Why isn't my diabetic cat with herpes better after a week on insulin?

Please try to bring her appointment forward to get her rechecked and her blood sugar levels controlled more effectively if possible. It may be necessary to change her insulin type but she should also be checked for infections/inflammation etc which may be altering her ability to regulate her condition

I found that in cats often Vetsulin is not able to correct Insulin levels long term and that such cats may do better with Prozinc Insulin. This is something you may want to discuss with your veterinarian. Another problem that often keeps cats from regulating is when they have tartar, gingivitis and bad teeth. In that case a dental cleaning often works wonders. This will also reduce stress from dental pain.

Hi there and thank you for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! I would recommend making sure he does not have an underlying disease that may be predisposing him to these infections. Test him for feline leukemia (FeLV) and feline immunodeficiency virus (FIV) at your veterinarian's clinic to rule these possible causes out. Some cats will have chronic viral infections their entire life and we just treat these as they come. If you are not giving lysine supplementation and not giving Purine Fortiflora, I would definitely recommend doing so as both of these have been shown to lessen the severity and duration of the herpes virus flare ups. I would also consider an upper respiratory culture to make sure that there are no other bacterial causes that may be resistant to the antibiotics currently being given. I hope this helps! Please let me know if you have any other questions or concerns and I would be more than happy to help you further.

I'm so sorry to hear that Shady is not doing well. Diabetes can be difficult to regulate initially. I have attached a link to a good article for ideas on cats that are difficult to regulate below. https://www.veterinarypartner.com/Content.plx?P=A&C=&A=1605&SourceID= That may give you some ideas to discuss with your vet. I would also look at Shady's diet. I have a very difficult time controlling diabetic cats on a dry food diet and find that they do much better on a canned food diet with higher protein. Here is a link to a website that discusses that and gives lots of good information on managing diabetes in cats. http://binkyspage.tripod.com/index.html I know it can be difficult to get a diabetic cat regulated, but don't get discouraged. Everyone once in a while if I have made all the changes I can and the cat still isn't regulated, I will refer to an internal medicine specialist to make sure I'm not missing anything. You can find one at the following site. http://find.vetspecialists.com Please let me know if that was helpful. Thanks for using PetCoach.

Normally, a diabetic cat should come back to the vet for a blood test (either a serum fructosamine level, or a blood glucose curve) 7-14 days after first starting insulin. Your vet should give you specific instructions for what he/she recommends in Fonzie's case.

Hi there. Your veterinarian may be able to board Cody for a few weeks so that staff members can administer his insulin regularly, monitor his glucose levels, and make adjustments as needed until he's regulated. Keep in mind, though, that stress can affect glucose readings in cats - so it's generally better for this process to be done with the cat at home, if possible. You don't mention why you're having difficulty - giving the insulin injections, checking his glucose at home, feeding the appropriate diet, or something else? Feel free to post again with more information about what you're having trouble with. We would be happy to try and make some suggestions to help.

Hi there and thanks for posting on Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! If glucose was high on blood work and glucose is also present in the urine, then this is a diagnosis of diabetes. Insulin should begin as soon as possible when a diabetic is first diagnosed. Unless the patient is really ill or unstable, one or two day delay for insulin should be okay. A 12 hour glucose curve at the hospital should be run with the insulin Bella will be on for her first day of insulin treatment so the proper dose can be calculated and to make sure Bella does not have any negative reactions to the insulin or become hypoglycemic at any point. I hope this helps!