Recently diagnosed, worried about making sure cat eats

[Pishi]

My cat was recently diagnosed and we have an appointment for her tomorrow so the techs can go over everything and show me how to give her insulin.

She is going to initially be on 2 units of Lantus every 12 hours. My biggest concern is her eating. She doesn't usually eat a full meal at once but grazes throughout the day. She weighs 8.8 pounds, how much food would she have to eat before I can give her dose in the mornings and evenings. I do plan on testing her BG before but I'm concerned about her eating as I work and she's alone during the day.

I do plan on asking my vet for an appetite stimulant but needed some other guidance. I think this group may save my cats life!!

 

[CORKY]

My cat was recently diagnosed and we have an appointment for her tomorrow so the techs can go over everything and show me how to give her insulin.

She is going to initially be on 2 units of Lantus every 12 hours. My biggest concern is her eating. She doesn't usually eat a full meal at once but grazes throughout the day. She weighs 8.8 pounds, how much food would she have to eat before I can give her dose in the mornings and evenings. I do plan on testing her BG before but I'm concerned about her eating as I work and she's alone during the day.

I do plan on asking my vet for an appetite stimulant but needed some other guidance. I think this group may save my cats life!!

Welcome to FDF, you are with no doubt in the right place, it is overwhelming knowing our precious fur baby has diabetes, we have all been there, so you are not alone, this Forum saved my Corky's life, here you will have expert members and many answered questions to your concerns, I will tag expert members on Lantus so you can get assistance in dosing, the more we know about Pishi the better so you can help us help you by creating your signature and spreadsheet. below are several links for that. Also the diet for a diabetic cat is wet can foods, between 0-10% carbs, with that saying, kibbles, hard food contains between 20-30% carbs, there is a Dr Food list link as well the third column contains the carb content per food, many brands to choose from, if you are home all day you want to give to main meals before each shot, and 2-3 small snacks in between, or a wet feeder if you're are not. Home testing is very important, most of us here us the ReliOn Premier human monitor and strips, inexpensive and reliable, is important to test before each shot, try reading all the sticky notes in the Main Forum there you will find valuable information, no concern is a small one so feel free to post us, we are here for you
@Suzanne & Darcy
@Bron and Sheba (GA)

https://www.felinediabetes.com/FDMB/threads/new-how-you-can-help-us-help-you.216696/
https://www.felinediabetes.com/FDMB/threads/how-to-create-a-spreadsheet.241706/
https://www.felinediabetes.com/FDMB/threads/dr-pierson-new-food-chart.174147/

 

[Bron and Sheba (GA)]

Hi and welcome to the forum. Corky has given you some good advice.
I can see you have the spreadsheet set up…well done.
Lantus is an excellent insulin for cats. But I would not start a newly diagnosed cat on 2 units of insulin. That is too much.
The starting dose for a kitty is 0.5 units twice a day if they are eating just low carb wet food OR 1 unit twice a day if they are eating dry food.
With Lantus insulin, because it is a depot insulin, the full effect of the initial dose will not be felt for 5 to 7 days when the depot fills. Starting at 2 units risks Pishi dropping too low.
More about the depot below.
If you are going to be away during the day, I would think about getting an automatic timed feeder so you can leave snacks for him during the day and he can also have them during the evening. You want to be feeding the same amounts during all the cycles.

WHAT IS AN INSULIN DEPOT

With hometesting you need to test before every dose to make sure the BG is high enough to give the dose and then if you can get a test somewhere mid cycle that will tell us how well the dose is working. If you are working, you can get the mid cycle tests on your days off, or get a before bed test at night. Lantus dosing is based on how low the dose takes the cat, not the preshot BG, so you can see why those mid cycle tests are important.

Here are our two dosing methods you might like to look at. If you are working you might be better starting with the SLGS method.
LANTUS DOSING METHODS
Keep asking questions we are very happy to help you.

 

[Sienne and Gabby (GA)]

One of the many good things about your vet having prescribed Lantus for your kitty is that Lantus doesn't start working immediately. Many of the older insulins have a very quick onset. Lantus, on the other hand, doesn't kick in for about 2 hours. Its onset is delayed. With my cat, I would test, feed, and give Gabby her shot all within about 5 - 10 min. If your cat is a grazer, it's perfectly fine! The other factor is that for many cats, if their blood glucose numbers are dropping, they will look for food. (It's no different than for humans, if you blood glucose drops because you having eaten for a while, you look for something to snack on.)

It looks like you've gotten Pishi's spreadsheet set up and have started testing! That's wonderful and very helpful. Lantus dosing is based on how low the dose brings your cat's blood glucose numbers. Generally, the lowest point in the cycle, the nadir, is around the middle of the 12-hour cycle (i.e., around +6). However, not all cat's follow the rules and some cats can have an earlier or later nadir and nadirs can and do change. (Cats do not like to be predictable!) It will be helpful to try to get a test closer to the middle of the cycle especially since you're already seeing some numbers in lower ranges. The test at +3 in the PM cycle is great. It lets you know if your cat is in safe numbers before you go to sleep.