Should I use pills or injections to treat my Diabetic cat?

Question

My 8 year old cat has been diagnosed with Diabetes. Until recently, he seemed to be perfectly healthy but then we saw certain signs like change in energy level and urination habits that made us concerned.

Since we began suspecting diabetes we put him on an all canned, all wet food diet - mostly Fancy Feast. After only a few days he has shown considerable improvement. But we do still believe that he has a problem.

I have read a lot about pills vs. injections and there is a body of opinion that says injections are the way to go. Some people think pills can harm certain organs in your cat.

Our Vet reccomends pills, but she also said she would be fine if we chose to use injections instead.

What should we do?

I would love to hear what other cat lovers and experts here think. What has your experience been with diabetes and what do you think is the best treatment to start with?

Thanks!

By the way... I am not all that concerned with what's easier to administer, or even what my cat would prefer. I am wondering what is most effective: the pills or the insulin injections.
Thanks

Answer 1

I had a cat with diabetes. I gave him injections for many years. I was weary at first and kinda scared. Once I learned how, I was fine with it. I gave him injections twice a day, everyday. My vet told me that my cat could not use a pill because his diabetes was too extreme.
Pill would probably have been a lot less stressful. I would assume it would have to be crushed up. Giving cats pills is not the easiest thing in the world to do. Your vet should be able to tell you whether the pill would harm certain organs vs. injections.
Having a diabetic cat takes alot of work and dedication. The medicine must be given to them on an exact schedule. Their diet must be monitored and controlled. You may want to consider a better food. The can stuff is quite fattening. I am assuming your cat is diabetic due to being overweight. I fed Peanuts a good dry food: Iams, Pro-Plan, Eukameuba, etc., weight management formula. These types of food are much more healthier.
I also measured his food according to the chart on the food label. No more, no less. I admit he got a treat every once in a while. That consisted of a teaspoon of soft cat food. I will stress ONCE IN A WHILE!
Another thing you need to educate yourself on is what to do when he might go into a low sugar shock.
I don't mean to overwhelm you with all this. I would be happy to give you more information if you want to contact me. It sounds like a lot, but it is worth it to prolong the life of your loved-one and keep him around for that much longer.

Answer 2

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Answer 3

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Answer 4

PLease go to felinediabetes.com and join. We have over 4000 members world wide. You can find vet techs and us lay people who have our lives revolve around our diabetic cats and helping others.
Go for insulin 2 times a day and start no higher than 1 unit twice a day. Vets are not generally up to date on FD because they have so few to treat. My vet said he knew everything, sent me home with insulin and doseage and darn near killed my girl by giving her so much insulin I almost lost her.
It takes a few seconds to join the group and then post on the HEALTH board.
Very good diet. Was going to give you the url for why to change but I will as we will tell you on the board to read both url's I am sending along. If you have questions contact me.
The sugar dance is something else. Fast learning curve but once you learn you and your furbaby have the dance down good. I hope you are going to hometest. We will help you learn. You can go to the cheapest Walmart Reilon glucometer and strips and it works fine. You will maybe hear from your vet it is not accurate - yes it is it is blood. He will say, "But it won't be the same as I get" True he will get a test showing 100 to 200 points higher from vet stress.
Do it!! you would never give your child a shot of insulin if you didn't know what his Blood sugar was cause you could kill him. Bingo!! Same reason. Giving an insulin shot to any pet or person without first testing the blood sugar is like driving a car with a paper bag over your head.
http://catinfo.org/ This will tell you the perfect diet for any cat.

http://www.geocities.com/jmpeerson/canfood.html pick a high protein low under 10% carb canned food. Fish no more than 1 or two meals a week if you must feed it.

Good Luck the sugar dance is like none other but it will create a bond that is unbelievable.

Answer 5

I had a cat with diabetes for years and I also worked as a vet tech for about 10 years.

First of all, listen to your vet. Your vet will know better than any of us what your cat's needs are.

Secondly, if you really have the choice, I would definitely say that you should go with the injections. The needles are so tiny your cat won't even feel it. Giving a cat a pill however, is much more difficult for you and much more traumatic for the cat.

