Hi everyone, I'm new here

C

Cheryl2024

Member Since 2026
I don't really know how to go about this. I really need y'all. My cat Nikki is 14 y/o. A week ago I had him tested as he was losing a lot of weight, not grooming, a ravenous appetite and drinking constantly. Found out He's diabetic. I paid hundreds just to find out. it's literally unaffordable due to the cost of insulin, ongoing curve tests and office visits. I broke down and cried when she told me how it much it would cost. (Estimated of course) The dry prescription food alone was $69 for 8.5 pounds. The insulin cost an arm and leg. I can't Afford $300 each visit.The insulin was the most expensive. I think it was prozinc or something. I asked could she prescribe Lantus or Bexacat but guess what? She said no. I mentioned maybe feeding fancy feast pate because I know a lot of people feed it to their diabetic cats. She shot that down too. I mentioned using a glucose meter and that idea was shot down as impractical because it's too hard to take and would stress him out too much. The best she could say was try low carb and feed him every 12 hrs. and watch him for hypoglycemia.If he starts acting lethargic etc take him to an emergency vet (as though I can afford that) What am I gonna do?? I did a cat urine keto stick and it was almost as high as it goes. He already has to have antibiotics every month and half for feline herpes respiratory issues. Oh. It was mentioned maybe I should put him down due to my financial constraints. I'm on a fixed income. If she would have worked with me and prescribed Lantus I could have gotten it from Goodrx for $35 ( that's what I read on there) Please guys tell me what you think. I'm limited on money but I WILL take out a loan to get him treatment if y'all think it's feasible. He's loving going outside with his little harness on. Even now.
If I've posted this incorrectly I apologize. I've been crying my eyes out. I hope this posts. Thanks
 
hi! welcome, sorry you are stressed. hopefully we can help. mine was diagnosed 6months ago.

1) my personal opinion is that prescription food is a scam. diabetic cats should be on a low carb wet food, though. you can also meal prep the food yourself. there are lots of online recipes & maybe it would be cheaper. u can make it in a batch & freeze/thaw it.

2) my 13y old cat is on Lantus & does well on it. I'm not sure why the vet told you yours cant be on it. maybe one of the others here has insight on that. (like maybe it is bad with the other meds?)

3) you can (& should) absolutely do the glucose test at home to save money on glucose curve. the human meter (& strips) are cheaper than the pet one & works well.

4) shop around for insulin needles- i have seen that the prices can be wildly different depending on the pharmacy/brand.

you may just need to go to a diff vet to get the lantus. i have been to many vets over the years & upselling seems to be the norm. maybe a cat-rescue type vet (that does the spay-neuter-release program) would be more helpful/reasonable.
 
Cheryl2024 said:
I don't really know how to go about this. I really need y'all. My cat Nikki is 14 y/o. A week ago I had him tested as he was losing a lot of weight, not grooming, a ravenous appetite and drinking constantly. Found out He's diabetic. I paid hundreds just to find out. it's literally unaffordable due to the cost of insulin, ongoing curve tests and office visits. I broke down and cried when she told me how it much it would cost. (Estimated of course) The dry prescription food alone was $69 for 8.5 pounds. The insulin cost an arm and leg. I can't Afford $300 each visit.The insulin was the most expensive. I think it was prozinc or something. I asked could she prescribe Lantus or Bexacat but guess what? She said no. I mentioned maybe feeding fancy feast pate because I know a lot of people feed it to their diabetic cats. She shot that down too. I mentioned using a glucose meter and that idea was shot down as impractical because it's too hard to take and would stress him out too much. The best she could say was try low carb and feed him every 12 hrs. and watch him for hypoglycemia.If he starts acting lethargic etc take him to an emergency vet (as though I can afford that) What am I gonna do?? I did a cat urine keto stick and it was almost as high as it goes. He already has to have antibiotics every month and half for feline herpes respiratory issues. Oh. It was mentioned maybe I should put him down due to my financial constraints. I'm on a fixed income. If she would have worked with me and prescribed Lantus I could have gotten it from Goodrx for $35 ( that's what I read on there) Please guys tell me what you think. I'm limited on money but I WILL take out a loan to get him treatment if y'all think it's feasible. He's loving going outside with his little harness on. Even now.
If I've posted this incorrectly I apologize. I've been crying my eyes out. I hope this posts. Thanks
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Just dont give up. It is very frustrating, you feel helpless but don't give up! It took me a month to finally draw blood from the ears to home test and it was after I saw the videos here: BG Test - Felinediabetes.com
Nikki will cooperate, she will be a dear, they know. Find a different vet. I'm also very new at that, I paid the prescription food only to find out that it maybe is not the healthiest option.
Deep breaths and don't give up!
 
