Wilson - new diagnosis, behaviour immediately changed on prozinc

G

gwenmmiles

Member Since 2026
Hello, I'm new to this forum as my 4 y/o cat Wilson was just diagnosed with diabetes. We're in the UK.

This all started in November 2025, when he went off his food and started losing weight. Tests picked up liver and gall bladder inflammation which was treated with antibiotics (hepatic lipidosis). He recovered and biochemistry came back normal, but he then began to have diarrhea at the start of January and was subsequently diagnosed with pancreatitis. After a urine test picked up high glucose levels, a fructosamine test confirmed diabetes. His blood glucose was 543 mg/dL. Not only that, but consistent blood in the urine (we're testing at home) suggests a UTI as well.

This made sense as he was showing clinical signs of diabetes - drinking a lot of water, peeing a lot, and since the diarrhea he was starving all the time, and basically slept by his food bowl 24/7. We fed him home cooked boiled chicken only to try and calm his stomach, cut out dry food, and now he's on his old food katkin again.

Due to the pancreatitis and diarrhea, we opted to start insulin asap. I gave him his first dose of 1.0 unit ProZinc last night, and again this morning. He also started on synulox for the UTI at the same time. The reason I'm posting is he's gone from being starving and following me round screaming for food, to sleeping on our bed all day today. He's very quiet and hasn't followed me round the house at all like he usually does. He hasn't drank any water since eating his food this morning.

Is this normal after starting on the insulin? I'm just concerned by the shift from one extreme to the other. Am I ok to continue with his dose tonight? The vet is going to call to check in on progress on Thursday.
 
Greetings and welcome to the FDMB!

Are you testing his blood glucose at home? I certainly would recommend that you get a blood glucose meter and test it so you can make sure he is in safe numbers. You do not need to buy an expensive Alpha Trak pet meter. You just need a human glucometer from the chemist.

It could very well be that he is already feeling better and is not so hungry because his blood glucose is in a much better range, but it could be something else? How has he been since you wrote the above message? I would never shoot insulin into my cat blindly without knowing his actual BG number. His preshot number is important, and so is the nadir (lowest point in the cycle) to make sure it’s still a safe number. If the dose is taking him too low then it should be reduced.

Is he eating (at least normally?)
 
Suzanne & Darcy said:
Greetings and welcome to the FDMB!

Are you testing his blood glucose at home? I certainly would recommend that you get a blood glucose meter and test it so you can make sure he is in safe numbers. You do not need to buy an expensive Alpha Trak pet meter. You just need a human glucometer from the chemist.

It could very well be that he is already feeling better and is not so hungry because his blood glucose is in a much better range, but it could be something else? How has he been since you wrote the above message? I would never shoot insulin into my cat blindly without knowing his actual BG number. His preshot number is important, and so is the nadir (lowest point in the cycle) to make sure it’s still a safe number. If the dose is taking him too low then it should be reduced.

Is he eating (at least normally?)
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Hi, thanks for getting back to me. I spoke to my vet about home testing but she didn’t recommend it. However after being so anxious today and reading through this forum, I’ve now ordered one.

He did end up coming down to have a snack, and then ate his dinner on schedule so I gave the evening shot. He’s still very quiet and lethargic but I’m keeping a close eye.
 
I am glad you did order a meter. If there’s anything I can do to help with your ProZinc after you get up to speed on testing, just let me know. Also, if you have any more questions (whether or not you have started testing) of course, just ask them! I hope your little man will be feeling much better soon. He’s had a lot of rough patches recently.
 
Of course we don’t yet know, but some cats who are very used to being in high blood glucose numbers will behave strangely (hiding, lethargic, etc.) when they first get back into more normal BG levels. Hopefully that’s all it is. I feel good about you starting with 1 unit. Have you had his ketones tested at the vet? Are you testing at home with the urine strips for ketones?
 
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