Newbie - Just saying HI

Hi there, I am from the UK and about 2 months ago my little man was diagnosed with diabetes after we noticed him drinking alot. Our dose is quite high atm but this wasn't a quick chuck him on this does decision!

My vet is really quite good and does seem to be really up on what he is talking about when it comes to diabetes, but still wanted to tell you my story as you may be able to help in lowering the dose.

My vet is checking Toadflax's blood every two weeks and his urine, sending his blood off for a 2 week test (I can't remember what its called, but he isn't just checking what he sees on that day)

So anyway, he went in for his blood test about 2 months ago and the vet checked it at the surgery and said that it looked like he had diabetes, but to get a more accurate result he was sending off for this 2 week test (apparently it sees what his blood/kidneys etc have been doing over a two week period) sounds complicated!
The results came back and confirmed the diabetes. The vet had Toadflax in for 2 days to start him on the insulin (caninsulin) to see how much was needed etc. Anyway after 2 days it was decided to start him on 2 units twice a day and see how he went from there and to take him back after 3/4 weeks for another check up. I noticed a drop in weight, we took him back and he had lost around 1kg since he was weighed in November so lost 1kg in around 6 months which isn't like him at all, I didn't think I'd see the day he was at a normal weight! he has been over weight for a long time, not Obese overweight but around 1kg over, which we were controlling. Anyway, the vet advised to up his food, as he was becoming close to going underweight. We did his bloods and glucose was still high so advised to up to 3 units twice a day.
This was going OK but then noticed he was weeing a lot, in the house too not using his litter tray all the time, it was as if he just couldn't make it in time. So we put a litter tray in the spot he was weeing and noticed that it was full in a day, soaked. Vet asked us to get a urine sample, which we did, to check for infection. No infection but still high glucose, so we have now upped to 4units twice a day. I have read (on this site) that that is high of the normal range, so I am hoping on the next check up it doesn't have to be upped. He does seem to be brighter in his self now actually. Is coming for cuddles, which he wasn't doing as much, spending time with us. Before he was staying out of our way. He still seems skinny, so upping of his food doesn't look to have made a huge difference. (He was on half a tin of felix a day, we've upped him to a tin) He has about half a handful of dry too, (wondering if to knock that out). This has been the norm.

We are going back to vet tomorrow for another blood test. I'm going to ask about home testing. Luckily we are insured so all of this is being paid for, so the vet has been really thorough! I can't fault my vet AT ALL he's been so good and really monitored him. I'm just hoping to see a drop in that glucose tomorrow. *fingers crossed

 

Just found the word for that test 'fructosamine ' also just to say he has his food at set times daily (we have a timer cat food bowl so he always gets them at the same time and spread over 4 meals)

 

The best way for you to find out exactly how the insulin is working for Toadflax (gotta hear the story about his name!) is to test his blood sugars at home. When cats are at the vet's, there are lots of noises and smells they are not used to, and lots of people who are "not the mommy". All that raises stress levels and they in turn raise blood glucose levels. So it is possible that the numbers your vet is getting are higher than you would get at home, and doses based on those numbers may be too high. You just won't know until you start hometesting.

Here is a good beginning info site: http://www.sugarcats.net/sites/harry/bgtest.htm and a video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_zE12-4fVn8

There are cats who require high doses. But if you started at 2 units, it is possible that you started over his ideal dose. (We really like to see kitties start at one unit twice a day) If he is getting too much insulin, it drives the numbers up. This seems counter to logic, but it is a phenomenon called rebound: http://petdiabetes.wikia.com/wiki/Somogyi_rebound

Food is also a big component of this process. We advocate wet lo carb (http://www.catinfo.org) We have a number of people in the UK who can give you examples of food that is lo carb. You want to stay away from dry food, and from anything containing gravy.

Hope you will do a lot of reading and research on this site. We all have treated or are treating a diabetic cat with great success using hometesting and lo carb diets.

 

Hi there, I'm in Surrey. There aren't many of us in the UK on this site and you'll get excellent advice from our US friends anyway - but if there's anything specific you want to ask, ask away and I'm sure one of us can help.

The situation you describe sounds quite typical of a newly diagnosed diabetic cat, and you seem to have it under control, with a good vet and an open-ness to home-testing. Just bear in mind that there's a wealth of not only information but experience on this site, and vets aren't always as clued-up as they might be, so if you read a lot here and take any questions to your vet, that would be good - the two should complement each other. There are one or two medical people here but generally they don't give medical advice as much as suggestions because every cat is different. Having said that, the advice given to you here can be life-saving - these guys collectively have an absolute mine of experience - so don't hesitate to ask anything at all here, and you will get some solid answers that you should bear in mind when deciding how to treat or cope with any problems you may have.

Just read as much as you can, and take a few simple things on board whilst not getting too hung up on what the vet says you must do. For example, vets like doing regular fructosamine tests but most people will tell you that after the initial diagnostic tests, a fructosamine is a waste of time because it just gives a picture of the BG over a period of time, not what the BG is at any given moment - which is what you need to know when it comes to dosing. Home-testing is not difficult, especially if you're open to it as you are, but do be prepared for a learning curve (no pun intended!) while you get the hang of it.

Also - Caninsulin is often the insulin of choice by UK vets, but most people on this site would prefer PZI which is also readily-prescribable here in the UK. You might like to ask your vet about it. It's longer-lasting, basically - it works gradually over a period rather than producing a quick result and then petering out to nothing, as Caninsulin does.

I would also urge you to feed more than half a tin a day while your cat is unregulated - he is not processing his food well enough at the moment and needs to maintain nourishment. A whole tin, which you say you've upped to, is OK, but maybe a bit more even if he wants it - or supplement the tinned with protein snacks like chicken or turkey.

Can't think of anything else at the moment but as I said, keep posting and keep asking questions. This is a brilliant site and you'll be eternally grateful to have found it!

Good luck.
Diana

 

Okay... I want some pet health insurance... sounds great that your extrasweet Toadflax... (come on how'd he get the name?) has such great benefits. I'm here in USA (Minnesota) waving hi across the pond.

I second the thought that you need to start home testing your boy with a human blood glucose meter. We have them in Pharmacy here in the states. The meter has no way of knowing what blood its testing... it's just looking for glucose (sugar) and will give you accurate readings. I know my sweet Charlie was full of attitude, but sat like (actually he reclined) a little prince while I pricked his sweet ear and 'sipped' up his blood for the test. Be sure and get a meter that requires 'sipping' strips, you don't want to have to try to flick blood drops onto a strip... really not a pretty thought...

Sounds like you're doing great. keep us posted and please know we all love his name.

 

Have no idea why your vet would use Caninsulin, pork based and not the greatest for cats, when you are lucky enough to be able to get bovine insulin PZI, excellent for cats.
http://petdiabetes.wikia.com/wiki/Insuvet
How I wish we could get it here in the States. You would also do better to spend your money and buy a meter, test strips, and lancets and start home testing instead of doing fructosamine tests. He could be going way low and rebounding back up. Hopefully Simon will see the PM I sent him and contact you.

 

Thank you for your replies. I am glad I have found this site. He is due to go in for testing tomorrow, so depending on results, I'll ask about the different Insulin you have mentioned and home testing. Anyone from UK recommend one to use that's easy? I saw one that downloads the results to a spreadsheet/graph, I thought sounded quite good.
The urine sample was taken at home, and still was high in glucose so I am not sure how a urine sample compares to a blood for good results, but this is why his latest dose was upped.
I will knock out the dry food he has like you said, he does only have a few biscuits around 12 max in the morning, just as a treat really, but if that is bad for him, then he can have wet instead! What is the best (kinda cheap) wet food to get. He is currently having a tin of Felix (standard in Jelly) a day. If there is a better one, I'll happily try it switching him over gradually.
So is it OK to give him snacks such as meat like someone suggested? I am a vegetarian so we don't have meat in normally, only when I let my husband have it but i will buy some if it will be good for him.

OKay so Toadflax. Its not really that good a story, but I am a fan of Watership Down (The bunny film) and there is a rabbit called Toadflax which I just thought was funny to call him, and started calling it him as a joke when we first had him, and it then just stuck! My mum has a cat called Ryvita (named by me) i do tend to pick weird names. One of the Rabbits is called Otus, The Hamster Diddly (although that was my daughter, who was only about 15 months and I said the first word she said when we were holding her up to see the hamster thats what we'd call her, and she said Diddly) So yes my animals don't have 'normal' names. :RAHCAT Although the guinea pigs kind of do and one of the rabbits, but she was already named when we got her from a rescue place. I bet you wished you hadn't asked!

 

Simon reporting in for duty as requested Hope! Thanks for sending me the PM to let me know that we have a new member of the FDMB community in the UK.

Hello Bex (I hope I've got your name right). Welcome to FDMB. We are sorry that you have had to join us but you will get all the support that you need here to help Toadflax. The early days and weeks after diagnosis are a challenging time, both for feline and owner. You can post here all you want to ... You don't have to wait too long for a reply as there is someone logged in. We have members all over the world!

I have to say that eight units a day seems an awful lot of insulin to me and without hometesting, I believe this could be quite risky for Toadflax. I don't want to panic you but I feel I need to flag this up straight away. Perhaps other members more knowledgeable about insulin dosage can comment on this? I'm not sure that I would rely too much on a fructosamine test. Any test undertaken at a veterinary surgery is likely to give misleading results as Toadflax will be stressed and the results are likely to be high because of this.

You need to start hometesting as soon as you can. As Diana says (Hi Diana ... Hope you are OK) we have some members in the UK. I am in Essex and I'm sure that someone local to you would be prepared to visit to get you started with hometesting. Hometesting is when you take a small blood sample from a feline to determine blood glucose level and therefore, ensure that you get the insulin dosage right. There is also a hometesting curve that will help you plot how Toadflax is reacting to the insulin. When he give him his insulin, his blood sugar level will drop and then gradually rise again as the cycle of the medication nears its end. One would expect to see different outcomes for PZI and Cansulin. I won't comment any more on that issue. There are other members much better informed than me who will be able to add their expertise and knowledge. Some vets will tell you that hometesting is not necessary. They are wrong. Why some give this opinion I cannot say. Perhaps it is that they wish to do all the testing and create work for themselves. Hometesting is more accurate than a test completed in a surgery. A good vet will be prepared to support hometesting and if they don't know about it, they will be prepared to learn from you.

When I first started saw a demonstration of a hometest I thought that I would never manage to do it and yet within forty-eight hours I was doing the procedure twice a day. I know that you are fully committed to helping Toadflax and that commitment and love will get you both through. It soon become part of the daily routine and it really is essential. It can be a life saver!

As soon as I have posted this message I will send you my contact details. Please get in touch. Please remember that everyone at FDMB has gone through what you are now experiencing and we will all try to help, even if we are only providing a sympathetic ear.

Come back here often. You have found the best place to be. Please let me know that you have my contact details and call me any time.

Love

 

Hi again - OK, gluucometers. Go into Boots and ask the pharmacist for a simple one (don't say it's for your cat - you'll get some weird looks!). Many of us here use One Touch Ultra which is nice and easy and efficient. Take a day or two to get yourself acquainted with it and leave it around your cat for a day or two so he gets used to the sight of it, then have a go at getting blood. You may find it fiddly at first but all of us here who have done it could now do it with our eyes closed.

Dry food is definitely not good for diabetics - too high in carbs. It's an idea to keep some by though in case his BGs go a bit too low, in which case you can give him a few and they will bring him back up again. Best food is Felix or Whiskas IN JELLY (not gravy - too high in carbs). Tinned or pouch is fine. Also Butchers Classic in tins which some cats like and others don't.

Even if you are veggie it's nice to offer a cat meat as a treat - cats are obligate carnivores and must have meat in some shape in their diet. You could just buy some ready-cooked chicken or ham and give it to him in small amounts - he'll love it. Remember too that all the time he is unregulated he won't be feeling too good so treat him as you would a human patient with lots of TLC and treats that will help his health as well as giving him the pleasure of eating "real" food.

Diana

 

Welcome to the best place to be with a DC when you start home testing you take control of your kitty`s health and you are on your way to a speedy recovery maybe even remission .My kitty was only on insulin 2 months he now has 28 days in....no insulin. Lots of good advice here If you need a question answered put ADVICE OR DOSE in your subject line for eyes to notice quicker Kath :mrgreen:

 

Oh please don't think I said I was veggie I wasn't prepared to give him meat. i meant I don't have meat in the house so we don't have readily available, but as soon as I knew what to get I will

He has felix so thats good at least I won't need to change his diet. I weighed him earlier and he has lost even more weight :'( so I have upped his food tonight, not by alot just giving a sachet on top of his tin.

I am going to speak to my vet about all of this tomorrow. He did say he understood about the stress levels this is why when he goes for his bloods, they keep him in all day. Although like you say his family isn't around and he isn't in his own house. I saw some testing kits on ebay today thats been mentioned on here so I'm going to get that I think.

Thank you all for your help and advice.
I'll let you know how it all goes!

 

It's Ok, I didn't think you were saying you weren't prepared to give him meat, and even if you are a bit uncomfortable with it I understand - but we are all such crazy cat lovers here that we do anything for our babies! Sounds as if a bit of extra food is in order whatever it is, but pure protein is always good.
Diana

 

Yes going to pick some up tomorrow. I just remembered in fact I have no clue whatsoever how I forgot. My father in law is diabetic and has a test kit, so I can try with that until I can get one, if he has spare lancets. This is something I know that has to be kept under control. Toadflax was diagnosed 2 months ago and around 6 weeks ago my father inlaw was taken to hospital and had to have his leg amputated becuase of poor diabetic control and not looking after himself as he should. So I know from that experience that i will do whatever it takes to look after my little boy. He is very spoilt and wont be lacking at all in care.

One thing i am interested in is diet control. he has always been on wet food, with dry as a treat so I can't see the day that he won't need insulin as his diet has not changed and if felix is one of the best foods to give and thats what hes been on, then is it at all possible we'll get him better or at least have it under control? i hate seeing him like this, he just isnt himself. Always begging for food, always drinking, sleeps babysitting his food bowl rather than cuddled up in with us. Its heart breaking. Uh oh ive gone into one now.

 

*hugs* It's grim but you and Toadflax will come through this. It's okay to be miz about it every now and then *more hugs*.

Kim

 

To answer your question about urine testing vs blood glucose testing...

When blood glucose levels go above approximately 250 (US measurements) or 14 (UK and Cdn), the kidneys will filter out glucose into the bladder. WHen the animal pees, the bladder is emptied....when this urine is tested and is positive for glucose, you have no idea how high blood glucose levels were, you have no idea how low they also went, nor at what time these things occurred. All you know is that at some point since the last 'pee' or elimination, that blood glucose levels went above renal threshold.

Based on this, you CANNOT safely base insulin dose (a rare few have managed to). You may have a cat who's blood glucose levels are 'yo-yo-ing' and you'd never catch it if just using urine testing or fructosamine tests.

Does this answer your question?

 

Re: Newbie - Just saying HI Hullo from Hastings!

Do you know my daughter, Sally Pryce nee Cole? I ask because when I saw Sally at the weekend, she said her friends cat had been dx'd and had recommended FDMB!

We golden oldies cared for three diabetic cats , one at a time.

Simon and Diana (Hullo there) have covered the basics. Years of food checking made me sure that almost any tinned food IN JELLY is lower in carbs than the gravy or pate types. Dry food often has 50% carbs so you can imagine the effect (Think what would happen if your Father in Law only ate boiled sweets!)

Bushey came to us on 2x2units caninsulin, and I might just as well been injecting water. His numbers were in the range of 35, a dangerous level.
As I still had a bottle of INSUVET (beef) PZI and within a month, not only were his numbers down, but he put back his lost weight!

Caninsulin is ideal for Canines

Beef insulin is only one atom away from cats natural insulin,so you can see why it is preferable.
Dont be conned into buying a new vial each month. by keeping it in the fridge we found it useable for over six months.
DO get some glucose powder (about £1) in case of HYPO (too much insulin, too little food) If its in the cupboard. the chances are you will never need it!

I will send you a PM with my phone number so you can talk.

If you live near, i am willing to help with testing

Mary

 

Diet is one of the cornerstones of the treatment. It is great he is already getting wet lo carb. But the insulin will be the other element. It is likely to take the combination of diet and insulin to give you good results.

It is a good idea to feed him more than you usually do until he is regulated. Newly diabetic cats are literally starving, as their bodies are not processing the food correctly.

Yes, you can certainly use your father's meter. The lancets are cheap and don't have to match the meter. They just have to match the lancing device.

It is hard to watch them be so miserable. But once they get on insulin and start to improve, it will be wonderful to watch those behaviors you have missed come back. Oliver was a beautiful Maine Coon with the most luxurious coat. When he became diabetic, he stopped grooming himself and his coat was covered with dandruff and mats. I tried to keep him groomed but his fur was dry and flaky. I remember being so happy the day I found him grooming himself again. Soon, his coat was as lovely as ever.

Hang in there. Things are on the way up!

 

Hi and welcome to FDMB :mrgreen:

You've got some good advice already.
It's nearly midnight here, but think your the last UK newbie! (I'm englsh but live in Germany)
8u is a high dose.However, before you go slashing the dose, I would advise you get some ketodiastix (ask your vet about these as I'm sure someone said they had a hard time getting them from Boots etc.Alternatively good old ebay!)

Ultra thin lancets go with the one touch device-again Ebay and your strips (but if you can get your dad's-go for it!!! )

Felix in jelly is fine 8%.I prefer under 5% carbs but would not recommend you changing anything now until your hometesting because of the doseage your on.
I fed Felix 'As Good As It Looks' this is 3.4% carbs.

Tomorrow I will post a ost of the other UK foods people can try (bit late to dig out now)for future reference.
Don't panic about your boys dose, but the fact that he sounds like he's peeing a lot and ravenous means he's still well unregulated. Give him as much food as he wants within reason-his body is unable to process the nutrients and he is therefore literaly starving.

Cats at vets, even for a whole day can be extremely stressed.Lucky's bg's would go up by at least 100 points-not good for dosing decisions.This may be one of the reasons your on such a high dose, but there are cats who do need high doses, hence the caution. You need to monitor for Keytones (your dad will know about these).

Think Jen covered the fructosamine test-if vet basing dosing on this, could be part of reason such a high dose.
Sounds horrible and a leap oof faith on your part, but if vet says to increase again tomorrow, you don't have to.I would hold off until you can get some spotchecks in. You may be in a cycle of rebound already, another reason I'd like you to be testong for keytones as it may be a case of suggesting you start over at 1 to 2 units.
Are you at home during the day? Able to test frequently?
Another thing to help 'fatten' him up-fresh boiled chiken-very high in protein, negligible carbs.
If you can't get glucose powder (I couldn't when I was in UK) runny honey is just as good (this is for a hypo).
You also need to find some high carb wet cat food (this is for your emergency kit should you ever need it, so pouches bets so not wasting money).
) have recalled it and recomended vets put cats on alternative insulins. I can't see how it doesn't extend to caninsulin as well.
Latest product on market in UK and has had positive comments here is Prozinc (form of PZI I beleieve).I can't advise on it if you get it as I haven't used it myself. Caninsulin though I do know a lot about. Have a look in the Insulin spport group for it and read the stickies. There's only 1 or 2 of us who check it these days so good to cross post there and here where there are more eyes.
Keep asking questions-the UK contingent is definitely growing!!! :mrgreen:

 

Thanks so much! So Toadflax is at the vets today and I sent husband with a list of things to ask from here... First thing home testing. he said brilliant idea will help him loads and will explain best way to do it (hopefully he'll show us) Then asked about the other insulin. He said he was planning on getting him on PZI within the next couple weeks anyway :mrgreen: He stcks three varieties, Caninsulin which he normally likes to start them off with to see how the system deals with it and to get them stabalised, then he moves on to the slower release one (PZI) then he says he has another that's an even slower release one, and he says he has plenty in stock so its not an issue. Phew! He is going to check his weight today too. Going to get hubby to pick up some meat for him.

I use Felix as I have said, he sometimes has had as good as it gets too, in fact he had some last night as I wanted to give him an extra sachet on top of his tin.

I already have the glucose powder, it was the first thing vet told me to get and make sure I had in the house. I'll keep the dry food for if it is needed (hopefully not)*fingers crossed. I didn't give him his regular few biscuits this morning, gave him meat instead.
Someone mentioned about the bottles of insulin going off etc. Please don't worry about that, the cost has no bearing as its all on insurance! Also we have the very small bottles so it doesn't get past the month mark especially on the dose he is on now.

I am so pleased the vet was already planning on swapping the insulin anyway. He is always very open minded, so this morning I feel more positive.

 

Fabthat you have the insurance :mrgreen:

You need to hometest with that dose and if you've cut the food he's getting tolow carb.Bg's are raised by the %carbs, so just by reducing the carb content of food will effect how much insulin is needed to work on the bg's.

I had hells owntrouble when we started out as Lucky was so fractious they wouldn't prescribe any insulin (also reckoned she had heart issues).

I went home, lifted the dry (was 454) within a week she was 257 and this was with no insulin. Heck of a difference!

You shouldn't ever really need to feed dry.Takes too ong to bring numbers up and then can send kitty to the moon numbers wise.High carb food raises them quick but doesn't last long in the system and allows you to get back on track quick.

Are you going to get a hometestng kit?

 

Yes I have been trawling today to try and find the best kit to get. I like the idea of the ones you can upload info to a computer. Then I can take it to vet which will help. He has been on wet food for years now, and just the occasional dry just as a treat never a meal as he likes them, but Im not giving now. BUT makes me think though because he has had dry every morning just about 12 little biscuits but he had them always before going to the vets (apart from the first time as we had strict instructions not to feed) so that might not have helped the results?

Anyway today he has gone with just a little bit of food in his tummy (wet) which he had to have because of his jab. So I am hoping results will be better today.

Im just so please my vet is being so good. I was a little worried he would think I was telling an expert how to do his job, I dont know why I thought that cos he has always listened to my queries/comments etc. Im also pleased he is up on his knowledge and knew about the slow release of the PZI etc and knew what we were talking about when mentioned. Im so grateful to you all i feel super positive after hearing from the vet and the advice I have received.

 

You know, one of the most positive things about this is that you have such a great relationship with your vet and he/she is on board with what we're saying here. It helps sooooo much. Quite a few of us struggle or have struggled to get our vet to our way of thinking and it can be a real nightmare when we're starting to treat FD. I actually changed vets because my original one wouldn't prescribe PZI (only Caninsulin).
Anyway - you're doing really really well, I hope it continues.
Diana

 

Hi again,

yes your probably right.If he ad dry food in him this may well of made his bg higher when read.

As for kits, pretty much everyone here sets up a spreadsheet manually (the instructions are in the tech forum.I'm not that clever and someone helped me set ours up).Then I used to print off and take to vet. The last vet even gave me her email addy and through Google I gave her access so she could look at it anytime she wanted (neat).

I used a One touch ultra and accu check. Although the accu check needs a smidge less blood for a readng the strips have a code strip. This means as soon as they reach their expiry date they can't be used, whereas one touch you can (you don't want to be using them months past expiry but a few weeks doesn't hurt)

I got all our supplies off ebay.You may be able to get yours on your insurance-not sure?

As Diana has said, great that you have a vet willingto work with you.Took me 4 but they still let me down when we encountered pancreatitis, so hold onto them! :mrgreen:

 

Hi sending lots of Healing green vibes and hoping for a speedy recovery Kath

 

Out of curiosity did you notice a change once you switched the insulin if so how quickly?

 

Welcome, and I hope this group inspires you beyond your fear. No one here will yell at you.

My cat was dx'd on 7-15, and since then I have carefully measured out his five meals a day. I have frozen some portions, in case we aren't home when he needs to eat.

I switched to all canned food, i mix in a tablespoon or so water and even heat it in the microwave for 10 seconds if it's cold out to the fridge.

I also froze some portions for those times I"m away during the day.

I give the shot while he's eating - he has never noticed a thing.

 

I have no issues with the jabs, I did at first kept bending the needles cat(2)_steam but then realised it was because of the angle I was going in at, so once I got that sorted, all was fine. He gets annoyed a bit, but I think only because he knows his food is there ready and waiting to have straight after and he wants it NOW!!! He has an automatic feeder, although I am here most of the time as work from home, I still like him to eat at regular times so we just set that for the day and its there waiting.

He's just come back from the vets and nothing has changed still on the same levels as he was last week, so hes going to get the results back from the fructosamine test and then think about switching him to PZI
In the meantime hopefully I can get some more accurate readings once I work out which test kit to buy.

 

It's a bit tricky to explain but I'll try. The two insulins work in a different way, but they may not work the same way in your cat as they do in another cat. All cats respond differently to medication, just as humans do.

But basically: Caninsulin is a fast-acting, short-duration insulin, ie it works quickly and uses up its juice quite fast - a bit like if you drive very fast, you use up more petrol. PZI has a gentle action, it takes effect more slowly but lasts longer. That's the theory, anyway. There are other insulins which have an even slower release, such as Levemir (I think - but I'm not too clued-up on that, someone else will know better). Can you see the difference? PZI is usually a better bet for cats for that reason, as well as the fact that Caninsulin is really intended for dogs!

So, it's hard to talk about noticing a change when switching between insulins because they work in different ways and you would have different expectations.

Just say if none of this makes sense and I or someone else will try to explain better!