Should we start insulin today?

J

Jess092

Member Since 2020
We started with a diet only change for our cat, to a low carb wet food, and have been testing her blood twice a day in the hope it would go down. However, it had tested 232 and 288 all week. She seems a little lethargic and is having a bit of hind leg weakness, and after a full week of diet change, we think it is time to start insulin. BUT, we have been having trouble reaching our vet- have been calling for almost 12 hours and haven’t heard back yet. We can get Lantus over the counter at the local pharmacy. What do you guys think- should we wait to hear from the vet, possibly another full day delaying starting insulin, or should we go buy the Lantus, and simply start with a 0.5 unit twice a day dosage and monitor her blood and see how she does? I want vet support, but ultimately she is my baby and she does not seem like herself, and I want her to start feeling better ASAP.
 
Hi Jess and welcome
Are you testing for ketones in the urine? If nott, please go and buy a bottle of Ketostix from a pharmacy and test the urine for ketones. It is a simple test. Just collect a urine sample, dip the test strip in to the urine and read the result exactly 15 seconds against the colours on the side of the bottle. Anything above a trace needs vet attention straight away.
Ketones can form in diabetic cats, especially newly diagnosed cats if they are not on insulin or not enough insulin. And they need to be addressed straight away.
How much does your kitty weigh?
Is she eating well?
What type of meter are you using?
If you can answer those questions we can help you with the dose of Lantus.
 
I am scared that she may have ketones. The vet gave us testing strips but they didn’t give us the actual guide to check her levels- they wanted us to send in a picture of the strip, which we did, but they have no analyzed it and called us back in twelve hours.. We will buy new strips now and will test again and analyze it ourselves. What sort of treatment is needed for ketones? Will starting insulin help?

She weighs 11.2 pounds.

She is eating well, and is eating fancy feast.

We are using the accu check aviva and testing two times a day.
 
Hey Jess! Glad to see you over here from the Facebook group!

Can we get you to go ahead and get a spreadsheet started with whatever numbers you already have? We'll also need to see it to help you with dose advice in the future. Here are the Instructions

Also, getting your Signature done will keep us from having to ask the same questions over and over again. The "Signature" is the information you see below all our comments that has info like:

Your name/Cats name, age, sex, date of diagnosis, type of insulin, type of meter, type of food, any other health problems or meds? and a general location if you want.

To do the Signature, find your sign on name at the top right of the page..there's a drop down menu for you to choose "Signature"...a new box will pop up for you to enter info into. Once you get your spreadsheet started, you'd also put the link to it in your Signature too.
 
Jess092 said:
What sort of treatment is needed for ketones? Will starting insulin help?
Click to expand...

If over "trace", it's an emergency, but "trace" or less you may be able to treat at home. The first thing you'd need to do is start insulin so yes, starting insulin will help! Also increasing fluids and making sure kitty is eating extra calories.
 
Chris & China (GA) said:
If over "trace", it's an emergency, but "trace" or less you may be able to treat at home. The first thing you'd need to do is start insulin so yes, starting insulin will help! Also increasing fluids and making sure kitty is eating extra calories.
Click to expand...
Thank you! We tested for ketones and thankfully we were only at trace! We state insulin today and will continue to monitor ketones. How often should ketone testing be?
 
Chris & China (GA) said:
Hey Jess! Glad to see you over here from the Facebook group!

Can we get you to go ahead and get a spreadsheet started with whatever numbers you already have? We'll also need to see it to help you with dose advice in the future. Here are the Instructions

Also, getting your Signature done will keep us from having to ask the same questions over and over again. The "Signature" is the information you see below all our comments that has info like:

Your name/Cats name, age, sex, date of diagnosis, type of insulin, type of meter, type of food, any other health problems or meds? and a general location if you want.

To do the Signature, find your sign on name at the top right of the page..there's a drop down menu for you to choose "Signature"...a new box will pop up for you to enter info into. Once you get your spreadsheet started, you'd also put the link to it in your Signature too.
Click to expand...
Thank you Chris! I have updated my signature and will try to link in the spreadsheet soon, as we have started that too! So appreciative of all your help and support
 
I'm glad you got in to see the vet!!

There are new dosing instruction on the Prozinc forum. I suspect having some written guidelines will be helpful as you get started.

Just an FYI - you posted on the Lantus board. You will find more help either on Prozinc or the Health board. We're a bit Lantus-centric on this board.
 
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