My cat, 10 years old, was just diagnosed. The vet says that he needs insulin injections twice a day at the same time every day for the rest of his life. Anyone with experience with this? It sounds like a very burdensome and expensive proposition.
Thanks for any experience with this.
Been there. Done that. Twice. Not fun.
I quickly learned how to give the shots, as did everyone else in family. Cats really didn’t fight it…I think they knew they’d feel better with it. And they got the shot before they got breakfast and dinner.
Does become a real PIA (and pocketbook) if you travel or can’t be home at regular shot times. I was only able to convince one of the neighborhood kids to do this task. If he wasn’t available, the vet’s assistants were hired. Twice a day. Not cheap.
And pet insulin is not cheap, either. With both cats, I think we prolonged their lives about two years before they really went down hill. The last year of life was a constant juggling of amount of insulin that worked.
Guessing just our two cats paid for the first semester of college for our vet’s kid 
kidding. sort of.
Just two weeks ago our 11 year old dog was diagnosed with diabetes. We are in the early stages of managing it, but so far so good. It was a relief to find out what was causing her excessive thirst and urination. We are now feeding her a prescription dog food, both wet and dry food. We feed her twice a day and give her an insulin injection after each meal. We just grab a “tent” of skin on her back in the shoulder area and inject the insulin. She really doesn’t seem to mind the injections, it’s like she doesn’t even feel it. We noticed the cessation of diabetes symptoms within the first two days. As far as the cost, our vet said that Walmart had the best diabetes supply prices. It was $37 for 100 syringes and a bottle of insulin.
My heart sank when I first heard the diagnosis, I though it would be overwhelming. But, so far, life hasn’t changed much. It’s just added a few minutes of care to the day. But the biggest takeaway from our experience is that since she has been receiving the insulin shots her energy and pep level has reverted back to her puppy days. She seems happier, more playful and sleeps better.
“My cat, 10 years old, was just diagnosed. The vet says that he needs insulin injections twice a day at the same time every day for the rest of his life.”
Twice a day = not necessarily. Our cat was fine with a daily injection once we “titrated” her to find the right dose. Our cat was a grazer and would not eat at “scheduled meal times” - we tried. The once a day shot plus her regular feeding pattern (we did buy high protein foods) worked.
For the rest of his life = sadly, yes.
Check Costco for insulin and syringes - our vet did not recommend any special pet insulin, just regular Humulin worked fine. The cat lived for 3 more years after being diagnosed at the age of 12, so apparently what we did was fine. Gained back the weight she lost, stopped peeing constantly and drinking non-stop, but sadly, her hind legs went out quickly after her diagnosis. She was still able to walk around and jump on her favorite chair. A bottle of insulin will go a long way, and if you are careful, syringes can be reused (I never did it, but the vet suggested that it can be done). Humulin Insulin and syringes are sold without prescription at Costco.
There is not a special insulin just for pets. It’s the same for humans and as Bunsen says a bottle will go a long ways. If you are careful and feel comfortable doing it you can probably get away with reusing syringes (not suggested for humans)
On youtube there are tons of videos about taking care of cats with diabetes (or other disease states) that need shots.There are great sites devoted to the topic. Watch videos to get the idea.
Insulin needles are VERY small (versus ones used for other meds) and shouldn’t hurt your cat at all. Most animals (including cats) have a higher threshold of pain than humans (so in case you’re bad about needles doesn’t mean your cat will be) Most cats fear being cornered or held against their will far more than a needle.
There are tons of great tips on the internet from cat owners who’ve been doing it for years. It takes practice on your part though and your confidence will translate to your cat. It won’t take you long.
For a period of time I had to give my cat IV’s (not just a shot–not diabetes) on a regular basis–and we both made it through. I was scared to death of hurting her. After I calmed down and took charge then my cat calmed down too. Watching videos really helped.
Gouf, absolutely agree that there is not a special cat insulin. However, there are brands of insulin that are marketed at pet owners. For example:
http://m.1800petmeds.com/mt/http://www.1800petmeds.com/Vetsulin+Insulin-prod10764.html
It is the same stuff that comes in a Humulin bottle but costs way more. If the vet insists on using “pet insulin” - maybe it would make sense to find another vet.
I used one bottle of Humulin for 2 months and did not reuse needles. There was still plenty left in the bottle when I tossed it, but I did not want to stretch my luck. There was no loss of potency as my cat’s behavior showed.
I see offhand from the website that it is U-40 insulin that is marketed.
Quick education–U 40 means there are 40 units insulin/cc. U-100 means 100 units/cc. There is NO difference in the insulin but only in the concentration so the final dosing would be different. Porcine means it was derived from pork (nowadays we have purer forms with less allergenic properties such as the Humulin and the doses could possibly be less with that).
For example as the simplest case: the dose needed is 40 units: For a U40 insulin the dose is 1 cc(or ml) to be injected using a 1 cc syringe. For a U-100 the dose would only be 0.4 ml to get the same number of units using a 1 cc syringe. There can also be syringes that correspond to these different units (so we had 40 and 100 U syringes)
For people we got rid of that U40 years ago because it was too confusing and too many errors but I guess it’s still around for animals. One reason could be that the doses are smaller for animals.
Anyhow…I would guess offhand that U-100 insulin would be much cheaper and more available.
I hope I haven’t confused anybody
I don’t know enough about diabetes in cats but my internet search showed that the “scruff of the neck” injection may not be good enough for diabetes injections for cats but that there are several better alternatives for injection sites to give such small doses.
