I gave my diabetic cat one unit too much of insulin. What should I do??!
Question: My cat was recently diagnosed with diabetes, and his blood sugar has been up and down. Earlier today it was above 500. The vet said to up his insulin from 1 unit to 2 units. However, I accidently gave him 3 units about 2 hours ago. He seems fine, but I'm worried about hypoglycemia. About an hour after the injection I gave him some dry food and tuna. What else should I do??
Answers: My cat was recently diagnosed with diabetes, and his blood sugar has been up and down. Earlier today it was above 500. The vet said to up his insulin from 1 unit to 2 units. However, I accidently gave him 3 units about 2 hours ago. He seems fine, but I'm worried about hypoglycemia. About an hour after the injection I gave him some dry food and tuna. What else should I do??
You've done exactly the right thing to offset the insulin overdose. Recheck his blood sugar and watch him, but he'll probably be just fine.
Re-check his blood sugar to see how low it is. With humans you would just give a high sugar product if they became hypoglycemic. If it's really low, call the vet for advice if it concerns you.
The dry food probably turns to sugar fairly quickly.