alternatives to insulin?

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leslietc

Member Since 2014
My cat is newly diagnosed with diabetes, and I have grave concerns about giving him shots. Has anyone used alternative treatments with any success?
 
I don't think there are any alternatives to insulin. If the pancreas is not secreting the insulin the body needs then the missing insulin needs to be introduced externally. With careful management which includes low carb wet food and insulin twice daily you may at some point be able to withdraw insulin injections and control the diabetes with diet. That is if the pancreas is able to heal and begin to do it's job again. Even if you can achieve remission careful monitoring of blood glucose levels needs to be continued to catch a relapse.

Anita and Squeaker
 
May I ask what your concerns with giving shots would be?

I did not think I would EVER be able to give Skooter shots, but we went to the vet's office and they showed me how to give them. I give Skooter his injections while he is eating and he doesn't even notice.

I have a HUGE fear of needles myself and I was so nervous about it, but it really is not a huge deal now. And like I said, Skooter doesn't even know I am giving him his shot.
 
There are some oral meds used by humans that can be used for cats but their success rate is very low.. It is really not that hard to give shots. For my harder-to-shot cats I shoot when they are finishing eating.
 
Hello Leslie, and welcome to FDMB.

What are your particular concerns about giving the shots?
I was also daunted by the idea of giving shots at first. I hated syringes and was also scared that I'd hurt my cat.
In fact, the shots didn't hurt my cat at all, and I did get used to it. (Initially though I practiced injecting into oranges, just to get used to the feel of handling the syringes.) Like many others here I give my cat his shot while he is eating.

If your kitty is not yet on insulin then this would be good time to transition him to low carb wet food (if he's currently on a higher carb diet). Doing this can reduce the blood glucose level considerably for some cats, and can increase a cat's chance of achieving remission ('Remission' means that the diabetes can be diet-controlled).
Once a cat is on insulin we recommend that the carb content of the diet is only reduced if the care-giver is able to monitor the cat's blood glucose at home (this is called 'hometesting').

I do not know of any suitable alternatives to insulin. But very occasionally - if a kitty's blood glucose isn't too high to begin with - a switch to low carb wet food can suffice and insulin isn't needed. I've only ever seen this happen in a handful of cases though. The vast majority of cats need insulin, and the chances are that your kitty will need insulin too.

Would you like to tell us a bit more about your cat? For example:
Is he on insulin yet, and if so what type and what dose?
What are you feeding him at the moment?
How old is he?
Has he been on steroids recently?
Might he have any kind of infection that could be raising blood glucose levels?
(Sorry for all the questions but knowing these things can help us to help you.)

Eliz
 
Changing to a low carb diet from a high carb diet may decrease the glucose 100 mg/dL (5.5mmol/L)

Vet stress may elevate tests at the office from 100 to 180 mg/dL (5.5 to 10 mmol/L).

Practicing on an apple with give you a feel for how it works. There may be a slight resistance as you press the needle in, then a quick give as it goes through the apple skin, then you slide in the plunger. You can practice home blood glucose testing on an apple, too.
 
My cat, Sunnie, who was recently diagnosed with diabetes, is not an easy cat to handle, which was my main concern with insulin. He runs when I come at him with a brush, so I can't imagine what he'll do at the sight of a needle in my hand. He's 9 years old, a medium sized orange and white tabby and 12 pounds--not at all obese. My vet tells me that orange kitties are more susceptible to diabetes. Has anyone else heard this? She's recommending Lantus as a good chance for him to go into remission. Has anyone experienced this? I've read in some forums of use of an oral medication called Glipizide that has good results in some cats. Has anyone used that with success?
 
the glipizide is one of the oral meds Larry speaks of. and unfortunately it doesn't have much success in cats. and for those that use it first, before going to insulin, it actually can decrease the chance of kitty going into remission ever because it taxes the pancreas even more so it's best to avoid it.

fwiw, my Mousie is not an easy cat to handle. when she was diagnosed at 4.5 yrs old I had actually never even touched her even though she'd lived in my house for some time. she was a street cat that got injured here by my work and we trapped her. she was diagnosed with diabetes back in 2006 and to this day I can't pick her up (last time i did i needed antibiotics). yet she comes willingly morning and night for her glucose test and insulin shot. in essence she's been trained. try to pick her up and she'll bite you but open that glucose meter kit and she comes running and takes her place on her logbook for her test & shot.

