Question about LANTUS

[claylady]

Hello,
I am new to this forum and new to Feline Diabetes. My vet prescribed LANTUS for our Jesse James. I could not believe the price when I went to Wal-Mart to have the script filled! Why is this insulin so much more than other insulin s? Is it better or more effective than others?

Also, I read that feeding certain canned (wet) food may be ok? Is this done in conjunction with a prescribed dry food or as a replacement?

THanks,
Claylady

 

[Sienne and Gabby (GA)]

Welcome to Lantus Land.

Probably the key reason that Lantus is so expensive is that it's still on patent. Sanofi, the drug company than makes Lantus, is the only producer and they can set the price where they want. There is a coupon available for the Lantus Solostar Pens. Insofar as which insulin is best for your kitty, the American Animal Hospital Assn recommends only two types of insulin for cats -- Prozinc and Lantus.

The majority of us do not feed a dry food diet -- at all, ever. The amount of carbohydrates in most dry foods is excessive. That said, there are a lot of canned foods where the percentage of carbs is excessive. Dry food also contains a lot of "stuff" that is unnecessary to a cat's diet -- things like corn or rice products. Cats are obligate carnivores. All they need is a high quality protein and the necessary vitamins and minerals in order to thrive. You might want to take a look at Lisa Pierson, DVM's website on feline nutrition. She provides an excellent explanation of what's best for a cat's diet. She also has a fairly comprehensive list of cat food that's available along with the carb content of what she lists. Most of us feed our diabetic cats what is considered a low carb diet -- under 10% carbs. In actuality, most of us feed at about 5% or less carbs.