Question about feeding

I am just starting this journey and have a question about feeding. If my cat likes to take his time eating and go back after a few minutes (10ish) and finish should I wait to give him insulin or is it ok to give after his first “round” of eating? He eats most at first but just likes to finish later. I just started giving shots today and will have the vet do his curve test next week. He is on ProZinc. PS-So glad I found this site!!

 

Ok, here you are and thank you. I just checked through the Beginner's Guide to Prozinc here on the board and do not see that it's one of the insulins that need "food on board", so it should be ok for kitty finishes his portion at will. I am tagging a couple of people that use Prozinc just to be sure I am providing accurate information:
@Djamila @Rachel @MamaMug

I do recommend that you begin reading that guide so you can build your information base about how this insulin works and what you need to be aware of for effective diabetic treatment.
http://www.felinediabetes.com/FDMB/...prozinc-pzi-insulin-for-diabetic-cats.164995/

There are other yellow tagged 'stickies' in the Prozinc forum that provide further information that is going to be helpful to you going forward. http://www.felinediabetes.com/FDMB/forums/prozinc-pzi.24/

It would be very helpful if you would create a signature so that we have kitty's pertinent information available when you post.
Setting up your signature (light grey text under a post). Here's how:
click on your name in the upper right corner of this page
click on "signature" in the menu that drops down
type the following in the box that opens: kitty's name/age/date of diabetes diagnosis/insulin you're using and dosage amount /glucose meter you're using/what (s)he eats/any other meds or health issues (s)he has. You can add your name, and a geographic location (sometimes the time zone matters) Be sure to SAVE when you are finished.

You say you are taking kitty in for a curve next week and many of us, when we began this journey, did the same. However, testing kitty's blood sugar at home, and doing your own curves can allow you to see just how the insulin is working, every day, real time, just like human diabetics do. It's also going to reduce the vet bill. Vet visits can raise stress which raises blood sugar and affects those tests at the clinic. Doing a blood sugar test before each injection insures that it's safe to do so. If you are changing kitty's diet to a low carb wet diet, that can significantly reduce the blood sugar and you don't want to inject a dose that might be too high. It's the best way to keep kitty safe from a hypoglycemic event, and allows you to intervene in good time, if a low blood sugar does occur. It's one important component of effective diabetic treatment: low carb diet, insulin therapy and blood sugar testing. You can read more about why we encourage blood sugar testing at home in the Beginner's Guide to Prozinc.

Please continue to post, ask questions, and read the information. We will provide links, answers and support you while you are taking these first steps.

Best wishes going forward.

 

two things:

test, feed, shoot ---- it's okay to give him his insulin while he's eating, or when he's taking a short break

the experienced users who use ProZinc are the ones to tell you how to feed in relation to the test and the shot ..
(we're using Vetsulin so it's important for Catcat to have at least a tablespoon of food "on board" half an hour before I shoot, your protocol may be different)

if you are testing at home, and of course you should be -- you can do your own curve -- cats are stressed at the vet's, and the curve there is not necessarily an indication of what is going on with your cat

depends on your relationship with your vet (and to a certain extend, your budget) -- my vet did our first curve because I wasn't yet steady doing the ear prick and test; it was good that she did it, we found out her initial prescribed dose was too much for Catcat since we'd changed him to all wet pate food

 

It is absolutely fine to give the shot after the first round of eating! As long as there is a little food eaten at shot time, it will be fine. My girls also like to come back for 'second breakfast' or dinner.

 

Yup, grazing is just fine. You just want to be sure he is willing to eat before you give the shot. He doesn't have to eat a full meal at shot time. So as long as he's had something, you're fine to go ahead and give the injection and leave the food for him to return when he's hungry.

 

Thank you for the info. I really appreciate it. The more I can do at home for him, the better . In will start reading the guide and update my signature with his info too.

 

Perfect! Thank you for the info. I will start researching doing the curve at home as well as testing.

 

Thank you

 

So far that is working great with him. Thanks for the comment.