My Bella who weighed 13.6 pounds 3 weeks ago was diagnosed with feline diabetes. She numbers were at 464, and her veterinarian put her on a diet of Purina DM wet and dry. A check 10 days later showed no difference in her numbers, and she was prescribed 1 unit of insulin every 12 hrs. This past Monday, we went for a followup. She now weighs 13.2lbs, and will not eat but maybe a few bites of food here and there. Had to skip her insulin this morning because she wouldn't eat. I had been giving her about 2-3 tablespoons of tuna b4 her injections, however the vet wants me to give her less; I tried mixing a little bit of tuna with the DM, but she wanted no part of it. She looks even thinner today than Monday. How can I get my baby girl to eat?
Newly diagnosed feline diabetes
- Thread starter Sheri F.
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Maggies Mom Debby
Very Active Member
Many cats will not eat the DM. Most of us feed low-carb canned food from the store. Things like fancy feast pate - no gravies. Here is a link to the post about food and nutrition. http://www.felinediabetes.com/FDMB/threads/nutrition-diet-links.115/
Maggies Mom Debby
Very Active Member
Here is a link to the post about getting your cat to eat: http://www.felinediabetes.com/FDMB/threads/suggestions-on-how-to-stimulate-kittys-appetite.130770/
Thank you Debby! How much should she eat before it is safe for her to have her insulin? How often do you feed?
Maggies Mom Debby
Very Active Member
It depends partly on which insulin she is getting. You see there are long-lasting insulins and short-acting insulins and they behave different. Can you tell us what your vet prescribed?
Sheri, my diabetic has been gone for a long time, so I don't give advice about insulin or dosage anymore. So I can't give any advise about how much food you need before giving a shot. But you should try other low-carb foods because she needs to eat.
Thank you again Debby. Currently Bella is prescribed 1 unit every 12 hrs of Lantus.
Also, I bought some of the Fancy Feast from the list that you posted. I will try this for dinner tonight.
Maggies Mom Debby
Very Active Member
Lantus is a good, long-lasting insulin, and 1 unit twice a day is a good starting dose. I hope Bella will like the new food!
Ferndoc
Active Member
Sheri if you go to the Lantus forum (farther down on the main forums page) and look at the info posts there is likely an answer to how much he needs to eat before a shot. I use another insulin so can't comment too much. Personally though I try to make sure Fern eats about an ounce at least.
Chris & China (GA)
Very Active Member
With Lantus being such a gentle insulin, it's not so important that they eat before the shot....but it is important to know your cat and know if there's something wrong and if he's not feeling good and won't eat at all
With Lantus, the "onset of action" isn't for a couple of hours, so as long as your kitty will eat and isn't sick/unwilling to eat at all, you can usually give the insulin on schedule
It looks like you may not be home testing though and that's vital....Insulin is a very powerful hormone and just getting occasional tests at the vets office is very risky. Also, tests done at the vets can be inflated by as much as 200 points due to the stress of being at the vet! The vet see's those high numbers, thinks the cat needs more insulin and increases the dose and you go home. Once your cat relaxes, those numbers can come down significantly!
I really hope you'll let us help you learn how to home test....there's really nothing better than knowing exactly what's going on inside your kitties body and by home testing, you'll always know...and you'll be able to keep him safe from a possible hypoglycemic crisis
With Lantus, the "onset of action" isn't for a couple of hours, so as long as your kitty will eat and isn't sick/unwilling to eat at all, you can usually give the insulin on schedule
It looks like you may not be home testing though and that's vital....Insulin is a very powerful hormone and just getting occasional tests at the vets office is very risky. Also, tests done at the vets can be inflated by as much as 200 points due to the stress of being at the vet! The vet see's those high numbers, thinks the cat needs more insulin and increases the dose and you go home. Once your cat relaxes, those numbers can come down significantly!
I really hope you'll let us help you learn how to home test....there's really nothing better than knowing exactly what's going on inside your kitties body and by home testing, you'll always know...and you'll be able to keep him safe from a possible hypoglycemic crisis
Mum of two felines
Active Member
Home testing saved both of my kitties. Both were prescribe too much insulin. Right when I started home testing my vet told me to up the dose to 15 units!!!! Thankfully I didn't follow that advice because my kitty would have bottomed out with that dose.
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