New to Feline Diabetes

borg the gorb

Member Since 2026
Hi, my name is Zach, and this account is for my 17 year old cat George who was diagnosed with diabetes a few days ago. I was looking for any tips and tricks for managing a cat with diabetes while also being disabled and working myself, mostly in regards to consistency. Any and all feedback is appreciated.
I recently started the change food to a high protein zero carb wet food, I have a glucose monitor for him, and I have insulin and know how to administer it. Mostly, my question is how do I make sure im doing everything right and consistently? I am physically and mentally disabled and returning to work soon, and im not sure how much I can be there for him if im working full time, or if I can consistently do curves for him. Any reccomendations on if I should bring this up with my job or how to work on time management for this? I want him comfortable and healthy. Attached is an image of George (also known as "the borg" or "the gorb")
bf00bb95-8bb4-4454-bb6a-c497f7cd04f9-1_all_6141.jpg
 
He is so handsome! Welcome to the message board! I don't have much in the way of advice, but I wanted to welcome you and let you know there are definitely ways to manage feline diabetes even when working full-time. One of the amazing moderators will give you more information. <3
 
He is so handsome! Welcome to the message board! I don't have much in the way of advice, but I wanted to welcome you and let you know there are definitely ways to manage feline diabetes even when working full-time. One of the amazing moderators will give you more information. <3
Thank you so much 🥰🥰 George says hello as well. I want to do the best that I can for him while working full time, I want him to be happy and healthy as can be. Other than diabetes the vet said his bloodwork was beautiful for his age. No thyroid issues and no kidney issues, just diabetes and its early stages
 
Welcome Zach and George to FDMB
I know it is overwhelming to find out your beautiful George has Feline diabetes, but the great news is that it is manageable, and you are in the right place, if all George was diagnosed was with FD you can handle that from right here, without spending lots of vet visits, with the right insulin, home testing the right diet and lots of love you can get Geporge regulated back to being a healthy boy.
1- The best insulins for cats are ProZinc and Lantus, they are a 12-hour insulin gentle on the cat, and starting on a low dose is important
2- Home testing is important, testing before each shot is needed to avoid hypoglycemia, and 3-4 more test during the day , and 2 in the evening after his shot, are important to see how the insulin works on George, since cats react differently to insulin; being away from home all day, you might want to consider the CGM it is a continuous glucose reading, and that takes care of the curves, a curve is simply testing every 2-3 hours for 1 cycle (12hours) most members use the ReliOn Premier meter and strips, you do not need a pet meter the strips are very expensive, or any human meter is just as good
3- DIET - this is one of the main things a diabetic cat needs a diet of wet can or raw food between 0-10% carbs, no grazing, no kibbles, or "prescribed or diabetic foods" there's no such thing, most member use Fancy Feast of Friskies Pates between 0-10% carbs, most feed up to 5%., they need to eat 3-4 meals during the day plus the two main meals before each shot. The protocol for either insulin are TEST-FEED-SHOOT, and no feeding at least 2 hours before shots. Since you will be away during the day, you might want to consider a wet food feeder, some have cameras and chips, some are not that expensive, a food list link below, the third column contains the carb % . We are here for you, it gets easier,
We are very numbers oriented so we can all be on the same page, we would like you to create your signature and George's spreadsheet, we want to know what insulin you are using and what dose, what are you feeding, , what meter you will be using, links below, if you need us to create the spreadsheet for you, we can, let us know. Keep posting all your concerns, no small is a small one 🤗

Sticky - New? How You Can Help Us Help You!
https://felinediabetes.com/FDMB/threads/how-to-create-a-spreadsheet.241706/
Info - Dr. Pierson - new Food Chart
 
Hi, my name is Zach, and this account is for my 17 year old cat George who was diagnosed with diabetes a few days ago. I was looking for any tips and tricks for managing a cat with diabetes while also being disabled and working myself, mostly in regards to consistency. Any and all feedback is appreciated.
I recently started the change food to a high protein zero carb wet food, I have a glucose monitor for him, and I have insulin and know how to administer it. Mostly, my question is how do I make sure im doing everything right and consistently? I am physically and mentally disabled and returning to work soon, and im not sure how much I can be there for him if im working full time, or if I can consistently do curves for him. Any reccomendations on if I should bring this up with my job or how to work on time management for this? I want him comfortable and healthy. Attached is an image of George (also known as "the borg" or "the gorb") View attachment 77742
Hi Zach, Welcome to the forum! We're sorry you have to be here, but you'll find a lot of resources here as well as a supportive community of other FD caregivers.

