new & nervous about not eating

S

silverfin

Member Since 2026
hi new member here -- obviously anxious about a recent diagnoses

we brought ollie to the vet yesterday because of a severe decrease in appetite and weight loss. for a very food motivated kitty it was a big change in behavior.

he was diagnosed with diabetes due to a glucose level of 300mg/dL. he was given fluids, anti-nausea, and an appetite stimulant (mirataz), and we were sent home with care instructions of dosing him with 2 units of lantus every 12 hrs & a list of things to buy. ive got an alphatrak 3, and we have FF pate for him now

my biggest concern is him not eating. we applied the appetite stimulant, and this morning was his first interest in food in a while. he was not back to his normal self, mostly licking at his food vs taking bites. we were advised to only administer half a dose (1 unit) if he doesnt have a full meal. his AMPS was 318, and +2 was 314 -- no real change. we did leave his food out for him (again concerned with him not eating enough) and he ate some between tests.

i know its just the first day dealing with this all, and literally the first dose but im anxious -- is this normal? will it take time for his glucose to respond to the insulin? is it more important to get him eating full meals? thinking we should have given the full 2 units and removed the food...
 
Hi and welcome to you and Ollie! I recommend poking around a bit and reading some of the stickies. 2 is a pretty big starting dose! When my vet recommended the same starting dose, other members recommended I pick a dosing method from the two available and pick a starting dose based on that.

Don't be worried that you haven't seen any changes in two hours. I recommend reading a bit about the insulin depot and scrolling down this link to where it talks about onset, duration, etc. There are a lot of OTHER links you can start to peruse there too! I also recommend setting up a spreadsheet if you intend on sticking around because we're a very data driven group! You can see in my signature what other kinds of things can be included in your signature to avoid repeat qs!
 
Welcome to FDMB
I hear you! it has been overwhelming to all of us when we hear the words, Feline Diabetes, but the good news is that FD is manageable.
Lantus is a good insulin for cats is a 12-hour insulin and gentle on the cat. However, 2 units is a big dose to start with , we recommend to start slow with 1 unit, As well as Lantus is a depot style insulin, it basically means some of it goes into the blood stream and some is stored and slowly released over time. It can take 6 cycles to build up the depot so you can see what the dose can do, so keeping the same dose is important. Are you home testing? we recommend to test before every shot, plus 2-3 more times during the day. You do not need a pet meter to test, many members use the ReliOn Premier meter and Strips, (Walmart) or any other human meter. You want to test prior to shot to avoid hypoglycemia. The protocol is TEST-FEED-SHOOT
A non-diabetic cats' glucose is between 50-120
A diabetic cat needs to have a diet wet can or raw foods between 0-10% carbs, most members feed up to 5% and many use Fancy Feast Pates, a feeding schedule is very important to keep the insulin Depot in check, feeding 3-4 small meals or snacks during the day is recommended, so grazing is not an option and no food 2 hours prion shot, you want to be able to get a true reading before shot., if you are feeding high carbs (kibbles (dry food, the transition from high to low carbs needs to be a slow transition to avoid stomach upset, as well as the lack of high carbs can dive down the glucose level, so testing during this transition is important. We are very numbers oriented, so we may assist you with dosing and any health concerns you may have, we would like you to create your signature and spreadsheet, links below, also a Drs. approved Food list, the third column contains the carb %, we are looking for DRY MATTER CARBS. Please keep posting 🫶

Sticky - New? How You Can Help Us Help You!
https://felinediabetes.com/FDMB/for...DMB/threads/dr-pierson-new-food-chart.174147/
 
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