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We use expired insulin on animals and they generally seem to do fine. How old is he?

@littlejoy: yah the commitment to manage diabetes is a lot both in time and money and I’m sure it’s contributing to the peeing but if he’s also had issues before who knows if this will fix it 100%. How is he doing otherwise? We recently put a cat down who was diabetic, around the same age but also had lost weight, her fur was falling out etc and the vet really sort of said listen you can do this now or watch her really deteriorate

@littlejoy: I don't have a cat and my dog doesn't have this issue, BUT I just wanted to offer sympathies with dealing with it. My dog is 13, and has had her fair share of (expensive) medical issues. We already pay a lot for her special medicated food, and I totally understand the sheer frustration at the messes esp when you have kids (and we're expecting our 3rd!). We often talked about where we'd have to draw the line too; I think we have to suck up the inconveniences b/c when I got my dog, I basically promise to take care of her for better or for worse so even though my life is SO full, and I do get really annoyed at her sometimes, I know it's not her fault.

But re: money, there is DEF a line drawn somewhere because we just don't have unlimited funds. It's just so hard and I try not to think about it unless I have to cross that line! So I just want to send you some hugs

I had a cat with diabetes growing up. We did not have to take him in extra but that was because we used a glucometer at home to check his glucose levels. My dad was always the one to do it at first but eventually he taught me. But I know not everyone would be comfortable taking a blood sample. Our cat started with insulin twice a day and that continued for a few years, though eventually he went to three times a day. I know we used expired insulin but only for a specific period of time (maybe 4 weeks?) or until we noticed an issue with his numbers.

That said, with the pee issues I am not sure how I would proceed. Cat pee is horrible to deal with and if it is not related to the diabetes it could go on forever. DH and I have discussed when we would draw the line on care for our cat. It's in part a money related thing and in part a quality of life thing - and quality of life applies to our cat and us. I'm sorry you are dealing with this.

@littlejoy: Of course you have limits! And those limits don't have to only be about money. There is nothing wrong with having limits that you and your DH are comfortable with, even if they are different from others. And unless people have experience with cat pee, they don't understand how bad it can be. It is much worse than dog pee. My mom put one of her cats down a few years ago in large part because of his constant peeing, he was 15 or 16 and had always occasionally peed around the house. She tried all sorts of meds, feliway diffusers around the house, and the vet was constantly running tests. Nothing was wrong with him, he just peed everywhere. But it wasn't frequently or in large amounts until the last year or so. But by the end my mother couldn't do it anymore and thankfully her vet supported the choice.

All that to say - you are dealing with (in my mind) two distinct issues, the peeing and the diabetes. The diabetes while costly is treatable. The peeing is not necessarily treatable. And only you can decide what you are willing to do long term.

SOUNDS exactly like my Sammy. He had bladder issues his whole life and was on prescription food. He was diagnosed with diabetes at 11 yo and I did the insulin injections, twice a day for 2+ years until he got mouth cancer and shortly passed away.

The shots were not that bad for me, he was a very low key cat and it didn't seem to bother him at all. I would put down his food, inject him and that was it. I was able to find a vet that gave me the insulin and syringes for a decent price, I honestly can't remember the price.. but it wasn't OUTRAGEOUS in my opinion.

For the years he had diabetes he was fine in all other areas. His quality of life didn't take a hit or anything.

When he got mouth cancer though that was a game changer, he couldn't eat, he drooled and it was a matter of weeks and he passed.

hugs to you.. sorry you are dealing with this.

ETA: I did not take him in every 2 weeks as I was told to.. I couldn't do it with my work schedule.. so I only did it every 4-6 mos.. technically his diabetes was never actually under control (numbers wise) but I was givin him the insulin and he was doing well... sooo I basically just told my vet I couldn't do the regular monitoring.. they can't force you to......

Aww, this is so hard. I'm so sorry you're going through this.

We had an old cat who had chronic bladder issues his whole life...it had been more or less manageable with his prescription food and some medication until the last six months or so that he was alive. Then it went way downhill, and he began peeing in our basement on a daily basis. It was awful - I felt like I cleaned, and cleaned, and cleaned some more and never got it clean enough. Only to start again the next day. I felt so conflicted because for much of that time, he was an otherwise happy and healthy cat. My husband and I were just starting to get into some of the hard conversations about where our line was with how much we could realistically do to keep up with it, when he had a bunch of other health issues come up and took a really sharp turn for the worst when treating them didn't work. We ended up putting him down at that point. I felt so sad, but also so relieved on many fronts.

Before my cat's other issues came up, when I was talking to my vet about the basement peeing situation and what we could or couldn't do about it, I kept coming back to, "the cat has a pretty good quality of life otherwise." Our vet was quick to remind me that my quality of life mattered here too and that the "right" thing varies from family to family, and situation to situation. I really appreciated that perspective.

Anyway, I wish I had something more helpful to suggest...but I know how hard it is to wrestle with this, and I hope that you are able to get to a place where you feel confident moving forward.

@littlejoy: Oh no! We had to learn to do fluids for our cat and I cried while figuring it out too. It's all so overwhelming, and definitely not something I felt prepared for. I'm so sorry that was your vet's reaction! We did really luck out with our vet. He has a huge heart for animals, but also really empathizes with the families who love them.

@littlejoy: It’s ok! It’s ok. I promise. Do not freak out. Two of my dogs had diabetes. And I had a complete panic attack when I found out about the first one, I was so overwhelmed. It’s doable. The one lived with it for six years and the second is still living with it - quite happily. Nothing changed other than twice daily injections. We get it from Walmart where it’s very affordable. A vial has never expired or if it has there have been no consequences. We don’t do monitoring beyond the annual appt. Feel free to message me with any questions. ️ Animals can survive very well with managed diabetes and we don’t even notice it now!