Let's start with some basics: which insulin has the vet put George on?

Two essentials you'll need are a spreadsheet and a signature for your profile. The spreadsheet will help you track George's blood glucose numbers and his daily shots. The signature gives us a snapshot of important information related to George. The instructions for setting both up, as well as some other important information is found here: Sticky - New? How You Can Help Us Help You!. If you have an issues with getting things set up, let us know, and we'll be glad to help.
 
Hi Zach, Welcome to the forum! We're sorry you have to be here, but you'll find a lot of resources here as well as a supportive community of other FD caregivers.

Let's start with some basics: which insulin has the vet put George on?

Two essentials you'll need are a spreadsheet and a signature for your profile. The spreadsheet will help you track George's blood glucose numbers and his daily shots. The signature gives us a snapshot of important information related to George. The instructions for setting both up, as well as some other important information is found here: Sticky - New? How You Can Help Us Help You!. If you have an issues with getting things set up, let us know, and we'll be glad to help.
George is on Lantus at 3 units twice daily

And okay, ill begin that now. Im a little confused but I will try my best to get a signature. I dont know how to do a spread sheet I have a feline diabetes app to log his dosage and glucose levels, if someone could help me figure out the spread sheet that would be wonderful (im sorry if I am not knowledgeable, I am new to this and autistic so this is a lot for me)

Welcome Zach and George to FDMB
I know it is overwhelming to find out your beautiful George has Feline diabetes, but the great news is that it is manageable, and you are in the right place, if all George was diagnosed was with FD you can handle that from right here, without spending lots of vet visits, with the right insulin, home testing the right diet and lots of love you can get Geporge regulated back to being a healthy boy.
1- The best insulins for cats are ProZinc and Lantus, they are a 12-hour insulin gentle on the cat, and starting on a low dose is important
2- Home testing is important, testing before each shot is needed to avoid hypoglycemia, and 3-4 more test during the day , and 2 in the evening after his shot, are important to see how the insulin works on George, since cats react differently to insulin; being away from home all day, you might want to consider the CGM it is a continuous glucose reading, and that takes care of the curves, a curve is simply testing every 2-3 hours for 1 cycle (12hours) most members use the ReliOn Premier meter and strips, you do not need a pet meter the strips are very expensive, or any human meter is just as good
3- DIET - this is one of the main things a diabetic cat needs a diet of wet can or raw food between 0-10% carbs, no grazing, no kibbles, or "prescribed or diabetic foods" there's no such thing, most member use Fancy Feast of Friskies Pates between 0-10% carbs, most feed up to 5%., they need to eat 3-4 meals during the day plus the two main meals before each shot. The protocol for either insulin are TEST-FEED-SHOOT, and no feeding at least 2 hours before shots. Since you will be away during the day, you might want to consider a wet food feeder, some have cameras and chips, some are not that expensive, a food list link below, the third column contains the carb % . We are here for you, it gets easier,
We are very numbers oriented so we can all be on the same page, we would like you to create your signature and George's spreadsheet, we want to know what insulin you are using and what dose, what are you feeding, , what meter you will be using, links below, if you need us to create the spreadsheet for you, we can, let us know. Keep posting all your concerns, no small is a small one 🤗

Sticky - New? How You Can Help Us Help You!
https://felinediabetes.com/FDMB/threads/how-to-create-a-spreadsheet.241706/
Info - Dr. Pierson - new Food Chart
This is perfect info for me, thank you. Ill definitely see about getting a wet food feeder. The only issue is we have a second cat that is my mother in laws cat who is not diabetic (to our knowledge. She should probably get her checked because that cat is definitely overweight and needs a diet). I tried to avoid graze feeding but MIL insisted on only buying the Kirkland Cat food (which is high in carbs to my knowledge) and making them graze feed, so it lead to a lot of arguments 😔 she doesnt know that george is diabetic yet but me and husband plan to tell her today since we only got the diagnosis about a day ago. I insisted to her that I handle the cats needs but she overfeeds them and I worry thats what caused george to develop diabetes (he was already 14 when we got him however so it could've been preexisting)

But now I will ensure even more than ever that their feeding schedule remains consistent and safe for them! Thank you for all your help everyone !!!
 
