Welcome to you and Kirby! Thanks for being Kirby's advocate.
A bit of help -- what insulin are you giving Kirby? We may be able to help you source insulin at a lower price but we need to know what you're using. (I'm sort of assuming you're using Lantus and if this is the case, there are options!)
There are also a few other things that will be helpful to consider. Number one is diet. In order to maximize Kirby's chances for remission (and yes, diabetic cats can go into remission), he will do best on a low carb, canned food diet. Actually, all of your cats will do best on the same food as Kirby. Cats are obligate carnivores and do not need all of the fruits and veggies that are often added to cat food. Lisa Pierson, DVM has an excellent website on
feline nutrition along with a
chart of canned foods available in the US along with information on the carbohydrate count.
We also strongly encourage members to home test. Insulin is not a trivial drug and too much can cause a symptomatic hypoglycemic event. By home testing, you can monitor your cat's response to insulin and know if you need to intervene as well as when to adjust your cat's dose. Since most cats are stressed at the vet's office, reading that are taken there are often artificially elevated due to stress. As a result, the vet increases the dose and your cat is at risk for numbers bottoming out. We have lots of information, including videos on
home testing and the members here will offer lots of suggestions. Vets will often suggest you purchase a pet specific meter. They are good meters but the strips are pricey. Many people here use a human meter -- often the Walmart Relion brand meter.
I'm also including a link on
helping us to help you. There's information on materials you should have on hand, setting up your signature, and setting up a spreadsheet.
Sorry for all of the links and extra reading. There's a lot to know and it is overwhelming at the beginning. It will become routine in a surprisingly short period of time. Please let us know if your have questions.
