Caninsulin Question

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Cory G

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Hello I have a question concerning Caninsulin. Freya (my kitty) was recently diagnosed with diabetes. I have introduced myself and Freya on the appropriate forum already. We did have to deal with a growth in her abdomen that was concerning, we have had surgery to remove it. It turned out it was a benign growth caused by pancreatitis. Since diagnosis we have had Freya on Caninsulin, and things have been going well. Have had her BG levels tested at the vet office (my vet is very good, and has a lot of knowledge about diabetic cats), the only reason I have not home tested yet is because of my personal fears. Either way her levels are within norms, given a bit of leeway for stress due to being at the vet. Freya has been in for 3 day long testings. She actually was getting used to it, and didnt seem stressed for the last one at all. I have also dropped by the vets office with Freya for drop in quick tests 3 times, and they came out good. We timed them for when her BG's seemed to be at their lowest.

Anyway, my questions are here:
1. Why is Caninsulin not really the accepted insulin that most people here give?
2. What other types are there?
3. What are the differences/benefits/concerns?
4. If I were to change over to a different insulin, what should I be watching for? And how should I do the switch, slowly or just switch?
5. I have severe needle fears (LONG STORY), I have been able to give the insulin on my own, but I do stress a bit (its getting less and less as I dose more, I guess experience is the key). Is there another way to home test BG's without drawing some blood? My vet mentioned urine strip tests. I do not know if I can take the blood, maybe down the road, but now, no.
6. If I do switch to a different insulin, what are the average price ranges for the different ones? I do live in Canada, and am on an extremely tight budget.

The only reason I have been able to afford the vet costs thus far, is because I have pet insurance on Freya. I have some VERY kind friends (my roommates) who have let me put all the charges on their credit card. I have received the first payment back from the insurance, and will be getting more in time. So I will be able to pay them most of this back, but Freya's coverage only covers so much, and were approaching that level really quick.

I am happy with the results we have seen so far. Freya's BG levels have been good. We have only had 1 incident of Freya going Hypo (scared the crap out of me, but it was all ok in the end). She isnt peeing as much as she was, her gas is gone, and she is slowly but surely returning to be the normal sweet kitty I love so much. Freya is still recovering from the surgery as well, and its going very well.
 
I cannot offer advice on insulins. I lost my diabetic kitty many years ago. BUT I CAN tell you, if/when you overcome your fears (like I did) hometesting will save you a TON of money AND Freya will only be the better for it. If your room mates are this kind, maybe they can help you with your fears.

Our Trouble was very strong and didnt like testing AT ALL. But I enlisted the help of my hubby and we BOTH got over our fears and just DID IT. You can too.

Good luck and the best of wishes,
jeanne
 
Hi Cory. Sorry for the late reply. Not very many people post here as Vetsulin/Caninsulin is not the best insulin for cats. In Canada, we suggest Lantus (glargine) or Levemir. They are both gentler insulins (less steep drops in blood sugar), lasts longer, and less change of hypo. I started using Caninsulin too, as that's what a lot of the vets here seem to prescribe. But it's old school now. Lantus and Levemir also have proven scientific protocols with much higher chance of remission. I've been using the other insulins for almost two years, and no hypo yet. And you use U-100 1/2 unit marked needles from a regular human pharmacy, which are thinner than the U-40 needles you use for Caninsulin. You can get Lantus and Levemir at any human pharmacy, about $100 for a 5-pack which is the most cost effective. You can also get a vial for $70 if cost is really a concern. It lasts much longer than a Caninsulin vial because the doses are smaller. You don't need a prescription, just tell them it's for a cat.

If you do want to switch to a different insulin, just stop the Caninsulin and start the next one 12 hours later. If you do go that way, post in the Feline Health Forum. The people there can help get you started with the right dose.

Home testing is WAY cheaper than testing at the vets. And less stressful for cats. Cats blood sugar at the vets office can be a lot higher due to stress. I once took my non diabetic cat in for a blood test, and he was three times higher than his normal home blood sugar level. The worry is that means the vet will suggest a higher dose than is needed at home. I started without blood testing too. But a day of blood tests for a curve cost over a $100. You can buy over 100 test strips for that kind of money. I don't go to the vet any more regarding Neko's diabetes, just for regular wellness blood tests. I manage her diabetes at home. Too bad you didn't live a little closer, I could help you get started on testing. There are lots of Youtube videos on blood testing though. And again, the people on the Health forum can help. You can buy something called Ketodiastix which measure the amount of blood sugar in urine, but the blood sugar in urine is delayed from the blood and just gives you a general idea of blood sugar level. It doesn't tell you if kitty is close to hypo and needs more food.

I too started with a concern about blood and needles. Not great at getting needles myself and fainting at seeing blood. I just kept telling myself I was doing to save my kitties life and it's gotten easier over time.
 
Caninsulin is actually a blend of 2 insulins which peak at different times. It was developed for canines, hence the name. Cat metabolism is about twice as fast as a dogs, so Caninsulin tends not to last a full 12 hours. This may let the glucose rise to harmful levels towards the end of the period.

Testing the blood glucose is the most precise method of determining control. That said, however, take a look at my signature link Secondary Monitoring Tools. There are a variety of non-needle assessments you can make to aid in monitoring your cat. Some of them are things your vet asks you when you take the cat in for a checkup - ex thirst and hunger, elimination, behavior. Regularly monitoring these provides good information about how your cat is doing, its just not necessarily quantitative.

There is an older protocol using some of these secondary assessments. It is less safe, because observation won't tell you if the cat is going too low until the cat IS too low and you need to intervene in an emergent way.
 
Hi,

I started out on Caninsulin with my cat, Bertie.

In the UK Caninsulin is currently THE insulin that vets start out with here.

The main issues with Caninsulin - that I and quite a number of other users of it have found - are that it starts acting pretty quickly in the cat's system, and then leaves the system quickly. So, firstly, it can drop the cat's blood glucose pretty fast by (typically) about 4 - 5 hours after the insulin shot. Then the blood glucose starts to rise again and it appears to be out of the system in as little as 8 hours after the shot. If shots are given 12-hourly this means that in each cycle there can be 4 hours with no insulin in the system. And in a 24 hour period there could be 8 hours with no insulin in the system.

However, some cats do just fine on Caninsulin, and we've seen quite a few here go into remission while on it.

But, if you suspect that your cat isn't doing that well on it, then - being in Canada - you are extremely fortunate in having other insulin choices easily available to you, I think.

Other considerations:
I don't know about Canada but in the UK Caninsulin is probably the cheapest insulin. However, given that the other insulins are longer lasting you may well find that - longer term - the longer lasting insulins are actually the cheaper alternative; firstly because they work in a way that means you may need to inject less insulin, and secondly because they may increase your cat's chances of remission...

Eliz
 
I realise that Caninsulin isn't very popular with some people. My vet started my cat on it but did mention that if it didn't suit him we would move on to a human insulin.

My cat did very well on Caninsulin. He got good curves on it with a steady drop, the lowest point usually at around +5/+6 hrs. It took around 10-14 days to get the dose just right for him - then - to our great delight, several weeks later, we found we needed to reduce his dose. We couldn't believe it when, after just 8 weeks on insulin, he went into remission and injections stopped. So, from our point of view, Caninsulin was a great success.
 
angelintraining said:
... We couldn't believe it when, after just 8 weeks on insulin, he went into remission and injections stopped. So, from our point of view, Caninsulin was a great success.
Click to expand...

That's great news. Well done, and congrats on the remission! :-D
 
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