Regulating diabetic cat since on Pro Zinc

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lovey11

Member Since 2013
My cat was diagnosed with diabetes in June. She is 10 and 1/2 years old. She I recently changed her diet (about 2 weeks) to an all low carb diet. Initially, the first 4 days was was gradual change. I just started using the Alphtrack

glucometer to get readings for cat. I was adjusting the dose from 2 units to about 1 1/4 for about a week or two depending on my reading. I was able to at least get a reading for 6- 8 hours after shot. The readings ranged from 178 to 101 for 5 different times. I then gave her 1 3/4 units for 4 administrations when I ran out of test strips and did not test. The cat's preshot BG was 133 when I started testing again. I gave 1 1/4 insulin anyway and the BG went down to 53. My cat never showed hypoglemic signs but I called emergency and gave food and treats. The preshot BG was 294 the next morning. My vet said to keep a constant dose of 1 1/2 for 5 days and only test 2 times per week. I gave 1 1/2 units for 3 doses, but was nervous so tested 45 minutes before next shot and got a BG of 139. I wasn't sure what to do. I gave food and tested again about half hour later and BG was 244. My Cat gets upset when I test sometimes so she was nervous especiallly when I don't get enough blood first prick, I gave a token dose of insulin of 1/2 unit. About a week and a half ago I gave a 1 1/2 unit dose of insulin with a preshot Bg of 185 and then took a reading after 7 hours and the BG was 200. Next preshot was 346. On another occasion I had a preshot of 242 and 7 hours later BG was 127.
I never did a glucose curve at the vet. My vet did not suggest it until recently. I am trying to do some readings at home.

What does it mean when the preshot is in the low hundreds? Any advice?
 
Welcome!
you will get tons of advice here on testing and shooting! Best place to be. Testing at home is better due to vet stress changing those numbers. My Bean girl is in remission (OTJ- off the juice) for almost 2 yrs now. I know it is from this forum and home testing, adjusting diet and insulin!
Sounds like she could be bouncing from low numbers before.
Hang out, folks will be here soon!
 
Thank you so much. I have been reading the posts. I will stay tuned. I want her to be regulated, but I get a little afraid of low numbers.
 
Hi and welcome to the FDMB! What is your name? What is your cat's name age and sex?

I'm Deb and that picture over to the right of my post is my foster sugardude Wink. He's been OTJ for about 4 and a half months now.

We like to test before every shot. That way, we know the cat's BG (blood glucose) is high enough to shoot the insulin. It keeps our cat safe.

We suggest that new members do not give insulin if the BG is <200.

Maybe these tips and tricks on home testing will help you. Warming or massaging the ear before the poke gets the blood flowing. A low carb treat gets the cat happier and more accepting of the testing.

This is a great article on getting your cat to accept the testing process better.https://sites.google.com/site/michelangeloprofilefdmb/feline-diabetes/ear-testing-psychology

Link to Low carb Healthy treats.

You said you changed her diet about 2 weeks ago. What are you feeding her now?
 
I started with fancy feast chunky chicken because she likes it very much. I am adding some boiled chicken and Weruva Paw Lickin chicken as well

since my vet wants fal.t content not too high because of pancreatitits from June. I also bought some Merrick that is low carb, Grandma's pot pie but it has a little grain. She eats well. Let me know if this sounds ok.
 
My cat is Lovey. She is a tortoise shell female long-haired cat. She is 10 1/2 years. She is quiet and sweet. Thank God I don't work in the summer. I am spending a lot of time trying to learn and help the situation. when I work, I will be gone for 8 hours so I would to be confident with the insulin dosage.
 
Hi Catherine and Lovey!

I love torties. My little 7 pound civie Delta is a tortie.


Love to see a picture of your cat in your avatar. How to's over in the Tech Support forum, this post, 3rd post down.

Yes, those food sound nice low carb and good for Lovey.

Does she have a little "Tortitude" sometimes?
 

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lovey11 said:
My cat was diagnosed with diabetes in June. She is 10 and 1/2 years old. She I recently changed her diet (about 2 weeks) to an all low carb diet. Initially, the first 4 days was was gradual change. I just started using the Alphtrack

glucometer to get readings for cat. I was adjusting the dose from 2 units to about 1 1/4 for about a week or two depending on my reading. I was able to at least get a reading for 6- 8 hours after shot. The readings ranged from 178 to 101 for 5 different times. I then gave her 1 3/4 units for 4 administrations when I ran out of test strips and did not test. The cat's preshot BG was 133 when I started testing again. I gave 1 1/4 insulin anyway and the BG went down to 53. My cat never showed hypoglemic signs but I called emergency and gave food and treats. The preshot BG was 294 the next morning. My vet said to keep a constant dose of 1 1/2 for 5 days and only test 2 times per week. I gave 1 1/2 units for 3 doses, but was nervous so tested 45 minutes before next shot and got a BG of 139. I wasn't sure what to do. I gave food and tested again about half hour later and BG was 244. My Cat gets upset when I test sometimes so she was nervous especiallly when I don't get enough blood first prick, I gave a token dose of insulin of 1/2 unit. About a week and a half ago I gave a 1 1/2 unit dose of insulin with a preshot Bg of 185 and then took a reading after 7 hours and the BG was 200. Next preshot was 346. On another occasion I had a preshot of 242 and 7 hours later BG was 127.
I never did a glucose curve at the vet. My vet did not suggest it until recently. I am trying to do some readings at home.

