Is my cat's insulin dose too high?

[Jazzi]

Hi everyone,
My cat Kaylee was just diagnosed with diabetes after she started to act lethargic the one night. Her blood glucose at the vets was 400. She is extremely overweight at 24 pounds. We've tried to get her to lose weight with metabolic food, but it didn't work. We were hoping to avoid diabetes, unfortunately, here we are. The dosage of Novolin we were given is 5 units every 12 hours, (so 10 units a day). I can imagine the dose is higher because of Kaylee's weight, but I'm still worried it's too high seeing that some pages recommend starting off low. I was thinking to start her with half the dose, 2.5 units every 12 hours and test her BG to see how that is. Would that be reasonable, or should I just go ahead with the 5 units? She's been acting fine now, but her BG tonight was 350.

 

[JanetNJ]

Hi everyone,
My cat Kaylee was just diagnosed with diabetes after she started to act lethargic the one night. Her blood glucose at the vets was 400. She is extremely overweight at 24 pounds. We've tried to get her to lose weight with metabolic food, but it didn't work. We were hoping to avoid diabetes, unfortunately, here we are. The dosage of Novolin we were given is 5 units every 12 hours, (so 10 units a day). I can imagine the dose is higher because of Kaylee's weight, but I'm still worried it's too high seeing that some pages recommend starting off low. I was thinking to start her with half the dose, 2.5 units every 12 hours and test her BG to see how that is. Would that be reasonable, or should I just go ahead with the 5 units? She's been acting fine now, but her BG tonight was 350.

omg yes too much. Starting dose of Novolin is 1 unit twice a day. Please reduce immediately. How long ago was she diagnosed? Please reduce to 1. I am afraid your vet isn't too familiar with how to treat a diabetic cat. Thank goodness you found this site. There are few instances of a cat ever needing more than 3 units and and it's usually because of some underlying condition.

It sounds like you are testing at home. Are you using a human meter or pet meter?

 

[JanetNJ]

Honestly at that dose you're lucky your cat didnt have a seizure. You were so smart to question the dose! Always listen to that inner voice. can you let me know how your cat is doing?

 

[Kris & Teasel]

Welcome! It's great that you came here - lots of help available. I agree that your kitty's dose is scary high for a newly diagnosed diabetic. There's rarely any connection between kitty's weight and the required dose. It's safest to start at a low dose like 1 unit twice a day, test blood glucose at home before every shot and at least one other time daily, then carefully increase the dose if needed. We recommend increases of no more than 0.25 u at a time. Yes, tiny fractions of a unit can make all the difference.

Re feeding and weight: if you've switched your kitty to a diet of canned low carb wet food only I guarantee she'll slowly lose weight. If you haven't done a diet switch yet, it's extremely important to lower the insulin dose as you begin because food alone can have a big effect of BG.

Here's an outline of the basic testing routine we recommend:

1. test every day AM and PM before feeding and injecting (no food at least 2 hours before) to see if the planned dose is safe
2. test at least once near mid cycle or at bedtime daily to see how low the BG goes
3. do extra tests on days off to fill in the response picture
4. if indicated by consistently high numbers on your SS, increase the dose by no more than 0.25 u at a time so you don't accidentally go right past a good dose
5. post here for advice whenever you're confused or unsure of what to do.

 

[Jazzi]

Thank you everyone for your responses!!

omg yes too much. Starting dose of Novolin is 1 unit twice a day. Please reduce immediately. How long ago was she diagnosed? Please reduce to 1. I am afraid your vet isn't too familiar with how to treat a diabetic cat. Thank goodness you found this site. There are few instances of a cat ever needing more than 3 units and and it's usually because of some underlying condition.

It sounds like you are testing at home. Are you using a human meter or pet meter?

Yes, I'm testing at home and I'm using a human meter, Reli-On from walmart. We're suppose to get a pet one from the vets in a couple weeks.
She was just diagnosed Friday, so I've been testing her blood first and have not started the insulin yet. The 5 units twice a day did look a little high to me.

