? Urgent: My Cat Sneakily Ate Other Cat's Dry Food!

[Claw’s Mom]

Hello everyone,

I'm in a bit of a panic and need some advice. My diabetic cat, who already has high blood sugar levels (recently around 396 mg/dL), just sneaked some of the other cat's dry food. He consumed about 30g of Farmina N&D Quinoa Functional Feline Cat Food - Skin & Coat Herring. I'm not sure about all the ingredients, but if anyone is familiar, please let me know.

To counteract, I administered 5.75 units of Lantus insulin, which is 0.25 units more than his usual dose.
I'm really worried. Does anyone know when his blood sugar might peak after eating? And what should I be watching out for or do next?

Any advice would be greatly appreciated. Thank you!

Here is the link for the food ingredients: https://www.farmina.com/us/eshop/cat-food/n&d-quinoa-functional-feline/436-skin-&-coat-herring.html

 

[Red & Rover (GA)]

Hi Stacey.

Every diabetic at on the forum has gotten into contraband at some point or other. You just have to wait it out.
Do not be tempted to give any more insulin tonight.
Lantus can peak anywhere from +3 to +10, with most cats around +5 or +6. Each cat is different.
Get a +2. Post the number and see what people think.

Looking at your spreadsheet, it would be a good idea to get some mid-cycle night time tests in. If you get up to use the bathroom during the night, take a test.

 

[Claw’s Mom]

Hi Stacey.

Every diabetic at on the forum has gotten into contraband at some point or other. You just have to wait it out.
Do not be tempted to give any more insulin tonight.
Lantus can peak anywhere from +3 to +10, with most cats around +5 or +6. Each cat is different.
Get a +2. Post the number and see what people think.

Looking at your spreadsheet, it would be a good idea to get some mid-cycle night time tests in. If you get up to use the bathroom during the night, take a test.

Hey there,
Thanks a ton for the quick reply! I'll hold off on the insulin and keep a close eye on him tonight.

I'll snag that +2 test and drop the number here. Thanks for the heads up on the Lantus peak times. And yeah, I'll try to catch some of those mid-cycle nighttime tests!
Really appreciate the advice and the community vibes here. It's a lifesaver!

 

[Claw’s Mom]

Update:

Hey everyone,

Just did the +2 test and his blood sugar is at 435.6 mg/dL . It seems to be on the rise. Any thoughts or suggestions on what I should do next? Should I feed him the wet food as usaul?

Thanks for all the help so far!

 

[Claw’s Mom]

Hi Stacey.

Every diabetic at on the forum has gotten into contraband at some point or other. You just have to wait it out.
Do not be tempted to give any more insulin tonight.
Lantus can peak anywhere from +3 to +10, with most cats around +5 or +6. Each cat is different.
Get a +2. Post the number and see what people think.

Looking at your spreadsheet, it would be a good idea to get some mid-cycle night time tests in. If you get up to use the bathroom during the night, take a test.

Hi!
I just did the +2 test and Claw's blood sugar is at 435.6 mg/dL! should I feed him as usual?

Thanks for all the help so far!

 

[Ale & Bobo & Minnie (GA)]

I’m sorry no one got back to you. Yes, you feed him as usual. He needs to eat especially while he’s still unregulated since diabetic cats can’t process the nutrients in food well. I hope you did!

 

[Cali S]

My sugar kitty is a sneaky dry food thief (loves getting into dog food!) and it takes a couple days for his blood sugar numbers to come back down to his “normal” after an illicit snacking event. You just have to be patient and not give into the temptation to give extra insulin!

 

[Sienne and Gabby (GA)]

As others noted, our kitties can get into foods that are not ideal for diabetes. (And human diabetics do things like drink soda vs diet soda.) The high numbers will pass.

Lantus is not the kind of insulin that allows you to "shoot down" high numbers. When you change a dose, it can take several days for the dose to have the desired effect on numbers. This is why doses are held for several days.

Have you considered feeding your nondiabetic cat the same food as Claw? It would prevent the problem of there being high carb contraband.