Cat is newly diagnosed and need help!

[Maizy J]

Hi all,

My cat is 13 years old and was diagnosed with diabetes. The vet put her on Novolin and new wet food - Purina DM. Long story short, she didn't like the food and would "bury" it like she does in her litter box. I changed her to Fancy Feast and some Tiki Cat puree wet toppers. I tried some Tiki cat canned and she "buried" that after a few days as well. I don't know if Fancy Feast is good for her but it is the only thing I can get her to eat. Any thoughts on this would be appreciated.

My second issue is insulin. Novalin is not working, so we are changing to Lantus. I am shocked at the price of it so I am thinking about ordering from Canada. Does anyone have any experience doing that? Also, I am not sure if I should get the pens or the vial. From what I am reading, you waste less with the pens and the syringes. Also, is the 28 days from it being opened a hard-fast rule, or is there some wiggle room with the length of time it lasts?

I have had the freestyle libre to track her sugars I am on the second one and don't really want to put a third on. I need to look into a home testing kit. Not sure which one is best. My head is spinning.

Any suggestions would be appreciated!

 

[Wendy&Neko]

Hello and welcome. Your kitty has the same reaction many cats do to the DM. You can return the unused cans and get your money back. Some of the Fancy Feast are OK, you want the pate versions. For a diabetic, you want to feed foods that are under 10% carbs. This food list has a good number of the foods in North America. Some of the FF with gravy are good ones to have on hand as high carb food should her blood sugar drop too low.

You are correct on Novolin, it's not even a product recommended for cats. Loads of people here order Lantus from Canada. I actually live about 25 minutes away from their bricks and mortar pharmacy store. Other options for you are to consider the generic glargines you can get in the US. Basaglar (also available from Marks Marine), Semglee, or it's generic glargine insulin are available for considerably cheaper in the US. Those insulins are considered biosimilars and Semglee has been deemed interchangeable with Lantus by the FDA. Definitely get the pens vs the vial. If you drop one (hopefully not) or something else happens to it, you have backups. The pens only last 28 days if kept our of the fridge, which is what you do if you use the pen needles. We keep insulin in the fridge and use syringes, so they last practically to the last drop. Lots more information on Lantus is on the top of the Lantus forum in the Sticky Notes.
Lantus / Levemir / Biosimilars

If you live in the US, many people get meters at Walmart, Relion brand. Look for ones with small blood drop requirement and inexpensive test strips, that's what you'll go through a lot. And yes, human meters are fine.

 

[Hendrick Cuddleclaw]

we just get the pens and draw out of it with a syringe same way you would a vial.

I ordered insulin glargine (Lantus/Basaglar/etc) from Canshipmeds.com and it was much more affordable. Took a couple weeks to get to my house though.

 

[Maizy J]

Thank you for your quick response. Yes, I am from the US. I am only feeding her the pate version of FF. I am a little concerned about the phosphorus, but my vet checked her kidney function and said she was comfortable with the FF because she needs to eat. I will look into the meter and strips. I will ask her about the generics, but she specifically said Lantus. I am not sure if that is because she thinks it is best or has no/limited experience with the generics. I am hoping that the vet will be on board with ordering from Canada as the prices here are so high and I don't know how long I will be able to sustain the cost. I just need to figure out how to do the prescription etc. I have been poking around on Mark's Marine and I see all the shipping options...ice, no ice, extra ice. It is stressful because I just want her to be ok.

 

[Wendy&Neko]

A lot of the generics are very new. FDA just approved it July last here. Maybe send the vet this press release. We do however have a few cats on it. There is a huge price difference. Or if you want, you can try getting the insulin from Canada at first, it'll just take longer.

I didn't feed Fancy Feast due to the phosphorus, but mine would eat other lower carb low phosphorus food. If kidneys ever become a problem, you can add phosphorus binder to the food if she won't eat anything else.

 

[Wendy&Neko]

Meant to answer this, get the paper prescription from your vet and you can send a copy of it to Marks (fax, scan/email). Call them, they have great customer service.

 

[Hendrick Cuddleclaw]

I just emailed my vet the fax number to Mark's Marine and said please fax the script to this number so I can order insuiln.

it's an 800 number and I never even mentioned Canada, and it never came up

I am glad I paid an extra $15 for the cooler and ice packs though. Mark's sends the insulin via the USPS and apparently, the USPS recently closed a hub in Oregon so now the insulin goes from Vancouver, CA to LOS ANGELES CA where a massive customs operation bogs down the speed of delivery considerably.

When mine showed up, the temperature sensitive tag showed brief exposure above 77F but the insulin is fine, it is working great on Mr. Cuddleclaw

 

[Larry and Kitties]

For the future you can get generic glargine insulin at about the price one pays for real Lantus from Canada. See:
https://www.goodrx.com/semglee?dosage=five-3ml-prefilled-pens-of-100-units-ml&form=carton&label_override=insulin glargine&quantity=1&sort_type=popularity
Not the the restrictions (click on get free discount) say the cheap price does not apply for pets. However, if you click on the link that says I don't qualify, show me other option you get a higher price. The higher price depends upon the pharmacy and change frequently. For discount price of $108 the coupon good for pets varied from $115 to $154 or more so it depends upon where you go and when.