What does it mean when the preshot is in the low hundreds? Any advice?
Click to expand...

Your vet's advice to test a couple times a week is dangerous. No human doctor would tell a parent to test their diabetic child just a couple times a week, so does that mean your cat is not all that important?

You want to test before every shot, and you CAN give insulin to a preshot that is under 200.
If you were using a human meter:
You were doing fine with the 1.75u dose and the 53 was a great number for you to get.... I would not have worried and stepped down in dose at all. You are aiming for getting your get into the range of under 120 all the time, even your preshots. In order to earn a decrease in dose, you want to see a mid cycle number UNDER 50, and you can remember to "feed the 40s".

Don't bother wasting your money on a curve at the vet; most cats are stressed at being there so the numbers will be higher than at home. Because you are already testing at home, just set up a google spreadsheet and you can email the link to your vet to show what dose and test numbers you have been getting.

Now, the above numbers apply to normal human meters.... you may want to think about getting a more economical meter, one of the Relions if you are in the US, because the strips for your AT meter are pretty pricey. Be sure to mention to others that you are using a pet meter because your 53 on a pet meter is low.
Your pet meter's numbers will be higher than on human meters. Some people say that pet meter numbers are 30-50 points higher, but I am not sure how you would take a 53.... best to ask others who use pet meters.
 
I'm going to have to disagree with a couple of Gayle's points.

If you are using an alpha track meter, that 53 WAS too low. The bottom range of "normal" on an AT is 80. That's the "magic number" where people using the Lantus TR protocol reduce the dosage. You're not using Lantus, you're using Prozinc. Regardless of insulin type however, 53 on an Alpha Track is too low.

Also, with Prozinc, especially on an Alpha Track meter, you won't want to give insulin, except perhaps in really tiny doses, if you see a preshot test number under 150. Normal BG range on an AT meter is 80-150.

Prozinc isn't Lantus. You don't "shoot low to stay low". Doing so is not safe, and you really need to have a good bit of dose and data history to even consider giving shots under 200.

Gayle is right in that you could save lots of money if you switch to a human meter. And that there's no point in wasting your money on a vet running a curve. And she did say "if you were using a human meter..." then 53 is not a dangerously low number. But you aren't, you are using an AT, and as long as you are, we don't want to confuse the issue.

A shot of Prozinc is going to drop the BG number. Especially doses like you are giving. You might at some time see nice flat pretty curves with Prozinc, but that is highly unlikely on doses of 1u or more. It may happen on microdoses like .25u or even .5u depending on how your cat reacts to it.
My vet said to keep a constant dose of 1 1/2 for 5 days and only test 2 times per week.
Click to expand...
That's really bad advice. That might be good advice on a preshot of 300. But it could kill a cat who is at 150 when you shoot. The way you were doing it at the start, adjusting the dose based on what numbers you got from testing before the shot was a much better method. In my opinion, Prozinc works best that way. But no matter what, you have to test after the shot to have any idea how well a dose works.

Our primary concern is SAFETY. Maybe we can go a little bit overboard, or seem to at times. But telling you to only test twice a week is unsafe advice. Ask your vet if he would do that if he had to give insulin to his infant child. Someone who can't communicate if they "feel low or feel high". That's why we test. Just like infants, cats can't tell you how they feel.
 
I am new to posting so sorry if this is in the wrong spot. Deb your cats are really cute. Delta is so tiny and cute. Wink is cute too. Lovey

is mellow kitty. Thank you for your help.
 
I replied on the ProZinc forum. That's the best place to get dosing advice, as you have done all the other stuff right - good diet, good insulin, home testing. Fantastic!
 
I am new to posting so sorry if this is in the wrong spot.
Click to expand...
No wrong spots here. We are here to give you advice wherever you post.

Most new members start out posting here on the Feline Health forum. Then, once they have the basics down, we ask them if they would like to move over to one of the insulin specific forums. There is one specifically for PZI, which would be where you could post when you are ready.

It's all about where you feel more comfortable. You are certainly welcome to stay here as long as you would like. You only joined us today and are very new to posting. We don't usually suggest that people go over to one of the ISG's until they are more comfortable with the message board and how it works.

Would you be willing to update your user control panel, Profile tab, edit signature and add that Alphatrak meter in large font. Since most of us use human meters, we like that use of the Alphatrak to stand right out. In the middle of the editing commands, is a drop down list with the word normal, highlight your text to change the font on, click on the arrow and select large. It's also nice to see your name, your cat's name age and sex, Diagnosis date of the diabetes, any complicating medical conditions your cat may have like CKD or pancreatitis, what foods your a feeding, the insulin you are using. This data is totally optional, but it does help us to help you better. Please?

You can look at my signature at the end of my post to see the type of data we put in there.
 
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