3 units a lot of insulin ! What was his glucose level? Also know that cats are very sensitive to stress and the vets office is a big stresser for cats but still 3,units is way too high for a newbie and for George, is always good to start low and work from there we like to increase and decrease in increments of .025 units it takes about 3 cycle ( 3 days) but with Lantus when you first start, since is a Depot insulin it will take between 5-7 days to begin to see changes in the glucose levels. I am concerned with such a high dose we would like you to create a HYPO KIT, this includes some medium carb food between 11-15% carbs some high carb food between 15-16% carbs also Karo syrup or honey, worried about the high dose is important that George gets tested at least 2 hours after shot and two more times during the day and definitely before each shot. I will tag a couple of members that can help you with dosing advice and I will tag another to do your spread sheet
@Sienne and Gabby (GA)
@Wendy&Neko
Could you please assist with dosing advice? George has been given 3 units to start
@Bandit's Mom
Could you create George’s spreadsheet?
 
Also when you have multiple cats is good to have them all on the same schedule with the same food with no grazing for any, it is important for George to get regulated
 
3 units a lot of insulin ! What was his glucose level? Also know that cats are very sensitive to stress and tge vets office is a big stressed for cats but still 3,units is way too high for a newbie and for George, is always good to start low and work from there we like to increase and decrease in increments of .025 units it takes about 3 cycle ( 3 days) but with Lantus when you first start, since is a Depot insulin it will take between 5-7 days to begin to see changes in the glucose levels. I am concerned with such a high dose we would like you to create a HYPO KIT, this includes some medium carb food between 11-15% carbs some high carb food between 15-16% carbs also Karo syrup or honey, worried about the high dose is important that George gets tested at least 2 hours after shot and two more times during the day and definitely before each shot. I will tag a couple of members that can help you with dosing advice and I will tag another to do your spread sheet
@Sienne and Gabby (GA)
@Wendy&Neko
Could you please assist with dosing advice? George has been given 3 units to start
@Bandit's Mom
Could you create George’s spreadsheet?
I will attach his vet paperwork below
1000014160.jpg

Do you have any reccomendations of high carb wet food ? Now im concerned for the dosage!
 
420 shows that he’s diabetic excluding the stressor factor, when Corky was first diagnosed he had 650 glucose level and was prescribed
2.1/2 units, and I went thru some hypo episodes, I am sure one of the members I tagged will plug in shortly, please get the hypo kit ready, and are you home testing already? What meter are you using?
 
Im using the alphatrak3 but i havent tested just yet, I havent used it yet though because the lance i got was broken and I need to wait for the replacement to come today. Im going to get a hypo kit asap, I just need to know exactly what I need to purchase and the brands that would be ideal. Apologies if I am not very good at communicating this
420 shows that he’s diabetic excluding the stressor factor, when Corky was first diagnosed he had 650 glucose level and was prescribed
2.1/2 units, and I went thru some hypo episodes, I am sure one of the members I tagged will plug in shortly, please get the hypo kit ready, and are you home testing already? What meter are you using?
 
Im using the alphatrak3 but i havent tested just yet, I havent used it yet though because the lance i got was broken and I need to wait for the replacement to come today. Im going to get a hypo kit asap, I just need to know exactly what I need to purchase and the brands that would be ideal. Apologies if I am not very good at communicating this
The lancets for the ALPHATRAK are $1.00 each you can get thru Walmart the ReliOn Premier meter $9.00 and the strips are $9.00 for 50 or $17.88 for 100 is always good to have extra strips handy especially when you are beginning to test, you test on outer top corner of the ear where what we call the sweet spot within a couple of weeks it gets easier as tge capillaries swell, find a small sock fill the end with rice big enough to cup the ear tie it, this way you have a better hold of the ear when prick in, prick the ear with the lancet sideways now downwards to avoid going thru the ear, in our main menu we have a how to test tips, here are some photos of Corky’s ear, that’s the sweet spot
 

