One of my Cats was just diagnosed with Diabetes

[EndersDame]

He is around 11 years old . I came back to live with my mom for awhile since she factured her hip.I saw that one of the cats who usually was quite big was quite skinny I took him to the vets and his blood work just came in and I got a message in my voice mail that he has diabetes. We are going to have a consultation later on in the week but i am anxious , has any one else had experience managing feline diabetes

[suninvited]

1. yes

my vet put her on a very high fat diet. The food was a little expensive but she put all her weight back on. It is very common in older cats, my cat was 18 when she was diagnosed with feline diabetes.

[LynzM]

2. (((hugs)))

I'm diabetic myself, but no experience with cats. I know a few people who have managed it successfully for their cats, though. :) :hug:

[Maine-ah]

3. you'll need this.

www.felinediabetes.com

They helped me alot with my Tia. I did home testing, and ended up going on a natural diet. It helped immensely.

[EndersDame]

4. Thank you for the info

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

5. I had a diabetic cat.

It wasn't all that big a deal. I had to give him insulin shots twice a day, but he seemed pretty oblivious to them. He also had to have a special diet; there are some cat foods that are specific for diabetes. I got the insulin at the drug store with the vet's prescription (it was human insulin), but because the amounts were so small it wasn't all that expensive. Teddy lived with diabetes for 5-6 years and he never got sick except for once, when he suddenly went into insulin shock (it turned out he had pancreatitis, which caused him to stop eating, which screwed up his insulin levels). He was pretty sick for a couple of weeks but recovered completely, and was fine for another couple of years. He lived to be 17; it was cancer that finally got him, not diabetes. It's pretty common in cats (possibly because most cat foods are of poor quality, containing too much corn and other crap), so vets have a lot of experience with it. I did not find it especially hard to manage.

[Madrone]

6. I gave insulin injections 2x per day for years.

It's really easy, and not at all as bad as you're fearing.

Whatever "prescription food" the vet suggests is CRAP - just throwing that out there. Mine was switched to low carb, no grain, high protein EVO - not the crap full of corn the vet offered.

You can also test blood sugar at home - WAY easier and cheaper than hauling your kitty to the vet all the time. You use a human blood tester - rub some vaseline on the ear (to keep the fur matted down) and use the vein that runs along the edge of the ear.

[Dangerously Amused]

9. What Madrone said.

I am currently on my second kitty with diabetes. My first kitty with it lived for years (thanks to insulin 2x day) and it was cancer that finally took her from me.

And nowadays they have the home glucose testing units. What a godsend! My vet tested many of the human brands of home glucose testing units and found that the OneTouch brand was the closest in accuracy to the professional veterinary brands. I bought the OneTouch Mini for $20. and even with the test strips it has paid for itself several times over, as an overnight stay at the vet's to do a glucose curve was nearly $200. Plus it is waaay more pleasant for kitty than a car ride to the vet and then an overnight there.

You might also want to talk to grace0418. She has a lot of experience with diabetic kitties and loads of helpful advice.

Good luck!

[myrna minx]

19. When my kitty had symptoms of feline diabetes I did some research about diet

and I changed is food to Wellness wet (from Hills W/D dry)- a food that isn't filled with corn and other fillers. His symptoms stopped immediately - but I took him to the vet for a full panel and urine test. He came back negative. I totally agree with you about the horrible crap that's contained in feline food, especially "prescription" food.

[applegrove]

7. I housesat for a cat that had diabetes. The cat didn't seem to mind getting the shot.

He got used to it over time I guess.

[CC]

8. Had two with diabetes.

One was only diabetic for 6 months then fine. The vet said some cats recover, they don't know how or why they just do. The other one is still diabetic and get insulin every 12 hours. Very easy to do and not very expensive using the human insulin from the pharmacy. My first cat hated the prescription diet so we went to Evo. All the cats are on Evo now and much happier and healthier. Your vet will go over things with you (or should.) Only had to give the one cat Karo syrup once and that was because he stopped needing insulin. Cats do NOT like Karo syrup. I'll second www.felinediabetes.com They were a lot of help specially when the first cat was diagnosed and I was worried/scared for him.

