Recently Diagnosed, dosing/testing

X

xiaotangmao

Member Since 2025
Hello Everyone!

My little Bee is 7. Bee was showing all the symptoms and Bee's blood work and urinalysis confirmed is diabetic. We're currently transitioning to LC Dr. Elsey chicken and Weruva LC wet food options.

Bee is on 1U 2x.

I've been trying to figure out where to post but my little man has recently been diagnosed with diabetes.

Long story short vet advise not to start home monitoring, told me to come in once a week to do a reading. I told them I was worried about hypo and they said at the moment he would be fine but do not skip testing (I mentioned I noticed one of the cat vomiting I couldn't figure out who).

My question is with work and commute (takes me about an hour to work and an hour back) it's not a fix schedule meaning some days I can be doing a 3PM-12AM > 12PM-9PM > 9AM-6PM, the only thing is my work is very understaffed and my manager said they'll try to kept me as fixed as much as possible but it'll be hard going into holidays. I live alone and won't be able to do the second shot some days. Would it be best to skip the shot and continue the next day or shoot when I get home after testing and then the next day test to see where he is at before I shoot (let's say I work till 12AM I can shoot at 1AM and then around 11AM before I go to work)?
 
Last edited:
It sounds like you are well on your way to helping your baby! I will re-read and respond to your message this afternoon. I am just heading out for a little while.

Oh, and it would not hurt to get a test or two today (give a treat!) and record it at the appropriate hour.
 
Suzanne & Darcy said:
Read this if you already have not. Scroll down to the part where it says How to set up a spreadsheet. Hopefully you can get that up and running 🙂

Sticky - NEW TO THE GROUP: THE PROZINC BASICS. PLEASE START HERE.
Click to expand...
Thank you! I saw it but it's just hard trying to open it on my phone I'll have to see if I can set it up from my laptop when it's charged
Suzanne & Darcy said:
It sounds like you are well on your way to helping your baby! I will re-read and respond to your message this afternoon. I am just heading out for a little while.

Oh, and it would not hurt to get a test or two today (give a treat!) and record it at the appropriate hour.
Click to expand...
Hi Suzanne ☺️,

I tried earlier and he saw me setting up and bolted, I have a family member coming afterwards and he's very food motivated so I'm going to see if I can convince him to eat a treat while they or I try to get a test done.

I'm just feeling frustrated as I paid for them to do a BG reading and then was sent on my way when I could have started doing them myself, the second appointment is also booked with a vet tech and not vet and I keep getting the runaround of they'll call you back or we will reach back out.


ETA:

Bee's blood sugar reading at the vet was around 22.8 (444) and fructosamine was 600

I also live alone but might be able to get family to help the only other issues is my downstairs neighbours are very loud and have dogs and Bee does hide when you hear them barking or the neighbours yelling :(
 
Last edited:
xiaotangmao said:
Thank you! I saw it but it's just hard trying to open it on my phone I'll have to see if I can set it up from my laptop when it's charged

Hi Suzanne ☺️,

I tried earlier and he saw me setting up and bolted, I have a family member coming afterwards and he's very food motivated so I'm going to see if I can convince him to eat a treat while they or I try to get a test done.

I'm just feeling frustrated as I paid for them to do a BG reading and then was sent on my way when I could have started doing them myself, the second appointment is also booked with a vet tech and not vet and I keep getting the runaround of they'll call you back or we will reach back out.


ETA:

His blood sugar reading at the vet was around 22.8 (444) and fructosamine was 600

I also live alone but might be able to get family to help the only other issues is my downstairs neighbours are very loud and have dogs and he does hide when he hear them barking or the neighbours yelling :(
Click to expand...
Oh that does sound stressful for him… not to mention annoying for you (at least I would be annoyed!)

At the vet, it is extremely common for a cat’s blood glucose to be elevated (sometimes quite a bit— I see this in my own cats and not even the high stress ones.) The bottom line is that your own home BG tests are going to be a much better indicator of his actual BG levels.
 
xiaotangmao said:
fructosamine was 600
Click to expand...
Now that is a useful piece of information since it goves us an average of BG over the course of 2/3 weeks. It’s high. But that fructosamine test is useful for diagnosing diabetes, but after that you don’t really need to pay for that test again because hour own home glucose meter will give you more important information.
 
Suzanne & Darcy said:
Now that is a useful piece of information since it goves us an average of BG over the course of 2/3 weeks. It’s high. But that fructosamine test is useful for diagnosing diabetes, but after that you don’t really need to pay for that test again because hour own home glucose meter will give you more important information.
Click to expand...
My neighbour was able to help me test Bee. I got 10.4/293 (I think that's the US conversion).

