Update on Harrycat (UK) and feeding question

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Harrycat

Member Since 2012
Hello,

Just a short update on Harry cat :)

After struggling to get the vet to prescribe the PZI instead of the Caninsulin, we have some progress. We have NOT started the PZI yet as the bottle has not arrived, so he is still on caninsulin although with the change of diet the numbers are dropping :-D

The vet has agreed to write the prescription for the PZI. THe price of caninsuln (including prescription charges) was around £10 per bottle (10 ml). The PZI is £44 per bottle (10ml) + a £12.98 prescription charge!! I would be interested in the prices other UK members have been charged for PZI.

I have also ordered the Bozita cat food and been feeding it to him since Tuesday this week. His numbers are really starting to drop.

What is bothering me is that we appear to be yo-yoing a bit with his dose as I am frightened of keeping him on such a high dose when his numbers are dropping, therefore I keep lowering and then upping his dose in response to my readings - which I don't think is the best way? His dose is 3.5 but I have just taken a reading of 15 so dropped the dose to 3. What is bothering me is that he will prob be high again tomorrow morning and I will end up increasing the dose again? I think what would be a safer approach is to lower the dose and stick to that for a bit (so keep it at 3, unless he drops really low?) rather than messing about between 3.5 and 4 which is what we were on before?

Also - how much should I be feeding him? He is permanently hungry (having been high for so long) so will eat whatever I put out but I am worried that this is not helping and we need a more regular dinner size to regulate his dose? I have got the 370g tetra paks of Bozita. the cat last weighed 4.5kg but he is underweight at that (he's a big ginger boy) and was around 5.5-6 kg before he was diagnosed. I would like to see him at at least 5 kg so at the moment he is underweight. I am thinking half a pack of Bozita would be OK for each meal??

Anyways apologies to the US people if the figures seem weird, I am not up to date enough to translate them for you!!! I will try and work on the spreadsheet later to update his numbers but we are bouncing all over the place :?
 
Hi Jackie,

My vet charges £80 a vial for Hypurin PZI. :shock:
The vial can last a long time, but it seems to vary each time. I've had vials spark out after 3 months, and another last almost 9 months before it lost potency.

It's great news that Harry's numbers are dropping on the lower carb food. The numbers may continue to come down a bit more. But yes, this will mean that the insulin dose will need adjusting. It's always better to err on the side of caution when giving insulin: Once it's in the cat you can't take it out. Remember the FDMB adage regarding BG numbers: 'better too high for a day than too low for a minute'. Once his body has adjusted to the lower carb food you'll have a clearer idea of what his baseline BG is and it will be easier to work out a dose to give ongoingly at that stage. (That is, unless he decides to go into remission, and then you'll be adjusting the dosage again! ;-) )

You will also need to amend the dose when you switch to Hypurin. I found that I needed to reduce the dosage by about half. And Juliet also reduced the dose dramatically for Milo, I think (Do have a look at Milo's spreadsheet (Juliet is 'Dr Schrodinger' here at FDMB)). As to the dosing strategy itself, there are 2 main schools of thought about that. Some people prefer to stick with a fixed dose for a period of time. Others prefer a sliding scale which is adjusted depending on the cat's pre-shot BG number.

Regarding food, well, diabetic cats can be ravenous intially because their bodies can't utilise all the food they are eating. So if it were my cat I'd just let him eat as much as he wants at this stage. As his numbers get more under control his appetite should normalise.

By all means do consider posting on the PZI forum for advice too. But be sure to mention that you will be using Hypurin PZI. It's different from the PZI insulins that US folks use in that it has a particularly long duration (the longest of any insulin in fact).

How is Harry's spreadsheet coming along?

Eliz
 
Hi Jackie,

So glad his numbers are starting to drop! This is really encouraging!

WRT 'yo-yo-ing' his dose, if you are starting to reduce it based upon his preshot numbers coming down, I would stick to that reduced dose for a few days & see how he does, rather than increasing it again.

A member on here got her cat regulated & then into remission very quickly with a massive diet change & Caninsulin therapy. Have a look at Udong's thread: http://www.felinediabetes.com/FDMB/viewtopic.php?f=28&t=85515. She posted her strategy & preshot numbers.

The only way to really tell about dosing based on preshot BG is to get some more of his numbers up & in a spreadsheet so you can see any patterns emerging.

What brand PZI did the vet prescribe? As Eliz said, it seems much cheaper than ours! Mine was £79 for 10mls too!

WRT feeding: at this stage, give him as much low carb stuff as he wants. As he becomes regulated, his appetite will decrease. I think for normal cats, one tetrapak per day is sufficient for a 4kg cat, IIRC? Harrycat will want more & since he is underweight, let him have more.

Keep going! You're doing really well.

Juliet
 
Thanks all. Will keep feeding him for now then, thanks.
I will stick to the dose of 3 for now and give it some time to regulate.
 
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