Hi Cheryl and welcome. Many, many people feed inexpensive Fancy Feast classic pate as a low-carb option for their diabetic kitty, myself included. There are multiple varieties that are suitable for a diabetic feline, and the kitties tend to love it! Vets can be wrong, they are just people too.
 
Hendrick Cuddleclaw said:
Hi Cheryl and welcome. Many, many people feed inexpensive Fancy Feast classic pate as a low-carb option for their diabetic kitty, myself included. There are multiple varieties that are suitable for a diabetic feline, and the kitties tend to love it! Vets can be wrong, they are just people too.
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Thank you for your reply. I'm looking into it
 
Blanche said:
Just dont give up. It is very frustrating, you feel helpless but don't give up! It took me a month to finally draw blood from the ears to home test and it was after I saw the videos here: BG Test - Felinediabetes.com
Nikki will cooperate, she will be a dear, they know. Find a different vet. I'm also very new at that, I paid the prescription food only to find out that it maybe is not the healthiest option.
Deep breaths and don't give up!
Click to expand...
That's good to hear. Lol. Thank you so much for your support
 
Welcome to FDMB
I am sorry that you have been giving all the wrong advice on how to treat Feline diabetes, it seems that your vet is not well informed in Feline Diabetes which is manageable with the correct diet, #1 the" Prescribed" food she's telling you to use, is not good for your cat, and very expensive a waste of money, these foods contain between 20-30% carbs, cats cannot digest carbs, a diabetic cat needs to have a diet of wet can or raw foods between 0-10% carbs, most members feed Fancy Feast Pates between 0-10% carbs most feed up to 5%, a Drs. approved food list link below, the third column contains the carbs , #2 ProZinc or Lantus are the best insulins for cats they are a 12-hour insulin and easy on the cat, there is no reason why your vet will not prescribe Lantus if it is an insulin financially affordable for you #3 it is very important to home test you cannot give insulin to your cat without knowing your cats' glucose level, and testing 3-4 times during the day, is important to avoid a hypoglycemic episode, which is a risk to your cats' health and not a pretty sight, most members use the ReliOn Premier human monitor and strips (Walmart) the monitor is $9.00 and the strips are $9.00 for 50 and $17.88 for 100, is good to have extra strips at hand, no need to purchase an expensive Pet meter. #4 a curve: You do not need your vet for a curve; this is a waste of money a curve is simply testing your cat every 2-3 hours for a cycle (12 hours)
cats are very sensitive to stress, there for the glucose levels at the vet will be much higher due to stress, causing for an unnecessary increase in dose.
#5 Your vet should have given you the Lab report, if not, you should tell her to email them to you, they are yours, you paid for them, check in the report for KETONES, check to see if its NEGATIVE OR POSITIVE, and please post the report here.
#6 Diabetic cats need to eat beside the two main meals before shot, 3-4 small meals or snacks during the day to keep the insulin in check, feeding every 12 hours or grazing, is not a good idea, food alters the glucose levels, and if Ketones are present, is important for your cat to eat well, food eliminates Ketones, you can purchase a Ketone kit (Walmart), is simple strip placed while the cat urinates, clean urine not from the litter. I hope I have not missed any of your concerns, below is also a link for financial assistance, D.C.I.N. is a great Foundation that can assist you with insulin, syringes, strips, and some medical bills, we are here to help you diabetes can be managed right here in this forum, we have members that are dedicated to help you to stabilize your cat, assist you with dosing, how to deal with Ketones if present, and concerns you may have, this Forum saves cats' lives, I suggest, you find a vet that is knowledgeable and updated in Feline diabetes, and willing to listen to you, and sympathetic to your needs, We are here for you, you are not alone, we have all been overwhelmed, we understand, but it gets easier, and here, your pocket will not suffer as much, in the meantime In our Main menu are sticky notes that have much valuable information, Breath in breath out it will be OK!🤗

