My diabetic cat's insulin is expensive. Any OTC human alternatives?

Unfortunately for diabetes type one insulin it is necessary. For type two diabetes, dietary change (low carbohydrates diet) and oral hypoglycemic medications are available as well but their use needs to be discussed with your local veterinarian.

I found that in cats often Vetsulin is not able to correct Insulin levels long term and that such cats may do better with Prozinc Insulin. This is something you may want to discuss with your veterinarian. Another problem that often keeps cats from regulating is when they have tartar, gingivitis and bad teeth. In that case a dental cleaning often works wonders. This will also reduce stress from dental pain.

While certain human insulins can be used in cats, it is never recommended to change your cat's insulin yourself. Please do not use any insulin that isn't specifically prescribed by your vet as you could go great harm to Daja, which could potentially be fatal.

There are no OTC medications you can safely give for diabetes. Make sure Tiny is eating regularly and has plenty of fresh water. Your veterinarian will likely submit bloodwork after an exam to diagnose diabetes or other condition.

I would recommend to cut them very gradually over two or three weeks time and do the same with food. This will allow his organism to adapt and maintain appetite (so you can give insulin).In the long term Metabolic food (Hills) (low carbohydrates and higher protein content) should be preferred. Hope this answer was helpful, but please do not hesitate to contact us again on the forum or by requesting a consultation if you have any more questions or to discuss it any further.

Unfortunately this is a really tough disease to treat, even with veterinary care. Your cat would likely need to be on fluids and then start getting regulated on insulin to get his diabetes under control. Until his dehydration and blood sugar is under control he will probably still be lethargic and anorexic. I am sorry you're having to go through this with your cat. I wish there was more I could tell you. Best of luck.

In general, try to make the injections as close to every 12 hours as you can. Most pets will still do well even if the injections are sometimes 13 hours apart.If it is going to be longer than 13 hours, talk with your vet about maybe adjusting the amount of insulin to give. You and your daughter should devise a treatment plan each week based upon your work patterns and write it down. Then keep the paper by the insulin and MARK down when the insulin was given (time). This will eliminate confusion. You must treat the diabetes. A special diet like RC Glycobalance will help. You may also look into asking a friend to help give injections or hire someone to do it. many technicians will make extra money helping out others like this. I hope this helps and please feel free to post any additional questions.