Advantages Of Longer Lasting Insulin For Diabetes In Cats

by Taath · Published February 5, 2012 · Updated May 18, 2012

Are there any advantages of longer lasting insulin for diabetes in cats? Dr. Ruth MacPete seems to think so. As diabetes becomes more and more of an issue in cats Dr. Ruth MacPete states that with a healthy diet and proper medical care your cat can live out its nine lives.

She also mentions the availability of a long lasting insulin that has been approved by the FDA. I looked into the benefits of long lasting insulin and it seems that due to a cats faster metabolism, long lasting insulins are gaining a good reputation for regulating diabetes in cats for a full twelve hours at a time.

However there are detractors who claim that some of these long lasting drugs last too long and there is risk of overlap in some cats, whereas in other cats it doesn’t last even up to nine hours.

One such long acting insulin is Prozinc, its a type of insulin combined with zinc and a protein extract of salmon called protomine to slow the release of insulin into the body. A study showed that diabetes in cats that were difficult to control were better controlled when Prozinc was used:-

Advantages of longer lasting insulin for diabetes in cats

Here is Dr. Ruth MacPete on longer lasting insulin.

You should discuss the different insulin options and the disadvantages and advantages of longer lasting insulin for diabetes in cats with your veterinary surgeon as new types of insulin are continuously coming onto the market and old types being withdrawn.

Are the newer ones better? I’m not too sure. I think there may be market forces and commercial interests at work here. I already believe that western medicine is controlled by the pharmaceutical industry which is a money making industry and the actual welfare of humans comes second to making money, so why shouldn’t the same be true for the animal pharmaceutical industry!