Any advice is appreciated:)

hi everyone! On Monday, I found out my Charlie,8, has diabetes’s . Im feeling a bit overwhelmed. I’m a nurse so I’m familiar with diabetes and different insulin’s.. but not with animals! I have a few questions and any input/ advice would be greatly appreciated!
-Can I feed my other cat, who does not have diabetes the diabetic food prescribed to Charlie?
-does anyone ever give insulin an hour before/after scheduled? I am going to do my best to stay on the 12 hour schedule but just want to know in case of emergencies
-when did you start seeing a difference in your cat? Charlie is so lethargic and it’s devastating to see.

Any other advice welcome! Thank you and I’m so happy I found this page!

 

Welcome! You do not need diabetic 'prescription' food for any of your cats, including Charlie. A high-protein, low-carb wet food diet is best for them all. There is a link to a cat food database in my signature. It is helpful when trying to find foods to try. The vet who created it suggests "start with protein minimum of 40, fat maximum of 50, carb max of 10, and for cats with kidney issues....phos less than 300."

What kind of insulin will you be using? If it is ProZinc, you have up to an hour of 'play' time for giving the shot. I have found that consistency is important, so it is best to stick with the 12-hour schedule when possible, but you do have that wiggle room for when you need it. If you are using a different type of insulin, it could be a different story. It would be helpful if you set up a signature to give us basic info like the insulin type.

I cannot remember for sure how long it took for me to see a significant difference in Mia. I do remember that it was a gradual improvement that probably started as early as a week or so in and got better from there.

The best place to ask your questions is the main health forum since this is really just a welcome area. There are also specific forums for specific insulin types. You will get a lot of support and advice here. Welcome to the club!

 

Thank you so much! He is getting Lantus 1 unit every 12 hours. I’ll make a signature

 

Welcome! Since you are a nurse, you know the importance of testing. If you need help with choosing a meter and supplies, or learning to test a cat, there is great information here on the board. Just post in the Main Health Forum and you will get plenty of response.
We also use a spreadsheet to track the BG tests as well as insulin shots and dosages. It can be appended to the signature for reference to data if any issues or problems develop. I am providing links to both the signature and the spreadsheet so you can take a look at them:
SIGNATURE
SPREADSHEET

 

You do not have the same flexibility with Lantus that I mentioned with ProZinc. The shots needs to be given as close to every 12 hours as possible. You can post on the Lantus forum with any insulin-specific questions.