It's been a while.....

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Foxdancer

Foxdancer

Member Since 2021
((Looking around)) Any old-timers left around here? I was here a looooooooong time ago with (first) Teddy Snowshoes and (next) Richard. Both have "gone ahead", but I always knew that after all that work of learning the ropes, I would need to use those skills again to rescue more diabetic cats.

I am looking at a little furball who is in foster right now. He is on Prozinc. My sugarcats were on Lantus. I am doing a little websurfing and seeing that Prozinc is about 1/3 the price of Lantus (yay!) but since this isn't what I'm used to, I want to try to get an idea of what to expect. Any help would be appreciated as I try to get back up to speed. Thank you!

-Rilla (and nameless kitty whom I have not actually committed to taking quite yet......)
 
Wow, welcome back (hopefully). I was just thinking about you guys tonight. Last year a snowshoe(ish) rescue cat wandered into my life and every time he leaps into my lap, I think of Teddy Snowshoes.

I suggest you wander on over to the Prozinc forum and the Lantus/Levemir forum and read the “Stickies” (yellow starred posts) to help dip your toes back into the diabetic waters.

Some differences: Lantus is a depot-type insulin whereas Prozinc is more of an in-and-out insulin. Also, the strengths are different — Lantus is a U-100 insulin (100 units/ml) whereas Prozinc is U-40 (40 units/ml). When comparing prices, keep in mind, for example, that a 10ml vial of Lantus contains 1000 units of insulin whereas a 10ml vial of Prozinc contains 400 units. Also, you’ll either need to use u-40 syringes with Prozinc or use u-100 syringes with a conversion chart. Lantus does best with a pretty strict 12/12 hour schedule, whereas Prozinc can be a bit more forgiving. And finally, Lantus is a human insulin so typically sold by human pharmacies (not often carried by vet clinics, at least where I live) whereas Prozinc is a pet insulin so typically sold by vet clinics/online (and not as often available in human pharmacies).

There are a few of us old-timers still hanging around. Nice to see you Rilla. Hope you decide to follow through on the adoption. :)
 
JL covered just about everything!

Having used just about every insulin, ProZinc isn't too bad. It works really well for most cats; that said there are the occasional ones where it can be a little too harsh, or when they get to lower doses they often have to switch to something like Lantus to help flatten things out.

Do the foster parents have a spreadsheet or any data for you? Current dose? When diagnosed? Any info on diet?

You came back and posted on an FD forum I think you know you're taking that cat home :joyful:
 
Foxdancer said:
I am doing a little websurfing and seeing that Prozinc is about 1/3 the price of Lantus (yay!)
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I do not think that is true. Remember that ProZinc is a U40 insulin and thus a 10 ml vial only contains 400 units while a a 10 ml vial of Lantus contains 1000 units.
Also, no there are generic Lantus (glargine) available. With GoodRx you can get 5, 300 pens of Semglee for about $160.
 
Larry and Kitties said:
Also, no there are generic Lantus (glargine) available. With GoodRx you can get 5, 300 pens of Semglee for about $160.
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There are now two bio-similar insulin glargine available now that are cheaper than Lantus - Basaglar and Semglee. They are not generic versions of Lantus but the FDA recently allows pharmacies to offer Semglee as an alternative to Lantus. I use Semglee for Charlie and it is about 1/3 cost of Lantus.
 
You can also try
Semglee, it is a generic Lantus, and was approved by the FDA last June. The cost is compatible with Lantus from Canada.

https://www.goodrx.com/semglee
Here is a coupon above take a look at the price
Just call any pharmacy to see if they have the 5 pens, they will last you a year or more
When you go to the coupon they ask you to type in your location for prices
 
If you have Walgreens near you and are a member of their prescription club, a pack of pens is around $120. You can also join by setting up an account for only your pet if you do not use the pharmacy for your own prescriptions
 
In addition to the biosimilars for glargine/Lantus, many people here order Lantus from Canada (Mark's Marine Pharmacy). The price is a bit less than for Semglee.