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The lancets for the ALPHATRAK are $1.00 each you can get thru Walmart the ReliOn Premier meter $9.00 and the strips are $9.00 for 50 or $17.88 for 100 is always good to have extra strips handy especially when you are beginning to test, you test on outer top corner of the ear where what we call the sweet spot within a couple of weeks it gets easier as tge capillaries swell, find a small sock fill the end with rice big enough to cup the ear tie it, this way you have a better hold of the ear when prick in, prick the ear with the lancet sideways now downwards to avoid going thru the ear, in our main menu we have a how to test tips, here are some photos of Corky’s ear, that’s the sweet spot
Beautiful. Thank you so much for the tips!
 
Any high carb canned food is good for a hypo. Keep some medium carb 11% to 15% and high carb 16%+ carbs on hand as well as corn syrup or honey. Gravy based foods tend to be high in carbs. Check the food chart Links to FOOD CHARTS Fancy Feast Gravy Lovers is good and there are plenty of others. I've used Science Diet pate that was over 30% carbs.

The 420 glucose level was the typical one included with routine blood work. It just tells you what the level was at the time of blood draw. No different from what you get when you test at home. Many cats are super stressed out at the vet's office and stress causes super high levels. Ask the vet specifically for a fructosamine test.

How many doses of the 3 units of Lantus have you given so far? No more than 1 unit twice a day is what FDMB recommends most newbies start with. You can probably safely drop the dose to 1 unit twice a day but one of the more experienced members will know for sure @Wendy&Neko @Sienne and Gabby (GA) @Bandit's Mom

You don't need to use the AlphaTrak lancet device. Any lancet device you can buy at a pharmacy will work just as well. Just be sure it uses 26 gauge or so sized lancets. Thinner ones are too hard for newbies to get blood with. I think a device only comes with a few lancets, if any at all, so be sure to buy a box of the matching lancets.
 
Any high carb canned food is good for a hypo. Keep some medium carb 11% to 15% and high carb 16%+ carbs on hand as well as corn syrup or honey. Gravy based foods tend to be high in carbs. Check the food chart Links to FOOD CHARTS Fancy Feast Gravy Lovers is good and there are plenty of others. I've used Science Diet pate that was over 30% carbs.

The 420 glucose level was the typical one included with routine blood work. It just tells you what the level was at the time of blood draw. No different from what you get when you test at home. Many cats are super stressed out at the vet's office and stress causes super high levels. Ask the vet specifically for a fructosamine test.

How many doses of the 3 units of Lantus have you given so far? No more than 1 unit twice a day is what FDMB recommends most newbies start with. You can probably safely drop the dose to 1 unit twice a day but one of the more experienced members will know for sure @Wendy&Neko @Sienne and Gabby (GA) @Bandit's Mom

You don't need to use the AlphaTrak lancet device. Any lancet device you can buy at a pharmacy will work just as well. Just be sure it uses 26 gauge or so sized lancets. Thinner ones are too hard for newbies to get blood with. I think a device only comes with a few lancets, if any at all, so be sure to buy a box of the matching lancets.
I gave him two doses yesterday and one dose today, as per what the vet said (1 3 unit dose every 12 hours). Im so overwhelmed and scared because im getting so many mixed answers. Im glad I came here for assistance before something bad happened but im now really scared. Im going to call the vet tomorrow and ask about a fructosamine test. Im really worried that he may not actually be diabetic or something if youre saying that that level is normal for stress
 
YES, for high carbs but also get a few medium carbs like Medleys Chicken Florentine on a light sauce they are 12% medium carbs. A non-diabetic cats’ glucose is between 50-120 so, if or when you’re going to shoot always test 2 hour before, and of course before shot, this way you have plenty of time to decide by test/shot time if you are comfortable with the numbers, if not post us, a new thread titled LOW BG SHOT TIME, this gives you 2 hours to make a decision on how to handle low numbers and we will walk you thru it, Med and high carbs are a 2nd option and honey or syrup 3rd option, the first option is to feed small quantities of low carb is test every 1/2 hour after feeding a tsp of food repeating process if needed. Remember, you are not alone
 
