Our cat was diagnosed yesterday... I'm lost

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Phoenix R.

Phoenix R.

Member Since 2023
Hello... I'm new to this forum as well as feline diabetes and am so confused. Our 12 year old cat "Mouse" was just diagnosed yesterday and we certainly didn't expect this diagnosis... We took her to the vet. because I caught her peeing on the floor and it had a pinkish red tinge to it so I thought maybe UTI or urine crystals. Her urinalysis should high red blood cells and bacteria as well as sugar. The vet then recommended we do a full blood panel and the extra glucose test to see what her levels showed for the past 2 weeks. Her glu level was 494mg/dl and fru 404 both indicated as high. The vet sent us home with vetsulin insulin to be given 1 unit 2x/ day after feeding. (My cat has a tendency to eat several small meals/ day.) And a prescription for RC Glucobalance canned food and Orbax for the UTI. I'm not sure what to do since from what I've been reading vetsulin is not a good kind to use on cats. I'm also getting conflicting info on the prescription diet verses regular canned food with less than 10% carbs. We gave her her regular food this morning that I've been feeding her which is Fancy Feast Petites and gave her only ¾ of a unit because we weren't sure that she ate enough to give her a full dose. I've been looking through the list of alternative foods we could feed and honestly I don't know where to start. I'm guessing because Mouse is actually under weight that I should go with one that has the less than 10% carbs and maybe a little bit higher calories? I also don't know what kind of glucose monitor to get because from what I've read the human ones aren't good to use because they don't read the same as the pet ones with a setting specifically for cats. All that being said I'm turning to you knowledgeable folks to please help me sort this out.
 
Your instincts are right. The prescription food is too high carbs and not good for diabetic cats. Unfortunately most vets do not know a lot about feline diabetes….they have many animals to look after and they all have different diseases and treatments. Vets also get their information about nutrition from the big cat food manufacturers so they are biased in what they recommend. A dry high carb diet is not good for any cat, especially a diabetic cat. That’s like feeding your diabetic child a diet of chips, ice cream and sweets. Fancy feast or Friskies low carb options like the pates are much better. You can also go the expensive route with brands like Weruva and Tiki or even Ziwipeak.

I feel your vet is treating diabetic cats the way he treats diabetic dogs and that’s a mistake. First because he prescribed Vetsulin, also called caninsulin because it was created for dogs who have a much lower metabolism than cats. Vetsulin is a harsh insulin so you need to make sure he has food onboard at least 30 minutes before the shot. It also wears off fast and your cat is not protected the entire 12 hours. Second because he’s telling you to only feed twice a day. That’s very old fashioned advice that works for dogs but again not for cats because of their higher metabolism. Cats are grazers and do much better on smaller meals throughout the day. It’s also easier on their already compromised pancreas. If he need to gain weight, I’d just feed him more calories as in more food. Most of us feed the 2 larger meals around shot times and the smaller meals or low carb snacks like freeze dried treats throughout the day. What’s his ideal weight?

vets also try to push pet meters but human meters work just as well. Most of us here use Walmart’s ReliOn which is great and has the less expensive test strips.

With a diabetic cat you need
  • A low carb wet diet that is 10% carbs or under. Most of us use around 4-7% carbs
  • A suitable insulin such as Lantus or Prozinc which are long acting, more gentle insulins than the old insulins.
  • We recommend hometesting the blood glucose with a human meter…it is not necessary to use a pet meter which is expensive to run and is no better. It will keep your kitty safe and you will know how the dose is working for your kitty. Only testing every so often will not tell you what is happening in between those times and an awful lot can happen in even a day.
  • HELP US HELP YOU has information about the spreadsheet, signature and hypo box which you will need to be able to look after your beloved kitty properly
We are happy to help you with setting up the spreadsheet, sorting out what food to buy, how to transition safely to a low carb diet, how to learn to home test and much more. Keep asking questions!
 
Ale & Bobo & Minnie (GA) said:
Your instincts are right. The prescription food is too high carbs and not good for diabetic cats. Unfortunately most vets do not know a lot about feline diabetes….they have many animals to look after and they all have different diseases and treatments. Vets also get their information about nutrition from the big cat food manufacturers so they are biased in what they recommend. A dry high carb diet is not good for any cat, especially a diabetic cat. That’s like feeding your diabetic child a diet of chips, ice cream and sweets. Fancy feast or Friskies low carb options like the pates are much better. You can also go the expensive route with brands like Weruva and Tiki or even Ziwipeak.

