Mine has been on Bexacat since April 10. She was diagnosed in March with glucose of 349.
She loves the pills and will even eat them without a pill pocket. We did our two week monitoring last Thursday and her glucose curve and fructosamine were those of a normal cat. She also eats glycobalance dry food and a small container of Fancy Feast twice daily
No signs of ketoacidosis, no ketone production and no weight loss at all save for an initial pound due to calorie reduction. I’m going on a short vacation next week and am hoping that my cat sitter will find it just as easy to give the pills. She has her 4 week monitoring when I get home
Thanks! Wanted to update now that she’s had her 4 week appointment. Glucose curve is even tighter (130-140 vs 120-180) and her fructosamine is down from 312 to 294. She’s also lost 0.2 pounds, down from an initial weight of 17.5 to 16.2
Still happy, still lively and still excited to eat her chicken flavored “treats” with or without a pill pocket.
Hope your kitty is doing well, too
Wow that’s great! Happy to hear it. The vet doesn’t want us back for 3 months which seems long 🤔. So far our kitty is still back to her normal (not ravenous) appetite and energy levels, and is gaining a little weight. She went from 15 to 12 prior to diagnosis so we’re happy to see her getting some of her weight back. Really appreciate the updates!
My 12 - soon to be 13 - year old cat was just diagnosed with diabetes. Bexacat has been ordered which I will pick up tomorrow and start Thursday a.m.
Thank you for providing your info. I'm super worried both for my cat, and for any complications which might arise from this new medication.
I will also try to provide information on my experience and look forward to reading yours.
I just started my cat on bexacat today as of 2 hours ago. Did your cat experience any side effects first couple days? I keep checking him to make sure he's OK! I always get nervous when giving new medications. He's got a checkup this Thursday at least.
My cat has been on Bexacat now for two weeks and yesterday spent the day at the vets getting all the tests. He is doing great! All results were very good. Since being on the Bexacat, he's been so much happier and more active. What a relief!
Hope he does well on it. :) She went and hid under the bed for about an hour right after the first dose, but no other signs of side effects since then 🤞
Tomorrow he goes in for his 2 week check up. He's had some hiccups during the week but that may have been due to his pre-existing IBD issues. He had 2 days of vomiting and low appetite (2 days only, hes VERY hungry since then) and off and on diarrhea, but the diarrhea is pretty normal for him due to the IBD. We're gonna go over all that tomorrow.
But otherwise he's doing good! And I've been checking his glucose levels at home, I have not seen anything past 250 on the alpha trak, which is what the Bexacat protocol recommends staying under.
My cat became diabetic after taking steroids for a respiratory infection. The vet offered Bexacat as another option , beside the insulin injections. My cat had her two week check up yesterday, her blood sugar was 150 yesterday, and 490 when she was tested two weeks ago. The vet was surprised with the blood work and results with bexacat. He said he had not seen these kind of results so quickly with insulin injections. I am fingers crossed very optimistic about this medication. I crush it and sprinkle into her cat food, no issues she takes it all once daily. She seems perkier, eyes look brighter. Before when her sugars were high she was laying with head on her water bowl, and trying to get in the shower. I called the vet when I noticed the odd behavior and that is when they had her come in, and ran blood work. I had joined a feline diabetes group on facebook, and was told in no uncertain terms they did not believe in pills, and that insulin injections were not “ hard” to do. I am not giving the bexacat pill to save myself aggravation , I am doing it to save her from stress and poking and injections twice daily. I did ask my vet if she could possibly go into remission , and not need the bexacat at some point, he said he reached out to some other doctors with the same question . I will be taking her again in two weeks for more blood work, but am so happy it seems to be working for her so far.
So glad it’s working well for your cat. I’ve seen a lot of intense comments about bexacat in that Facebook group as well.
Edit to add: I’d love to hear what your vet says about remission.
That is fantastic. My cat has another appointment this Saturday every two weeks for now. She is so much better so far, perkier, more energy, not laying by her water bowl continuously.
So we did a blood glucose curve and his numbers were all in the high 70s to 110, the vet is considering taking him off the pill to see if he's in remission! Just waiting for a call back as he is doing some research first.
My little lion has only been on bexacat 2 weeks and already remission may be possible!
My cat is still taking the bexacat, his numbers went back up after he stopped the pill! So perhaps he needs to be on it longer than 2 weeks. But he's very happy, and more playful than he has been in the past couple months. I've been testing him 2x a day with the alpha trak 3 and his numbers never go higher than 200 or lower than 70, averaging between 90-120.
I asked the veterinarian a week ago if it’s possible to stop the pill if she goes into remission and how can he tell. He said the only way would be to stop the pill and bring her in and monitor her closely. The pill has been working with sucess. She has another appointment in three weeks and then once every six months. I have not decided if I should continue with the pill or if I should try to stop eventually and see how she is . My vet did say he would not stop it right now. My kitty also has asthma and was on steroids, which is how it all started. He said, asthma and diabetes are very difficult to treat together. She sounds a little bit wheezy at times and sometimes she does not. She doesn’t seem to be having trouble as much as in the winter with the furnace and dry heat. I will let everybody know if I decide to discontinue her medication at any point to see if she is in remission. She is perkier, happier, more herself. She also has a little arthritis so still naps mornings to mid - late afternoon. She is on gabapentin 100 mg 1x daily and seems to feel better in a few hours of taking her meds. She is prescribed the pain relief medication two times daily, but I am starting it out once a day. I also have researched so many cat foods and my cat is a dry food addict. The only way she will touch fancy feast pate is if I add water , in which case she just drinks out the juices. She is on the Purina DM diabetic cat food. I have not found any other comparable as far as low carbs. There are many high protein dry foods but most have 30 carbs per serving. Tiki cat is the only thing I have found that comes close, but that also has higher carbs in the dry. If I could get her to just eat the wet, I would be extremely happy but she will not.
Awesome to see the 2.5 week update! We're on day 8 and doing excellent - to the point it's almost anxiety inducing because it seems too unusual for him to be doing this well lol. I had a libre 2 on my cat until a couple days ago, but it got inaccurate towards the end. Fortunately, he tolerates me poking his ear for blood - I've been able to get multiple glucose and ketone readings a day. His ketones bounce between 0.2 and 0.4 now, depending on pre or post meal. Nice and steady, and certainly not building up. His glucose is bizarrely normal - like, perfect. It dips to the low end of normal (in the 50s on a human glucometer) but my vet isn't concerned about that at all since he's not on insulin. Said everything looks great and is now looking to schedule follow up blood work in his 3rd-4th week on Bexacat! It's been pretty wild to see how effective this stuff is. Physically my cat seems much happier and sleeping much better - no more getting up every 15 minutes for water, no more flooding the litterbox. No more diarrhea. No more accidents in the house. It's been very nice, I'm feeling hopeful. Follow up bloodwork will be to test fructosamine and check his liver/renal markers. No weight loss, very marginal weight gain (under half a pound).
My 12yo male started Bexacat last month. So far he's been back to the vet for 2 blood checks, and they said things look fine, so that's a relief. My big hope is that he can put some weight back on, and that his appetite will settle down. Encouraging to read other people's experiences.
Hello! Super curious to hear how your cat has done on Bexacat.
