Insulin reaction (caninsulin)... suggestions? Normal?

sorry everyone, I’m totally new to forums and trying to figure it out. Jumoke is an Abyssinian and will be 16 on the 29th. He was vomiting on and off for a while. For whatever reason when he was given antibiotics he would stop. I took him in for some blood work about 2 1/2 weeks ago as he was loosing weight and getting wee infections and everything came back great (especially for his age) except his glucose. I believe my vet said it was 29 (I’m in Canada so not sure if the numbers are different). His A1C was also high. He was eating not too bad but kept loosing weight. We immediately started feeding him low carb diet of Canned DM, Weruva (Mack jack, Polynesian BBQ, Asian fusion), fancy feast classics (NO GRAVY which he loves!), Royal Canin Babycat and some of the frisked standard ones that are low carbs. We brought him back 2 weeks later hoping the food would help and his blood sugar had dropped from 29 to 22... so still high.

So that’s when my vet started him on Caninsulin (1unit) I believe he is around 3.8kg.... as well as a 1/2 of the Cerenia around 11am last Friday and Within a short time he looked absolutely horrible. Wouldn’t eat at all, didn’t want to be touched, hair stood straight up and he has that very uncomfortable upsetting stare. He went back and forth to the water bowl every 15 minutes. We waited a while and as the evening went on he seemed to feel a little better but still not interested in food, So we didn’t give him his next injection that evening ( 12 hours from the first). The next morning he seemed quite perky and much better so my vet said give him the Caninsulin 1 unit again (no Cerenia) and within a short time he was horrible again. This time she said to give him a little glucose and see if he felt a little better so I did and it did seem to help a little. These were the only two times he had the insulin. That next morning (yesterday) I was to give him the Cerena and again, he seemed to feel horrible. Wouldn’t touch food (so I was force feeding him, even gave him some IV Fluids... again as the day went on, he started feeling better in the early evening about 12 hours after taking the Cerenia.

So my vet said that both the Caninsulin and the Cerenia didn’t agree with him. Today we started him on a 2mg appetite stimulate (mertazapine) and it does seem to be helping as he has eaten much more this afternoon and even wanting to take bigger bites.

My concern is... what about his blood sugar? what is normal when starting insulin as symptoms? Does this sound normal? Do we try something else? I’m concerned about his weight. His kidneys are good... everything else seems good. Although he is wasting away. I would love to hear what others went through when starting insulin or anything that may help. These groups can be such a great help! my vet is wonderful and always open to hearing what others say.

Thanks so much!! I’m very worried about my baby! we love him so much!

Tracy

 

Hi Tracy, I'm sorry you didn't any replies yesterday. I use Lantus so I'm not familiar with Caninsulin so cannot really help there. Good job on changing his food right away, that makes a big difference! But one thing I would do is start home testing right away. If Jumoke felt better when you skipped the shot & then felt awful again after the shot, I'm wondering if his BG is now in a good range since the diet change & he's going too low after you give him the insulin. BG will always be higher at the vet due to stress so you really need to see what his BG levels are at home so you know if it's safe to give him his insulin or not.

 

Hi Tracy, sorry to hear about your kitty ( let us know his name), did the vet mentioned or tested him for ketones, this is really important since kitties with high blood suggar levels tend to form ketones and is a very dangerous condition that could be making him feel very sick? Did the vet did an urinalysis?

I don't have much experience with Caninsulin but sometimes regardless the tipe of insulin when it lowers their glucose levels they do tend to feel a little bit under the weather is like their bodies were used to operate with a higher level of glucose and kind of need it like a withdrawal syndrome but after a few days they start feeling better.

 

I would try a human insulin like Lantus or Levemir. IN Canada you do not need a prescription.
Maybe your cat is allergic to the porcine (pork) insulin from which Caninsulin/Vetsulin is made.