my cat is a diabetic

[mjeff87]

Seriously. Diagnosis confirmed Friday afternoon, sugar was 586 :ack:

 

He's getting on in years (about 16 as near as we can figure, we rescued him from an abandoned building when he was a kitten), but hasn't had any real health problems at all. But, about three weeks or so ago we noticed a subtle change in his behavior, a little lethargic, drinking more water than normal and urinating like a cow on a flatrock. So we took him into the vet.

 

I'm needle-phobic (I nearly pass out when I get shots or have to give blood) and never thought I could stick my cat, but it turns out to not be bad at all. Hell, I think I could stab myself with an insulin needle (and I probably will by accident......) if I had to. He gets two doses a day, at 6AM and 6PM.

 

Here's our new sugar cat (Speedbump, for those that don't know him) the black and white lump on the left:

 

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Anyone else have a diabetic pet?

 

Jeff

[streetjeep2.5]

No, but at that age have heard of this being the case. Might say they all look well fed :brows: . Did the vet mention a different diet? Think there is food out there for diabetic cats.

Funny how we get so attached to those critters, and they us. We had one for almost 18 years we found as a kitten wandering alone. Named him Sammy. He moved with us from Kansas City to Tacoma (2 houses) and then to central Missouri (2 houses) and took it all in stride. He started developing issues about that age, and part of it was weight. We slimmed him down and it helped, but in a couple of years they finally got to be to much for the old guy. I was the one who kept coming up with excuses, but we had to put him down, and while both wife and I teared up at the vet, he just purred like he simply totally trusted us to be doing the right thing.

Neat thing is, you found him and he has a happy life! :clapping: Got buddies, too! :banana:

[terrawombat]

Good thing you caught it before it became life threatening. Cats aren't as good as humans as telling you there is something wrong.

 

Also, be cafeful not to poke yourself with that insulin needle. Us insulin-producing folks don't need much more than our body produces. Given the size of your cat (although quite large :D ) vs. the size of you, I'm sure one of his shots won't affect you. Just sayin...

[87Warrior]

Bah, if you poke your self just go eat a bowl of ice cream or a burrito.

 

What is a cats sugar level supposed to be at? My doc tells me to aim for 100. (yes I'm diabetic). How much insulin do you give him each time? I'll never understand why vets don't recomend checking their pets blood sugar at least once a day to see exactly how they react to day to day activities. You could actually go to the pharmacy and pick up a glucometer for $50 (like the walgreens brand) and some strips. Why should our pets follow a diabetic routine that is 30 years old? Drawing blood from a cat might be interesting though!

 

Just don't let him eat/drink anything with carbs out side of his diet and you should have few issues.

[mjeff87]

Now now....don't criticize our furry little balls of (mostly) fat, they are hard at work holding down the carpets ;)

 

We are gradually switching his and the other two's food over to a high protein/low carb type. He's lost a little bit of weight but only consistent with his age, so that never really worried us, but his gradual change in behavior is what tipped us off. You get used to how a pet acts when you've had them as long as we've had 'Bump (just like you do a person). We had another cat in addition to the current three, and she made it to the ripe old age of 22. We had her put down, although amazingly her heart and lungs were fine and all of her blood values were normal.....her body just plain ran out of steam. Probably the hardest thing I've ever had to do.

 

Right now he's only on one unit (.1 cc) of insulin 2X per day, but I have to drop him off Wednesday morning at the vet and they're gonna run a full glucose profile on him so we can adjust the dosage to a daily management level. Might need to up it to as much as 2.5 to 3 units, but I've got a feeling probably less judging by the positive reaction he's already had to the small shots we've given him. Normal feline glucose is 70-120, much like humans. You can do a blood glucose check at home on cats (some meters are more accurate than others) but you have to get the sample from the ear. I'm not sure he's gonna be too thrilled for us to try that, so we may leave the blood tests to the vet. We'll probably monitor the urine with the strips inbetween blood tests.

 

Thanks for all of the encouragement guys, it really means alot to us :cheers:

 

Jeff

[btm24]

Its sad when america is fattest nation in people and cats/dogs :shake: :rotfl2: sry about your cat tho

 

Brandon

[mvusse]

Ever thought a contributing cause could be it's well above average body weight?

[mjeff87]

it's possible, but he's (only ;) ) 15.5 lbs......

 

The huge one on the right in the pic, Autumn, tips out the scales around 22 lbs and she's 5 by 5.

 

We (had to) put down our oldest cat around 4 years ago, she was exhausted but her heart/lungs/all bloodwork were normal. She was 22, just ran out of gas.

 

Even though we have self/free feeders out for dry food and water, they only eat about 1/2-3/4 cup of it per day. We split one can of wet food between them in the evening for "dinner" while we eat. They are just seriously lazy cats :D

[SW86]

Its sad when america is fattest nation in people and cats/dogs :shake: :rotfl2: sry about your cat tho

 

Brandon

 

 

it really is.........can you say lazy. makes me sick!

 

sorry to hear about your cat bro!

[streetjeep2.5]

Anywho, how is your kitty doing?

[streetjeep2.5]

Might say, from the 1970's and through the 1990's I stayed, through weight lifting, at a good and healthy running weight. I love running, and in the mid 1990's while in my 40's and early 50's, logged some of my fastest times.

Got lazy, though, and in my late 50's and now early 60's, gained weight. But, am now paying attention to food intake, loosing weight, and at 62 getting back at my running, and loving it!

So also can the cats and dogs that rely on us. feed them right. Give them exercise. Make life fun for them! Make them chase your belt before you put it on, hopefully a belt that gets to become shorter!!!!

[mjeff87]

Doug, he's doing great, just on the one unit dose we're giving him. He's jumping around like he used to pretty much, less water intake (and discharge :D ). He goes on a daytrip tomorrow to the vet for the full monte so we can fine tune everything, but we're hopeful the dosage won't have to change or if it does not by much. I must say the injections are a bit more "challenging" now than they first were when he was not doing so well....it's not that he minds or even feels them now, it's just that it's harder to get him to stay put while I work the nerve up to stick him. I think he is beginning to associate needle-time with feeling better though (which other sugar cat owners said probably would happen, kind of like a Pavlovian response to associating something pleasurable to an event).

 

Bummer is that we leave on Friday for our annual vacation, but the vet is going to board him while we're gone so at least we know he'll be in good hands while we're away. Longer term, we're both gonna have to reprioritize some things in our lives for his sake, but we're both getting to the point in our lives when that's seen as a good thing, ya know? It's that whole yin-yan (or is it ying-yang?) balance of life thing....:cheers:

 

Jeff

[streetjeep2.5]

Glad to hear he is doing well!

We have a cat I found outside my office on a very cold and snowy february day. Barely heard this tiny meow, looked down from my window and saw a tiny snow covered with leaves frozen to his back kitten huddled behind the AC unit. Went outside and that kitten jumped into my arms. He was skin and bones. Put him in a box with a towel and let him warm up in my office while I went to the store and got some cat food which he inhaled! Saw that he was actually walking on his right front leg elbow, so figured he really hurt his right front leg. We had an old unused garage with no doors but a concrete floor so fixed up some boxes in the back with that towel and he lived and was fed there for a few days until wife and I decided to bring him home. Vet said his one shoulder ball had been cracked, and malnutrition meant the nerve damage because of the crack didn't and now would not fully heal. He still limps so he is declawed and an inside cat mostly.

Pavlov moral to the story: now this cat at coming up on 3 loves to sleep in boxes or baskets! Feels safe, I guess, because his rescue started out in boxes!