I feel your vet is treating diabetic cats the way he treats diabetic dogs and that’s a mistake. First because he prescribed Vetsulin, also called caninsulin because it was created for dogs who have a much lower metabolism than cats. Vetsulin is a harsh insulin so you need to make sure he has food onboard at least 30 minutes before the shot. It also wears off fast and your cat is not protected the entire 12 hours. Second because he’s telling you to only feed twice a day. That’s very old fashioned advice that works for dogs but again not for cats because of their higher metabolism. Cats are grazers and do much better on smaller meals throughout the day. It’s also easier on their already compromised pancreas. If he need to gain weight, I’d just feed him more calories as in more food. Most of us feed the 2 larger meals around shot times and the smaller meals or low carb snacks like freeze dried treats throughout the day. What’s his ideal weight?

vets also try to push pet meters but human meters work just as well. Most of us here use Walmart’s ReliOn which is great and has the less expensive test strips.

With a diabetic cat you need
  • A low carb wet diet that is 10% carbs or under. Most of us use around 4-7% carbs
  • A suitable insulin such as Lantus or Prozinc which are long acting, more gentle insulins than the old insulins.
  • We recommend hometesting the blood glucose with a human meter…it is not necessary to use a pet meter which is expensive to run and is no better. It will keep your kitty safe and you will know how the dose is working for your kitty. Only testing every so often will not tell you what is happening in between those times and an awful lot can happen in even a day.
  • HELP US HELP YOU has information about the spreadsheet, signature and hypo box which you will need to be able to look after your beloved kitty properly
We are happy to help you with setting up the spreadsheet, sorting out what food to buy, how to transition safely to a low carb diet, how to learn to home test and much more. Keep asking questions!
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I appreciate all the info.
Ale & Bobo & Minnie (GA) said:
Fancy Feast Petites is also too high in carbs btw. I had to stop feeding Bobo that, but you can do FF medleys shredded instead as well as chunky and flakes.
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Thank you for your reply. Is there a ff pate that is low carb and higher calorie? Mouse lost some of her teeth and will only lick the juice/gravy off of the flakey shredded and chunky kinds, also she's a super picky eater.
 
Also wondering how many oz. Is enough to be considered a big meal... She is use to being fed several times a day. Usually approximately 1.4 oz. at a time. I'll have to pick up some other wet cat food tomorrow all I have for tonight and the morning is ff petites and tiki cat pate chicken and egg recipe. I wish we hadn't gotten the vetsulin, that's the only one our vet clinic carried and our vet said it would be ok for her, now I wish we had gotten a script for one of the other ones. Do you think it would be ok if I give her the fancy feast petites yet tonight and tomorrow morning along with her 1 unit of vetsulin. I really don't know what to do anymore...
We have a small farm and a couple of rabbits on special food, a couple of dogs (one of them is older and has mobility and bladder issues that are time consuming) as well as other cats.
 
I get it. So is Bobo. You can actually check the carb content on the Purina website but I believe the chicken, beef and turkey are close to 100 calories per can as opposed to the seafood flavors. Have you tried baby food and those lickable pouches by Inaba Churo?
 
What’s her ideal weight? The rule of thumb for daily caloric intake is 20 times ideal weight so if she should be 12 pounds, she should be eating about 240 calories a day more to gain. I give Bobo 1 can of FF at around shot time, 1/2 after I test him and another 1/2 about an hour later, then he gets 1/2 can as a treat x2 times as well as treats here and there. It just depends on how much she’s used to eating in one sitting. I split the 1 can in 1/2 because he won’t eat a full can all at once.
 
Not positive what her ideal weight should be but she was usually between 5 and 6 lbs. Her weight at the vet yesterday was 4.6lbs.
 
Still ok to give insulin before getting the meter? Sorry for all the questions, I'm so afraid of screwing this up.
 
We recommend starting at a low dose of 1 or even 1/2 a unit. Can you measure 1/2 a unit? 1 unit is an okay dose to start and as long as you don’t switch her food, that should be fine. If you worry and can measure 1/2 a unit, I’d start with that.

