New - Please Help! I'm Overwhelmed! Should I Choose Bexacat/Senvelgo or Insulin?

M

Mimifly16

Member Since 2026
My 12 year old baby, Velvet, was just diagnosed. I have 4 indoor/outdoor cats who feed at-will. I don't know which path to choose for treatment. So much info was thrown at me by the vet!

Insulin pros - Injections, seems safer for him (based on what I gathered from the vet).
Insulin cons - I have to change all 4 cats to scheduled feeding, which will cause them to go nuts and fight! The vet said I would have to feed them all separately, which means I would be doing this every morning at 6 am before I leave for work at 6:30, since the insulin has to be administered every 12 hours, not just twice a day.

Bexacat/Senvelgo pros - Just once a day and I don't have to change to scheduled feeding.
Bexacat/Senvelgo cons - Oral, (which I'm afraid I won't be able to get down), seems to be riskier for him.

Also, I am going to have to test his sugar (not clear on how often). Lastly, both are going to cost me about $100 a month, so there's that... :-( I really love my baby, but $100 a month is a lot of money!
 
Mimifly16 said:
My 12 year old baby, Velvet, was just diagnosed. I have 4 indoor/outdoor cats who feed at-will. I don't know which path to choose for treatment. So much info was thrown at me by the vet!

Insulin pros - Injections, seems safer for him (based on what I gathered from the vet).
Insulin cons - I have to change all 4 cats to scheduled feeding, which will cause them to go nuts and fight! The vet said I would have to feed them all separately, which means I would be doing this every morning at 6 am before I leave for work at 6:30, since the insulin has to be administered every 12 hours, not just twice a day.

Bexacat/Senvelgo pros - Just once a day and I don't have to change to scheduled feeding.
Bexacat/Senvelgo cons - Oral, (which I'm afraid I won't be able to get down), seems to be riskier for him.

Also, I am going to have to test his sugar (not clear on how often). Lastly, both are going to cost me about $100 a month, so there's that... :-( I really love my baby, but $100 a month is a lot of money!
Click to expand...
@Wendy&Neko
 
Hello and welcome. This post has a list of considerations for choosing Bexaxat/Senvelgo vs. insulin. We do have some people using the medicine successfully, but there is a list of contraindications that needs to be checked carefully as we've seen some unfortunate results for cats that should not have been on Bexacat/Senvelo.

As far as the scheduled feedings goes for insulin, you can ignore that part. We suggest that in the beginning you don't let them have food for a couple hours before the shots, so that the food doesn't impact blood sugars taken before the shot. These tests are recommended so that you know it's safe to give insulin.

Ideally you would put all cats on a good low carb% wet or raw food that is good for diabetics. It can be one of the commercially available options. I found that when I put both my cats on a low carb food, the fatty one got to a better size.
 
Regarding costs, $100 seems a bit high for insulin. Hopefully your vet would recommend either Prozinc or Lantus. Lantus is available at human pharmacies, and depending on what dose of insulin your cat needs, you would only need to buy insulin a couple times a year. You will have to pay for syringes to inject, as well as test equipment. Can you tell us what country you are in? That might help us recommend where to get low cost supplies. Home testing blood sugars also means you don't have to go to the vet as often.
 
Wendy's link to our post on newer insulins, like Senvelgo, didn't seem to work. I've linked it for you.

Of the top of my head, I don't know the price of Prozinc. Back in the old days when I was treating Gabby, the cost for one insulin pen was about $100. The pen lasted close to 3 months given her dose. The cost for the insulin I was using, Lantus (glargine) has now dropped considerably. I've seen a Lantus pen priced at around $38.

All cats are obligate carnivores. As Wendy pointed out, what is a good food for a diabetic cat is a good food for any cat. All of your kitties can eat the same food. I fed my non-diabetic the same food as my diabetic cat. I now have 2 non-diabetic cats and they eat the same low carb diet as a diabetic cat. This is a link to a website that discusses feline nutrition that's written by a vet. She clearly discusses how cats do not metabolize carbohydrates effectively which is why a diabetic diet works for all cats. In addition, the prescription "diabetic" food doesn't contain anything that is prescription worthy. In fact, the dry diabetic prescription food is is high in carbs. The bottom line is that Fancy Feast, especially the Classics variety, are fine for all of your cats. Many of the members here free feed their cats. The only "scheduled" aspect of feeding your cat is that your kitty needs to be fed at shot time. My cat, like many of the cats here, was fed several small meals throughout the early part of the insulin cycle but that was at least in part due to my work schedule.
 
Wendy&Neko said:
Regarding costs, $100 seems a bit high for insulin. Hopefully your vet would recommend either Prozinc or Lantus. Lantus is available at human pharmacies, and depending on what dose of insulin your cat needs, you would only need to buy insulin a couple times a year. You will have to pay for syringes to inject, as well as test equipment. Can you tell us what country you are in? That might help us recommend where to get low cost supplies. Home testing blood sugars also means you don't have to go to the vet as often.
Click to expand...
Thanks for the reply. I am located in the USA.
 
