I need a cat insulin!

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rbrumbaugh82

I think I got to make the next move because I woke up this morning to a 404 BG reading and he has never gone that high. I am beyond stressed and I am trying to not let it get the best of me especially since I just got over being sick. So I am not sure what is going on with his pancreas. Yesterday, when he was above 300 I gave him 2 units of insulin and when I got home 7 hours later he was at 139 but then went up after that. So maybe the insulin is working to a certain extent but for some reason its not healing his pancreas. I'd love to know what was causing his glucose to be in the mid 100s before for a while but now its impossible for him to achieve that regularly.

So even without the insulin, would you think that him eating the FF Turkey and Giblet would be enough to get his pancreas to work to lower his BG? Do you guys mostly recommend me to get Lantus then if that is the preferred choice for a cat to get his BG down to 80-100 and stay in that area more often then going above 130? If not, then what do you recommend me to get? I just can't take seeing his BG getting this high often anymore! BJM shared with me the Vetrxdirect website where I can get Lantus Pen and its around $80. If Lantus is not the best option, then what should I do? I need a cat appropriate insulin that doesn't contain any human materials in it. If anyone knows about the link I posted and can give me best advice then I would go that route to get the best cat insulin.
 
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The BCP PZI is good insulin. You can get you vet obtain a free sample. When I go mine last year it took about three weeks to get the free sample.
 
Yeah I just need the opinion of a vast majority of you for me to choose the best cat insulin possible. Something that is more designed for cats and their pancreas to heal their pancreas more quickly and to keep their glucose down to healthy range most of the time. I think the Novalin N is still working to some extent because Pooper's went from 404 to 153 in about 3 and a half hours.
 
What is "best" depends upon the the individual cat. There is no one "best" insulin for all cats. I would get your vet to order the free sample. You have nothing to lose.
 
If I were you, I would call around all your pharmacies, speak to the pharmacist and ask about the price of one pen.
The smaller mom/pop type stores seem to be more willing to break up a package, since they do already for people.
I got one for $50.

IMHO, lantus is one of the best ones for cats. It has a very high remission rate.
I caught the disease early in mine, and she was on lantus for 100 days. It might had been less if I had realized how much pain she was in from her osteoarthritis.

the lantus gives the pancreas the support it needs to heal.
Your numbers are such that your chance of remission are really good , I believe, because they aren't that high.... all the time.

I think if you could do it alone with just the diet change, he would be doing better already.

He's walking that line....
if you look at shadow's ss..... I got her down fast.... and she worked her way down the dosing scale.
 
Also keep in mind your schedule. Are you able to give injections at the same time everyday....window of about 15 minutes? I really think its best to do research on Levemir, Lantus, PZI, and Prozinc.

I had Hidey on vetsulin for about a month his numbers went up, had him on prozinc for a month, had a cleaning done and 2 extractions and diet change and was off insulin in a month.

Every cat is different, so results will very. Lantus and levemir are depot insulins so it will take time to build up in the system so for the first few days numbers will most likely be wonky but will level out. It is very important to stick with the same dose and same time every day though, with PZI and prozinc you can be a little more flexible.
 
I wrote this reference guide of insulin choices for cats that might help. As Larry said, the best insulin is the one that works for your cat.

ProZinc/PZI is an "in and out" insulin, meaning it doesn't have a depot and minimal overlap. This makes things easier if you have an inconsistent schedule and aren't able to give shots exactly 12 hours apart every day. You can also adjust the dose based on pre-shots (if using a sliding scale), so it also gives a bit more flexibility with dosing.

The downside is because each shot generally wears off by the next, your pre-shots will usually be consistently higher than the rest of the cycle.

Lantus and Levemir are both depot insulins, meaning prior cycles and dosage affect the current cycle. They both crave consistency in dose as well as shot times so you have to make changes much more slowly and those changes are based moreso on the nadir/low point than on the pre-shot. The benefit of this is that it keeps the cat's BGs much flatter and more stable when on the right dose and keeps them in good numbers for longer.