Then you can assume 6 pounds. She’s a tiny one! That means she should be eating 120 calories a day. I’d make it 150 since she needs to gain. It’s more important to look at the calories than the ounces. Another reason we say to feed as much as possible is because diabetic cats can’t process the nutrients in food well so they’ll eat but still be hungry and lose weight. They also burn calories just by peeing since there’s sugar in their urine.

It’s fine to stay with Vetsulin for a bit until you can switch over to a longer lasting insulin. If you get a prescription for Lantus, the generic version is called glargine and is a lot more affordable. I know there are online coupons you can use and I hear Costco had the best pricing for it. Depending on where you live, you can also order it from Canada where it’s much cheaper.
 
I live in rural Wisconsin so not a lot of options for places to pic stuff up from. We do have a Walmart about 30min. Away otherwise just dollar stores in the surrounding small towns. I can measure out ½ unit... Will that be ok to give her til I get the meter? Where would I fill the script when I get it for the better insulin? Just trying to be prepared. Also wondering if there's a process when it comes time to switch insulin to lantus? I would like to switch her after we finish this bottle of vetsulin.
 
We’ll guide you through all that but by then we’ll know how she’s doing on Vetsulin. Typically you just switch over at the same dose. You can get all the testing supplies at your Walmart. Meter, test strips and lancets. Is there a Costco near? That’s where most folks buy their Lantus. Tagging @Diane Tyler's Mom who may know of other options but we have some time since you’re going to finish the Vetsulin first. Home testing is what you should do as soon as possible. I’d start getting her used to you massaging her ears since you’re going to be handling them for the testing.
 
Ale & Bobo & Minnie (GA) said:
Tagging @Diane Tyler's Mom who may know of other options but we have some time since you’re going to finish the Vetsulin first. Home testing is what you should do as soon as possible. I’d start getting her used to you massaging her ears since you’re going to be handling them for the testing.
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Here is the link for the meter and test strips so you don't have to search for them
Relion Premier Classic Meter at Walmart for 9 dollars
https://www.walmart.com/ip/ReliOn-Premier-CLASSIC-Blood-Glucose-Monitoring-System/552134103

The tests strips are 17.88 for 100
https://www.walmart.com/ip/ReliOn-Premier-Blood-Glucose-Test-Strips-100-Count/575088197
You can order them on line also
Our numbers are based on human meters
When you do start testing
Always aim for the sweet spot warm the ears up first, you can put rice in a sock and put it in the microwave, test it on the inside of your wrist to be sure it's not to hot, like you would test a babies bottle. You can fill a pill bottle with warm water and roll it on the ears also.Just keep rubbing the ears with your fingers to warm them up
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6. As the ears get used to bleeding and grow more capilares, it gets easier to get the amount of blood you need on the first try. If he won’t stand still, you can get the blood onto a clean finger nail and test from there.
When you do get some blood you can try milking the ear.
Get you finger and gently push up toward the blood , more will appear
You will put the cotton round behind his ear in case you poke your finger, after you are done testing you will fold the cotton round over his ear to stop the bleeding , press gently for about 10 or 20 seconds until it stops
Get 26 or 28 gauge lancets
A lot of us use the lancets to test freehand not the lancing device
I find it better to see where I'm aiming
Look at the lancet under a light and you will see one side is curved upward, that's the side you want to poke with
 
I see you want to switch to Lantus evently, When you do
You can get the syringes with half unit markings at a Walmart. Their ReliOn Brand syringes of 0.3 cc (30 unit) capacity come with half unit markings. Cost $12.58 for a box of 100
This is what the packaging looks like: either box is fine
They won't say it half unit on the box but the are . open then and look before you leave the store, can't be ordered on line , need to go into the store
:




upload_2021-9-5_23-18-9-jpeg.62508

Or any of the ones listed here
 
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Or you can get generic lantus from a pharmacy
You can have the vet write the script for generic lantus ,many members use it, The brand is much more expensive, just call around and see who might have the generic
Here is some info
Check this out also
https://www.goodrx.com/insulin-glargine?dosage=five-3ml-prefilled-pens-of-100-units-ml&form=carton&label_override=insulin glargine&quantity=1
The 5 pens will last about a year, we use the pens just like a vial, you would just insert the syringe it the gray rubber stopper on the pen and draw out your insulin
Its generic lantus



Or this one also

I see some members will call CVS, Rite Aid, Costco, Walgreen's, to get the price for 5 pens
Posted by another member
One members posted this
. I paid $175 for a box of 5 pens at Walmart pharmacy, but GoodRX coupon says you can get it for around $90 if you have a Rite Aid pharmacy near you.
 
