Hi Lily

I have a small diabetic dog. My advice is use the thinnest and shortest syringes you can. We started with 29 ga half inch needle. It caused a lot of discomfort for my 11 lb guy. We changed to 31 ga with 5/16 needle.

I use vetsulin so I could switch to another U40 syringe.

It sounds like you pick up from the pharmacy so might not be vetsulin. So then my suggestion probably won't work for you.

I hate canine diabetes. Our 1 year sugarversary is coming up very soon here. I was a nervous wreck when we started this journey. I am somewhat more relaxed some days. But getting him to eat so he can have his shot is a daily battle.

We had a cat, Chewie, who developed diabetes, and I had to give him insulin injections twice a day. He was such a good boy about it. If we were upstairs, I'd say to him that it was time for his shot, and he'd jump up on the bed and get into position. If we were downstairs, he'd jump up on the couch in the family room and get into position. He never ever fought me when giving him the insulin.

I had a neighbor who looked after her sister's diabetic cat when her sister was in Alaska working. I took care of the cat a few times and she didnt seem to mind the shots at all. She was a very laid back cat though.

I learned how to give the injections to a neighbor’s cat. The cat would try to ‘talk’ me out of each time, but was a sweet heart, and accepted it.

We joked about saying, ‘time to go shoot the cat’.

I've had a few diabetic cats. It's very manageable. My suggestion is to learn how to test his BG yourself. It's not hard at all! I would always test before every shot. If it's already low, you don't want to risk a hypo (hypoglycemic). Also, consider joining and follow the Feline Diabetes Message Board ... I learned so much there and it saved my cats' lives.

Link: FDMB

We had a cat who developed diabetes as the result of mast cell cancer in her pancreas. She needed insulin injections twice daily as well- it was kind of amusing to excuse myself early from gathering and announce, ”Sorry, I have to go home and shoot up the cat.”

As this cat did not like to be handled and medicating her was usually a nightmare, I was not looking forward to injecting her. However, the vet gave us incredibly fine needles and as it turned out, Missy was happy to just sit there and have her injection (which was very easy and straightforward to do) and then she’d look at me as if to say, ”Are we done now?”

Soon after the diagnosis we were going away on a planned and booked visit to DD on the other side of the country. We got a new cat sitter who was willing to do the injections and he and Missy got on like a house on fire. He’s the only person besides us that Missy ever went up to and rubbed his legs.

I am thinking the cat must feel better after the shot or why would so many disparate cats be so totally fine with the shots? Even with a fine needle? Cats are rational creatures.

My SIL has a cat that needs the shot. We had to do it once when she was out of town. It is an easy shot to give, and they don’t seem to even barely feel the needle. I think that could be why they don’t mind. 🤷‍♀️

Hello. My cat, Oliver, is 17 and has been diabetic for three years.

When he was first diagnosed one of the vets at the practice gave me the same information as yours (would have to feed him before administering the insulin and only feed him twice a day), because that’s what dogs require and that’s what she was familiar with.

However, one of the vet techs gave me reading material from veterinarypartner.vin.com. She said it is a site that a lot of veterinarians use for research.

It indicated that free feeding was OK.

So – Oliver free feeds on Purina Naturals, just like my other cats. He gets three units of Novolin 70/30 insulin – available at Sam’s or Wal-Mart pharmacies for ~$25 for a 42-day supply – twice a day.

Oliver seems to actually enjoy his injections and comes to find me if I’m late with one! This is working out fine and he is enjoying his routine quality of life – they’d be miserable, and so would we, if I had to feed them all every 12 hours and then take the dish away.

If you like, I will scan the documentation from Veterinary Partner and PM to you.

Now that you mention it, when our Mischief became diabetic the vet said nothing about restricting her food. Maybe they do it with dogs because dogs tend to gorge eat and cats graze, which is more in line with a diabetic diet.

I suck at giving the insulin. Bent a needle this morning. I hate this. He's fine and undisturbed at all this. I'm the basket case. I know the procedure, I just can't see the insulin in the syringe. Husband is better at it but he's not here now. And baby Willy is away getting neutered.

