New to diabetes in cats

[Dbla]

On Friday December 23rd my 8 yrs. old male neutered cat was diagnosis with diabetes 382 glucose number. He weighs 7 lbs. and was placed on Prozinc 1 1/2 units 2x day (6 am and 6 pm) I started reading this forum for help which led me to purchase a glucose meter to monitor his numbers.
12/24 5:22 pm 307 glucose reading followed by 1 1/2 units of insulin. He was pretty lethargic Friday/Saturday. Gave him small amounts of fancy feast Pate to make sure he was eating, and he drank at every meal.
12/25 6:00 am 1 1/2 units of insulin, 8:55 am 264 glucose reading. Small amounts of fancy feast pate and water. 5:55 pm 299 glucose reading followed by 1 1/2 units of insulin. he finally started to socialized with the family again.
12/26 6:00 am 333 glucose reading followed by 1 1/2 units of insulin. Still perkier then Friday/Saturday.

Is there anything additional or different I need to do to correctly monitor his glucose and feed him to get weight back on this boy?

In addition I had noticed that his Mom (we rescued them both when they were young) had lost a little bit of weight too but her symptoms were not as advanced as the male, so I decided to test her at home and she has a glucose number of 326. I contacted the vet and they began insulin 1 unit 2x day. At 6:00 pm her glucose reading was 293.

Has anyone had both or more than one of their cats develop diabetes. They were on dry commercial food and well as outdoor hunting for food. Not only am I new I am double new tracking two cats. Any suggestions would be helpful.

Debbie

 

[Diane Tyler's Mom GA]

Welcome Debbie, what's you kitties name
If you tap on this link this will tell you how to set up your signature , information we need about your kitty. It will also tell you how to set up your spreadsheet that we use to track our kitties BG to see how the insulin is working and how low he's dropping
It will also say How to use the the spreadsheet, because we don't use times because we ate all in different time zones
Whatever BG numbers you already have you can enter them on the spreadsheet
That's how we determine on how to adjust the the dose

If you need help with setting up your spreadsheet just ask we have a member who will be happy to do it for you
https://www.felinediabetes.com/FDMB/threads/new-how-you-can-help-us-help-you.216696/

 

[Sienne and Gabby (GA)]

Welcome to FDMB!

Having cats eat high carb, dry food is not the only cause of diabetes. Consider how poorly many humans eat. Approximately 10% of the world's population has diabetes. Cornell University, one of the top vet schools, estimates only 1% of cats are diagnosed with diabetes. That said, we've had members with littermates that were both diagnosed. Genetics can definitely play a part.

The really good news is that your vet suggested you use one of the better insulins for you cat(s). From your post, I can't quite figure out when you're testing. You will want to test your cats right before you give an injection. We refer to this tests as pre-shot tests so you will be testing in the AM and the PM (i.e., AM pre-shot = AMPS and PM pre-shot = PMPS). Those tests will let you know if it's safe to give a shot. However, it's also important to know how effective the dose is. As a result, you want to get a test close to when the insulin is most effective (the nadir, or lowest point in the cycle). Typically, you'll want to test at least 4 times a day -- AMPS and PMPS and around mid-cycle.

I'd also suggest that in addition to the link Diane provided that will give you some very helpful information for getting started, you may want to learn a bit more about Prozinc. This is a link to the Prozinc forum. Please look over the sticky notes at the top of the page. The information will help you to better understand the insulin you're using, dosing methods, etc.

 

[Bron and Sheba (GA)]

Hi Debbie and welcome to you and your kitties to the forum.
Well done picking up on mother kitty’s symptoms!
You will need to set up 2 spreadsheets clearly marked with each kitty’s name. I am going to ask @Bandit's Mom if she can help you with that.
To make sure you give the correct dose to the correct cat, I would recommend setting up 2 mugs/ glasses with their names clearly marked in each and put two syringes into the mugs first thing each day. Then you will know if you have given the dose…in case you get distracted (it can happen).
Are you testing during the cycle as well as before the shots?
Once you have the signatures set up we will be able to see what glucose meter you are using and other useful information.