Insulin Question New Member

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JLBA

JLBA

Member Since 2014
HI .... new member here.... good to meet you all!!
I have not had a chance to look around.
I have been reading up on the subject online.
My cat has bee registering a sugar level of 305-350 and that is just seconds apart,
but my roommate who is diabetic said monitors do vary a little even seconds in between.
Anyway, for now I have started trying to treat my cat holistically. Have cut down on dry
from leaving it out 100pct of the time to only 10pct of the time. I have started to buy
high protein, grain free wet food. That is challenging with my lack of income.
My roommate, bless her heart, just ordered this product for me that someone else
recommended ......... http://www.nhvnaturalpetproducts.com/pr ... titis-cats
and I am going to do my best to buy more and more high protein grain free wet food but for now they get 1/2 can each
once a day and then wet friskies 1/2 can each twice a day. All mixed with lots of warm water.
I have also started them on l-lysine.
ANYWAY, originally I was told that I could start my cat on the cheaper insulin but that if that did not work I would
need to move on to what was referred to as the kitty insulin and was told it was VERY EXPENSIVE. I don't remember
the dollar amount now but when they told me, there was no way I could afford that. Unfortunately at the moment
I am grossly underemployed, NOT of my choosing.
SO I was told IF the cheaper insulin did not work and I could not afford the more expensive insulin that I would
HAVE TO CONTINUE to give my cat the shots of the cheaper insulin even though it did not work. I could not
just take my cat off of the insulin even though it was not working.
I don't understand that. No I have not been to a vet yet, also a money issue.
Does anyone know if what I was told about NOT being able to stop giving insulin even though its not working
IF that is accurate info?? And if yes, why?
Thank you in advance.
:smile:
 
Welcome. A completely canned, low carb food is best. Here is a listing of such commercial canned food
viewtopic.php?f=28&t=94685
You really do not want dry at all.
I would not spend money on
http://www.nhvnaturalpetproducts.com/pr ... titis-cats
I would rather spend it on food and insulin.
By the less expensive insulin I think you mean human N, sometimes called NPH insulin. You can get a 10 ml vial from Walmart (their brand name) for about $25.
As you found out that is not the best but is a lot better than no insulin. If you can't afford a better insulin the N (NPH) is the way to go. My cat Twiggy did great on N insulin.
 
The thing with NPH type insulins - Humulin or Novolin N - is that they often last only 6-8 hours in the cat. If you give insulin (shoot) twice a day at 12 hour intervals< that may leave 4-6 hours without insulin control. You'll only know that by home testing with an inexpensive human glucometer such as the WalMart Relion Prime or Confirm. A work around for that is to shoot every 8 hours. They also hit pretty hard, drop the glucose fast and wear off fast.

Not using insulin in a diabetic condemns the cat to death by one or more of the following:
- slow starvation because the food can't be used for energy
- diabetic ketoacidosis because fat breakdown generates excessive ketones which muck up metabolism
- or hepatic lipidosis where fat breakdown for calories overwhelms the liver and prevents it from working right

Friskies pates are fine to feed and inexpensive. The amount of rice in them is negligible. Pop over to Cat Info for more details on feline nutrition.
 
Thank you for all your suggestions! :smile:
The only question I am left with is IF the cheaper Walmart Insulin does Not work at all, what do you do then?
I was told you can Not stop giving the cat insulin even IF it is not working at all. That makes no sense to me.
Its like giving a cat a placebo shot twice a day.... whats the point in that? Thoughts?
 
LARRYANDKITTIES .......... I just looked at the food list.... awesome info!! My question to you would
be do you know if there is a list for the new wellness food or other brands too that now also sell
GRAIN FREE in addition to their other cat food that is not listed as grain free? Is there a new list
that tells you what the carb pct is on the new GRAIN FREE products in can food that is now available?
 
JLBA said:
Thank you for all your suggestions! :smile:
The only question I am left with is IF the cheaper Walmart Insulin does Not work at all, what do you do then?
I was told you can Not stop giving the cat insulin even IF it is not working at all. That makes no sense to me.
Its like giving a cat a placebo shot twice a day.... whats the point in that? Thoughts?
Click to expand...

It will work some, just not optimally unless you are really diligent and even willing to give it every 8 hours if necessary.

If, however, there is some other condition which results in inadequate glucose control and you cannot afford a better insulin, the only humane thing to do is to euthanize the cat. You wouldn't want to starve to death, so I doubt you'd do that to your cat.


Don't get too hung up on grain free - that is not the same as low carb, unless the amounts of potatoes, peas, carrots, fruits, beets, beans, etc are negligible. go by the list from Cat Info Food Chart
 
oh okay.... I was told that most cats have ZERO change with the cheaper insulin but that once you
start it you can not stop it. So you can see why that would puzzle me... like I said why can't you
stop something that is like a placebo? SO YOU are saying that there is never a zero effect.
okay now about the food.... I thought that the more protein a diabetic cat gets the better??
The grain free food is suppose to be the lowest in carbs and the highest in protein which is
what I was being told would be the best to feed her. LOW CARBS-HIGH PROTEIN.....right?
SO MUCH TO LEARN! :smile:
 
Cat food has calories from protein, fat, and carbohydrates. The total calories must equal 100%. Protein is expensive, so what do you suppose the pet food manufacturers put in if not carbs?

Read Cat Info written by vet Dr Pierson and you'll learn more than you ever thought you needed to know about cat food!

You can change insulins. If one isn't working, you test another option. And cats can get off insulin sometimes, by following a low carb diet, home monitoring, and tight glucose control.
 
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