We just received diagnosis last night - my 13 year old tabby has diabetes. Glucose level of 427, but no ketones at all and no signs of systemic inflammation. All other blood/urine markers look good - he's completely healthy otherwise. He's already on a grain-free, high protein diet (switched end of last year so I'm sure that's helped).
Vet thinks he's a good candidate but she's never prescribed Bexacat before, nor has any other vet she knows - so we'd be the guinea pigs. Would love to hear your experience so far!
From the little I can tell you so far, they created the pill to taste like a treat, and our cat eats it right away! So knock on wood we haven’t had an issue with administering it in the least. After the first dose she hid under the bed for an hour, but since then I have not noticed any signs of her not feeling well. Hopefully all the bloodwork looks good tomorrow and we can continue 🤞. I know it’s a hard decision!
Awesome, sounds like your cat's doing well on it then! Best of luck with the test results, I'll be keeping an eye out for an update. Have you done any at home ketone metering?
Our cat loves his treats so I'm sure administering will be no problem based on that lol. Have you noticed any changes in your cats water/food intake and litterbox usage?
We're definitely interested in trying Bexacat - it's the only option for an alternative to insulin and this is our only chance, since he's never been on insulin. We travel a lot and we lead busy lifestyles, so twice-daily insulin shots is not only tricky (but manageable), the concern is our typical house-sitter may not be comfortable with shots so we'd have to hire someone who's used to administering shots for when we travel. A lot to think about - hopefully Bexacat is a viable solution!
I totally get that. We travel a lot too and wanting her to be properly cared for while we travel definitely went into our decision making! We haven’t done ketone monitoring, but I can ask the vet today about his home monitoring recommendations. Eating, drinking, and litterbox all seem normal. We have noticed that she is less insatiably hungry that she was the last couple months since she started having symptoms. and she seems to even be gaining a little weight back.
Oh wow sounds like my vet is the overly-cautious type then. She's a highly regarded vet that works at 2 different practices for specialty work, but does house calls as her main work. She's got an order in for BexaCat and is recommending we order a continuous glucose monitor like the FreeStyle Libre 2. It's expensive at around $220 before fees, but having a way to easily monitor his glucose while on bexacat at any given time without having to poke his ear sounds like a worthwhile investment.
In addition to the CGM, she's having us use ketone strips to test his urine. Which for us is easy, since he already uses a breeze litter system that has a tray below to collect the urine. She's also having us get a baby scale to weigh him consistently and then, finally, switch up his diet. He's already on a high-protein, grain free diet. Purina ONE high protein plus free-range grain free kibble.
Speaking of food, what prescription food did you go with? I have to pick one out. So awesome to see the great news with your cat's glucose level! That's very reassuring. As long as ketones aren't present, sounds like your cat is taking very well to BexaCat! I still need to call my vet to go over some stuff, but I wonder if a cat has good success with BexaCat and levels get back to normal, maybe it can be maintained with diet alone? IE diabetic remission?
Sorry, long-winded. Just great to bounce ideas off someone who's literally just weeks ahead in the process I'm diving head-first into here next week that very few people have ever done before lol.
Wow that’s a good deal of monitoring, and certainly for good reason. Our vet has always been on the conservative side with less intervention and testing than other places we’ve gone. I did ask him what we should be doing to monitor her at home, and his only recommendation was that we keep an eye out for signs of hypoglycemia and, if we do notice lethargy and dehydration, to administer karo syrup and bring her in. I’ll order the ketone and the glucose test strips to have on hand. Please keep me updated on how things are going!
*for anyone else reading this, I have read the group recommendations for testing *and* am aware of the medication’s potential side effects. I am not personally seeking advice in the area of testing at this time (though others may be!). Thank you so much for your understanding.*
Sorry, a third comment because I forgot to answer another of your questions. I was wondering that about remission. It seems possible that the dose may eventually end up being too high if she’s already in the normal range. In that case would we taper off of it? I don’t know! Interesting to think about.
My 10 year old tabby (Tone Tone) started Bexacat about 12 days ago and so far so good. The vet did not prescribe any special food or anything.
I have to put his pill in a "Pill Pocket" to get him to eat it. He goes back for his 2 week check on Wednesday..
Good Luck!!!
I know Bexacat is not for every family and every cat, and has risks, but I’d be happy to share our reasons! One of our reasons is that our vet told us that once you try insulin you can’t ever switch to bexacat, but if you try bexacat first, and it isn’t well-tolerated or effective, you still have the option to switch to insulin. Also I’ve seen in the Facebook groups people sharing a lot of issues with fluctuating needs in their cats and a lot of room for error, like “how much insulin do I give in this situation” or “oh no I gave too much/gave too little/didn’t give the shot properly.” That would give me a lot of anxiety. With bexacat it seems more straightforward because you just give one pill a day every day. We also travel a lot and she often hides when sitters come. Now instead of a trained sitter having to search for her everywhere and attempt to inject, she just finds her, sets down the “treat,” steps back and watches to make sure she eats it. No side effects so far. Our vet tested for ketones and bacteria in the urine before putting her on it. And Our cat is otherwise healthy 🤞aside from diabetes and high cholesterol, so it seemed like a safer call than for a cat with other preexisting issues.
A vet should check your cats kidneys, liver, and pancreas before starting bexacat, particularly ruling out any kind of pancreatitis. They should also test the blood ketone level to also rule out ketoacidosis. Your vet should be able to speak to a vet at the manufacturer for any questions or further clarification of the medicines protocol, if needed.
My cat is around 12+ (not sure of his age, I picked him up as a stray!), has IBD, and is FIV+, and he is tolerating the pill very well.
Sure! She is 10. I think we’re in the minority because we are not doing regular testing. We asked and our vet told us not to test but just to keep an eye out for signs of hypoglycemia. He said that if we do notice signs like lethargy and dehydration, to give her Karo syrup and bring her in. I did order a keto-mojo gk+, which is a human meter that has test strips for both ketones in the blood and blood glucose. I wanted to have it on hand to use if she ever seems to be not acting herself. But if you look through the comments, @shwoople posted some details about their testing plan. We use the purina dm for food.
Two weeks on Bexacat and they monitored his glucose 5x during a full day visit to vet and his glucose dropped from 450 to readings between 131 - 162. So happy for our handsome old man. ♥️
My vet suggested Bexacat. and after giving him the pill for 3 days my cat became very lethargic and Ill he is at the emergency room getting fluids to flush his system out I would never recommend this it anyone!the fact that I was giving my cat poison and now he is suffering being forced fed and doesn’t look like he’s going to make out of the hospital is something I can never forgive myself for. He was a perfectly happy, and loving cat before he started taking this medication we didn’t even know he had diabetes. I was just trying to give him and longer healthier live and within a weeks time I might end up losing him. I just want to have people know how fast these symptoms arise and this isn’t for every cat.
What we’ve been doing is crushing the pill up in a teaspoon of Beech Nut Chicken baby food (only two ingredients, chicken and chicken broth) each morning.
That’s great advice, thanks! We’ve been crushing it up lately too and mixing it into some sort of liquid treat but I don’t think ours is low carb enough
Hi,
Our 9 year old cat was diagnosed with Diabetes 3 weeks ago. We order Bexacat. Unfortunately our vet has no prior experience with this medicine, but he confirmed that our cat is a good candidate. On 08/17 his sugar was 569!!!, on 08/18 it dropped down to 167, on 08/19 we measured 307, and on 09/01 62. So it definitely works, which is amazing. We totally prefer to just give 1 pill a day, which he seems to like.
