CHOOSING THE RIGHT INSULIN FOR ABYSSINIAN

Hello all - my 10yr old Abyssinian "Cosmos" was just diagnosed with diabetes. I am beside myself. I am so worried about him and want to know if anyone can offer their experience choosing the right insulin for your loved one and is it breed sensitive.

 

I know of no relation between breed and best type of insulin. I would start with generic glargine insulin. Lantus is the leading brand of glargine insulin and is expensive unless you can get the Lantus ValYou Saving program card to work.
https://www.admelog.com/insulins-valyou-savings-program
Otherwise use GoodRx coupon and find least expensive place by you
https://www.goodrx.com/lantus?label...d-pens-of-100-units-ml&quantity=1&slug=lantus
Make sure the generic glargine is selected in the drop-down-menu box that says match you prescription.

Another good insulin is Prozinc.

You vet may have a preference. I would not accept N/NPH insulin since that is not really suitable for cats although it is cheap when obtained from Walmart. Also, do not accept Vetsulin since that too is not really suitable for cat, it is a dog insulin.

 

Hi and welcome to the forum!

With a diabetic cat you need

• A low carb wet diet that is 10% carbs or under. Most of us use around 4-7% carbs
• A suitable insulin such as Lantus or Prozinc which are long acting, more gentle insulins than the old insulins.
• We recommend hometesting the blood glucose with a human meter…it is not necessary to use a pet meter which is expensive to run and is no better. It will keep your kitty safe and you will know how the dose is working for your kitty. Only testing every so often will not tell you what is happening in between those times and an awful lot can happen in even a day.
• HELP US HELP YOU has information about the spreadsheet, signature and hypo box which you will need to be able to look after your beloved kitty properly

A word of warning though…don’t change the food you are feeding at the moment over to the low carb food until you are testing the blood glucose because a change over can drop the BGs by up to 100 points and we don’t want you to have a hypo on your hands.

We are happy to help you with setting up the spreadsheet, sorting out what food to buy, how to transition safely to a low carb diet, how to learn to home test and much more.

FOOD CHART have a look on this chart and choose foods that are under 10%.

You will also need some higher carb foods for that hypo box..information in the help us help you link.

This is an excellent site for diabetic cats…it has been around for more than 25 years and has very experienced people to help you. It may feel like your world as you know it is ending but once you learn how to handle it, feline diabetes is vey manageable and it’s not a terminal disease by any means when treated correctly. We can help you!!

Keep asking lots of questions!

 

And I agree with Larry. Insulin is not breed specific.

 

As others noted, insulin is not breed-specific. Many years ago, we had a member who was/is an Abyssinan breeder. She successfully used Lantus with her cat.

The American Animal Hospital Association has published guidelines for the treatment of diabetes. They recommend either Lantus (glargine) or Prozinc for cats.

 

@MyUniverse
If you do get the generic lantus which most membets use because Lantus is expensive in the US , you would want to get the 5 pens which will probably last you a year
. we use the pens just like a vial, you would just insert the syringe it the gray rubber stopper on the pen and draw out your insulin


We don't use the pen because you can only adjust the dose by full units, we adjust the dose by 0.25 units at a time. You would need U-100 syringes half unit markings


Just take the cap off the pen and use a U100 syringes and pull the insulin out of the pen!

 

@MyUniverse
You can get the syringes with half unit markings at a Walmart. Their ReliOn Brand syringes of 0.3 cc (30 unit) capacity come with half unit markings. Cost $12.58 for a box of 100
This is what the packaging looks like: either box is fine
They won't say it half unit on the box but the are . open then and look before you leave the store, can't be ordered on line , need to go into the store
:





Or any of the ones listed here

• U-100 3/10cc syringes with half unit markings are the best to use for drawing Lantus, Levemir, or the Biosimilars from vials, cartridges, and pens.
• BD Ultra-Fine, CarePoint Vet, Monoject, GNP, UltiCare Vet Rx, Sure Comfort,