So my cat was recently diagnosed and put on vetsulin. I'm trying to figure out feedings and his lowest peak. It seems his insulin wears off at about 4-5 hour mark from the little data I've collected so far. Tonight at the +5 hour mark, his low was 109. I am giving him about half a can of food right now before bed because he's hungry... How do you manage your grazers on vetsulin? I don't want him to get too low... Just trying to find his sweet spot of eating what he needs and keeping his numbers down. Today I've given him 4.5 cans of ff pate. He acts so hungry all. the. time.
Trying to find the trend
- Thread starter bgiff420
- Start date
Panic
Very Active Member
Hello, welcome to FDMB!
I saw your other thread where you were talking about dosage. I see you've stayed with 3 units so far. You will want to hold the dose of 3 units for at least one week UNLESS Kingston drops below 90 at any time, then immediately reduce by 0.25 units next shot-time. That 98 is nice to see but keep an eye on it and make sure it doesn't drop much lower.
How often do you feed him? Diabetics need LOTS of food, even more than normal cats in the beginning. If Kingston is a grazer absolutely leave food out for him to eat throughout the day, it is better on the pancreas to have several smaller meals than just two big ones. If he is eating everything in sight, plan his meals. Get an auto feeder to help you. He will drop lower at night, so make sure food is available then as well.
I saw your other thread where you were talking about dosage. I see you've stayed with 3 units so far. You will want to hold the dose of 3 units for at least one week UNLESS Kingston drops below 90 at any time, then immediately reduce by 0.25 units next shot-time. That 98 is nice to see but keep an eye on it and make sure it doesn't drop much lower.
How often do you feed him? Diabetics need LOTS of food, even more than normal cats in the beginning. If Kingston is a grazer absolutely leave food out for him to eat throughout the day, it is better on the pancreas to have several smaller meals than just two big ones. If he is eating everything in sight, plan his meals. Get an auto feeder to help you. He will drop lower at night, so make sure food is available then as well.
I feed him 2 cans for am and pm shots and then I leave another half can or so for him to “graze” on for a bit about an hour or 2 later. So that’s like 5 cans a day! I feel like that’s a really good amount but he just always wants more! I hope that’s an adequate amount. I was told about 20 calories per pound by someone on the FB group so he should be 12 lbs. lost some weight before we knew he was diabetic. That’s part of the symptoms I noticed. So that’s 240 a day. I’m giving way more than that so I hope I’m doing the right thing. I mix a little water with it to make him stay hydrated. I’ve noticed he doesn’t go to the water dish very often anymore.
how long doe they have to be on insulin before their appetite gets under control and don’t act like their starving? I’f I just keel leaving cans out, he would never stop lol.
how long doe they have to be on insulin before their appetite gets under control and don’t act like their starving? I’f I just keel leaving cans out, he would never stop lol.
Definitely underweight. I can see and feel all his bones. How long does it take them to gain the weight back?
Panic
Very Active Member
Until they're on the right dose. The body can't use the food properly until the insulin is an adequate amount. It took my girl a few weeks before we saw improvement on her ideal dose. You're doing everything right, it just takes some time.
JanetNJ
Very Active Member
If he's underweight I would let him eat as much as he wants to. what is his ideal weight? what does he weigh now?
JanetNJ
Very Active Member
Yeah just let him eat. He will slow down eventually unless there's something else going on like thyroid issues.