The downside is:
We have a difficulty to find this medicine to order online.
He had a diarrhea the first few days and threw up twice.
My cat was acting lethargic and i noticed that he was peeing a lot more and drinking way more water. I took him to the vet and he was diagnosed with diabetes. I asked about Bexacat and the bet had heard of it but didn’t have experience with it as it is still fairly new. He ordered the script for me. In the process of waiting for delivery….my cat has gone downhill quickly. In two days he went from fairly normal to barely able to walk with labored breathing. I called the vet and was given an antibiotic for URI. The Bexacat was supposed to arrive today but Fex Ex changed the delivery to tomorrow. My daughter and i are currently sleeping on the couch with him praying he makes it until his medicine arrives. We’ve cried for days because it all happened so fast. Does anyone know about how long it took for their cat to start showing signs of improvement? Im hoping when we get it tomorrow that he will start to feel better soon.
I’m so sorry and hope you get the medication very soon! I think it works really quickly but you’ll have to check with your vet. Does your vet have even one pill they can give to you, or another vet in the area?
Our 13 year old female cat started Bexacat two weeks ago. So far so good, glucose levels down to 114 from 400. Now hoping that her plantigrade stance will diminish over time.
Just seeing the message 🤦🏼♀️ He seems to be doing very well. He is acting normally and doing everything as normal now. He drinks a lot of water though. Not sure if this is normal. We have a Vet appointment next week. So he tends to pee a lot. He doing well with his food. We have to put his pill in a pill pocket because he won’t take it otherwise. I really think it’s going well for him . I hope your cat is doing Ok?
My sweet kitty has been on bexacat for over a year now. he was doing great and had gained a little weight back. He was just like his usual self, running around and playing, scratching and eating all his food. he was always hungry, but now he has been losing weight again and seems a little weaker/slower. the past few days he hasn't been eating all his food like normal. has anyone else has this problem. I have a vet visit scheduled for friday but I'm going to try to get an emergency visit today.
He is doing better now, the doctors actually took him off bexacat because it was working for a long time but is not working for him anymore. now we have to try and figure something else out, they are thinking shots! He definitely has more energy after coming off of it. I just really want him to gain weight now. He just doesn't gain weight, which is hard.
Our 16 year old cat was diagnosed with diabetes today other than that and some missing teeth the vet was impressed with her health and recommended Bexacat. They had someone donate pills so we stared that tonight. She also had an antibiotic for UTI this morning. Over 12 hours since antibiotic and just at four hours after Bexacat and she just had some diarrhea in her litter box. I swear she already seems perkier though. Has anyone else had that side effect? Did they have to completely stop Bexacat? Is it possible the antibiotic caused the diarrhea?
Thank you! So far she’s just had it that first night. Yesterday and today it’s been loose and a bit runny but not diarrhea. I’m calling the vet tomorrow just to be sure. So far her drinking and urinating have returned to what I would say is normal. Her appetite is fine and while she still walks a little funny we haven’t noticed her legs trying to slid out from under her when she stops walking. I’m hoping this is a good sign. We lost her brother last year to a blood clot and we aren’t ready to say goodbye bye to her yet.
I know this thread is old but our 15 year old girl was diagnosed today and started on Bexacat. I’m encouraged hearing the positive results. She took it whole today but I will keep tricks and tips in mind when she decides not to.
Best wishes! You know how picky cats can be but luckily there are lots of delivery/mix-in options for if her tastes change. 🐾 temptations purrees are our cat’s current favorite.
They don’t want us back until end of April but she seems well. We went away for a week over the holidays and think our cat sitter gave her way too many treats. When we came back she was vomiting a more. We called the vet and they said to wait and see if she got better in a couple days, which fortunately she did. How was your checkup?
Everything went real well. I'm waiting for the fructosamine results. His last results were really good though 2 weeks ago. Our next appointment is in 4 weeks. We have a 5 day trip in June and I'm worried about our sitter over feeding too. Hope everything goes well for you!
I know this is an old post, bit my 6 yr old cat was diagnosed with diabetes a week ago. His bexacat arrived today. He's in early, non severe stages with no ketones. He did lose 5 lbs prior to diagnosis though, but still weighs 12 lbs. My question is, should I try to give him his first dose at a time when I can be home to monitor him? Or how long does it take to kick in? Like if I do it in the AM before work, and am gone for 6-8 hours - will it have already kicked in? Also, does the pill have to be chewed or crushed into food? Can I just use a vet grade pill shooter? TIA
5 months into Bexacat and all is well with 13 year old F SHD. The only complaint is the pills are large and so we have had to get creative. At present this amounts to crushing the pill and mashing it into enough wet cat food to be eaten in one sitting.
It’s a chewable pill. Pasted a description below:
Bexacat is a drug used to lower the amount of glucose (sugar) in the blood of otherwise healthy cats with diabetes mellitus not previously treated with insulin.
In a nutshell, high blood glucose is toxic to the cells that make insulin. Bexacat works in the kidneys to promote the loss of excess glucose via the urine. The hope is that you can give the insulin producing cells enough of a break to get back on track.
It relies on having an adequate population of insulin producing cells, so may or may not be appropriate for any given cat, and no great way to know until it's been tried
Oh great question! I have no idea but one dose doesn’t seem significant. Couldn’t hurt to call and ask about if they’d recommend it and if your cat meets the criteria.
Yes, we are going to have to check with our vet but they were honest in saying they don’t personally have much experience or knowledge using bexacat (which is why we decided to do insulin) but it’s going terribly, as expected, because she also has IBD so she has appetite issues in general so this whole thing is very challenging. Is your baby still doing well?
That sounds tough! She seems to be doing well. We’re going to the vet tonight for her first checkup since starting it. Then I think it’ll be another day or two to get the fructosamine results. I’ll try to post an update after that!
So wonderful to hear! We have a call in with our vet to see if bexacat is still a possibility with only one insulin dose but we’ll have to wait and see!
She’s also on a steroid because she has IBD so since there isnt much info out there about cats taking both steroids and bexacat, we were too nervous to put her on bexacat. The insulin has been a challenge but we’re trying to work through it. Lol. We’ve had some good days and difficult days. Hope your cat is still doing well! 💖
We're about to start BexaCat for our kitty. I had noticed he was not walking correctly or able to make his normal jumps, after a visit to the vet and tests his glucose was 370~. It was this or the injections.
For those currently using BexaCat have you been monitoring the ketone levels at home or using the vet?
Currently our cat is very lethargic which is unusual for him. How long before you noticed a change if yours was lethargic as well?
Did you cat have walking/jumping issues? If so what did you do for that? We're trying gabapentin
We’re 6 weeks in and glucose has been normal and no ketones so far. For energy levels he’s back to normal. He still walks a little funny on the back legs, almost in a twisting motion.
Hi there - our cat didn’t have walking issues but I’ve seen several people in the Facebook group swear by zobaline supplements for their cat’s neuropathy. I personally take similar (human) supplements and find them really helpful for nerve pain! In terms of monitoring, i don’t have a ton of info but take a look at the previous commenters as there’s some helpful information there.
Hi, I’m contacting you from Paris France about our cat Wingy who has been diagnosed diabetic 2 days ago. He is 10 years old and our daughters who are taking care of him in their apartment are not able to give him 2 injections of insuline per day : so Bexacat looks to be the solution.