Lantus requires 2 shots 1 every 12 hours, please make sure your vet has updated knowledge on Feline diabetes, Lantus is a 12 hour insulin, if you give 1 shot, by the following shot George’s levels are going to be super high and stabilizing can be difficult besides that the higher his system stays on high levels the more damage he’ll have to his pancreas
 
Lantus requires 2 shots 1 every 12 hours, please make sure your vet has updated knowledge on Feline diabetes, Lantus is a 12 hour insulin, if you give 1 shot, by the following shot George’s levels are going to be super high and stabilizing can be difficult besides that the higher his system stays on high levels the more damage he’ll have to his pancreas
Did I do something wrong? Genuinely question because im freaking out right now
 
I’ll tell you what was told to me when I was running around my house like a chicken without a head “cats are very sensitive to stress, you stress they stress” you are doing great, not too sure about your vet, this Forum saved my Corky’s life, and many more cats, I trust the members and this Forum blindly, I do not take Corky to the vet for his diabetes, he just had a dental cleaning with general anesthesia, he will be 14 in July, and this Forum has been my God sent saver, he came home from the procedure and by night time he was back to normal see his Spreadsheet below in Blue, from where he was to where he’s at, he is what we called “tightly regulated” he will be a lifetime diabetic but healthy as a log thanks to this Forum… Trust
 
Okay okay good because I was really worried that I dosed him wrong but I was just doing what the vet told me to do. Im going to give him only one unit tonight or should I skip it entirely?
I’ll tell you what was told to me when I was running around my house like a chicken without a head “cats are very sensitive to stress, you stress they stress” you are doing great, not too sure about your vet, this Forum saved my Corky’s life, and many more cats, I trust the members and this Forum blindly, I do not take Corky to the vet for his diabetes, he just had a dental cleaning with general anesthesia, he will be 14 in July, and this Forum has been my God sent saver, he came home from the procedure and by night time he was back to normal see his Spreadsheet below in Blue, from where he was to where he’s at, he is what we called “tightly regulated” he will be a lifetime diabetic but healthy as a log thanks to this Forum… Trust
 
Also what should I do regarding his dosage? Should I lower it?
wait till one of the members reach out to you I do not give dosing advice I also use ProZinc, I’m giving you all the knowledge I have learned and studied here, I’m just hoping you start testing soon
 
I see your spreadsheet now, but I believe you need to also give us access to US values ,or conversion, because I am seeing lime colors, and if you look above on the color scheme for the BG level, the lime is 50 or lower, I always have my SS done by Bandit's mom, after 4 years here. I am not computer savvy, I would not know how to do that, other than that, it looks great where it says up top current insulin, type Lantus not the units, you are doing great Zach!
 
I see your spreadsheet now, but I believe you need to also give us access to US values ,or conversion, because I am seeing lime colors, and if you look above on the color scheme for the BG level, the lime is 50 or lower, I always have my SS done by Bandit's mom, after 4 years here. I am not computer savvy, I would not know how to do that, other than that, it looks great where it says up top current insulin, type Lantus not the units, you are doing great Zach!
Im so confused I dont understand. AMPS and PMPS is AM pre shot/PM pre shot correct? Is the green meant to be the time or the level?
 
AMPS is the first morning shot, PMPS is he's second shot till the next day, if you look at Corky's SS you will see two rows,( I find it easer) one for the time and the other for the +1 +2 etc we use these to refer to the shot time
 
AMPS is the first morning shot, PMPS is he's second shot till the next day, if you look at Corky's SS you will see two rows,( I find it easer) one for the time and the other for the +1 +2 etc we use these to refer to the shot time
how do I get one that has the time stamps on it? I also apologise sincerely for being uninformed, I am still learning and I am autistic so things do not make sense to me the same way as other people
 
You enter the blood glucose level in the AMPS and PMPS and the + numbered columns. Actual time does not matter because FDMB members are all over the world and in different time zones. +2 means 2 hours after insulin, +3 is 3 hours after insulin, etc.

