Catsitting & transitioning to wet while on ProZinc

Hi all! I know there's a PZI board specifically but this seemed more of a general inquiry so I'll start here.

I am familiar with this board (plus the whole home-testing, spreadsheets, dose changes) from a few years back when my cat Papaya was on Lantus for four years. She passed away about a year and a half ago from cancer, and I now have two wonderful shelter cats who (of course) eat only wet food! But my experience is about to come in handy...

A friend of my mom's from the next province over contacted me recently, desperate to find someone to look after her diabetic cat Radar while she's away for a few weeks this summer. (As in desperate enough to bring the cat a seven hour drive to stay with me!) When I got a few details I was horrified to know that Radar is being fed mostly dry kibble (some Royal Canin stuff the small-town vet there sells) with a little wet once a day, and is not being tested at all while being given 6 units of PZI. It doesn't sound like the vet has really even done a curve, just a couple fructosamine tests over the last year.

The cat's owner really didn't know any better and is eager to learn. She is a farm girl who gives cattle shots so I'm sure she'll be fine with testing. However, we agreed since I'm more familiar with testing & dosing it would be good if I use the time I am looking after Radar to transition her to wet food. The owner says Radar loves the bit of wet food she gets and basically is a vaccuum cleaner when it comes to food, so I don't foresee too much trouble switching her over.

I don't have experience with PZI but from what I've read on the stickies on the relevant board, it seems like changing dose is a bit simpler since it doesn't have the cumulative effect of Lantus?

I would appreciate any advice on making the diet change and associated dose changes. If the cat was willing to just cold turkey switch to wet, could I just drop the dose down to a normal starting dose and work back up as necessary? I am working full time so I can give the shot early enough to get an AMPS plus 3 or so but more of a curve would have to be an evening/weekend thing - which is one reason I would be more comfortable switching right to wet and going down to a lower dose, just for safety. Or do I need to back down slowly on both the kibble amount and insulin?

It remains to be seen how an introduction to my two cats is going to go - certainly Radar will be in a separate room initially, but I don't know whether that's going to be necessary for long. I don't want my two eating the kibble but as they eat mostly low-carb wet it's fine if she has access to their food (if there's any left when I'm out the door lol).

Thanks in advance for any pointers you can offer on the diet change/dosing change and any relevant differences I should be aware of between Lantus and PZI.

 

Just to clarify, is he on ProZinc or a compounded PZI? Also, when you say 6 units, is that 6 units twice a day or 3 units twice a day for a total of 6?

 

Good questions, which I will have to ask the owner. I believe each shot is 6 units but I could be wrong. She referred to it as Prozinc, which I thought was another term for PZI. I'll get some clarification!

 

If he accepts it I would change his diet at once, why transition him slowly, I don't have experience with PZI or ProZinc but if he accepts the food change I think your idea of down to a much lower dose and start raising it from there will be better and safer

 

It probably is ProZinc, especially if she said that. I just wanted to make sure it was not some compounded PZI insulin since you referred to it as PZI. The ProZinc forum really is the best place for discussions relating to dosing. You are correct that it works differently than Lantus. There is no depot. It is an in-and-out insulin. 6 units is a huge dose. I hope she tells you it is actually 3 units twice a day. How long has he been on insulin? Did they start out at 1 unit and work up slowly or is the vet just crazy and cranked up the dose way really fast? I think that info might impact some of the advice you get.

Regarding the food change.. I think his temperament and how he copes with change are going to factor in when determining how you should handle it. Is he easy going? Is he going to be really freaked out being in a strange place? I am just thinking of all the changes that will be hitting him all at once... new place where there are new cat's he does not know, new human he is not used to trying to poke his ear which he is not used to. Mia would be on the verge of a stroke. If it was her, I would say not to change her food day one.. she probably would not eat at all if you did. On the other hand, some cats would be just fine with it all, and you could change right away.