The downside is that you will often be giving shots when they're in much lower numbers (I.e. A pre-shot of 60) so you have to work your way up to that comfort level, which may take a bit more time to get to the "right" dose.

There are a few differences between Lantus and Levemir to take into consideration as well. Lantus has a nadir that is generally around +6, whereas Levemir has a nadir that can be much later, including up through the next shot time. The benefit of a +6 nadir is good if your schedule allows for a lot of mid cycle tests. The benefit of a later nadir is good if you're gone for much of the day (like me) and/or can't always be around to monitor mid-cycle.
 
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Hey Rhiannon, what food are you feeding Shadow? Your numbers are impressive for having so many below 90. I'd like to know what you are feeding your boy because if its working for him then it should work for Poopers too. Poopers is currently eating just FF Turkey and Giblets classic. I do have Sheba Chicken and Liver Pate along with Chicken FF classic and Chicken Pate from Sheba. I just do not know if those foods are also low in carbs enough that it would lower his glucose. I'd love to get Pooper's glucose to stay below 100 all the time.
 
Shadow can eat anything on this list. http://www.felinediabetes.com/FDMB/threads/shortcut-shopping-list-all-8-or-less-updated.117688/

but know that she does not seem to be carb sensitive.... she can eat 8 and 9 %'s and her bg goes lower than it does when she eats a 1 %.
I learned that by experimenting....

when she went otj.... she still had numbers on the borderline and it was after I had her x-rayed and found she had severe pains occurring
from arthritis .... treated her pain and arthritis.... and her numbers all went below 120 from then on....
I rarely see 100.
 
rhiannon and shadow said:
Shadow ... can eat 8 and 9 %'s and her bg goes lower than it does when she eats a 1 %.
I learned that by experimenting....
Click to expand...

Saoirse's similar. I've only found one food that she can really tolerate but it's only 1½%. The food she used to be fairly OK on which now seems to upset her tum was about 4½% carbs and her numbers were far better. From my reading, I believe that the pancreas secretes more insulin in response to incoming carbs from food than it does for glucose released by the body.

I wish I could find a way to tweak up the carbs on the food Saoirse can eat. I tried adding a tiny bit of potato to one of her meals today, but that didn't work (increased her BG). :(
 
Well I know Pooper's has aches and pains because when he is laying on the couch or bed and I try to get him to get down he grunts and I try to move him and he meows. He is overweight so I'm sure he has arthritis in his back legs. That can't be an excuse for his glucose staying up now because he has had the same issues just 2 weeks ago and his numbers then were in the mid 100s. I just do not understand why he is registering into the 300s all of a sudden now.
 
Critter Mom said:
Saoirse's similar. I've only found one food that she can really tolerate but it's only 1½%. The food she used to be fairly OK on which now seems to upset her tum was about 4½% carbs and her numbers were far better. From my reading, I believe that the pancreas secretes more insulin in response to incoming carbs from food than it does for glucose released by the body.

I wish I could find a way to tweak up the carbs on the food Saoirse can eat. I tried adding a tiny bit of potato to one of her meals today, but that didn't work (increased her BG). :(
Click to expand...
I know the feeling. I am trying to experiment too because all I am feeding Poopers is Turkey and Giblets FF classic but it doesn't seem to be dropping his number like it used to. Makes me sad!
 
When Saoirse had to come off Caninsulin for safety reasons, her numbers were in the normal range for a healthy cat for a little while but then they started climbing again. She needed a little longer on insulin for her pancreas to recover enough to go OTJ.
 
rbrumbaugh82 said:
I know the feeling. I am trying to experiment too because all I am feeding Poopers is Turkey and Giblets FF classic but it doesn't seem to be dropping his number like it used to. Makes me sad!
Click to expand...

