Broken insulin bottle . . .

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tsteinbarth

tsteinbarth

Member Since 2014
Looking for advice. My cats $235 bottle of insulin broke and I cannot afford to replace it for at least 3 weeks. He has been getting 1 2cc and 1 1cc with twice daily feeding a of classic fancy feast. He was briefly in remission (approx. 3 month) before I needed to start him on shots again.

Any advice to manage the next 3 weeks would be appreciated. Does anybody monitor blood sugar? How do you do that with a cat?
 
What type of insulin? By this I mean what is the name of the insulin. We are looking for a name such as Lantus (insulin glargine), Levemir (insulin detemir), ProZinc, PZI. We can better help you if we know this.

An yes, you CAN home test your cat's blood glucose levels at home using human glucometers by pricking the edge of the ear to get a tiny drop of blood I know that sounds horrible, but it isn't hard once you learn and it really doesn't hurt the cat. Here is a link to the home testing page: viewtopic.php?f=14&t=287
 
Most of us caretakers here test our cats BG using a human meter. We usually poke the outside of the edge of the ear outside the vein. YOu backup the ear and poke with either lancet pen that comes with the meter or use the lacet freehand.
Regarding insulin, Maybe some is near you and can lean you some insulin. What type of insulin and where are you located?
Most of us here purchase the five pack of 3 ml Lantus or Levemir disposable pens and draw the insulin out the end with a syringe. Usually you can use up the entire 3 ml pen before the insulin goes bad which is usually not the case for the 10 ml vial.
 
Not in the US. Relion from WalMart is popular - it has cheap strips. The cost of testing strips can add up when you are home testing...
 
Where are you? Just generally, like 1 hour from Chicago type of thing. There may be someone who can help you with insulin until you can replace your vial.
 
Hello, and welcome to FDMB :smile:

As has been said, most of us here test our cats' blood glucose using an ordinary human glucose meter.
It probably sounds a bit scary at first but is actually a very simple procedure (though, like anything new, it may take you a few goes to get the hang of it).
Basically, the process is this: We prick the outer edge of the kitty's ear to get a tiny blood droplet (this should not hurt the kitty); then the blood droplet is transferred onto a strip in a glucose meter; then the meter counts down and gives the result; then we reward said kitty with a low carb treat or a cuddle.
Here is a link to a page of pics and info about hometesting (but DO ask any questions you want to; we have lots of tips and tricks!):
http://www.sugarpet.net/bloodtst.html

Eliz
 
I'm in Buffalo NY. I've been wanting to test his glucose for awhile. I'm not sure he is consistently stable. Sometimes he is cranky but has energy and seems overly hungry. Other times he is sleeply and mellow. Lately he's been cranky and constantly looking for food. Had to replace rolls today because he got up on the table and ate through the bag.
 
Check Craigslist. http://buffalo.craigslist.org/ I just searched the Buffalo list and there are a couple people that have some for sale cheap. One has boxes of Lantus pens for sale for $40. That will give you plenty of insulin to last for a while. They may also sell individual pens. Also, the next time you need insulin ask your vet for the prescription for the pens instead of the vial. On the Lantus website, they have a discount coupon for the pen and a box of pens (5) will last a lot longer than a vial.
 
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