Hi, Welcome to the FDMB. You've already received great advice, I also highly recommend Lantus it did wonders for my boy. Let's see some pics of Mouse when you get a chance! The upload feature on this site is broken though, you have to either copy/paste an image into the post reply box or drag-n-drop into the post reply box.
 
Hello again, I have another question.
How long after my cat finishes eating her "big" meal should I wait before giving her the insulin? Some things I've read say a half hour. Some say just after they finish eating.
I was going to add a pic of my sweet girl but can't figure out how to copy and paste a picture or drag and drop.
 
30 minutes with Vetsulin. Once you switch to Lantus, you don’t have to wait at all. The reason is that Vetsulin hits fast and hard and you want to make sure your cat has food onboard so the bg doesn’t drop too fast.
 
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Diane Tyler's Mom said:
You can get the syringes with half unit markings at a Walmart. Their ReliOn Brand syringes of 0.3 cc (30 unit) capacity come with half unit markings. Cost $12.58 for a box of 100
This is what the packaging looks like: either box is fine
They won't say it half unit on the box but the are . open then and look before you leave the store, can't be ordered on line , need to go into the store
:




upload_2021-9-5_23-18-9-jpeg.62508

Or any of the ones listed here
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I think these are only for Lantus not Vetsulin right Diane?
 
Got the meter and other supplies today... Tested her after her "big meal" tonight (still the ff petites) monitor said 486 so we gave her 1 unit of vetsulin. Is there a range that would warrant her insulin to be reduced? A range that it should be increased? I really hope im doing this right. Is it correct that I shouldn't switch her food until I can test her several times a day for 3 days. I picked up fancy feast classics turkey and giblets, tender beef, chicken, tender chicken and liver and tender beef and chicken... Are those the right ones? How should I switch her foods to low carb?
I really appreciate all the help from all you great people!
 
How often can you test daily? Btw, you want to test before the meal. So it should go like this; test, feed, then 30 minutes late shoot. Test needs to be before the food so the bg number you get is not food influenced and you know it’s safe to shoot. With Vetsulin, it would be great if you could try to get a +2, or +3, or +4 since it peaks earlier so you can see how low it’s taking her. You want to alternate these times because you’re trying to catch her nadir, lowest point in a 12 hour cycle. It’s also a good idea to try to get another test in the evening before going to sleep so you can see how she’s going to be doing overnight. If you can do an average of 4 tests a day, I’d say you’re ready to start transitioning the food now. No need to wait 3 days. Did someone tell you to do that? It’d also be a good idea to do a curve in 7 days.

Are you also to set up your signature and spreadsheet? It’s all here in the helping us to help you link I shared earlier. If you noticed, our members have some basic information about their cat's in their signature. This helps us to not pester you by asking the same questions (your cat's name, insulin type, date of diagnosis, etc.) repeatedly. We also have a link to our spreadsheet in our signature. We are very numbers driven. The spreadsheet is a record of your cat's progress. By linking it in your signature, we can follow along and provide feedback should you need the help. Most members will not be able to give you dose advice if the can’t see the progress in the spreadsheet.

to answer, yes there are numbers to guide you. You’re aiming for you cat to be at or as close to the normal range as possible most of the time and that’s 70-120. At the beginning you probably won’t see that, it takes time. Feline diabetes is a marathon not a sprint. Also in the beginning, you don’t want to shoot if the preshot tests are lower than 200. I’m not a Vetsulin user, but there should be some guidance in the Vetsulin forum sticky notes I also gave you a link to. Read this carefully, it has a lot of detailed guidance on values and dosage:

https://felinediabetes.com/FDMB/threads/beginners-guide-to-caninsulin-vetsulin.231587/
 
I'm still trying to figure out how to feed her... She likes to eat throughout the day. How long before the evening/night test should I not feed her in order for it not to be influenced by food. I'm so mad at myself right now cause I'm already doing it wrong... Last night and this morning I fed her and waited a half hour (maybe a bit longer) and tested her right before giving her her shot. I've read so many things and everything just gets so jumbled in my head.
 