The SS automatically gives a color to the blood glucose level. The color code key is on row 3. FDMB members find the coloring useful. Blue and dark green are good numbers to have. Yellow, pink, red and black are common in new diabetics but don't stress too much over it as long as your cat is getting insulin and eating low carb food. Lime green indicates a hypo for *most* cats and you typically see symptoms. I say *most* because my cat was at 37 last night and then 47 an hour-ish later BUT he only had half a dose of insulin that morning per the vet ahead of his day long appointment and it was too late to give the PM dose when he got home. My cat had no symptoms of hypo and I was not worried about him going 24 hours with no insulin. Vet stress can actually cause low blood glucose levels in some weirdo cats 🤪

None of the FDMB spreadsheets have a time stamp.
 
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You are Awesome! it's perfect, now go to your AlphaTrak memory and insert the BG numbers that you have, Good Job, George is lucky to have you!
 
how do I get one that has the time stamps on it? I also apologise sincerely for being uninformed, I am still learning and I am autistic so things do not make sense to me the same way as other people
do not apologize, you are doing great, we were not born knowing, I was a stupid idiot when I started here, you are a Pro
 
You enter the blood glucose level in the AMPS and PMPS and the + numbered columns. Actual time does not matter because FDMB members are all over the world and in different time zones. +2 means 2 hours after insulin, +3 is 3 hours after insulin, etc.

The SS automatically gives a color to the blood glucose level. The color code key is on row 3. FDMB members find the coloring useful. Blue and dark green are good numbers to have. Yellow, pink, red and black are common in new diabetics but don't stress too much over it as long as your cat is getting insulin and eating low carb food. Lime green indicates a hypo for *most* cats and you typically see symptoms. I say *most* because my cat was at 37 last night and then 47 an hour-ish later BUT he only had half a dose of insulin that morning per the vet ahead of his day long appointment and it was too late to give the PM dose when he got home. My cat has no symptoms of hypo and I was not worried about him going 24 hours with no insulin. Vet stress can actually cause low blood glucose levels in some weirdo cats 🤪
Ohhhhh that makes a lot more sense! So I log the blood glucose level and the +number = how many hours after the shot I tested. Thank you so much!!!!!
 
Now Zach when you reach 50 posts with this thread, we would like you to create a new thread, (upper right hand corner of post) you can title it the same but add 'CONTINUATION' in front of the title we will attach both threads together, we like to keep our threads to 50 posts, much easier to read mall the information
 
Zach, One of the things we always do with our kitties is give them a test before we administer insulin so that we can ensure their blood glucose is not too low (just like humans do!). Do you have the supplies to test George, and if so, do you think you could perform a test? You'll need a meter + lancets + testing strips. Many of us here don't use a lancet device to test; we hand test with a lancet, and those lancets can be purchased at a drug store or Wal-Mart. We can give you some links to "how to test" information if that will be helpful. Without being able to test to see his blood glucose number, it's difficult to know if 3 units is too much or not. Jude currently gets 3.25 units, so it's not an unheard of dose at all. It's just that each cat is different with it's dosing requirements, and you want to know the blood glucose number before you give insulin to make sure you are giving George a safe dose. If you give him too much insulin, he can become hypoglycemic, which means his blood glucose can drop into dangerous numbers, and you don't want that.
 
Zach, One of the things we always do with our kitties is give them a test before we administer insulin so that we can ensure their blood glucose is not too low (just like humans do!). Do you have the supplies to test George, and if so, do you think you could perform a test? You'll need a meter + lancets + testing strips. Many of us here don't use a lancet device to test; we hand test with a lancet, and those lancets can be purchased at a drug store or Wal-Mart. We can give you some links to "how to test" information if that will be helpful. Without being able to test to see his blood glucose number, it's difficult to know if 3 units is too much or not. Jude currently gets 3.25 units, so it's not an unheard of dose at all. It's just that each cat is different with it's dosing requirements, and you want to know the blood glucose number before you give insulin to make sure you are giving George a safe dose. If you give him too much insulin, he can become hypoglycemic, which means his blood glucose can drop into dangerous numbers, and you don't want that.
I just tested him and hes 107
 
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