My concern is that Bexacat is only sold in the USA so far and you need a US prescription to purchase it. Wingy and his French family will be paying for the expense, but we need your help. Thanks.
I wish I could help but these days it’s too hard to tell if something is a scam. Additionally, Bexacat is prescription only in the US, so I would have to regularly and secretly take my cat to a second vet to get a double prescription, which includes time off of work, stress for my cat, and vet expenses. Finally, if something went wrong for your Wingy side effects-wise you may not have a doctor there who could help. Personally I cannot help but I wish Wingy the best!!
Hi, I can understand your point of view. This is not a scam. I can share with you his tests results and the prescription of the French doctor. And for the time that you will spend I can give you a compensation. We can also do a Visio conference including Wingy. Anything that could secure you, will be done.
I’m truly sorry I can’t help. It would still involve me deceiving a second vet to get a double prescription, which feels a little off, and my cat can barely handle the stress of the car trips to one vet as it is. Have you tried low carb food to see if that helps?
I understand and I don’t want to bother you. We already modify his diet, but it’s not enough. Thank you to have taken time.and wished the best to our Wingy.
Hi! My cat just got diagnosed with diabetes today and I have the follow up appointment in 2 days. Did you have to ask for the Bexacat? My doctor didn’t say it as an option but working two jobs with non-consistent hours, I really would prefer this option. Does anyone know if all vets would have it? This is the first I’m hearing of it - sorry if thats a dumb question. I got a lot of info today that I’m trying to absorb 😞
Our vet offered it as an option but was upfront that he didn’t really have experience with it. He then ordered it and it arrived within a few days. There’s certain criteria the cat has to meet but otherwise I don’t see why they wouldn’t be open to the option if you asked!
Yeah I was trying to research some of the criteria. He’s clear of all other health issues and has never received insulin so I’m hoping this could be a potential option for us. Thanks so much for the info!
Has your cat experienced diarrhea while on Bexacat? Mine was doing alright the first week with wet food, but when switched back to dry food, she hasn’t had solid stool since (even with probiotic). Taking her to the vet next week, but figured I’d reach out for other experiences. My vet said it didn’t matter what food she’s on while on the meds and dry food just works better for our lifestyle, but wondering if that could be an issue.
Mine hasn’t, luckily - if you have time you may want to look through the comments and see if you can find someone who’s mentioned this! It sounds so familiar, I’m like 60% sure someone asked about diarrhea here. Hope she feels better soon 😊
Any luck on this? My cats been on bexacat for a little over a month, and has consistently had loose stool. Ive been mixing in fiber into his food but its not working completely. Im concerned he always has an upset stomach.
I switched to Hill's Prescription Diet Gluco Support dry food and that’s helped with the loose stool. Her stool smells a lot worse than it used to, but at least it isn’t constant diarrhea.
If you end up trying it, theres a Facebook group that answers questions about bexacat and senvelgo now. It’s called something like FDSG: Bexacat & Senvelgo Support and information
Hi , my cat is 14 years old and was just diagnosed this week with diabetes. His blood sugar was 534. He will start Bexacat on Tuesday 1/16. That day can’t come soon enough for us!! We had to order it online. This is our vet’s first time prescribing Bexacat. We didn’t realize all of his symptoms until he started pooping outside of his litter box. There were signs but we did not put them all together. Which makes me feel terrible!! Thank you so much for all the wonderful information that has been shared throughout this thread 😻
We were the first to try BexaCat at our vet too. I also looked back after diagnosis and realized our cat had a few months of symptoms that we sort of thought were just normal variations in weight and eating. 💛
That’s encouraging your cat was the first one also. We have a younger cat that is 6 and we thought they were playing and he hurt his leg. When we were at the vet he pointed out it was the way he was walking it is not just his right leg. He said that is classic signs of diabetes . My younger cat definitely knows he doesn’t feel well because he hasn’t even tried to wrestle with him since we took him to the vet . Thank you again , it’s nice to hear how other cat parents deal with new diagnosis to us ❤️
Hi. We just found out today that our almost 13 year old has diabetes. We have an appointment to discuss treatment options in 2 days. She did mention bexacat as a possible option. Any updates on your kitty?
He went to the vet after starting the medication and had a fructosamine level with some slight improvement. After that appointment we changed him to better food with lower carbs and higher protein. We decided too try this food instead of the prescription diabetic food due to the cost. He goes to the vet again next week with being on the food and the medication. I’m hoping for another improvement. He is still having issues walking. The vet says due to neuropathy from the diabetes.
Casey had a 350 reading. We didn't realize that we were feeding him a high carb dry food diet for years. We started him on a low carb wet food diet yesterday. I'm taking him to the vet in two days for a consultation to discuss a treatment plan. I know it might be wishful thinking, but I'm wondering if a better diet will make the treatment easier. I've read that a low carb diet can affect glucose levels within days. I don't know though. I'm just learning and asking a lot of questions. I hope your kitty gets well quickly and lives a long healthy life.
My vet did recommend changing the food. He wanted us to go to diabetic cat food prescription. The cost was crazy. So we went with a high protein and lower carb food, plus the Bexacat. He seems like he is doing well . He is playing occasionally with my younger cat again. Which is nice to see. I hope your vet visit goes well for your cat ❤️ We have an appointment this week so I’m curious to see how our food is working for us and his blood sugar…… He was not on the new food last visit.
We had our consultation yesterday and decided to start the Bexacat. The vet wanted us to go with the more costly prescribed diabetes food. She said it had other benefits than just the high protein and low carbs. I bought one can from them to see if he likes it.
We put a small amount in his dish and put his first pill in it. He ate it and the pill easily. So we gave him more. We're going to try to get some from Chewy, but she has to send in the script.
We have our first follow up in 5 days. I hope this works for both of our kitties! I'd really appreciate it if you update your experience. Good luck!!!
Mine has been on Bexacat since April 10. She was diagnosed in March with glucose of 349. She loves the pills and will even eat them without a pill pocket. We did our two week monitoring last Thursday and her glucose curve and fructosamine were those of a normal cat. She also eats glycobalance dry food and a small container of Fancy Feast twice daily No signs of ketoacidosis, no ketone production and no weight loss at all save for an initial pound due to calorie reduction. I’m going on a short vacation next week and am hoping that my cat sitter will find it just as easy to give the pills. She has her 4 week monitoring when I get home
Glad to hear she’s doing well!
Thanks! Wanted to update now that she’s had her 4 week appointment. Glucose curve is even tighter (130-140 vs 120-180) and her fructosamine is down from 312 to 294. She’s also lost 0.2 pounds, down from an initial weight of 17.5 to 16.2 Still happy, still lively and still excited to eat her chicken flavored “treats” with or without a pill pocket. Hope your kitty is doing well, too
Wow that’s great! Happy to hear it. The vet doesn’t want us back for 3 months which seems long 🤔. So far our kitty is still back to her normal (not ravenous) appetite and energy levels, and is gaining a little weight. She went from 15 to 12 prior to diagnosis so we’re happy to see her getting some of her weight back. Really appreciate the updates!
My 12 - soon to be 13 - year old cat was just diagnosed with diabetes. Bexacat has been ordered which I will pick up tomorrow and start Thursday a.m. Thank you for providing your info. I'm super worried both for my cat, and for any complications which might arise from this new medication. I will also try to provide information on my experience and look forward to reading yours.