[auntAgonist]

10. Today .. I took my cat to the vet too. Same thing. Weight loss

went from 23lbs to 9.5lbs in about 3 months. Drinks lots of water, pees lots, is lethargic etc. Vet did bloodwork and will call me tomorrow. I'm expecting diabetes to be the diagnosis. Rogue is almost 10years old. That's about 60 yrs old in human years according to the vet.

good luck with your kitty!

I'll recheck this thread tomorrow.

aA
kesha

[UTUSN]

11. Wow, your cat's doctor is better than MINE!1

My a-hole NEVER gave me precautions, or trends, or advice. He just broke the news. Repeating, ASSHOLE.

[EndersDame]

12. My vet is a truly caring man who loves animals

He always tries to comforts the cats when they get their temps taken and just seems to really genuinely be concerned for their well being. I recently brought home an abandoned puppy and I had an aproximation of her age and he looked at her teeth and told us to wait a month just to be on the safe side for her Rabies shots. I thought this was normal but my boyfriends mom told me most vets would just go ahead and do it anyway to get it out of the way

[UTUSN]

13. My vet (forget my DOCTOR) said, with my baby dog on the table, "Why don't you just put him to sleep?

!1"

I swear my dog understood and did an Oh-NOES thing and turned his muzzle into my stomach, and I said to him, "No, nobody's going to do that!1"

It's been five or more years, with pills, and he's ANCIENT (18 yrs?) is that 126 years?-- and he still has an appetite, runs (when he's awake) and KNOWS whatever.

I grant that he don't look that good, but he's not in any discernible pain or discomfort.

Besides the best dog food, I open his mouth every morning and put a pill down his throat and give him a treat to swallow it down with.

I've had people act all repulsive about my opening his muzzle. Why? He was born on my property, has never been anywhere without me, is a baby. Why whatever?!1

[EndersDame]

14. Well all those people can go to hell, Your dog is your baby

[Withywindle]

15. Not the worst possible news, by a long shot.

I had a diabetic kitty - he took the insulin shots pretty well. And, as it happened, one of the vet techs in the office I go to is diabetic herself and gave me a lot of helpful hints about monitoring. There is good information about it available online, and talking with human diabetics will give you insight; the treatment methods aren't much different, just the doses are smaller! You will have to pay close attention, but in my experience, cats don't mind the extra lovin's.

He did pass away at 15, but I chalk that up to being ornery and tired.

[EndersDame]

16. This is why I come to y'all first !

I was so worried about my kitty (well he showed up to our place around 11 or 12 years ago ) I grew up with him. Thanks so much to everybody putting my mind at ease

[grace0418]

17. I've posted this before and never get any response but here goes...

Before you start him on standard insulin treatment, ask your vet about Lantus. I had/have two diabetic cats. One had shots for years before eventually dying (not from diabetes). When his brother was diagnosed a few years later, I was lucky enough to meet the newest vet at my local clinic. He just happened to be a specialist in feline diabetes and was very excited about a new treatment. It involved a human insulin treatment (Lantus). It doesn't work all the time, and has to be the FIRST treatment you try, but in many cases will actually reverse diabetes in cats. My second cat had insulin shots for about 4-5 months, then that was it. He's been free of diabetes since then.

What others have said about prescription diabetes food being crap is absolutely true. You need to find high protein, low carb food. Dry food has way too many carbs for cats (who are carnivores, not omnivores). My vet thinks dry food is actually to blame for the explosion of feline diabetes over the last decade or so.

My cat absolutely ADORES this frozen food called Country Pet. You can order it online (but you have to order a case so you need freezer space). It's really not too expensive and it's mostly meat.

Good luck and don't worry. Even if you have to do the insulin shots twice a day, it's really not that bad. If you have any questions, PM me.

Edited to add an article I found about the treatment:

http://www.felinediabetes.com/glargine.htm

[EndersDame]

18. Thank you so much I will be sure to ask about Lantis

[Bertha Venation]

20. No experience, just support.

Please let us know how things progress.

:hug: