I need someone’s help. Please

Hello to all the sugar sweet
moms and dads. I became a sugar cat mom on December 30th 2020.
Wiggles is 8 years old neutered male and he weighs 12.1 pounds. He was use to eating Purina 1 and friskies canned. Vet done bloodwork at which his BG was 600. They started him on Vetsulin 1unit two x a day. And gave me a list of foods. I changed him to Fancy Feast naturals with 0 carbs. Been using a Relion Premier. After few days BG still high. Called vet and they said gave 2 units 2 x day. And I did a curve and set to vet. Still highs. Talking upper 400 to 500 to it just reading high. Which means over 600. Hes had several of these readings. He wasn’t t eating as good as he was at the start. So Vet called me back yesterday said to give him 3 units 2 x day. and let him have some dry food to stimulant his appetite. So I was worried about him eating the dry. And not seeing his BG going down. So I did as they said. And he did eat several times his dry. And I knew when I went to check him and give shot and feed him it was going to be high. Since the insulin raised to 3 units. It’s still running 500s now and last reading at 1:00am it was another just High. I even checked my own BG. Which was normal. Vet said bring him back in a week to check weight. My question is could he be insulin resistant? Or has anyone else went though this.? Is 3 units 2 x a day of vetsulin and should that be working ?
It like the insulin isn’t fazing him.
My son was diagnosed at age 15 with type 1 and now has a pump. So I have some experience but for a cat it’s different in someways.
any help or advice will be appreciated. Thanks
Kat and Wiggles

 

Hello! I'm sorry to hear about Wiggles' high BG levels, but glad to hear he has someone who cares so much about him! It may just be that Vetsulin isn't the right insulin for your cat (many do better on ProZinc, or even human insulins like Lantus or Levemir), or that he has an infection or needs dental work (infection can cause high BG... but your vet probably checked for that), or diet-related of course. Or, there's a chance it could be that Wiggles has an underlying condition that causes him to need higher insulin doses. There is a section of the forum here that is geared toward those of us with kitties who have these conditions -- you should definitely post your questions there too; you'll get some great advice over there:

https://www.felinediabetes.com/FDMB/forums/acromegaly-iaa-cushings-cats.12/

Hopefully it's something that isn't too serious, and you can find answers soon -- best of luck to you and sweet Wiggles!

 

Hi Katray and Wiggles and welcome to the forum.

I think your vet is raising the dose of insulin too much at a time. We recommend increasing the doses in 1/4 unit increments at a time so that we don’t go past the best dose and it is much safer for the cat. To go from 1 unit twice a day to 3 units twice a day from Dec 30 to 12 January is far too fast.
Also as mentioned by Karen, vetsulin is not a good insulin for cats. It is really a dog insulin. There are much better choices for Wiggles such as Prozinc and Lantus.
Going back to feeding dry food is not a good idea, but it may be saving him with the increased dose at the moment.
It is great you are home testing...well done!
Are you testing during the cycle to see how low the dose is taking Wiggles as well as before the dose?
Are you feeding 30 minutes before the dose?
It’s possible he’s insulin resistant but u less we can see a spreadsheet and data we can tell.I suspect the dose has been raised much too fast.

Here is what I would do.

• I would ask the vet to swap you to one of the other insulins I mentioned.
• I would set up a spreadsheet to record your data and we can see it and help you. Here is a link. If you have any trouble there is someone who will help you set it up.

https://www.felinediabetes.com/FDMB/threads/fdmb-spreadsheet-instructions.130337/

• Put last couple of weeks data into the SS so we can see please

Here is another useful link
https://www.felinediabetes.com/FDMB/threads/new-how-you-can-help-us-help-you.216696/

Keep asking questions. We are happy to help

 

You said he was also eating Friskies before diagnosis. While the dry is no good (like 35%carb). You CAN feed Friskies pate (no gravy). You are sure he's not getting a fur shot where the insulin is wet on his fur? Good for you for testing right away. I agree with the others that the dose is being raised too quickly. Raising in whole units could make you skip the ideal dose. Raising a half unit at a time is safer. Do you have a copy of the Bloodwork from diagnosis you could post? Can you post his testing log or spreadsheet?