Advice on plan for switching from NF kibble to DM cans

After doing my homework I am decided to try and switch food for Quintus (see my intro post here). He is eating Purina Pro Plan NF kibble. He's had some DM cans in the past and finds them palatable. He free-feeds. I have two issues:

- possible diarrhea, which is a bigger problem as he is blind and steps in it and then gets it all over the place
- insulin dose (3ui Lantus BID) not "stabilized" (1ui SID since last Sat; 2ui BID since Mon evening, skipped Tues morning shot; 3ui BID since yesterday=Sat morning) -- BG still high, see spreadsheet.

I am away from home 12+ hours Mon and Tues this week, 12h Thur and Fri. At home Wed, Sat, Sun. Week after that is "normal" with 12h away Mon, Tues, Thur, Fri (home Wed, Sat, Sun).

I have two cans with me (= almost two days of food) and can get a neighbour to buy some on Mon.

Here are two possible plans, bearing in mind that if we fall into diarrhea territory I may have to backtrack and research/test other foods. I'm also wondering if I do a "hard switch" (as I know he'll eat the food) or if a "slow switch" might be preferable, both for insulin management and diarrhea prevention.

Plan A: switch now, which allows me to monitor BG the rest of the week-end (it's Sat 1pm here), and possibly revert to 2ui this evening and tomorrow if there is a big drop -- knowing that Mon/Tues I will only be able to test/shoot in the morning, and test/shoot 14h later when I get home for the evening. I can do a curve on Wed.

Plan B: give him a week to "stabilise" on 3ui with his old food, even though BG might still be too high, and switch next week-end, which allows me a) to touch base with my vet before doing it and b) I will be able to precisely space shots 12h apart on Mon/Tues following that week-end.

Plan C: switch at another time? any alternate ideas given the situation and my schedule?

Thanks for your advice on this question!

 

Welcome to you and Quintus! My comments and observations:

• Low carb wet food is best for a diabetic cat. If he likes Purina Pro Plan DM (the pate version?) and it's affordable for you, feed him that. Almost all dry food, prescription included, is too high in carbs.
• For a kitty with diarrhea issues it's probably best to transition him slowly to the low carb wet diet - over a week maybe?
• Your Lantus doses have varied a lot in a very short span of time. It generally works best with a very consistent dosing routine. One unit twice a day at as close to a 12/12 schedule as you can manage is a good starting point. We'd recommend increasing by no more than 0.25 unit at a time.

I suggest you repost on the Lantus forum. There are many very experienced people there who can advise you on dosing. You're already doing a great job of testing and that's the essential tool in keeping your kitty safe. At the top of the Lantus forum's thread list are several yellow coded info stickies. I suggest you read them to learn more about how this insulin works, the two dosing routines that are promoted here (TR or SLGS), etc.