New Member- Scared out of my mind

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Annie77!

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My Romeo was diagnosed yesterday. He is six and a half years old and has had numerous health problems. He just recently recovered from pancretitus. I took him to the vet after noticing him losing weight and not eating as much as usual. The doctor prescribed 1 ml of insulin twice a day.

When she told me about medicating him, she said that he must eat before the shot or the shot would kill him. I'm very worried because I'm still having trouble getting him to eat. I got him to eat some Fancy Feast Shrimp and Tuna this morning and gave him the shot. Thus far he seems to be OK.

How much should he be eating before the shot? He ate about 1/4 of a can of FF this morning. Is that enough? I'm also having trouble trying to see if the medicine has gotten into the syringe. It's so clear that it's hard to tell if the medicine is actually in there.

I would greatly appreciate any and all advice. I want to do the best for my boy. Thank you.
 
Welcome :bighug:

Not 1 ml of insulin. That's a massive overdose for a cat. You mean 1 unit of insulin. What is the name of the insulin the vet prescribed?

How much to feed before insulin depends on the insulin you are using. Lantus - not critical as long as your cat has an appetite and will eat within 2 hours. Prozinc might be the same (@Suzanne & Darcy ? ). Humbling N, Novolin N, and others you want to feed some food half an hour before insulin, give insulin, then the rest of the food.

Are you testing blood glucose levels at home? Did your vet say anything at all about it? Daily testing is important, just like it is for Human diabetics. You don't need the vet's permission or approval to test.

Use dyed water or juice or coffee to practice loading a syringe so you can visualize it. 1 unit is tiny dose. There's almost always an air bubble in the syringe after you draw up a dose. That's one way to tell if you have something inside the syringe.
 
squeem3 said:
Welcome :bighug:

Not 1 ml of insulin. That's a massive overdose for a cat. You mean 1 unit of insulin. What is the name of the insulin the vet prescribed?

How much to feed before insulin depends on the insulin you are using. Lantus - not critical as long as your cat has an appetite and will eat within 2 hours. Prozinc might be the same (@Suzanne & Darcy ? ). Humbling N, Novolin N, and others you want to feed some food half an hour before insulin, give insulin, then the rest of the food.

Are you testing blood glucose levels at home? Did your vet say anything at all about it? Daily testing is important, just like it is for Human diabetics. You don't need the vet's permission or approval to test.

Use dyed water or juice or coffee to practice loading a syringe so you can visualize it. 1 unit is tiny dose. There's almost always an air bubble in the syringe after you draw up a dose. That's one way to tell if you have something inside the syringe.
Click to expand...

Thanks for your reply. Romeo is getting PZI Pro Zinc Insulin. Yes, it's one unit, not one ml, sorry about the mistake. My vet didn't say anything about testing at home. Could you direct me to some information on how to do it on my own? That's a great idea about practicing with coffee or juice in the syringe. Thanks again.
 
Hello and welcome to the best place you never wanted to be. I'm pretty sure all of us were scared in the beginning. :bighug: We are here to help.

This post (click the blue link) has some pictures and videos that can give you ideas how to home test. Hometesting Links and Tips
If you let us know what country you are in, we might have suggestions for supplies to buy.

Regarding seeing the insulin, some people buy craft headlamps that have magnifiers. Or a good overhead light and a magnifier. I found it helpful to fill the syringe above something white, such as a piece of paper, or my white sink.

1/4 can of FF is not much. If he's still recovering from pancreatitis, he might need an anti nausea medications such as ondansetron. More information on treating pancreatitis in this post: A Primer On Pancreatitis. Or this post with a list of tips to try to get them to eat:
 
@Suzanne & Darcy is the board go-to person for ProZinc.

Here's the hometesting info: https://www.felinediabetes.com/FDMB/threads/hometesting-links-and-tips.287/

Any basic Human blood glucose meter works. The Relion brand sold at WalMart is popular because the test strips are cheap. I'm not sure if you can buy this online. If you don't have a WalMart store, any meter you find at a local pharmacy works. The big names you can typically find are AccuChek, Freestyle, and Contour among others. If you're not in the US / Canada, we have members in other countries who can suggest a brand of meter.

There is a meter that sticks to your cat's shaved skin and lasts for about 2 weeks. It continuously monitors blood glucose levels and sends readings to an app on your phone. Downside is that sometimes the meter falls off or malfunctions so you'll need to replace it. I'm not sure what vets charge for this.
 
This is not true, by the way, about ProZinc. It is good if your cat will eat a small meal before the shot. It doesn’t have to be a large meal. The best way of feeding them is to feed at shot time, feed again multiple small meals during the early portion of the cycle. If your cat is not eating at all, then that is a different problem that needs to be addressed.
 
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