missmer1430
New Member
I am new to diabetes and will be having a hard time giving the shots every 12 hours. Is it possible to give them 1 shot a day or will this hurt in the end? Any suggestions??? Thanks!
New to diabetes
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tuckers mom
Very Active Member
Could you tell us more about your kitty? Diet? What symptoms? What type of insulin was prescribed?
Could you shoot close to a 12/12 schedule? Some days 11 hours or 10 hours if needed? There are some folks who work different shifts and can't maintain a 12/12 schedule. Off hand I can think of one, Peggy and Mickey who posts on the PZI forum.
If your cat is eating dry food presently, changing to a low carb, high protein diet may help. Some cats have gone off insulin on diet change alone.
Could you shoot close to a 12/12 schedule? Some days 11 hours or 10 hours if needed? There are some folks who work different shifts and can't maintain a 12/12 schedule. Off hand I can think of one, Peggy and Mickey who posts on the PZI forum.
If your cat is eating dry food presently, changing to a low carb, high protein diet may help. Some cats have gone off insulin on diet change alone.
missmer1430
New Member
Currently she is on Prescription Diet W/D. She is 12 years old and was just diagnosed. She has inflammatory bowel disease as well. My vet wants to wait to change her diet because of the IBD problem. I did read online that sometimes W/D can be ok.
I am ok during the week for the most part to hit the 12 hours or 10 hours mark. It is when I get to Thursday night/Friday and Saturday that will be problematic. Thursday she would get her shot extremely late and it will probably only be a 6-7 hour window before I have to leave for work on Friday. It would be hard to find someone I can trust to do this for me during that time.
I am ok during the week for the most part to hit the 12 hours or 10 hours mark. It is when I get to Thursday night/Friday and Saturday that will be problematic. Thursday she would get her shot extremely late and it will probably only be a 6-7 hour window before I have to leave for work on Friday. It would be hard to find someone I can trust to do this for me during that time.
missmer1430
New Member
I forgot to say that glargine insulin was prescribed. We are going to start off with 2 units. Her symptoms prior to being diagnosed was losing weight (over 4 lbs in 6 months) and she was tested back in June for her teeth cleaning.
Sue and Oliver (GA)
Very Active Member
Welcome!
We have had great success feeding kitties lo carb, wet, non prescription foods and testing at home to determine how the insulin is working and how much to give.
WD is 37% carbs - like feeding donuts to a human diabetic. One of our members put together a food chart; we feed foods between 8-10% carbs. (Janet and Binky’s chart A vet, Dr. Lisa, provides an excellent site that explains why wet lo carb is best for any cat but especially diabetics. She also deals with IBD issues (http://www.catinfo.org)
Glargaline or Lantus as it is called in this forum is an excellent long lasting insulin but it doesn't work very well with a variable schedule because it builds up a shed in the body that influences how much insulin is needed. We have a separate forum here for Lantus, manned by only Lantus users. At the top are some excellent stickies regarding how it works and how to get started. viewforum.php?f=9
We also urge you to learn how to hometest as soon as possible. We figure we would never get a prescription and dose for insulin for our children and then blindly dose for 2 weeks until we went back to the doctor for blood glucose testing; we do the same for our 4 legged children. We have taught hundreds of people over the internet to test at home; can we help you learn how?
It is a steep learning curve and overwhelming at first. We all felt overwhelmed. But the more you read and learn, and then start to test at home, the more in control you will feel and the safer your kitty will be. We all had to get up to speed and we all helped each other. We would love to help you help your kitty.
We have had great success feeding kitties lo carb, wet, non prescription foods and testing at home to determine how the insulin is working and how much to give.
WD is 37% carbs - like feeding donuts to a human diabetic. One of our members put together a food chart; we feed foods between 8-10% carbs. (Janet and Binky’s chart A vet, Dr. Lisa, provides an excellent site that explains why wet lo carb is best for any cat but especially diabetics. She also deals with IBD issues (http://www.catinfo.org)
Glargaline or Lantus as it is called in this forum is an excellent long lasting insulin but it doesn't work very well with a variable schedule because it builds up a shed in the body that influences how much insulin is needed. We have a separate forum here for Lantus, manned by only Lantus users. At the top are some excellent stickies regarding how it works and how to get started. viewforum.php?f=9
We also urge you to learn how to hometest as soon as possible. We figure we would never get a prescription and dose for insulin for our children and then blindly dose for 2 weeks until we went back to the doctor for blood glucose testing; we do the same for our 4 legged children. We have taught hundreds of people over the internet to test at home; can we help you learn how?
It is a steep learning curve and overwhelming at first. We all felt overwhelmed. But the more you read and learn, and then start to test at home, the more in control you will feel and the safer your kitty will be. We all had to get up to speed and we all helped each other. We would love to help you help your kitty.
Lisa dvm
Active Member
Not according to anyone who is well-versed in proper feline nutrition.
You did not specify whether you are feeding canned or dry but neither formulation would find its way to any food bowl owned by a cat in my care.
If you are feeding the dry form, please see the Urinay Tract Health page linked below.
I do not advocate feeding any dry food to cats but please review my Diabetes page below - especially the STOP sign section - before you change the diet.
Also, please see the Home Testing section on the Diabetes page.
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