Phoenix R. said:
I'm still trying to figure out how to feed her... She likes to eat throughout the day. How long before the evening/night test should I not feed her in order for it not to be influenced by food. I'm so mad at myself right now cause I'm already doing it wrong... Last night and this morning I fed her and waited a half hour (maybe a bit longer) and tested her right before giving her her shot. I've read so many things and everything just gets so jumbled in my head.
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Sorry, I should have mentioned this. You want to withhold food for at least 2 hours before testing. Just for the pre shot tests. It doesn’t matter for the other ones.

be nice to yourself. I made a ton of mistakes at first. It’s a steep learning curve and it’s only been one day. You’re doing great. Seriously better than most. It took me over 3 months to find this place and I was doing everything wrong up until then! Just take a breath and really I can’t emphasize enough, take the time to read through those links.

ps- she would have been high regardless I’m pretty sure tonight you’ll still get a number over 300 but let’s see!
 
If you live in a rural area, you can purchase much of your supplies online. Fancy Feast Classics are pate style and widely available. Many people here feed their cat Friskies pate style foods. You want to have a supply of higher carb foods, as well, as a means to steer numbers if they drop into a low range. If your cat has trouble eating some of the chunkier foods, you can use a few drops of corn syrup (e.g., Karo) or honey. My cat was gluten intolerant and syrup worked just fine! Chewy's is a great resource for food delivery.

Another resource for diabetes supplies is ADW. They stock syringes.

Lantus (glargine) is a human insulin and available at any pharmacy. Not all pharmacies routine stock the generic/biosimilar version so Diane's suggestion to call around is on point.

With Vetsulin, it's important to have food in your cat's system before giving a shot. It's fine to let your cat graze throughout the day. Most vets tend to tell caregivers to feed twice a day and most of the time the cat is miserable. It's fine to give multiple small meals or let your kitty graze.

You are new at this. There's a very steep learning curve and you are doing your best. So, take a breath. This will all become routine within a week or two. As for the order of things -- test, feed, wait (if you're using Vetsulin), and shoot.
 
Sienne and Gabby (GA) said:
If you live in a rural area, you can purchase much of your supplies online. Fancy Feast Classics are pate style and widely available. Many people here feed their cat Friskies pate style foods. You want to have a supply of higher carb foods, as well, as a means to steer numbers if they drop into a low range. If your cat has trouble eating some of the chunkier foods, you can use a few drops of corn syrup (e.g., Karo) or honey. My cat was gluten intolerant and syrup worked just fine! Chewy's is a great resource for food delivery.

Another resource for diabetes supplies is ADW. They stock syringes.

Lantus (glargine) is a human insulin and available at any pharmacy. Not all pharmacies routine stock the generic/biosimilar version so Diane's suggestion to call around is on point.

With Vetsulin, it's important to have food in your cat's system before giving a shot. It's fine to let your cat graze throughout the day. Most vets tend to tell caregivers to feed twice a day and most of the time the cat is miserable. It's fine to give multiple small meals or let your kitty graze.

You are new at this. There's a very steep learning curve and you are doing your best. So, take a breath. This will all become routine within a week or two. As for the order of things -- test, feed, wait (if you're using Vetsulin), and shoot.
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We almost wrote the same lines verbatim ha! Do you know the dry food she’s asking about?
 
