? My Cat isn't responding to his insulin.

My cat Rocky was diagnosed 3 weeks ago with diabetes. His first blood sugar test was 467. We live in a very rural area and it is difficult to get to the vet, a long stressful drive for Rocky. The Vet put him on a diet and he started losing weight right off. He is a big cat, but was overweight. It was about a week after diagnoses that we took him in to get his first insulin shot. His blood was tested prior to the injection and it was at 364. I was surprised and pleased that it had gone down. Since then it has been a very stressful few weeks. We are injecting him with 2 units of prozinc twice a day and his blood sugar levels have gone up not down. At his last vet appointment he tested at 405, two hours after his injection. I have just started home testing and 6 hours after his injection he tested at 609. I will be starting a chart but want to know how often to test. My vet doesn't want to see him for another month. Is this normal? After we give him his shot he is very lethargic, mostly sleeps and is sometimes very hungry other times not so much. He also walks stiff and has weakness in his hind legs. He seemed better before we started the insulin. He also has asthma and it has been difficult for him to get exercise. Any advice would be appreciated.

 

You may have just not found the ideal dose yet. Also what are you feeding?

The best way to save money and avoid the stressful trips is to start testing at home. Do you have a Walmart nearby? I can give you a shopping list. It's really not as hard as you would think and would help you keep your cat safe and find the ideal dose. Testing at home is more accurate than at the vet because the number goes up with the stress of the trip and vet visit. We call it very stress. I have a video in my signature showing how I test my cat CC at home.

Setting up a signature like the ones you see below our posts would be helpful so we don't have to ask you the same questions repeatedly. Click on your name at the top right corner and choose signature. Add info such as your pets name, date diagnosed, insulin type, food you're feeding, and any other health concerns and medications.

For the hind leg weakness (neuropathy) that will improve with better numbers and adding b12 methylcobalamin supplements to the food. Many of us order b12 brand zobaline from Amazon.

 

Good morning Deborah. I suggest you move over to the Main Forum, it's where more members are on the lookout for questions and concerns. This forum is more for tech support etc. and your concerns might not be noticed as fast. You can copy the URL of your thread here, start a new thread in the Main Forum. Use the "link" icon at the top of each post in the line that has formatting icons. Eg: B I U etc. the link looks like a paperclip to me, and right next to it is a link icon with an x on it. Just paste the URL into the link and insert. That will direct anyone who is reading your new post to the question and response here. I hope this is helpful.
Link to the Main Forum: http://www.felinediabetes.com/FDMB/forums/feline-health-the-main-forum.28/

 

Thread moved to Health and PM sent to Deborah.

 

Welcome to the forum. You are off to a good start. Prozinc is often used. You may find some of the stickies at the top of the Prozinc subforum interesting. I helped write this one:
http://www.felinediabetes.com/FDMB/...prozinc-pzi-insulin-for-diabetic-cats.164995/