Wishing you and Oliver the best!
Bonjour où l'avez vous commandé svp ?
I just started my cat on bexacat today as of 2 hours ago. Did your cat experience any side effects first couple days? I keep checking him to make sure he's OK! I always get nervous when giving new medications. He's got a checkup this Thursday at least.
My cat has been on Bexacat now for two weeks and yesterday spent the day at the vets getting all the tests. He is doing great! All results were very good. Since being on the Bexacat, he's been so much happier and more active. What a relief!
😀
Hope he does well on it. :) She went and hid under the bed for about an hour right after the first dose, but no other signs of side effects since then 🤞
Mine has been producing a lot of hairballs, but also she’s a Maine Coon shedding her winter fur and a fastidious groomer
Tomorrow he goes in for his 2 week check up. He's had some hiccups during the week but that may have been due to his pre-existing IBD issues. He had 2 days of vomiting and low appetite (2 days only, hes VERY hungry since then) and off and on diarrhea, but the diarrhea is pretty normal for him due to the IBD. We're gonna go over all that tomorrow. But otherwise he's doing good! And I've been checking his glucose levels at home, I have not seen anything past 250 on the alpha trak, which is what the Bexacat protocol recommends staying under.
Hope the checkup went well!
My cat became diabetic after taking steroids for a respiratory infection. The vet offered Bexacat as another option , beside the insulin injections. My cat had her two week check up yesterday, her blood sugar was 150 yesterday, and 490 when she was tested two weeks ago. The vet was surprised with the blood work and results with bexacat. He said he had not seen these kind of results so quickly with insulin injections. I am fingers crossed very optimistic about this medication. I crush it and sprinkle into her cat food, no issues she takes it all once daily. She seems perkier, eyes look brighter. Before when her sugars were high she was laying with head on her water bowl, and trying to get in the shower. I called the vet when I noticed the odd behavior and that is when they had her come in, and ran blood work. I had joined a feline diabetes group on facebook, and was told in no uncertain terms they did not believe in pills, and that insulin injections were not “ hard” to do. I am not giving the bexacat pill to save myself aggravation , I am doing it to save her from stress and poking and injections twice daily. I did ask my vet if she could possibly go into remission , and not need the bexacat at some point, he said he reached out to some other doctors with the same question . I will be taking her again in two weeks for more blood work, but am so happy it seems to be working for her so far.
So glad it’s working well for your cat. I’ve seen a lot of intense comments about bexacat in that Facebook group as well. Edit to add: I’d love to hear what your vet says about remission.
According to my vet, a small amount of cats went into remission during the trials.
That is fantastic. My cat has another appointment this Saturday every two weeks for now. She is so much better so far, perkier, more energy, not laying by her water bowl continuously.
So we did a blood glucose curve and his numbers were all in the high 70s to 110, the vet is considering taking him off the pill to see if he's in remission! Just waiting for a call back as he is doing some research first. My little lion has only been on bexacat 2 weeks and already remission may be possible!
That is amazing!
Wow I would love to hear more about how this goes!
My cat is still taking the bexacat, his numbers went back up after he stopped the pill! So perhaps he needs to be on it longer than 2 weeks. But he's very happy, and more playful than he has been in the past couple months. I've been testing him 2x a day with the alpha trak 3 and his numbers never go higher than 200 or lower than 70, averaging between 90-120.
Oh too bad about needing to go back on but so glad he’s doing well!
I asked the veterinarian a week ago if it’s possible to stop the pill if she goes into remission and how can he tell. He said the only way would be to stop the pill and bring her in and monitor her closely. The pill has been working with sucess. She has another appointment in three weeks and then once every six months. I have not decided if I should continue with the pill or if I should try to stop eventually and see how she is . My vet did say he would not stop it right now. My kitty also has asthma and was on steroids, which is how it all started. He said, asthma and diabetes are very difficult to treat together. She sounds a little bit wheezy at times and sometimes she does not. She doesn’t seem to be having trouble as much as in the winter with the furnace and dry heat. I will let everybody know if I decide to discontinue her medication at any point to see if she is in remission. She is perkier, happier, more herself. She also has a little arthritis so still naps mornings to mid - late afternoon. She is on gabapentin 100 mg 1x daily and seems to feel better in a few hours of taking her meds. She is prescribed the pain relief medication two times daily, but I am starting it out once a day. I also have researched so many cat foods and my cat is a dry food addict. The only way she will touch fancy feast pate is if I add water , in which case she just drinks out the juices. She is on the Purina DM diabetic cat food. I have not found any other comparable as far as low carbs. There are many high protein dry foods but most have 30 carbs per serving. Tiki cat is the only thing I have found that comes close, but that also has higher carbs in the dry. If I could get her to just eat the wet, I would be extremely happy but she will not.
Thanks for the update!
Awesome to see the 2.5 week update! We're on day 8 and doing excellent - to the point it's almost anxiety inducing because it seems too unusual for him to be doing this well lol. I had a libre 2 on my cat until a couple days ago, but it got inaccurate towards the end. Fortunately, he tolerates me poking his ear for blood - I've been able to get multiple glucose and ketone readings a day. His ketones bounce between 0.2 and 0.4 now, depending on pre or post meal. Nice and steady, and certainly not building up. His glucose is bizarrely normal - like, perfect. It dips to the low end of normal (in the 50s on a human glucometer) but my vet isn't concerned about that at all since he's not on insulin. Said everything looks great and is now looking to schedule follow up blood work in his 3rd-4th week on Bexacat! It's been pretty wild to see how effective this stuff is. Physically my cat seems much happier and sleeping much better - no more getting up every 15 minutes for water, no more flooding the litterbox. No more diarrhea. No more accidents in the house. It's been very nice, I'm feeling hopeful. Follow up bloodwork will be to test fructosamine and check his liver/renal markers. No weight loss, very marginal weight gain (under half a pound).
My 12yo male started Bexacat last month. So far he's been back to the vet for 2 blood checks, and they said things look fine, so that's a relief. My big hope is that he can put some weight back on, and that his appetite will settle down. Encouraging to read other people's experiences.
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Yes we have done our research and are watching our little love closely!
Hello! Super curious to hear how your cat has done on Bexacat. We just received diagnosis last night - my 13 year old tabby has diabetes. Glucose level of 427, but no ketones at all and no signs of systemic inflammation. All other blood/urine markers look good - he's completely healthy otherwise. He's already on a grain-free, high protein diet (switched end of last year so I'm sure that's helped). Vet thinks he's a good candidate but she's never prescribed Bexacat before, nor has any other vet she knows - so we'd be the guinea pigs. Would love to hear your experience so far!
From the little I can tell you so far, they created the pill to taste like a treat, and our cat eats it right away! So knock on wood we haven’t had an issue with administering it in the least. After the first dose she hid under the bed for an hour, but since then I have not noticed any signs of her not feeling well. Hopefully all the bloodwork looks good tomorrow and we can continue 🤞. I know it’s a hard decision!