All of that said, both Prozinc and glargine are the two insulins that the American Animal Hospital Assn recommends for treating feline diabetes. While some of the nuances between the two insulins differ, either will be a good choice. To my way of thinking, it largely depends on what your most comfortable with.
 
Thanks, everyone. That was exactly what I needed, a little Lantus-vs-Prozinc talk. If the prices are as you say, I think maybe I will switch the cat to Semglee if I can talk the vet around. I used Lantus for so long, it would be easier to get back in the groove with the familiar stuff. If the foster is to be believed, the cat is not doing too bad right now.... although they are not hometesting, so we'll have to see about that once we get to the poking. They have him on mostly Friskies pate, but there is also some amount of dry kibble happening over there. I have all my (healthy) present cats on the same raw diet that I used on the diabetics, so hopefully once I get him switched to that, I will be able to get him honeymooned.
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You came back and posted on an FD forum I think you know you're taking that cat home :joyful:
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LOL. Part of me is going "Are you NUTS???!!?? You're going to go through that AGAIN???!!!" I adopted a group of three young and healthy littermates two years ago. I never do that. I always go straight for the elderly, behavior-problem, handicapped pity cases. It was a once-in-a-lifetime gift to myself because I had been doing special needs animals for so long and I needed a break. (I haven't been to a vet in over a year!!!!!! That feels so strange!!! I'm used to having my own monogrammed parking space there!) But like I said, it was so damn much work of learning with Teddy and Richard that it seems like a sin to not use it to help others. And the cat is local, and BLACK. Richard was black. I adopted Richard because he was elderly, and diabetic, and black, and I figured that with those three strikes no one else would ever take him. I always have a pang for the black ones because I figure even WITHOUT diabetes, adult black cats don't have much of a chance once they are in the shelter/rescue system (and those are the LUCKY ones, that even got that far with someone attempting to help them).
 
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Thank you for wanting to adopt this kitty, you have a big heart!
I have always felt bad that no one would want to adopt an older kitty.
I wish you all the best if you decide to adopt him. I would go with the semglee also
Have a good day and would love to see a pic of him :bighug::cat:
 
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Foxdancer said:
Thanks, everyone. That was exactly what I needed, a little Lantus-vs-Prozinc talk. If the prices are as you say, I think maybe I will switch the cat to Semglee if I can talk the vet around. I used Lantus for so long, it would be easier to get back in the groove with the familiar stuff. If the foster is to be believed, the cat is not doing too bad right now.... although they are not hometesting, so we'll have to see about that once we get to the poking. They have him on mostly Friskies pate, but there is also some amount of dry kibble happening over there. I have all my (healthy) present cats on the same raw diet that I used on the diabetics, so hopefully once I get him switched to that, I will be able to get him honeymooned.
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You came back and posted on an FD forum I think you know you're taking that cat home :joyful:
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LOL. Part of me is going "Are you NUTS???!!?? You're going to go through that AGAIN???!!!" I adopted a group of three young and healthy littermates two years ago. I never do that. I always go straight for the elderly, behavior-problem, handicapped pity cases. It was a once-in-a-lifetime gift to myself because I had been doing special needs animals for so long and I needed a break. (I haven't been to a vet in over a year!!!!!! That feels so strange!!! I'm used to having my own monogrammed parking space there!) But like I said, it was so damn much work of learning with Teddy and Richard that it seems like a sin to not use it to help others. And the cat is local, and BLACK. Richard was black. I adopted Richard because he was elderly, and diabetic, and black, and I figured that with those three strikes no one else would ever take him. I always have a pang for the black ones because I figure even WITHOUT diabetes, adult black cats don't have much of a chance once they are in the shelter/rescue system (and those are the LUCKY ones, that even got that far with someone attempting to help them).
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I adopted Charlie a couple months ago so I know what you are thinking. :D According to the shelter I adopted him from, his diabetes was "diet controlled". The shelter and I apparently have a different definition of what that means. The first thing I did when I brought him home was test him. I quickly determined he needed to be on insulin.

Thank you for taking him. We need more people like you to help all of the sugar kitties. :cat:
 
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