ProZinc going bad?

[Mancat]

Hey all, I've read about the possibility of ProZinc going bad and I'm wondering if this bottle is because her chart numbers are all screwy. I am taking Sue's advice and increasing her dose to find a proper range because the yellows are still too high and I want to get her more tightly regulated but she's been going up after shots sometimes and I don't understand it. Same food, same meter/strips, same feeding times. I spent a good time yesterday staring at her bottle of insulin and it looks good to me. Nicely suspended and no floating bits in it. I've never left it out or forgotten it anywhere. The bottle isn't even 3 months old. If it isn't that then as usual I have no idea what's going on with her numbers. I keep thinking I'm learning more but I still feel clueless. I feel like a bad cat parent.

 

[Rachel]

First, put all thoughts of being a bad cat parent out of your mind. A lot of cat parents would have euthanized their kitty immediately upon this diagnosis. You have done everything you needed to do to help your sweet kitty...that's a good cat parent.

I wouldn't think the insulin was bad yet...does it have any floaties in it? Has it been refrigerated?

 

[Mancat]

Yeah I think I was reading here or somewhere else that diabetes was the number one cause of euthanasia for cats which is so strange to me because cats are the only ones ever to have a possibility of remission and so many of them do it seems like. The only way I'd consider that is if it was severe diabetes and she was always really sickly and had no chance. If it was hurting her that much then for her sake I would but it blows my mind how so many people are like Ok nope sorry put the cat down thanks.

I have looked at the insulin, no floaties. Looks just like the day I brought it home. The only time its out of the fridge is when I'm prepping a shot and it's never for more than a few minutes.

 

[Sue and Oliver (GA)]

I think increasing the dose is the way to go. It will be interesting to see how her cycle today looks. Regardless, I would hold this higher dose for 3 cycles and see if she settles in. (Unless you get a low preshot number). One thing to remember - she is on a very small dose of insulin. And was on a much smaller dose for a long time. It may take a while to break through her resistance.

 

[Djamila]

Since you haven't left it out and don't see floaters, I'm wondering if you just need to give it a few days. It looks like you just increased the dose and I think I've read on here that some cats take a few cycles to respond. Also, maybe the food is contributing? I don't know what you're feeding, but my cat is super carb sensitive. Even some of the food choices that other people on here use were too much for my cat. Some cats are more sensitive than others.

 

[BJM]

Are you following the ProZinc/PZI guidelines here?
The mid-cycle tests are the key ones in determining dose, not the pre-shot levels.

 

[Mancat]

Yes and her mid cycles are testing higher than pre-shot which is confusing me. I'll leave her at the 1.5 for a couple days and see what happens. Thanks for the insight on that Sue. As always, you're amazing. I'll hold her here and see what happens. Fortunately I have a very long vacation coming up so I can test her as needed which will be a real luxury for adjusting dose. Djamilla, she is on low carb, wet. I took the advice from the chart linked on this site and got her food under 10%.

 

[Merlin]

With Merlin, food is a big factor in regards to low carbs. I used to give Merlin food that was 5% and then I had to switch him (due to a discontinuation of the food) to another food which is 4%. He immediately got better numbers. That was on June 6, this year. Since then, I have tested him with other food that was back to 5% and 6% and his numbers went up. So he is super sensitive to the carbs, i.e. the lower I can get the carbs the better he does even though it is just 1%. So just a thought regarding carb content.

It sounds like your insulin is fine. All my bottles have gone 6-7 months. I always go to the very last drop.

 

[Cara and Wynken (GA)]

I am starting to suspect my Wynken is very sensitive to carbs as well... I am JUST starting to find I can feed him lower carb than just what I THOUGHT was low carb, and see better response to his insulin. . This is a helpful discovery.

And another difference with the nearly 0 carb food, like Tiki, is that it's lower FAT, than the other low carb cans I was feeding (ie Wellness Core Turkey and Duck). Although this may not influence BG, it may be better, due to the higher protein, correct? ( I'm asking).

 

[Carl & Polly & Bob (GA)]

Cats need both protein and fat, but generally yes, high protein is good. It also depends on the source of the protein. Animal protein being better than plant protein.

This is the link to the best information I've ever found to explain feline nutrition (with all due respect to Dr. Lisa!)

http://maxshouse.com/feline_nutrition.htm