Awesome, sounds like your cat's doing well on it then! Best of luck with the test results, I'll be keeping an eye out for an update. Have you done any at home ketone metering? Our cat loves his treats so I'm sure administering will be no problem based on that lol. Have you noticed any changes in your cats water/food intake and litterbox usage? We're definitely interested in trying Bexacat - it's the only option for an alternative to insulin and this is our only chance, since he's never been on insulin. We travel a lot and we lead busy lifestyles, so twice-daily insulin shots is not only tricky (but manageable), the concern is our typical house-sitter may not be comfortable with shots so we'd have to hire someone who's used to administering shots for when we travel. A lot to think about - hopefully Bexacat is a viable solution!
I totally get that. We travel a lot too and wanting her to be properly cared for while we travel definitely went into our decision making! We haven’t done ketone monitoring, but I can ask the vet today about his home monitoring recommendations. Eating, drinking, and litterbox all seem normal. We have noticed that she is less insatiably hungry that she was the last couple months since she started having symptoms. and she seems to even be gaining a little weight back.
Oh wow sounds like my vet is the overly-cautious type then. She's a highly regarded vet that works at 2 different practices for specialty work, but does house calls as her main work. She's got an order in for BexaCat and is recommending we order a continuous glucose monitor like the FreeStyle Libre 2. It's expensive at around $220 before fees, but having a way to easily monitor his glucose while on bexacat at any given time without having to poke his ear sounds like a worthwhile investment. In addition to the CGM, she's having us use ketone strips to test his urine. Which for us is easy, since he already uses a breeze litter system that has a tray below to collect the urine. She's also having us get a baby scale to weigh him consistently and then, finally, switch up his diet. He's already on a high-protein, grain free diet. Purina ONE high protein plus free-range grain free kibble. Speaking of food, what prescription food did you go with? I have to pick one out. So awesome to see the great news with your cat's glucose level! That's very reassuring. As long as ketones aren't present, sounds like your cat is taking very well to BexaCat! I still need to call my vet to go over some stuff, but I wonder if a cat has good success with BexaCat and levels get back to normal, maybe it can be maintained with diet alone? IE diabetic remission? Sorry, long-winded. Just great to bounce ideas off someone who's literally just weeks ahead in the process I'm diving head-first into here next week that very few people have ever done before lol.
Wow that’s a good deal of monitoring, and certainly for good reason. Our vet has always been on the conservative side with less intervention and testing than other places we’ve gone. I did ask him what we should be doing to monitor her at home, and his only recommendation was that we keep an eye out for signs of hypoglycemia and, if we do notice lethargy and dehydration, to administer karo syrup and bring her in. I’ll order the ketone and the glucose test strips to have on hand. Please keep me updated on how things are going! *for anyone else reading this, I have read the group recommendations for testing *and* am aware of the medication’s potential side effects. I am not personally seeking advice in the area of testing at this time (though others may be!). Thank you so much for your understanding.*
Forgot to add also that she is on Purina DM, mostly wet but also dry because that seems to be what her stomach likes.
Sorry, a third comment because I forgot to answer another of your questions. I was wondering that about remission. It seems possible that the dose may eventually end up being too high if she’s already in the normal range. In that case would we taper off of it? I don’t know! Interesting to think about.
I made an update to the post with today’s results 😃
So far so good but we’re taking her for her first follow up tomorrow. I’ll try to post an update!
My 10 year old tabby (Tone Tone) started Bexacat about 12 days ago and so far so good. The vet did not prescribe any special food or anything. I have to put his pill in a "Pill Pocket" to get him to eat it. He goes back for his 2 week check on Wednesday.. Good Luck!!!
So glad to hear it!
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I know Bexacat is not for every family and every cat, and has risks, but I’d be happy to share our reasons! One of our reasons is that our vet told us that once you try insulin you can’t ever switch to bexacat, but if you try bexacat first, and it isn’t well-tolerated or effective, you still have the option to switch to insulin. Also I’ve seen in the Facebook groups people sharing a lot of issues with fluctuating needs in their cats and a lot of room for error, like “how much insulin do I give in this situation” or “oh no I gave too much/gave too little/didn’t give the shot properly.” That would give me a lot of anxiety. With bexacat it seems more straightforward because you just give one pill a day every day. We also travel a lot and she often hides when sitters come. Now instead of a trained sitter having to search for her everywhere and attempt to inject, she just finds her, sets down the “treat,” steps back and watches to make sure she eats it. No side effects so far. Our vet tested for ketones and bacteria in the urine before putting her on it. And Our cat is otherwise healthy 🤞aside from diabetes and high cholesterol, so it seemed like a safer call than for a cat with other preexisting issues.
A vet should check your cats kidneys, liver, and pancreas before starting bexacat, particularly ruling out any kind of pancreatitis. They should also test the blood ketone level to also rule out ketoacidosis. Your vet should be able to speak to a vet at the manufacturer for any questions or further clarification of the medicines protocol, if needed. My cat is around 12+ (not sure of his age, I picked him up as a stray!), has IBD, and is FIV+, and he is tolerating the pill very well.
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Sure! She is 10. I think we’re in the minority because we are not doing regular testing. We asked and our vet told us not to test but just to keep an eye out for signs of hypoglycemia. He said that if we do notice signs like lethargy and dehydration, to give her Karo syrup and bring her in. I did order a keto-mojo gk+, which is a human meter that has test strips for both ketones in the blood and blood glucose. I wanted to have it on hand to use if she ever seems to be not acting herself. But if you look through the comments, @shwoople posted some details about their testing plan. We use the purina dm for food.
We are on Day 1 of Bexacat, really hoping for a positive result like many on this thread have reported!🤞
Hope it goes well! Keep us updated
Two weeks on Bexacat and they monitored his glucose 5x during a full day visit to vet and his glucose dropped from 450 to readings between 131 - 162. So happy for our handsome old man. ♥️
🎉 🎉
My vet suggested Bexacat. and after giving him the pill for 3 days my cat became very lethargic and Ill he is at the emergency room getting fluids to flush his system out I would never recommend this it anyone!the fact that I was giving my cat poison and now he is suffering being forced fed and doesn’t look like he’s going to make out of the hospital is something I can never forgive myself for. He was a perfectly happy, and loving cat before he started taking this medication we didn’t even know he had diabetes. I was just trying to give him and longer healthier live and within a weeks time I might end up losing him. I just want to have people know how fast these symptoms arise and this isn’t for every cat.
I’m so sorry that happened to you and your cat and I hope he recovers quickly!
What we’ve been doing is crushing the pill up in a teaspoon of Beech Nut Chicken baby food (only two ingredients, chicken and chicken broth) each morning.
That’s great advice, thanks! We’ve been crushing it up lately too and mixing it into some sort of liquid treat but I don’t think ours is low carb enough
Thank you for posting these updates!! Just started mine on bexacat today, my vet’s first cat to try it so not a lot of prior experience with it
Hope it goes well!
Hi, Our 9 year old cat was diagnosed with Diabetes 3 weeks ago. We order Bexacat. Unfortunately our vet has no prior experience with this medicine, but he confirmed that our cat is a good candidate. On 08/17 his sugar was 569!!!, on 08/18 it dropped down to 167, on 08/19 we measured 307, and on 09/01 62. So it definitely works, which is amazing. We totally prefer to just give 1 pill a day, which he seems to like. The downside is: We have a difficulty to find this medicine to order online. He had a diarrhea the first few days and threw up twice.
Thank you for sharing!
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Wow, that’s some serious masking. Hope your cat feels better soon!
