hours or so of the 12-hour insulin cycle.

Unregulated diabetic cats cannot make use of all the nutrition in their food so they are always hungry. After being on insulin for a few weeks this should start to fade away and her body will once again be able to make use of food.

 

[Cali58]

Thank you so much! She was 13.5 lbs. on Dx date of 1/19 ,but at follow up visit 1/25 she was a tad over 10 lbs.
She gets 1 3oz. can every 12 hrs,
Then I was told to wait for an hour before giving her her shot period
I will also update my sig. with weight

 

[squeem3]

There's tons of info on using Lantus here: https://www.felinediabetes.com/FDMB/forums/lantus-levemir-biosimilars.9/ Read the stickies at the top.

Lantus / glargine is typically given at the same time the cat is eating their main meal, not an hour after eating although there may be a few oddball cats who get insulin after being fed.

Unregulated diabetic cats are literally starving so you need to feed more food, as much as the cat will eat. Two or three or more cans of FF per meal isn't unusual. A few small meals during the day helps, too. It's fine to disagree with the vet and to feed the cat more food. A doctor wouldn't tell a Human diabetic to only eat 2 strict meals a day.

It's also find to disagree with the vet about testing. Blindly giving insulin has been compared to as driving a car with a bag over your head. It's just dangerous. Human diabetics always test before giving insulin so they know what their level is and if it's safe to give insulin or not. Cats and other diabetic pets are no different.

If you otherwise like the vet, you don't necessarily need to find a new vet or a specialist. It's important to have a vet that can work with you on managing the cat's diabetes.

 

[Hendrick Cuddleclaw]

Thank you so much! She was 13.5 lbs. on Dx date of 1/19 ,but at follow up visit 1/25 she was a tad over 10 lbs.
She gets 1 3oz. can every 12 hrs,
Then I was told to wait for an hour before giving her her shot period
I will also update my sig. with weight

has your vet mentioned what they feel her "ideal" weight is? Let's say for example it is 11 pounds. A basic formula is about 20 calories per pound, so approximately 220 calories per day is what she would need to get back to 11 pounds and maintain it.

Those little 3 oz cans of FF are only around 80-100 calories. Some less some more. Which variety are you feeding? I agree with Squeem3 feed more at meal time if she'll eat it. And a few small meals at other times.

With Lantus, this is the proper procedure:

• Test kitty's BG to make sure it is safe to give insulin
• Feed kitty
• Give the insulin shot!

This should all take place, ideally, within about 10-15 minutes. Lantus takes about 1-2 hours to start working. It is good to have food on board to make the Lantus hit more gently, as it offsets the insulin.


For example. Hendrick's shot time was 6:30 AM and 6:30 PM. We would check his blood sugar at about 6:15, put some food down, let him eat for a few minutes then give insulin at 6:30. He would often go right back to his food dish after the shot.

 

[Diane Tyler's Mom GA]

If you live in the US you can pick up or order a human meter and test strips at Walmart. Our numbers are based on human meters
You just need to withhold feeding Kisses 2 hours before the first test in the
AM which is called the AMPS number and the first test at night which is called the PMPS number to make sure the BG number is not food influenced and the BG number is safe to give insulin

Here is the link for the meter and test strips so you don't have to search for them
Relion Premier Classic Meter at Walmart for 9 dollars
https://www.walmart.com/ip/ReliOn-Premier-CLASSIC-Blood-Glucose-Monitoring-System/552134103

The tests strips are 17.88 for 100
https://www.walmart.com/ip/ReliOn-Premier-Blood-Glucose-Test-Strips-100-Count/575088197

If you need help setting up the spreadsheet just ask

Testing
Always aim for the sweet spot warm the ears up first, you can put rice in a sock and put it in the microwave, test it on the inside of your wrist to be sure it's not to hot, like you would test a babies bottle. You can fill a pill bottle with warm water and roll it on the ears also.Just keep rubbing the ears with your fingers to warm them up

6. As the ears get used to bleeding and grow more capilares, it gets easier to get the amount of blood you need on the first try. If he won’t stand still, you can get the blood onto a clean finger nail and test from there.
When you do get some blood you can try milking the ear.
Get you finger and gently push up toward the blood , more will appear
You will put the cotton round behind his ear in case you poke your finger, after you are done testing you will fold the cotton round over his ear to stop the bleeding , press gently for about 10 or 20 seconds until it stops
Get 26 or 28 gauge lancets
A lot of us use the lancets to test freehand not the lancing device
I find it better to see where I'm aiming
Look at the lancet under a light and you will see one side is curved upward, that's the side you want to poke with
Here is a video one of our members made testing her kitty
She's using a pet meter that has to be coded ,with a human meter you don't have to code it.
So ignore that
I have always used a human meter
VIDEO: How to test your cat's blood sugar

 

[Cali58]

There's tons of info on using Lantus here: https://www.felinediabetes.com/FDMB/forums/lantus-levemir-biosimilars.9/ Read the stickies at the top.

Lantus / glargine is typically given at the same time the cat is eating their main meal, not an hour after eating although there may be a few oddball cats who get insulin after being fed.

Unregulated diabetic cats are literally starving so you need to feed more food, as much as the cat will eat. Two or three or more cans of FF per meal isn't unusual. A few small meals during the day helps, too. It's fine to disagree with the vet and to feed the cat more food. A doctor wouldn't tell a Human diabetic to only eat 2 strict meals a day.

It's also find to disagree with the vet about testing. Blindly giving insulin has been compared to as driving a car with a bag over your head. It's just dangerous. Human diabetics always test before giving insulin so they know what their level is and if it's safe to give insulin or not. Cats and other diabetic pets are no different.

If you otherwise like the vet, you don't necessarily need to find a new vet or a specialist. It's important to have a vet that can work with you on managing the cat's diabetes.

Quick question. How soon after her morning insulin shot can I give her a more food?she's already crying for food an hour after the shot?

 

[squeem3]

Quick question. How soon after her morning insulin shot can I give her a more food?she's already crying for food an hour after the shot?

I think 2 hours or so post insulin is fine. If you give more food at breakfast, would that keep the tummy happy longer?