Ale & Bobo & Minnie (GA) said:
Sorry, I should have mentioned this. You want to withhold food for at least 2 hours before testing. Just for the pre shot tests. It doesn’t matter for the other ones.

be nice to yourself. I made a ton of mistakes at first. It’s a steep learning curve and it’s only been one day. You’re doing great. Seriously better than most. It took me over 3 months to find this place and I was doing everything wrong up until then! Just take a breath and really I can’t emphasize enough, take the time to read through those links.

ps- she would have been high regardless I’m pretty sure tonight you’ll still get a number over 300 but let’s see!
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Thank you for your encouraging words... I'm currently dealing with several health issues of my own as well as trying to spend time and give extra care to our little senior dog that we may have to say goodbye to in the near future and now my diabetic cat with a UTI and trying to balance that all out with spring prep for our farm critters on top of regular farm chores and feedings. I think that's part of the reason why I'm getting so messed up on the things that I've read about treating FD. I still am unsure of when I can safely switch her to her low carb food that I picked up yesterday. Is it safe to switch her tonight for her preshot meal? Or should I wait til tomorrow morning when I'll be able to monitor her better throughout the day?
 
Sienne and Gabby (GA) said:
If you live in a rural area, you can purchase much of your supplies online. Fancy Feast Classics are pate style and widely available. Many people here feed their cat Friskies pate style foods. You want to have a supply of higher carb foods, as well, as a means to steer numbers if they drop into a low range. If your cat has trouble eating some of the chunkier foods, you can use a few drops of corn syrup (e.g., Karo) or honey. My cat was gluten intolerant and syrup worked just fine! Chewy's is a great resource for food delivery.

Another resource for diabetes supplies is ADW. They stock syringes.

Lantus (glargine) is a human insulin and available at any pharmacy. Not all pharmacies routine stock the generic/biosimilar version so Diane's suggestion to call around is on point.

With Vetsulin, it's important to have food in your cat's system before giving a shot. It's fine to let your cat graze throughout the day. Most vets tend to tell caregivers to feed twice a day and most of the time the cat is miserable. It's fine to give multiple small meals or let your kitty graze.

You are new at this. There's a very steep learning curve and you are doing your best. So, take a breath. This will all become routine within a week or two. As for the order of things -- test, feed, wait (if you're using Vetsulin), and shoot.
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Thank you for responding and for your encouraging words.
I picked up a bunch of different flavors of Fancy Feast Classics yesterday at Walmart. Are all fancy feast classics low carb? Are all Friskies Pate flavors low carb? I'm trying to find a food that is a little higher calorie because Mouse is actually underweight (her normal weight is around 5 or 6 lbs. and she only weight 4.6 lbs. At the vet on Wednesday). Most of the info I read has been geared towards overweight diabetic cats.
I get a lot of our pet foods as well as litter from Chewy and will be ordering what ever low carb food we end up putting her on from there in the future. I just didn't want to wait a few days to get her low carb food and had to go to Walmart anyway yesterday to pick up her glucose testing supplies.
 
Phoenix R. said:
Thank you for responding and for your encouraging words.
I picked up a bunch of different flavors of Fancy Feast Classics yesterday at Walmart. Are all fancy feast classics low carb? Are all Friskies Pate flavors low carb? I'm trying to find a food that is a little higher calorie because Mouse is actually underweight (her normal weight is around 5 or 6 lbs. and she only weight 4.6 lbs. At the vet on Wednesday). Most of the info I read has been geared towards overweight diabetic cats.
I get a lot of our pet foods as well as litter from Chewy and will be ordering what ever low carb food we end up putting her on from there in the future. I just didn't want to wait a few days to get her low carb food and had to go to Walmart anyway yesterday to pick up her glucose testing supplies.
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All pates should be LC but remember to check here:
FOOD CHART and choose foods that are under 10%. High calorie foods tend to be the non fish flavors but also you can feed her more. Remember the 20 x ideal weight rule of thumb to get the daily caloric intake. If she should be 6 pounds, she needs to be eating at least 120 calories a day but more like 150 to gain weight back. 2 cans of FF poultry or beef at least a day.

You will also need some higher carb foods, like FF gravy, for that hypo box..information in the help us help you link.
 
Phoenix R. said:
Thank you for your encouraging words... I'm currently dealing with several health issues of my own as well as trying to spend time and give extra care to our little senior dog that we may have to say goodbye to in the near future and now my diabetic cat with a UTI and trying to balance that all out with spring prep for our farm critters on top of regular farm chores and feedings. I think that's part of the reason why I'm getting so messed up on the things that I've read about treating FD. I still am unsure of when I can safely switch her to her low carb food that I picked up yesterday. Is it safe to switch her tonight for her preshot meal? Or should I wait til tomorrow morning when I'll be able to monitor her better throughout the day?
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I think you should start tomorrow to be safe. I try not to change anything at night since I’ll be asleep and not able to monitor. UTIs are notorious for raising the bg so it’s very possible that she’s start to get lower bgs once that’s cleared out of her system
 
The link that Ale provided to a food chart is from a wonderful site, authored by a vet, on feline nutrition. The chart lists hundreds of foods along with their nutritional values, including carbohydrates, by the manufacturer. It also lists calories. If you need your cat to gain weight, aim for low carb, higher calorie food or just feed your cat as much as she'll eat!