610 - was grazing a little while I prepped his meal and insulin
620 - shot

Bee wasn't happy that I kept stopping them from eating their siblings portion either and now is sleeping in their little house.

I'm unable to get my old laptop to start up and the doc won't load on my Google drive/can't open in excel but I'm going to see if I have any luck doing a curve for Bee tomorrow as well as getting my laptop to work.

Edit; spelling
 
Last edited:
xiaotangmao said:
I'm unable to get my old laptop to start up and the doc won't load on my Google drive/can't open in excel but I'm going to see if I have any luck doing a curve for him tomorrow as well as getting my laptop to work.
Click to expand...
it’s all right. You will get there. Just write down any tests you get and the time.
 
xiaotangmao said:
610 - he was grazing a little while I prepped his meal and insulin
Click to expand...
He isn’t supposed to eat for two hours prior to the pre-shot tests. The reason is so that you know the BG test number is a fasting glucose number and you can make the decision about whether it is safe to give the dose, skip, or give a reduced dose. Sorry for so much being dumped on you at once!
 
xiaotangmao said:
had about 7-10 kibble pieces of his regular kibble (unfortunately HC)
Click to expand...
You are transitioning to LC food, correct? It will make a big difference in his BG and also our dosing decisions.

It sounds like you are not getting help from your vet and that they don’t really know much about feline diabetes we can help you though. All you need from them at this point is insulin. If he becomes ill with something else you may need to take him in, but not in general to manage his diabetes.
 
Suzanne & Darcy said:
He isn’t supposed to eat for two hours prior to the pre-shot tests. The reason is so that you know the BG test number is a fasting glucose number and you can make the decision about whether it is safe to give the dose, skip, or give a reduced dose. Sorry for so much being dumped on you at once!
Click to expand...
Noooo thank you!! I really appreciate you taking time out of your day and helping me navigate this overwhelming part of my life. You’re really sweet for reading all of this and breaking it all down for me! I know I’m also not making sense and just super anxious so I’m blabbering a lot.

Sorry I meant he didn't eat food at all just a treat while I we did the test because he wouldn't keep still. He had woke up when he heard me getting out of bed (he was sleeping in a little make shift fort under my bed) and followed me and I was able to try and test him on my own but my neighbour helped as I distracted him with some treats. It was after we tested he ate some kibbles. Sorry my explaining is confusing.
Suzanne & Darcy said:
Are they eating the same food (I hope.)
Click to expand...
yes I made all three of them transitioned! They're all on the same LC wet food and slowly taking out their HC wet food, their kibbles a little harder they were all for mixing in the LC kibble now they eat around it or won't eat and I'm worried about leaving wet food out all day (they also won't eat it if I tried smaller meals)
Suzanne & Darcy said:
153
Click to expand...
omg..he could have been hypo yesterday as I still gave him a shot and I just didn’t know (I made sure he ate and drank as much as I could and added in some HC stuff as I didn’t have a monitor and the one I order never came) I’m kicking myself, I also really need to make his kit ASAP with instructions for my family as I have the stuff just not all in one place.
Suzanne & Darcy said:
No. A 10.4 is 187. You multiply the number by 18 to get the U.S. number. When you get the spreadsheet set up, it will automatically populate the U.S. numbers for you on the US tab.
Click to expand...
omg thank you!!! I was for the life of me trying to figure out how to convert and was using references!! The SS is going to be a life saver once I get it up and running
Suzanne & Darcy said:
Did the vet test for ketones? Have you tested Bee for ketones? Do you have any ketone test strips or a blood ketone meter? Again… sorry for the fire hose.

Ketones, Ketoacidosis, and Diabetic Cats: A Primer on Ketones
Click to expand...
The only time they did was when he got his urinalysis and it was negative same with the one from about 3/4 years ago, I was looking into getting sticks but I wasn’t sure which brand would be best and no you’re good I’m soooo appreciative of everything you’re doing for me!
 
xiaotangmao said:
My question is with work and commute (takes me about an hour to work and an hour back) it's not a fix schedule meaning some days I can be doing a 3PM-12AM > 12PM-9PM > 9AM-6PM, the only thing is my work is very understaffed and my manager said they'll try to kept me as fixed as much as possible but it'll be hard going into holidays. I live alone and won't be able to do the second shot some days. Would it be best to skip the shot and continue the next day or shoot when I get home after testing and then the next day test to see where he is at before I shoot (let's say I work till 12AM I can shoot at 1AM and then around 11AM before I go to work)?
Click to expand...
That is wild and really confusing. I do hope your manager will be able to keep your schedule somewhat regular, but we will take it as it comes. I have worked with another person who had a challenging work schedule, but it was usually not more than two hours off. We may have to adjust the dose more frequently than would be typical.
 