Welcome! . . . .

Re feeding and weight: if you've switched your kitty to a diet of canned low carb wet food only I guarantee she'll slowly lose weight. If you haven't done a diet switch yet, it's extremely important to lower the insulin dose as you begin because food alone can have a big effect of BG.

Here's an outline of the basic testing routine we recommend:

1. test every day AM and PM before feeding and injecting (no food at least 2 hours before) to see if the planned dose is safe
2. test at least once near mid cycle or at bedtime daily to see how low the BG goes
3. do extra tests on days off to fill in the response picture
4. if indicated by consistently high numbers on your SS, increase the dose by no more than 0.25 u at a time so you don't accidentally go right past a good dose
5. post here for advice whenever you're confused or unsure of what to do.

Looks like I'll start off today with 1 unit twice a day at least. After a 2 hour fast this morning, her BG was 424. She looks OK this morning, but not eating as much as she usually does. Going to be hard to increment it at 0.25 u though, the lines are so tiny on the 3/10 needles, but I'll try to estimate it if I need to go higher. She is not on special diet right now because my vet wants to make sure she eats, so we've had the metabolic in her dish, but also feeding her regular meow mix and friskies at the moment. I am worried for her with the diabetes, but I will try to take a deep breath and take it low and slow. I'll test her a couple times through out the day and see how the first dose is.

I'll keep you all posted and let you know how it goes!
Thank you for the warm welcome and all the help!

 

[JanetNJ]

Thank you everyone for your responses!!



Yes, I'm testing at home and I'm using a human meter, Reli-On from walmart. We're suppose to get a pet one from the vets in a couple weeks.
She was just diagnosed Friday, so I've been testing her blood first and have not started the insulin yet. The 5 units twice a day did look a little high to me.



Looks like I'll start off today with 1 unit twice a day at least. After a 2 hour fast this morning, her BG was 424. She looks OK this morning, but not eating as much as she usually does. Going to be hard to increment it at 0.25 u though, the lines are so tiny on the 3/10 needles, but I'll try to estimate it if I need to go higher. She is not on special diet right now because my vet wants to make sure she eats, so we've had the metabolic in her dish, but also feeding her regular meow mix and friskies at the moment. I am worried for her with the diabetes, but I will try to take a deep breath and take it low and slow. I'll test her a couple times through out the day and see how the first dose is.

I'll keep you all posted and let you know how it goes!
Thank you for the warm welcome and all the help!

Oh good I'm relieved you didn't give her 5 units! And even more relieved you are going to start with an appropriate dose. Might be a good idea to change her food now before you start the insulin. Get rid of all dry and give low carb wet food. Most of us feed fancy feast classic or Friskies pate foods. This alone can sometimes lower bg by 100 points.

 

[Jazzi]

Oh good I'm relieved you didn't give her 5 units! And even more relieved you are going to start with an appropriate dose. Might be a good idea to change her food now before you start the insulin. Get rid of all dry and give low carb wet food. Most of us feed fancy feast classic or Friskies pate foods. This alone can sometimes lower bg by 100 points.

Hmmm well I already did start the insulin. I gave her 1 unit this morning and her BG went down to 253, three hours later. So I am very relieved I didn't give her 5 units!! She seems a little more tired than usual. I have been offering Kaylee some Friskies pate, but she's not eating as voraciously as she usually does. So keeping an eye on her and going to test her again in a little bit.

 

[JanetNJ]

Hmmm well I already did start the insulin. I gave her 1 unit this morning and her BG went down to 253, three hours later. So I am very relieved I didn't give her 5 units!! She seems a little more tired than usual. I have been offering Kaylee some Friskies pate, but she's not eating as voraciously as she usually does. So keeping an eye on her and going to test her again in a little bit.

ah ok... 1 UNIT is good for now. keep this dose for a while... at the end of the week we can reevaluate and see if it needs to be raised. it's likely that it may be raised, but only in small .25-.5 increments, not whole units. good job getting that test in!! test again at like 4-5 hours after the shot. Novolin usually peeks around then.