This is from Chewy, here in Fl is the cheapest
Corky uses 1.50u twice a day the vial I use it for 3 months after that what’s left over I discard to avoid risks
 

Attachments

  • IMG_4655.png
    IMG_4655.png
    505 KB · Views: 9
  • IMG_4656.png
    IMG_4656.png
    176.6 KB · Views: 10
Hi,
I'm not an expert by any means, in fact I've only been dealing with my diabetic cat for about 2 months.
But I did want to share with you my experience..
At our diagnosis appointment, the vet gave me the option of all three as well. She said a liquid, a pill or a shot. I have another cat, non diabetic (civvie) and I knew that the liquid mixed in her food wouldn't work because what if my civvie got a hold of it and I didn't notice since they graze all day and night on their food. I couldn't imagine trying to give my cat a pill daily either. What if she wouldn't take it? Or threw up soon after? I didnt want to take that chance as she's not an easy cat to pill.
I opted for the insulin shot (Lantus) They showed me in the office how much and where to shoot. We practiced with plain saline and it was so simple, she didn't even notice the shot. I picked it up from my pharmacy that night, $35 with some syringes. Of course testing supplies are another expense, but a small one.
I tell you this because my cat, Monster, is now on her way into remission, in just 2 months. Thanks to the wonderful ladies that have answered some of your questions, we have achieved it. She is currently on a "No insulin" trial ( Off The Juice) trial with just a few days left.

The downside to starting insulin first is that once in insulin you have to stay with insulin whereas if you start one of the oral methods, you can switch to insulin later.

I hope this helps somewhat in your decision. It is ultimately up to you on what do to. Good luck
 
Sienne and Gabby (GA) said:
Wendy's link to our post on newer insulins, like Senvelgo, didn't seem to work. I've linked it for you.

Of the top of my head, I don't know the price of Prozinc. Back in the old days when I was treating Gabby, the cost for one insulin pen was about $100. The pen lasted close to 3 months given her dose. The cost for the insulin I was using, Lantus (glargine) has now dropped considerably. I've seen a Lantus pen priced at around $38.

All cats are obligate carnivores. As Wendy pointed out, what is a good food for a diabetic cat is a good food for any cat. All of your kitties can eat the same food. I fed my non-diabetic the same food as my diabetic cat. I now have 2 non-diabetic cats and they eat the same low carb diet as a diabetic cat. This is a link to a website that discusses feline nutrition that's written by a vet. She clearly discusses how cats do not metabolize carbohydrates effectively which is why a diabetic diet works for all cats. In addition, the prescription "diabetic" food doesn't contain anything that is prescription worthy. In fact, the dry diabetic prescription food is is high in carbs. The bottom line is that Fancy Feast, especially the Classics variety, are fine for all of your cats. Many of the members here free feed their cats. The only "scheduled" aspect of feeding your cat is that your kitty needs to be fed at shot time. My cat, like many of the cats here, was fed several small meals throughout the early part of the insulin cycle but that was at least in part due to my work schedule.
Click to expand...
Thank you so much for this info! It makes me think this might not be so terrible after all. 🥰
 
Monster's Mom said:
Hi,
I'm not an expert by any means, in fact I've only been dealing with my diabetic cat for about 2 months.
But I did want to share with you my experience..
At our diagnosis appointment, the vet gave me the option of all three as well. She said a liquid, a pill or a shot. I have another cat, non diabetic (civvie) and I knew that the liquid mixed in her food wouldn't work because what if my civvie got a hold of it and I didn't notice since they graze all day and night on their food. I couldn't imagine trying to give my cat a pill daily either. What if she wouldn't take it? Or threw up soon after? I didnt want to take that chance as she's not an easy cat to pill.
I opted for the insulin shot (Lantus) They showed me in the office how much and where to shoot. We practiced with plain saline and it was so simple, she didn't even notice the shot. I picked it up from my pharmacy that night, $35 with some syringes. Of course testing supplies are another expense, but a small one.
I tell you this because my cat, Monster, is now on her way into remission, in just 2 months. Thanks to the wonderful ladies that have answered some of your questions, we have achieved it. She is currently on a "No insulin" trial ( Off The Juice) trial with just a few days left.

The downside to starting insulin first is that once in insulin you have to stay with insulin whereas if you start one of the oral methods, you can switch to insulin later.

I hope this helps somewhat in your decision. It is ultimately up to you on what do to. Good luck
Click to expand...
Thank you so much for your information. Praise the Lord that your baby is on her way to remission in only 2 months! How often & when do you test blood sugar levels? Can I use a human glucometer?
 
Mimifly16 said:
Thank you so much for your information. Praise the Lord that your baby is on her way to remission in only 2 months! How often & when do you test blood sugar levels? Can I use a human glucometer?
Click to expand...
most of our member use a human glucometer, purchased at Walmart the ReliOn human monitor ($19.00) and strips, the strips are $9.00 for 50 and $17.88 for 100, is always good to have extra strips handy
 
Mimifly16 said:
Thank you so much for your information. Praise the Lord that your baby is on her way to remission in only 2 months! How often & when do you test blood sugar levels? Can I use a human glucometer?
Click to expand...
When I was giving her insulin, I tested her about 4 times a day. One before giving her insulin, and at a time in between her dose to see how she's doing. Right now, I only test her twice a day at times when I used to do her shot (9am/9pm)
A human glucometer is actually best to use within this group. It's what all the numbers and dosing is based on, and they are a lot cheaper than the ones designed for pets. I personally use the Contour Next-gen. I bought the starter kit and it came with the lancet device and enough to get started with. Most people, I believe, use the Relion because it is actually the cheapest for buying the test strips.
It is a learning process, for you both, to get started testing, but it is also one.of the most important things you can do. Don't stress about the feeding either. You can switch all your cat's to the same diet, fancy feast pate for friskies pate and its best for cats to eat multiple times a day, especially our sugar kitties. That way you don't stress over one getting into the others food.

You are already doing such a great job! You're here asking questions and that is the best thing you can do. We're here for you and happy to help you along.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top