Okay. I understand about the feeding. It’s good to give a treat when trying to test. Sometimes they need a lot of treats. 🙂 freeze dried chicken pieces like Pure Bites are popular low carb treats.
 
Suzanne & Darcy said:
You are transitioning to LC food, correct? It will make a big difference in his BG and also our dosing decisions.

It sounds like you are not getting help from your vet and that they don’t really know much about feline diabetes we can help you though. All you need from them at this point is insulin. If he becomes ill with something else you may need to take him in, but not in general to manage his diabetes.
Click to expand...
Yes, I started the moment I found out his results and started looking into food and was super overwhelmed but atm I’m swapping out. I also was in a bad time in my life mentally during the summer (moving, family, work and a boss from hell) that looking back I wished I did more for him.

I’m planning on cancelling the next couple of BG reading I booked; should I still move forward with the libre? They want to install one. Are they also able to deny giving me insulin if I don’t go in for readings with them and let them know I’m doing it on my own?
 
Last edited:
Well those numbers in the 100s are perfectly safe. It kind of depends on what time of the cycle it was (number of hours after the shot was given). A cat on ProZinc will typically nadir (lowest point in the cycle) at around +6 (although it can vary and some cats new to ProZinc will nadir earlier. So depending on how many hours after the shot those readings in the 100s were taken they may have been perfectly fine.
 
xiaotangmao said:
I’m planning on cancelling the next couple of BG reading I booked; should I still move forward with the libre? They want to install one. Are they also able to deny giving me insulin if I don’t go in for readings with them and let them know I’m doing it on my own?
Click to expand...
This depends upon your vet. Some people here have super ultra controlling vets who get angry and threaten to not see them anymore and some people don’t have any trouble after their vet sees how well their cat is doing. Some people end up switching vets.
 
xiaotangmao said:
should I still move forward with the libre? They want to install one
Click to expand...
I wonder if they have a lot of experience putting on the Libre sensors. If you are gone from home for long hours then maybe it would be helpful— as long as you can still get readings with a handheld meter. The Libre sensors don’t measure blood glucose but the glucose in interstitial fluid. In the lower numbers, the Libres can read very low and be alarming. You need to be able to check those lower numbers (under 100) with a regular meter to get a more accurate number.

We do have members here who install their own Libre sensors and can help a lot when you get to that point. (They did say a few more weeks, right?)
 
The symptoms you describe with all the vomiting and everything is extremely frightening. He could have gone into diabetic ketoacidosis and died. This doesn’t give me much confidence in your vet. I would get a blood ketone meter and track it myself. I don’t trust them after what you have described. Ketones can also fluctuate a lot so a single negative on the urine dip stick is good, but it’s just a single point in time.
 
Suzanne & Darcy said:
I wonder if they have a lot of experience putting on the Libre sensors. If you are gone from home for long hours then maybe it would be helpful— as long as you can still get readings with a handheld meter. The Libre sensors don’t measure blood glucose but the glucose in interstitial fluid. In the lower numbers, the Libres can read very low and be alarming. You need to be able to check those lower numbers (under 100) with a regular meter to get a more accurate number.

We do have members here who install their own Libre sensors and can help a lot when you get to that point. (They did say a few more weeks, right?)
Click to expand...
I had assumed they did but with the way I could hear the vet techs struggling and trying to figure out how to do BG reading today I’m a little hesitant, I should have about 2-3 more weeks!
Suzanne & Darcy said:
This depends upon your vet. Some people here have super ultra controlling vets who get angry and threaten to not see them anymore and some people don’t have any trouble after their vet sees how well their cat is doing. Some people end up switching vets.
Click to expand...
My vet seemed fine although hard to get a hold of, it’s the VT and receptionist who I’m having a harder time with, every time it’s a “that’s weird I’ll look into it” and nothing more.
Suzanne & Darcy said:
The symptoms you describe with all the vomiting and everything is extremely frightening. He could have gone into diabetic ketoacidosis and died. This doesn’t give me much confidence in your vet. I would get a blood ketone meter and track it myself. I don’t trust them after what you have described. Ketones can also fluctuate a lot so a single negative on the urine dip stick is good, but it’s just a single point in time.
Click to expand...
Honestly I was thinking of switching waaaay before this because a coworker of mine goes to them as well and she has been just as unhappy it’s just hard because I don’t drive atm and a lot of the vets are about 30-50 away by car but once I’m settled down more and have my own stuff figured out I will switch vet
 
Last edited:
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top