You can do this! Have a week's supply of syringes pre-filled by your husband or someone who has better eyesight. Store them in the fridge until needed. Wal-mart was a great place to buy the insulin and advised us of the smallest possible needle to use. Practice a few times on a soft fruit. He'll make it thru the monitoring, because he'll have to. And remind yourself that this is going to save your cat's life, so be glad it's a simple act of love that you can perform for him. We had a wonderful senior dog who was able to live a pretty great life, getting 2 injections daily, dying of old age. We had to learn how to take care of her. Even the older kids learned how, just in case. It will be ok :)

Very nice and encouraging words, wcjo!

I had a cat with diabetes and discovered Feline Diabetes Message Board. I was lucky to have one vet at that office that was well educated on diabetes - the majority of vets are NOT. She told me about FDMB. Great source for diets, best places to shop for supplies (test strips and syringes), etc

I tested at home, adjusted insulin as needed. Both easy. Ear gets pricked. Veins are easily seen using a small flashlight if you can't see well. You should never blind shoot. Humans don't! When you remove cat from its home to take to vet for testing, the stress level rises, so dose would be higher than shown by home testing.

My best advice is have Karo syrup on hand to rub on gums during a too high dose of insulin. I did that once early on. It can happen to anyone.

Luckily, my cat's diabetes was caused by an RX he was taking for months, and we were able to remove that. He only required insulin a few months.

This is weird that this just popped up after many months. Thanks to all who helped. I haven't visited this post since then. Update on Bernie. He had numerous day-long curve visits at the vet from morning to evening to measure his levels. It's all a blur but there were four or five and the first one was a nightmare costing $700 with no results. Next time the tech put him in a little office by himself and things went better on subsequent visits. The last one was in August ,and he is up to 6 units twice a day. The vet said by phone he doesn't need to be in for another curve for a few months. I still have trouble measuring but no trouble giving the shot. He doesn't mind and seems okay but he's not the beauty he once was as he is losing clumps of fur. His weight seems to be stable and the vet wants him at this weight at about 14 pounds. I think that's a little low for a large-boned Maine Coon but agree that 23 was over the top. I'd like 15/16.

As for the young William,

who has now been living the good life for five months now...both other cats like him and he is a real sweetie.

This resurfaced at the perfect time. I noticed a couple of weeks ago that Prince Leo seems to be drinking and urinating more, and wondered if it could be diabetes. He’s an older fellow, not too active, so I will get him to the vet.

Here’s what I’m worried about in terms of injections: he fears me. I am the bearer of the vacuum, of rustling bags, of the toenail clippers, and apparently of just moving through space. And yet he will jump up on the bed at night so I can pet him. It’s the only time he allows it. I can’t imagine he will let me give him injections, and DH will not want to do it. (we kid that Leo is DH’s dog, because he hangs out with him in his office.)

I had an over weight 4 year male cat that all the sudden started walking in tight circles, meowing and drooling a little, and he would not respond to me, he was crashing. I took him to the vet and had to give him 2 shots a day for the next 10 years. When his insulin tolerance changed he would crash and we had to do the blood all over again. Not cheap and likely will not go way on its own, and the food is expensive as well. Those cats drink a lot of water as well so you'll notice it when scooping litter. I think my healthy female cat litter clump was the size of a blue racket ball while my dietetic male clump was the size of a softball. I took him fishing all the time since I had a RV or would leave him at the vet which was cheaper 10 years ago. Good luck.

And by the way there names were Boy and Girl.

Off topic a little but we got to laugh some. one of my new cats, can you guess where he is in the pic? At least I think it's funny.

Let me guess...you're on the toilet :-D

Catfish, that’s a hoot and a half!

Update on my boy, he doesn’t have diabetes but kidney disease. He is on kidney diet food for a few months, then will be tested to see if it helps. He still seems to be feeling fine, just elderly.

This popped up again. Bernie hasn't been to the vet since August; from our perspective, he's doing well. His coat got shiner and he still drinks a lot and we have to monitor his food because he lives to eat. My daughter has a Siamese she has to beg to eat while I have three who run to the kitchen every time I get near the cupboard. Bernie has never once had a reaction to the shot. The needle is so tiny he doesn't even blink.