Picture if someone was trying to literally force something down your throat! Totally unpleasant!

Good luck.

Answer 6

Hi. I have four cats & four sheltie pups. My personal opinion is to inject vs pills. I do clinical research for several pharmaceutical companies and the route of administration is just as important as the medication itself. So your question is PERFECT.
I feel with Cats in particular, injection is better, because they are sure to get ALL the medication in them (not throwing up any part of a pill/or a digested portion of a pill)....
None of our 8 pets have Diabetes...however my Mom's oldest German Shepard does and she does the injection.
I sorry, I don't know anyone with a diabetic cat...but we see our vet later this afternoon and I will re-post and ask him your question if you like. I'd like to see what they feel is best. Anytime we can get "free info" from vets...I always like everyone to know....
Since your vet perfers pills.....maybe that's the way to go. I'm sure you ask her why....and I wouldn't want to interfer. Our cats we cannot get any oral meds down her unless its in LIQUID form. Now if your vet is thinking a LIQUID FORM OF A DIABETIC MEDICATION....THEN I WOULD BE TOTALLY FOR THAT, AS IT WOULD BE LESS WEAR & TEAR ON HER SKIN.
I haven't heard that pills cause harm in certain organs and I do know that the only way out of the body for any medication...is thru the kidney or the liver. That's in both animals and humans.
Since the kidney would be affected already in a diagnosis of diabeties....then that could be possible.
I hope you receive many answers on here and maybe a VET will post to your question.
Good luck with your kitty & I hope she is feeling terrific soon.
Many blessings, Patti

Answer 7

My cat has been diabetic for years. We tried starting with the pills, but our cat was very stressed by being having to be pilled. In the end, we found that giving her injections was easier on us and on her. By the way, insulin really helped, and it is very difficult to tell that she's even ill.

Answer 8

You should do what works for you and the cat best- since the vet gave you options. I didn't have an option for my diabetic cat, I was told I have to give him injections. He doesn't run or hide, and as a matter of fact will often be waiting for me in his "shot" chair when its time for his injection. He has been doing fantastic since his diagnoses 2 months ago.

Answer 9

To be honest, neither unless those are your only choices.

Our oldest cat (14 years) has diabetes. The Vet said we could give her injections or get her on a diet. We chose to put her on a diet and she has alot more energy. We still have minor urination problems with her but that is likely due to having three other cats who share the litter box.

The food the Vet sold us ran $30 for a small bag! After two bags of it, I went to various stores (WalMart, Grocery Stores, Etc ...) and compared the "Guaranteed Analysis of Ingredients" section from the Vet cat food with leading brands. We put her on Purina ProPlan, which we bought from Pet SuperMarket. The Guaranteed Analysis of Ingredients varied by up to 2% but both cat foods contained the same ingredients. The ProPlan runs about $15 for the same amount of cat food. Larger bags are available for $25 or so and you get alot more, depending on the number of cats you have. We bought the larger bag since we feed all four cats the same diet. (We had issues of her eating the regular cat food so we ended up putting all the cats on the diet ... which the Vet told us was a good thing, albeit more expensive than before but it better than losing her)

One important note:
Don't spoil your cat with treats on a regular basis (or give him/her scraps). The Diet of the cat food is very specific and giving your cat treats defeats the purpose of the diet. Doing otherwise defeats the purpose of the diet for a diabetic cat.

(I'd be lying to you if I said I never gave her something every so often ... but it's no longer something we do on a regular basis with our cats.)

Answer 10

With the newer types of insulin these days, diabetic diets aren't necessarily as restrictive as they used to be. Read here https://tr.im/Zwl1J
As with any medicine or diet change, you should discuss it with your doctor. Fruits, both fresh and dried, have a natural sugar in them that will raise blood sugar levels, so be careful about eating too much. Not sure about the nuts. Moderation is always the key. I've been diabetic for 18 years and just recently changed insulin types. I love it because it gives me more freedom in when and what I eat.