A tuxedo cat! My favorite!
Wow I am so sorry you almost lost him last night. You've come to the right place, many cats have been saved from devastating situations here.
3 units is a lot ... so is 4. Most cats won't ever need more than 3. Some do, but most do not. A drop down to 1 unit is a lot as well. Just to paint a picture.
1. Food
As Ale said, we like food that is under 10% carbs, ideally under 5%. Friskies Pate is actually acceptable (don't know if you were using that variety though), Fancy Feast Classics or Roasted is acceptable, and Tiki Cat is also acceptable. Tiki Cat is expensive though, so you can switch to something cheaper. There are other options too, some are even cheaper.
Here is a chart we use ... anything under 10% carbs is fair game.
As I said, we prefer to feed multiple times a day AND during the night. Most of us use Petsafe 5 autofeeders, so we can actually leave the house or get sleep haha! I have a multi-cat household and I usually gave the meals by hand because everyone would have eaten the food if I left it out. The multiple meals is used because 1) small meals are easier on the pancreas and 2) it helps steer the drop of BG. A cat with low BG will seek out food so we want to have that available to them.
2. Insulin
Lantus is a fantastic insulin for cats. Gold-standard if you will. Lantus is an insulin that craves consistency, meaning it likes AM and PM doses to be the same, not a lot of changes (unless needed), and it works best when you are as exact to 12 hrs apart as possible. Keep within a 15 minute window when shooting, so if you give insulin at 8 AM/PM, don't shoot earlier than 7:45 or later than 8:15. When needed, like for Daylight Savings Time or just life throwing off your schedule, you can do a max of 30 min early/late every 24 hours. If you do more, it will be like giving OVER full dose, if you do less, it's like you didn't give enough. Each cycle affects another. Lantus is also slow-acting, so you can test/feed/shoot at the same time, unlike fast-acting insulins that require food already on-board prior to shooting.
We increase in small increments, 0.25 units at a time. Reductions are earned when BG drops below 90. A cat rarely needs to stay on the same dose for more than a week ... their insulin needs are constantly changing depending on pancreatic activity (cats have the amazing ability to repair their beta cells, which leads to remission).
3. Home-testing
Like you, I bought a ReliOn meter and then was too scared to use it! I was so afraid to pricking my girl and all the fuss ... you'll find that being able to test is empowering though, it gives you control over this disease. No more vet visits, no more hypos. And glucose curves in fact, are inaccurate at the vet. A cat's BG can raise up to 200 points alone due to stress ... and a vet visit is stressful! It's also stupid-expensive. We can teach you to test, it's easy, though there is a learning curve when teaching the ears to bleed. They form capillaries after a while and then it's easy to get blood. Only a little bit, not a bloody show like it sounds like you had at the vet! In fact, most of our cats greatly enjoy test time! My girl and I had our little cuddle fest at test time, we loved it. Cats enjoy it mainly because testing time = treat time. If you are game, we are happy to teach you!
Hometesting Kit:
Hometesting Tips and Tricks
ReliOn Prime glucometer - $9
ReliOn Prime test strips - $18 for 100
ReliOn Lancets 26 G (or 28 if unavailable) - $1-2 for 100
ReliOn Lancing Device (optional) - $5
Travel-size Vaseline - $1
Neosporin Ointment + Pain Relief (ointment only, NOT cream) - $6
Cotton Pads (optional) - $2
Rice Sock or Pill bottle w/ warm water (optional) - homemade
You can use any kind of human meter, however the one listed above is Walmart brand and has the cheapest strips available. Same goes for lancets. You do not need a lancing device if you prefer to poke freehand, it's just personal preference. Vaseline is for helping the ear to bead up, neosporin is for helping the ear to heal/prevent bruising after the poke. Just a little dab of each. Cotton pads are optional, some people like to use them as backing so not to poke themselves, then to hold the ear a moment after to prevent bruising and stop bleeding. You can use a paper towel or your fingers if you prefer. Rice socks can be used in the microwave a few seconds to heat up and rub on the ear to draw the blood to the ear; it can also be used as backing when poking the ear. A pill bottle with warm water in it is another alternative to warm the ear, whichever thing you prefer to use.
Hypo Kit Supplies:
Hypo Kit Toolbox
Karo Syrup - $3
Ketone Test Strips (Ketostix) - $6
A few cans of Fancy Feast Gravy Lovers Marinated Morsels/Sliced in Gravy/Grilled in Gravy varieties - $0.60 each (these are your medium-carb cans)
A few cans of Fancy Feast Gravy Lovers/Medleys Tuscany/Medleys Gravy in Sauce varieties - $0.60 each (these are your high-carb cans)
Medium Carb is 11-15%
High Carb is 16%+
You can also search through the
catinfo chart while you're at the store to check which cans available are the ones you need. They don't HAVE to be Fancy Feast but they're fairly easy to find.
Poor bud!
Welcome to the forum!