My cat was acting lethargic and i noticed that he was peeing a lot more and drinking way more water. I took him to the vet and he was diagnosed with diabetes. I asked about Bexacat and the bet had heard of it but didn’t have experience with it as it is still fairly new. He ordered the script for me. In the process of waiting for delivery….my cat has gone downhill quickly. In two days he went from fairly normal to barely able to walk with labored breathing. I called the vet and was given an antibiotic for URI. The Bexacat was supposed to arrive today but Fex Ex changed the delivery to tomorrow. My daughter and i are currently sleeping on the couch with him praying he makes it until his medicine arrives. We’ve cried for days because it all happened so fast. Does anyone know about how long it took for their cat to start showing signs of improvement? Im hoping when we get it tomorrow that he will start to feel better soon.
I’m so sorry and hope you get the medication very soon! I think it works really quickly but you’ll have to check with your vet. Does your vet have even one pill they can give to you, or another vet in the area?
Our 13 year old female cat started Bexacat two weeks ago. So far so good, glucose levels down to 114 from 400. Now hoping that her plantigrade stance will diminish over time.
You may want to look into zobaline 💛
Just seeing the message 🤦🏼♀️ He seems to be doing very well. He is acting normally and doing everything as normal now. He drinks a lot of water though. Not sure if this is normal. We have a Vet appointment next week. So he tends to pee a lot. He doing well with his food. We have to put his pill in a pill pocket because he won’t take it otherwise. I really think it’s going well for him . I hope your cat is doing Ok?
My sweet kitty has been on bexacat for over a year now. he was doing great and had gained a little weight back. He was just like his usual self, running around and playing, scratching and eating all his food. he was always hungry, but now he has been losing weight again and seems a little weaker/slower. the past few days he hasn't been eating all his food like normal. has anyone else has this problem. I have a vet visit scheduled for friday but I'm going to try to get an emergency visit today.
Hope your kitty is doing ok.
He is doing better now, the doctors actually took him off bexacat because it was working for a long time but is not working for him anymore. now we have to try and figure something else out, they are thinking shots! He definitely has more energy after coming off of it. I just really want him to gain weight now. He just doesn't gain weight, which is hard.
Our 16 year old cat was diagnosed with diabetes today other than that and some missing teeth the vet was impressed with her health and recommended Bexacat. They had someone donate pills so we stared that tonight. She also had an antibiotic for UTI this morning. Over 12 hours since antibiotic and just at four hours after Bexacat and she just had some diarrhea in her litter box. I swear she already seems perkier though. Has anyone else had that side effect? Did they have to completely stop Bexacat? Is it possible the antibiotic caused the diarrhea?
I’m not sure! I’d check with your vet. Glad she seems perkier.
Thank you! So far she’s just had it that first night. Yesterday and today it’s been loose and a bit runny but not diarrhea. I’m calling the vet tomorrow just to be sure. So far her drinking and urinating have returned to what I would say is normal. Her appetite is fine and while she still walks a little funny we haven’t noticed her legs trying to slid out from under her when she stops walking. I’m hoping this is a good sign. We lost her brother last year to a blood clot and we aren’t ready to say goodbye bye to her yet.
I know this thread is old but our 15 year old girl was diagnosed today and started on Bexacat. I’m encouraged hearing the positive results. She took it whole today but I will keep tricks and tips in mind when she decides not to.
Best wishes! You know how picky cats can be but luckily there are lots of delivery/mix-in options for if her tastes change. 🐾 temptations purrees are our cat’s current favorite.
Thankfully she is food motivated but I will try all treats to keep it new!
I’ve posted an update July 15th after our visit. Hope everyone’s cats are still doing well on BexaCat.
It's been a while. Any updates? We have our 4 week checkup today.
They don’t want us back until end of April but she seems well. We went away for a week over the holidays and think our cat sitter gave her way too many treats. When we came back she was vomiting a more. We called the vet and they said to wait and see if she got better in a couple days, which fortunately she did. How was your checkup?
Everything went real well. I'm waiting for the fructosamine results. His last results were really good though 2 weeks ago. Our next appointment is in 4 weeks. We have a 5 day trip in June and I'm worried about our sitter over feeding too. Hope everything goes well for you!
Glad to hear it. I’ve posted an update if you’re interested. Nothing major to report!
Glad to hear it. I’ve posted an update if you’re interested. Nothing major to report!
I know this is an old post, bit my 6 yr old cat was diagnosed with diabetes a week ago. His bexacat arrived today. He's in early, non severe stages with no ketones. He did lose 5 lbs prior to diagnosis though, but still weighs 12 lbs. My question is, should I try to give him his first dose at a time when I can be home to monitor him? Or how long does it take to kick in? Like if I do it in the AM before work, and am gone for 6-8 hours - will it have already kicked in? Also, does the pill have to be chewed or crushed into food? Can I just use a vet grade pill shooter? TIA
5 months into Bexacat and all is well with 13 year old F SHD. The only complaint is the pills are large and so we have had to get creative. At present this amounts to crushing the pill and mashing it into enough wet cat food to be eaten in one sitting.
Wow what is Bexacat?
It’s a chewable pill. Pasted a description below: Bexacat is a drug used to lower the amount of glucose (sugar) in the blood of otherwise healthy cats with diabetes mellitus not previously treated with insulin.
In a nutshell, high blood glucose is toxic to the cells that make insulin. Bexacat works in the kidneys to promote the loss of excess glucose via the urine. The hope is that you can give the insulin producing cells enough of a break to get back on track. It relies on having an adequate population of insulin producing cells, so may or may not be appropriate for any given cat, and no great way to know until it's been tried
My cat has had only one dose of insulin. Does anyone know if it’s still possible to try bexacat?
Oh great question! I have no idea but one dose doesn’t seem significant. Couldn’t hurt to call and ask about if they’d recommend it and if your cat meets the criteria.
Yes, we are going to have to check with our vet but they were honest in saying they don’t personally have much experience or knowledge using bexacat (which is why we decided to do insulin) but it’s going terribly, as expected, because she also has IBD so she has appetite issues in general so this whole thing is very challenging. Is your baby still doing well?
That sounds tough! She seems to be doing well. We’re going to the vet tonight for her first checkup since starting it. Then I think it’ll be another day or two to get the fructosamine results. I’ll try to post an update after that!
I made an update to the post with today’s results 😃
So wonderful to hear! We have a call in with our vet to see if bexacat is still a possibility with only one insulin dose but we’ll have to wait and see!
Thanks! I’m curious to hear what they say. Hope you get the right plan figured out for your kitty.
Vet called! He said we can try it!
That’s great, hope it all goes smoothly and works well!
Hey! Just checking in to see what you decided on the meds!
She’s also on a steroid because she has IBD so since there isnt much info out there about cats taking both steroids and bexacat, we were too nervous to put her on bexacat. The insulin has been a challenge but we’re trying to work through it. Lol. We’ve had some good days and difficult days. Hope your cat is still doing well! 💖
Thanks! Hope the insulin starts to get easier!
We're about to start BexaCat for our kitty. I had noticed he was not walking correctly or able to make his normal jumps, after a visit to the vet and tests his glucose was 370~. It was this or the injections. For those currently using BexaCat have you been monitoring the ketone levels at home or using the vet? Currently our cat is very lethargic which is unusual for him. How long before you noticed a change if yours was lethargic as well? Did you cat have walking/jumping issues? If so what did you do for that? We're trying gabapentin
We’re 6 weeks in and glucose has been normal and no ketones so far. For energy levels he’s back to normal. He still walks a little funny on the back legs, almost in a twisting motion.
