Newly Diagnosed

Have questions regarding Insulin. My vet originally thought my cat had a kidney problem. Drew labs and got the results the next day. Another vet at the facility discussed the lab results with me by phone. She said she considered my cat to be in a pre-diabetic stage and said she did not think my cat would need insulin but rather his hyperglycemia could be managed through diet. She said make an appointment for the next day to discuss this. I made the appointment and came to the vet’s office only to find another vet there. This office only has one vet at a time there apparently. So this vet tells me that my cat has most assuredly diabetes and will be on insulin the rest of his life and proceeded to tell me he has to be given 2 shots per day of the insulin, that he can only be fed twice a day then the insulin given right after eating. She tells me he has to have a special diet (Royal Canin glycobalance) and the insulin she prescribed was ProZinc Insulin 40 units per ml, 10 ml vial plus the syringes. She told me expect to pay $150.00 per month for the insulin and syringes. My head is spinning. My character of a cat is 13 years old. I love him very much. However I have 2 daughters I am putting trough college, single income family, all our vehicles have over 200,000 miles on them and we can’t afford a new car as we can’t afford making payments. I have done a little research on this and am wondering why I can’t use a less expensive insulin such as Vetsulin. Also I have read about others that have diabetic cats and they give them NPH with good control. These are a lot less expensive. Can anyone give me advice, info, reasons why I should not use these other insulin’s and whatever experience you have for me to help me as a I am new to all of this. Thank you.

 

I am going to tag @Kris & Teasel as she has experience with all the insulins you mention.
There is no need to feed a special prescription diet from the vet which is expensive. Fancy feast pates or friskies are both low carb which is what you need to feed. Also you can feed during the day as well although the cat does need to be fed before having insulin.
You have come to the best place for help and support.

 

Hi and welcome to FDMB. Sorry you've had to join us but glad you found us.

Before you move forward buying insulin/syringes right now, I would try to clarify why there seems to be a difference of opinion between the two vets at the practice. Even if they aren't both there at the same time, they must have made clinical notes and be able to communicate with each other. It's ok for them to have a difference of opinion but I would ask for the lab test values and clarify why their recommendations are different. You need to confirm whether a fructosamine test was done and what the results of that were. A simple BG done at the office or even glucose in the urine is NOT a definitive diagnosis of diabetes. BG is often elevated at the vets so a high BG in that setting is not reliable for diagnostic purposes.

Some diabetic cats can be controlled with diet alone and if you are changing your cat from a high to low carb diet it would be ideal to do that before starting insulin if the vet deems that safe for your cat. That would depend on how high BG/Fructosamine results were. As Bron said, you do not need a prescription diet and definitely not the dry version of the Glycobalance which is far too high in carbs for a pre-diabetic/diabetic cat. So in the meantime, while waiting for the lab results and clarification from the vets, I'd suggest you grab some Fancy Feast Classic (pates) and/or some Friskies pates and get your kitty on a low carb diet ASAP.

I also don't think the ProZinc and syringes should cost you $150 per month. A 10ml vial of ProZinc would last far longer than a month for a cat on an average dose of insulin and syringes can be purchased for less than the vet prices at https://www.adwdiabetes.com/. While Vetsulin and NPH can be used in cats, they often don't have enough duration to optimally regulate cats. They work fine for some cats but ProZinc would definitely be a better choice. Ultimately, the best insulin for your cat is the one that works.

When you get the lab results back, I encourage you to post HERE on the Health Forum and we can help you interpret the results and make a decision as to how to proceed if the vets are still divided in their recommendations.

 

A bottle of ProZinc should last you several months. It costs $106 through chewy.com

 

I just want to throw in I do not recommend NPH (Novolin N at walmart)... My anecdotal experience is that the only regulation I got worh Alice was when I started doing her doses 3 times a day. She's shown much greater improvement on a longer-lasting insulin. If finances are a barrier, I have seen that some people order from a Canadian pharmacy. I would need to look for a link or someone else more seasoned than I would know. There are also sometimes resources and assistance programs.

Best wishes for you both!

 

I used Vetsulin at first. My cat did well on it actually, although some find it doesn't have long enough duration. I switched to prozinc when my cat's insulin needs increased and we found the Vetsulin stung her as she would react when we gave her a shot. she doesn't have a negative reaction to prozinc even at humongous doses.