https://catinfo.org/docs/CatFoodProteinFatCarbPhosphorusChart.pdf
Financial Help Links
 
soreto said:
hi! welcome, sorry you are stressed. hopefully we can help. mine was diagnosed 6months ago.

1) my personal opinion is that prescription food is a scam. diabetic cats should be on a low carb wet food, though. you can also meal prep the food yourself. there are lots of online recipes & maybe it would be cheaper. u can make it in a batch & freeze/thaw it.

2) my 13y old cat is on Lantus & does well on it. I'm not sure why the vet told you yours cant be on it. maybe one of the others here has insight on that. (like maybe it is bad with the other meds?)

3) you can (& should) absolutely do the glucose test at home to save money on glucose curve. the human meter (& strips) are cheaper than the pet one & works well.

4) shop around for insulin needles- i have seen that the prices can be wildly different depending on the pharmacy/brand.

you may just need to go to a diff vet to get the lantus. i have been to many vets over the years & upselling seems to be the norm. maybe a cat-rescue type vet (that does the spay-neuter-release program) would be more helpful/reasonable.
Click to expand...
 
I appreciate your help. I actually did put him on fancy feast, though it scared me to go against what the vet said. I won't be telling her though. Lol
 
Cheryl2024 said:
I appreciate your help. I actually did put him on fancy feast, though it scared me to go against what the vet said. I won't be telling her though. Lol
Click to expand...
Cheryl2024 said:
I appreciate your help. I actually did put him on fancy feast, though it scared me to go against what the vet said. I won't be telling her though. Lol
Click to expand...
Please do not be afraid to do what's right for your cat, also make sure that if you have not been feeding the "prescribed food" the transition needs to be done slowly not to upset the stomach as well as the change to low carbs will cause for the glucose level to spiral down, and you are not testing at the time, this is another reason what testing is crucial.
 
Hi again. I do appreciate your input. I'm taking out a loan though it's not really feasible but I don't care. I'm going to take him in tomorrow and get them to start him on prozinc. After that I'll be going to another vet and if they agree he'll be out on Lantus. I can't understand why my vet wouldn't work with me on the insulin. The only other alternative was for him to die untreated. Id have waived their responsibility. He's not feeling well today. Pray for him that we can get him on track. You guys are great. ❤️. Id post this to everyone that responded but I'm not sure how. I need to watch videos on sticking him. Thanks again.
 
I’m glad you made your choice to seek another opinion, however, why don’t you wait till you get the Lantus before starting on ProZinc? And being new at this, I do not advice to give insulin without testing the glucose levels, you can always ask your the vet for a (CGM) Continued glucose Monitor, however the sensors are expensive and they only last 14 days, and can fall off, stop working before the 14 days so is good to always have extra sensors handy, you will need to manually test anyway if the levels are in two digit numbers, these sensors tend to read low numbers lower , if you do still want to go this route, ask your vet to give many refills and you can replace them yourself, is very easy, just watch the vet do it, this way you do not have to continually pay for a visit and replacement every 14 days, but it is strongly advised to test before giving insulin, just like humans, they do not give themself an insulin shot without testing their levels to avoid a hypoglycemic episode, that can be very risky and dangerous. Is your decision, but without testing you are going to be at the vets office more days than none, it is not my intention to scare you, but in order stabilize your cat and avoid hypoglycemia, and save your money and your baby’s life and danger, you should See the videos it does not hurt the cat, and easy to do, safe and necessary to be able to administer insulin we are here to help you if you need us, keep posting,,you are not alone, we have all been in your shoes😉
 
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