We regard low carb as under 10%. However, most of the members tend to feed in the neighborhood of 5%. Medium carb is 10 - 15% and high carb is anything over 15%.
 
Ale & Bobo & Minnie (GA) said:
I think you should start tomorrow to be safe. I try not to change anything at night since I’ll be asleep and not able to monitor. UTIs are notorious for raising the bg so it’s very possible that she’s start to get lower bgs once that’s cleared out of her system
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We tested before feeding her tonight with the 2 hour prior fast and her BG was 477 we fed her and waited half hour and gave her 1 unit vetsulin. Hoping I got it right this time. I'll start her switch over in the morning... I should give her a 1/4 of the new low carb food and 3/4 of the old food... Does that sound right ? I plan to test her BG again in an hour or hour and ½ right before I go to bed.
 
If you could setup your signature, that would be very helpful to other members so they can guide you as well. I only did the transition slowly when I switched to raw food. When I went from FF medium carb to FF low carb, I just switched, but it’s whatever you feel most comfortable with. I would def get a +2 tonight since it’s Vetsulin
 
Ale & Bobo & Minnie (GA) said:
If you could setup your signature, that would be very helpful to other members so they can guide you as well. I only did the transition slowly when I switched to raw food. When I went from FF medium carb to FF low carb, I just switched, but it’s whatever you feel most comfortable with. I would def get a +2 tonight since it’s Vetsulin
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I will try to get that set up tomorrow. Have to get to bed as I have to be up early tomorrow. I tested her 1½ hours after her shot and her BG was 439... I left her with the little bit that she hadn't finished from her supper and half of one of her ff petites that I put in the freezer earlier incase she needed something to snack on through the night. Hoping everything goes well tomorrow when I start switching her food. Thank you again for all of your help.
 
I'm not really sure what to include in my signature, I was trying to look at other members signature but am still learning to navigate the site and haven't been able to figure it out.
 
I tried to search for what to do if you can't be home when it's time for your sugar kitties shot but couldn't find anything.
 
Phoenix R. said:
I'm not really sure what to include in my signature, I was trying to look at other members signature but am still learning to navigate the site and haven't been able to figure it out.
Click to expand...
It’s is all in the HELP US HELP YOU link, I provided in my first comment, please review that link:

Make sure your signature is up-to-date.
  • On the left, under Settings, Click on Signature. This is where you will put information that helps us give you feedback. There is a limit of two lines which may include two links; you may separate pieces with commas, dashes, | etc. This is where you paste the link for your spreadsheet, once it is set up.
  • Add info we need to help you:
    • Caregiver & kitty's name
    • DX: Date
    • Name of Insulin (do not include dose or frequency)
    • Name of your meter
    • Diet: "LC wet" or "dry food" or "combo"
    • Dosing: TR or SLGS or Custom (if applicable)
    • DKA or other recent health issue (if applicable)
    • Acro, IAA, or Cushings (if applicable)
    • Spreadsheet link. Please put the signature link on the bottom line of your signature information, on its own, so it is easy to find.
    • Please do not put any information about your location in the signature for security reasons. If you wish to add your country location, please add it to your profile.
Be sure to click the 'Save Changes' button at the bottom. If you need help urgently it is important we know these things at a glance. We don’t want to waste valuable time finding out information.
 
Is kitty eating the pate ok ? You mentioned that she was picky and licked her food. Mine is the same because of teeth. I add water to the pate in a mini blender to make an acceptable ‘milkshake’.
Lots of good advice here. I also live rurally, an hour from the nearest vet, so my add is just to act cautiously when in doubt. Better that kitty should be safe even, with an elevated blood sugar, than to go for too much or too fast.
 
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