i won't say it was easy. the first few weeks or month was a battle of wills between her and i. we ran around in circles for as much as 30-45 minutes until she ran out of steam and i could corner her. people here told me to reward her, give her something to look forward to and she would learn. we tried probably half a dozen treats until we found one she decided she could succumb to me for.....freeze dried fish. she soon would come running when i pulled out the container of them. and she got a treat if she sat still and let me do my thing. and then she must have learned that whatever i was doing to her made her feel better because now i don't even have to use treats to get her to sit still. she just does.

of course she knows the routine so well that she also knows that after the prick in her shoulders that the human is done with her and she bolts :lol:
 
My cat was diagnosed with FD in April and was prescribed Lantus. With help from people here, she's in an OTJ trial right now (Off the juice), which means that she is likely in remission, but it takes two full weeks of normal levels without insulin to confirm that status. She's doing great though, and it happened so quickly after we got her transitioned off of dry food and eating all wet food.

The injections are the EASIEST part of this process, in my opinion. So scary at first, but so simple in practice.

Remember, he doesn't have a clue what the needles are, only you do. If you go at him like they're a weapon, he'll see them like that because that's what you're telling him with your body language and scent. Honestly, he will very likely not even notice. I pet my cat a couple times while she's eating, raise her scruff and shoot the insulin (about 2 seconds total), and give her two more pets. She is more annoyed with me petting her while she's eating than the injection.

I promise you can do it!
 
leslietc said:
My cat, Sunnie, who was recently diagnosed with diabetes, is not an easy cat to handle, which was my main concern with insulin. He runs when I come at him with a brush, so I can't imagine what he'll do at the sight of a needle in my hand. He's 9 years old, a medium sized orange and white tabby and 12 pounds--not at all obese. My vet tells me that orange kitties are more susceptible to diabetes. Has anyone else heard this? She's recommending Lantus as a good chance for him to go into remission. Has anyone experienced this? I've read in some forums of use of an oral medication called Glipizide that has good results in some cats. Has anyone used that with success?
Click to expand...

Do not use glipizide; it does more harm than good.
Here's a picture to explain what glipizide does...
Let's say you need to exercise your dog and you have your dog on a leash, but your dog can't run as fast as you.... so you don't care and just run at your own speed, pulling on the leash, and your dog can barely stay on his paws and he's panting and gasping for air. When you stop running, the dog's panting and drooling and has trouble breathing.

Here's a picture to explain what Lantus or an insulin does ...
Same scenario where your dog needs to be exercised, but this time, you jog with him and get him used to the new routine of running, and in time, he's able to run better and faster because his breathing gets more controlled and he's getting into shape.

The first choice sucks and what glipizide makes your cat's weak pancreas do is to work much harder than it's able which ends up making the organ even sicker. Glipizide is a horrible choice.
http://www.marvistavet.com/html/body_glipizide.html

The second is the way to go, and honestly, you will be just fine with shots. And you will be just fine with home testing. Just about every single person here had never given shots, and just about every one of them thought as you .... OMG I can't do this; I really can't. But they do, and so will you.

Listen to the members here; they will have a tip to resolve every issue you have.
Take your cat to the vet and have the vet teach you how to give shots. You can be shown how to hold the cat still, where to give shots, and you can practice there with just water.

I saw a nice picture on Facebook
Q: what are beta cells?
A: Found in the pancreas, these cells produce, store, and release insulin.
But with diabetes, they are either destroyed (type 1) or weakened (type 2) so your body needs extra to regulate blood sugars.

With cats, your giving insulin helps the pancreas "heal", and maybe get off insulin, but a low carb wet food diet is sometimes all that's needed for some cats., so you want to work on diet for a week at least and hope that's all you need. You will need to stick to the better diet for life because you can take this time as a warning, and most cats who go back onto insulin seldom are able to get off insulin again.

Home testing will be the 2nd thing you can start right now because it's the only way you will know if the diet change is working and remains working.

So, fix the diet, start home testing, and get your vet to show you how to give your cat shots, just in case.

You and your cat will be just fine, OK?

Gayle
 
Thanks for all the advice. Sunnie has been on wet food now for almost a week, and symptoms have subsided somewhat. I take him in Monday for my training on how to give him insulin, so we'll see how it goes. I'm probably nervous about the whole thing because I had a condition several years ago that required me to give myself shots for six months, and I hated it, so hopefully I'm projecting, and Sunnie will do just fine.
 
They really don't seem to notice the shots. My Gypsy just looked at me weird (I shot while she ate). If you shoot the scruff of the neck, that's where they were carried as kittens. I don't think they feel it at all.

You can do this!!!
 
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