My last kitty was on insulin injections for 18 months in the middle of his life. The worst part was the cost of the insulin (United States). Giving the injections was surprisingly easy; we both got used to it very quickly.

I transitioned him to a lower carb diet and fed him on a strict schedule in order to bring his weight down gradually. He had hypoglycemic (low blood sugar) episodes twice after which we lowered the dose and eventually weaned him off insulin. He lived another 8 years without insulin on the low carb and portion-controlled diet.

For my kitty, I knew he was hypoglycemic when he appeared very confused- he would literally pace in circles with unfocused eyes. Watch for any changes in behavior- it can indicate low blood sugar. Skip the next dose of insulin and call your vet ASAP to see about changing the dose.

I don't know about the Canadian prices, but sending love from the US to you/your little old man. And please don't feel bad about not knowing he wasn't well: cats are notoriously good at hiding illnesses.

One of my past foster/hospices was diabetic, and her management was pretty easy. She had more frequent checkups than a nondiabetic senior, but the day-to-day was really just giving her insulin during meals and getting her used to timed feedings instead of being freely fed. It was intimidating at first (I'm squeamish with medical stuff) but wasn't painful for her at all. I don't think she even noticed it happening after the first week or two. I think she may have needed regular subcutaneous fluid injections, too, but that may have been from one of her other diseases.

She later passed away from an unrelated disease before her diabetes advanced to any more complicated stages, but I think I had two or three years with her post-diagnosis where she was happy and healthy.

If you have to put your cat on blood sugar medication, please make sure to learn about hypoglycemia and have corn syrup on hand if your cat's blood sugar crashes. This can be fatal and I nearly lost a cat to this even though I had the syrup on hand to stabilize him until I could get him to the vet. By the time I got him to the vet, his sugar had crashed again and he would have died if he weren't already at the vet.

My cat also had problems with recurring bladder infections.

Good luck to you and your li'l old man. I hope he does well and lives long.

I had a somewhat elderly cat (9 years) with diabetes back before insulin was expensive.

The biggest challenge for me with him was not giving him an injection, but rather checking his urine with a dip stick every day. I was supposed to do this in the morning before I gave him his injection (because I was to steadily increase the insulin amount until the sugar amount went down). This meant making sure I was there at the litter box as he squatted so I could place the dip stick into his urine stream.

Something you might try was what I did with my boy. I knew in humans that the supplement chromium was very important in helping to manage blood sugar. I researched this for cats, even calling up my state's veterinary college to find out if I could give my cat a small amount of chromium.

They were not helpful at all, but I then remembered that Brewer's Yeast contained small amount of chromium and pets are often given this to help with things like fleas. So I got some and began sprinkling a small amount on his food.

I did this for about two weeks and during this time it became much harder for me to catch him at the litter box to do a dip stick test. I didn't realize it was because he was peeing less. I just thought he was avoiding me.

Finally one morning right after I gave him his injection he went to the litter box and I rushed over with my dip stick to find he no longer had any sugar in his urine. So, that day I stayed home and fed him sweetened milk to keep him from going into a hypoglycemic coma. Good times for sure.

After that he was no longer diabetic as long as I fed him the brewer's yeast. Not saying this will work in all situations but it certainly worked in this one.

Not a cat, but I am a diabetic. Just wanted to say that we have happy, full lives. Don't let the needles make you think kitty isn't enjoying life ❤️

I'm sorry to hear about your cat :( I've had two cats that have had diabetes. I can't help with Canadian pricing, but it wasn't absurdly pricey to take care of my cats. You'll have some vets who demand that you bring your cat in weekly to check blood sugar, but you can do that on your own at home. Definitely monitor your cat after you start administering insulin for signs of lethargy or shaking. It could be a sign that the insulin dose is too high.

One of my cats lived for a decade after diagnosis (he passed from an unrelated illness), and one who passed a few years after but she was 14 when diagnosed.

I can't help - diabetes is one health problem I haven't had to deal with in my cats - just want to give you best wishes.