? How quickly does prozinc "kick in" if there's no food or little food on board?

So, nothing urgent but... they've been less interested in their food today because I've been getting carried away with the purebites again...he did eat some with his shot and he ate like 2.5-3 hours before his pmps so I'm not worried and I can always get them to eat if I sprinkle purebites on it and I have sardines which they always eat so there shouldn't be any problem.

I'm just wondering, mostly for future reference...

How quickly does prozinc "kick in"?

I always want to make the most of the insulin to help him gain weight as well...so knowing the best time for him to be eating is helpful too.

I had thought that about 2 hours it started to kick in, not sure where I read that.(edit: lol found it in the sticky "“Onset” is when the insulin starts working, usually between 2 to 3 hours after the shot is given (depending on your cat’s own unique metabolism).")..but then did he get any benefit of the insulin with his meal that he gets with his shot if its two hours after he ate it that the insulin kicks in?

Know what I mean?

If a big goal of the insulin for him is to help him gain that weight back... should he be getting his biggest meals of the day with his shot, or at nadir? Or?

I've been letting him graze all day because he's underweight and I just want him to have whatever he feels like he needs, since they're not overeaters. Also I thought DKA might be a risk because his numbers were in the 300s when we started and I read that you want to make sure they have all the food they need if that happens.

But I need to reassess the best way to make the best use of the insulin and I'm drawing a blank from information overload from everything else I've been reading lol


I try to compare his behavior to his civy brother to make sure there aren't any warning signs of something I'm missing, so they both graze the same amount and they both still eat decent size meals at shot time and around Jaspers nadir. (Unless of course I've been ruining their appetite with purebites lol)

tl;dr When in the cycle is the best time for him to be eating his larger meals to get the most benefit out of prozinc?

 

Lol test, treat, test treat, no more lol

Prozinc is an “in and out” insulin. This means that the insulin does not build up in the system and stay there. “Onset” is when the insulin starts working, usually between 2 to 3 hours after the shot is given (depending on your cat’s own unique metabolism). ProZinc generally lasts 12 hours (“duration”) resulting in a “curve” of BG numbers, downward around mid-cycle, then back upward toward the end of each 12-hour cycle

 

LMAO !

Tonight is the last night of that hopefully... need him to gain weight and we had a traumatic experience with a vet (former vet! lol) telling us to only feed twice a day even before he was on insulin and still very high... grrr... I didn't know then that he could have been going into dka and would have needed that extra food to help keep him safe.
Wish I never listened to him cause it also set back his weight gain but...


Think we're ready now to be more strategic with meals lol just gotta get the guys used to it again! lol

Yeah I am just trying to figure out the best time to feed them to take advantage of the insulin... I'm starting to wonder how they get any benefit from the food they get with the dose if it doesn't kick in until after the food is gone from their system? lol.

But meals broken up into only with the shot and at nadir can still work for me.

And maybe a snack at onset lol... but that's it for sure!

I'm leaving a note for my wife to let them have the sardines in the fridge , (zero carbs and they only last a couple days in the fridge lol) if they harass her when she wakes up cause I haven't had a chance to re-teach them that they have to fill up at meal times cause no more grazing! lol


I kept steering them back to their bowls tonight at the "nadir meal" lol with purebites on top but they still think they're living in graze-town so they might still bug us for a couple cycles lol.

 

I test, feed and shoot, I also when I’m gone leave down food and then when I get home it’s dinner time and then a snack in the middle of the night, I recently had to change foods to low carb and low phosphorus so they are getting Sheba and I’m waiting on foodfurlife as Andy will eat raw

 

@Bellasmom
I recently had to switch to low carb and low phosphorus as well, as one of my civvie cats was just diagnosed with CKD. And I also discovered Sheba, as well as one flavor of holistic select and chicken and beef flavor of Dave's. They're not crazy about holistic select or Dave's, so I mix them with Sheba. Also, I ordered FfoodFurLife's ezcomplete, and I'm waiting for it to be delivered. My plan is to give it to all of my cats, including Celie, with CKD.

 

My cats won’t eat Dave’s at all, just ends up in trash, they love the Sheba though, my foodfurlife will be here today and I stopped and got some boneless chicken thighs that I will grind up in food processor this afternoon

 

Yeah, I think I have to give up on Dave's and Holistic Select because they really don't care for it. I can get them to eat it if I mix it with Sheba, and then sprinkle something else on top of it. The EZ complete came last night, and I'm doing the same - I'm going to pick up some chicken thighs today when I'm done work. I'm curious to see how they respond to it. I have five cats, and my two Calico girls are the only ones who aren't fussy. The other three can be pretty tough sometimes, including my sugar baby. So this will be interesting...

 

Didnt mean to take over ur thread jasper and jay

I have 3 and only 1 will eat it so far
Good luck

 

Hmm... I may need some luck!
@Jasper Blue and Jay - I agree! Didn't mean to hijack your thread!

 

No prob

 

Ss looking good! Great job

 

Thanks so much!