And I know that feeling, too. Every time Saoirse's numbers creep into the higher part of the normal range my heart sinks a little. :(
 
I just see that most of those foods on the list are made with fish and seafood variety and I won't feed my cats that. I know its not good for them and not to mention some other foods low under 8% carbs contains wheat gluten and stuff and that shouldn't even be on the list. So what else is there to feed that I know my cats are safe to eat and healthy in carbs? I didn't see any info anywhere about Sheba and if that is low in carbs and healthy to feed?
 
rbrumbaugh82 said:
Well I know Pooper's has aches and pains because when he is laying on the couch or bed and I try to get him to get down he grunts and I try to move him and he meows. He is overweight so I'm sure he has arthritis in his back legs. ....
Click to expand...
About 10% of all cats may have chronic pancreatitis. It may not have a lot of symptoms unless there is a flare.
 
Thanks but my thing is why do they list the low carb foods for people to feed to their diabetic cats if they contain fish and seafood along with glutens and soy? I mean how can someone feed that their diabetic cat thinking its healthy because its low in carbs? Do any of you know about Sheba?
 
Also, do I need to feed Poopers every time his number is high? I don't want to be giving him too many calories but he doesn't go through 2 cans of FF either a day.
 
You can complain about all the food you can't use or you can make your own if you want to impose lots of limitations. Some of us go for the reasonable compromise of getting something that seems to work for our respective cats.
 
Yea thats what I want however most of you do not list what you feed. I just see comments that I feed my cat a low carb food and it works but it doesn't help what that food is. lol So what do you feed you cats? It would help give me ideas to broaden my foods since right now all that I have is Turkey and Giblets FF along with Chicken but I don't feed him that. I also have Sheba Chicken and Liver Pate. I also seen from an earlier post that FF classics are high in Phosphorus and so I have to worry about that and my cats's kidneys too. Gosh, is there anything that works without worries?
 
The food list many of us started on was the list at Cat Info, which lists the percent of calories from protein, fat, and carbohydrates. Anything under 10% calories from carbohydrates is a candidate. From there, you'll have to check the ingredients yourself to see if you want to use it.
I feed Friskies pates. Yes, there is fish in it. Yes, there is a token amount of rice in it. My cats are doing fine on it, as is my budget.
 
arthritis shows up in x-rays. that's how I found out.

being overweight contributes to the diabetes.


if Shadow would cooperate....
her foods would only be....

1% - TikiCat Hookena Luau 337 - chicken with egg

3% - Nature's variety Instinct Grain free Chicken – 302
3% - Nature's Variety Instinct Grain free Beef – 248
2% - Nature's Variety Instinct Grain free Lamb 262
1% - Nature's Variety Instinct Grain free Duck 191
0% - Nature's Variety Instinct Grain free Venison 330

Nutro Natural Choice Senior Soft Loaf Chicken

5% - Friskies Special diet Turkey and Giblets dinner pate 189
5% - Friskies Special diet Beef and Chicken Entree pate 242

2% ZiwiPeak Lamb 224
2% ZiwiPeak Venison 338
0% ZiwiPeak Venison & Fish 260
1% ZiwiPeak Lamb & Rabbit 280


we don't have the exact numbers of Sheba but Shadow wouldn't eat it so I didn't pursue it. Supposedly Sheba pates are in the good range.

the one I'm about to try is
http://www.thehonestkitchen.com/cat-food/grace it's 10% carb.
 
Thank you Rhiannon! Yeah I've noticed many foods on the list have gluten, soy and other unwanted things in them. I don't live near a pet store so its hard to just go to a pet store for a bigger selection of foods. I have tried Nature's Variety before but stopped them because of the price. The only thing around here that I can buy would be Wellness Complete Chicken Formula. Would that be an option?
 
I just have to say that this has been an excellent thread for me at this time... both for the insulin and food suggestions. You all are a wealth of information! Thank you!
 
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