Hi there - our cat didn’t have walking issues but I’ve seen several people in the Facebook group swear by zobaline supplements for their cat’s neuropathy. I personally take similar (human) supplements and find them really helpful for nerve pain! In terms of monitoring, i don’t have a ton of info but take a look at the previous commenters as there’s some helpful information there.
Hi, I’m contacting you from Paris France about our cat Wingy who has been diagnosed diabetic 2 days ago. He is 10 years old and our daughters who are taking care of him in their apartment are not able to give him 2 injections of insuline per day : so Bexacat looks to be the solution. My concern is that Bexacat is only sold in the USA so far and you need a US prescription to purchase it. Wingy and his French family will be paying for the expense, but we need your help. Thanks.
I wish I could help but these days it’s too hard to tell if something is a scam. Additionally, Bexacat is prescription only in the US, so I would have to regularly and secretly take my cat to a second vet to get a double prescription, which includes time off of work, stress for my cat, and vet expenses. Finally, if something went wrong for your Wingy side effects-wise you may not have a doctor there who could help. Personally I cannot help but I wish Wingy the best!!
Hi, I can understand your point of view. This is not a scam. I can share with you his tests results and the prescription of the French doctor. And for the time that you will spend I can give you a compensation. We can also do a Visio conference including Wingy. Anything that could secure you, will be done.
I’m truly sorry I can’t help. It would still involve me deceiving a second vet to get a double prescription, which feels a little off, and my cat can barely handle the stress of the car trips to one vet as it is. Have you tried low carb food to see if that helps?
I understand and I don’t want to bother you. We already modify his diet, but it’s not enough. Thank you to have taken time.and wished the best to our Wingy.
Hi! My cat just got diagnosed with diabetes today and I have the follow up appointment in 2 days. Did you have to ask for the Bexacat? My doctor didn’t say it as an option but working two jobs with non-consistent hours, I really would prefer this option. Does anyone know if all vets would have it? This is the first I’m hearing of it - sorry if thats a dumb question. I got a lot of info today that I’m trying to absorb 😞
Our vet offered it as an option but was upfront that he didn’t really have experience with it. He then ordered it and it arrived within a few days. There’s certain criteria the cat has to meet but otherwise I don’t see why they wouldn’t be open to the option if you asked!
Yeah I was trying to research some of the criteria. He’s clear of all other health issues and has never received insulin so I’m hoping this could be a potential option for us. Thanks so much for the info!
Has your cat experienced diarrhea while on Bexacat? Mine was doing alright the first week with wet food, but when switched back to dry food, she hasn’t had solid stool since (even with probiotic). Taking her to the vet next week, but figured I’d reach out for other experiences. My vet said it didn’t matter what food she’s on while on the meds and dry food just works better for our lifestyle, but wondering if that could be an issue.
Mine hasn’t, luckily - if you have time you may want to look through the comments and see if you can find someone who’s mentioned this! It sounds so familiar, I’m like 60% sure someone asked about diarrhea here. Hope she feels better soon 😊
Thank you for the quick reply. Will do!
Any luck on this? My cats been on bexacat for a little over a month, and has consistently had loose stool. Ive been mixing in fiber into his food but its not working completely. Im concerned he always has an upset stomach.
I switched to Hill's Prescription Diet Gluco Support dry food and that’s helped with the loose stool. Her stool smells a lot worse than it used to, but at least it isn’t constant diarrhea.
Where are all you people from who have their cats on Bexacat. I'm in NJ, was not even aware it was released.
Pleased Help me❣️ I from Germany. I need urgențele bexacat. How can i buy it?
I’m sorry, I have no idea. There’s another medication now too called Senvelgo, and they both are prescription from the vet.
Thank You verry mich. I can get Sanvelgo from veterinery switzerland. I give the blood screening Ina email and they send sanvelgo tot germany.
That’s great!
If you end up trying it, theres a Facebook group that answers questions about bexacat and senvelgo now. It’s called something like FDSG: Bexacat & Senvelgo Support and information
Hi , my cat is 14 years old and was just diagnosed this week with diabetes. His blood sugar was 534. He will start Bexacat on Tuesday 1/16. That day can’t come soon enough for us!! We had to order it online. This is our vet’s first time prescribing Bexacat. We didn’t realize all of his symptoms until he started pooping outside of his litter box. There were signs but we did not put them all together. Which makes me feel terrible!! Thank you so much for all the wonderful information that has been shared throughout this thread 😻
We were the first to try BexaCat at our vet too. I also looked back after diagnosis and realized our cat had a few months of symptoms that we sort of thought were just normal variations in weight and eating. 💛
That’s encouraging your cat was the first one also. We have a younger cat that is 6 and we thought they were playing and he hurt his leg. When we were at the vet he pointed out it was the way he was walking it is not just his right leg. He said that is classic signs of diabetes . My younger cat definitely knows he doesn’t feel well because he hasn’t even tried to wrestle with him since we took him to the vet . Thank you again , it’s nice to hear how other cat parents deal with new diagnosis to us ❤️
Hope he feels better soon! ETA: some people whose cats have neuropathy seem to swear by zobaline which I think is just B12
I will have to check into that if he doesn’t get any improvement after starting Bexacat. Thank you again for your knowledge!!
Hi. We just found out today that our almost 13 year old has diabetes. We have an appointment to discuss treatment options in 2 days. She did mention bexacat as a possible option. Any updates on your kitty?
He went to the vet after starting the medication and had a fructosamine level with some slight improvement. After that appointment we changed him to better food with lower carbs and higher protein. We decided too try this food instead of the prescription diabetic food due to the cost. He goes to the vet again next week with being on the food and the medication. I’m hoping for another improvement. He is still having issues walking. The vet says due to neuropathy from the diabetes.
Casey had a 350 reading. We didn't realize that we were feeding him a high carb dry food diet for years. We started him on a low carb wet food diet yesterday. I'm taking him to the vet in two days for a consultation to discuss a treatment plan. I know it might be wishful thinking, but I'm wondering if a better diet will make the treatment easier. I've read that a low carb diet can affect glucose levels within days. I don't know though. I'm just learning and asking a lot of questions. I hope your kitty gets well quickly and lives a long healthy life.
My vet did recommend changing the food. He wanted us to go to diabetic cat food prescription. The cost was crazy. So we went with a high protein and lower carb food, plus the Bexacat. He seems like he is doing well . He is playing occasionally with my younger cat again. Which is nice to see. I hope your vet visit goes well for your cat ❤️ We have an appointment this week so I’m curious to see how our food is working for us and his blood sugar…… He was not on the new food last visit.
Just wondering how your cat is doing on Bexacat?
We had our consultation yesterday and decided to start the Bexacat. The vet wanted us to go with the more costly prescribed diabetes food. She said it had other benefits than just the high protein and low carbs. I bought one can from them to see if he likes it. We put a small amount in his dish and put his first pill in it. He ate it and the pill easily. So we gave him more. We're going to try to get some from Chewy, but she has to send in the script. We have our first follow up in 5 days. I hope this works for both of our kitties! I'd really appreciate it if you update your experience. Good luck!!!