^^You are correct, the stuff is sold in units pet mL. The vet will tell how many units will be needed to start. An average college parent should be able to do the math to recalculate the amount. 
For a large cat like mine, a tiny amount was needed, but even the smaller volume was not hard to measure using the standard BD insulin syringes.
Yes, despite what the internet says, vets still recommend injections into the “scruff of the neck” simply because it is the place where most cats would tolerate their daily injections. The dosage might need to be adjusted, and the treating vet should be able to provide some guidance. In any situation, the correct individualized dose might require some “titration”.
Of course, one can go really fancy…
Of course every cat is different but 20 yrs ago after my husband’s cat was diagnosed w/ diabetes he eliminated dry/squishy food that stayed soft and his cat didn’t need insulin any more. He did this because he was told the soft bagged food (Maybe Tender Vittles?) stayed soft from corn syrup and this was not good for his cat. His old cat lived 2 more yrs w/o insulin.
Is your cat eating this kind of food or treats?
Thank you all for sharing your knowledge.
My cat has always been extremely skittish and easily overstimulated–he was the kitten of a feral cat. I think that I could manage the shots but it will be quite a job for someone else to give them. And boarding him would be very hard on him, given his personality. Since I live alone, there’s no one else at home to fill in.
Since we went to the vet on Friday (his first vet visit since his operation 9 years ago; it was quite a job to get him into the carrier and I have the scratches to prove it!) I have been very concerned about how I will manage to pay for his care if I go away, even for a day or so. It will be quite a job to manage and my funds are extremely limited. Because I live in NYC, services that do this kind of care are very expensive. So I have a lot to think about.
The vet said that his test results indicated that he definitely needs the insulin shots, and that changing his diet won’t help. That said, today I started giving him only canned food. Unlikely to do the job but I can hope!
If your cat can take human (humulin) insulin (my dog does), then get it at Walmart or Sams club… only $25 a bottle and it lasts.
Also get your syringes there…only $13 for 100 syringes…just make sure you find out the right size.
I keep the bottle and some syringes in a thermal lunch bag in the fridge. I keep it in the thermal bag to prevent it from freezing…as sometimes certain parts of my fridge seem extra cold and stuff will freeze. The thermal bag prevents that. Plus, keeping it all in a thermal bag makes it easy to find.
As for the “burden”…it really isn’t. You just get in a habit. At first, I set my timer on my phone to buzz twice a day to make sure I “got on schedule”…after that, it became a habit.
There should be no math to do. Your vet will tell you, “2 units using XXXX size syringe and needle” The vet will likely start low (like 2 units) and see if more is needed.
My dog, started at 2 units, but is now up to 15 units. He’s about 20 lbs.
I don’t know if going to just wet cat food will do the trick. Wet food is not all protein…it has carbs in it, too.
maybe trying just feeding cheap tuna from a can might work…and maybe supplemented with some sugar free no carb vitamins of some sort.
I don’t know where you give a cat a shot. for dogs you give it at the scruff of their necks…which must not have many nerve endings because that’s where their moms carried them as puppies. You pull the skin up, and in goes the shot…but cats may be different.
No, you give cats the shot in the same spot as dogs. My cat had diabetes a year or so ago and while I was pretty apprehensive about it, giving the shots turned out to be no big deal and she tolerated it well. Fortunately, her diabetes seems to have been caused by the steroid meds she was on at the time and as soon as she was taken off that drug, her blood sugar returned to normal. I still have all the syringes I had to buy, just in case.
Oldmom, if you go away for a day, and your cat misses one shot - well, call me a cold blooded cynic, but I say nothing is going to happen. It is not like a type 1 human diabetic who can die because of one missed shot. Been there. I also could not do the 2x daily shots after meals. So she had her dry chow to free graze and a daily shot. The cat lived 3 happy years until she turned 15. She was a feline angel, and she died in the day we learned that Latetoschool’s cancer prevailed.
I think if you know that you will have to miss a day or two of shots, then that’s the time to give protein only foods…like real tuna from a can. There would be nothing in it to cause their sugar to rise…like being on Atkins.
BunsenBurner, that is good to read.
I don’t know the story about Latetoschool but I am so sorry.
We put our diabetic dog down last night, less than a year after being diagnosed. We were able to give injections, but could never monitor his glucose levels, as it involved painful pricks in his ears an a lot of squeezing, often without being able to draw blood. We put him on expensive prescription dog food and paid the vet to do glucose checks. We had to board him at another vet’s office so they could administer the shots when we were out of town. the first day he bit the vet employee. One month ago, his glucose level spiked, causing seizures. He needed to be hospitalized for two day. Last night he started stumbling around and the vet tested glucose and said it was too low, so wanted to hospitalize again. This time we refused.
Obviously some pets are easier than others when it comes to this regime. It also sounds like some pets glucose levels are easier to maintain than others. Our dog was 15 and was on $100/month heart med, water pills, liver pills, and anti-seizure meds. It became overwhelming for all of us.
We got an extra 18 months of life for that beautiful lady you see in my avatar after we began giving her insulin. She was a lab, and labs are known for being enthusiastic eaters. So while she was gobbling away at her food, that’s when I’d inject her. She hardly seemed to notice. I’m not convinced my cat would be so accommodating.
It is a pain, but if you are not ready to let your pet go, it can be well worth the trouble.
My hairdresser’s cat was diagnosed with diabetes and after a couple of months of giving insulin, he began to research feline diets. He found a cat food that seemed to work and his cat is now off his insulin. Don’t know how often this happens, but thought I would put it out there.