Does anyone have a cat with diabetes?

Question

My daughters 12 year old cat just was diagnosed and its heartbreaking. We had to take him home from the vet because of the long weekend and the hospital that we could have taken him to is too expensive. I am afraid that we will lose him. She leaves for college tomorrow and this is just overwhelming. Any advice on what to do?

Answer 1

Hi I do and I also adopt cats with diabetes. One big p[roblem with this is that you can go to 20o different vets and get 20 different treatments for your cat.
Diabetes is not a death sentence, no life span is lost and your cat can live a normal happy life.
There is way too much info I have to impart to you.
Please email me so we can discuss this further. I have worked with literally hundreds of diabetoc cat owners and have helped many go into remission or be torsally regulated
Please click on my name and let ,me know
What kind of insulin you are suppose to give, how much and how many times a day.
What food are you feeding? (you don;'t want nor should you feed the food the vet sellls as there are much better commercially available foods.
Did your vet tel you about hypos? hometesting? testing for ketones?
I know everything sounds overwhelming but very soon things can become routine and easy
Click on my name, read my profile and please email me

Answer 2

I've got a 'sugarcat' and getting him stable didn't take long. There are different levels, if he's in the high normal, they can prescribe glipizide for him, a small pill once a day, which you can get at the pharmacy for $12 for the month. This keeps some cats stable.

Others, a little lower down from the high normal can be regulated by putting them on high protein/low carb dry cat food. We use Royal Canin Siamese 38 as the dry plus he gets 1/4 can of 9-lives Super Supper. Hudson was regulated on that for almost two years.

However if your cat is definately needing insulin, they do a curve test on them, taking a blood sample from the ear (just a drop) every 2-3 hours, seeing where the sugar spikes during his day, then they can gauge the insulin level he'd need.

Giving a shot is remarkably easy. The syringes are cheap if bought by the 100 (Walmart has the box of 100 for $15). The insulin ours was put on is Lantus, which we got a free tube of from the vet, and it lasted 2 1/2 months (he's on 2 units twice a day) and I got a year's worth for $114 from the pharmacist at WalMarts again--called around and they had the lowest prices so I used them--and I can say it's made a world of difference, he's back to normal. Oh, and the Lantus does NOT time out after 30 days, they've found that it's good for up to 6 months if it doesn't change color, get cloudy, be shaken or be exposed to heat. It's not as delicate as first thought. So each vial of 100 units lasts me a good long time.

If you don't treat it, the cat is in pain, they get cataracts in the eyes, and they die very slowly. It's somethng that's treatable. There are many lists online, there are two very good diabetic cat lists on yahoogroups.com too. It's sort of a complicated disease, but it's easy to manage once the vet does the curve and you get past the first two weeks to see how the cat handles the insulin.

The downside for me is that I have to give the shots at the same time, so I picked 7am and 7pm, since I know I'd be home most likely at those two hours. When we were on vacation I had to have a pet sitter with insulin experience come in twice a day to give him his shots and make sure he ate properly.

Answer 3

My cat has had diabetes for 3 year. Twice a day I give him insulin.

The most expensive thing about diabetes is getting the cat regulated. It will be a commitment of taking him to the vet once every other week or so to get a glucose test to make sure he's regulated. Usually the glucose test is done 7-8 hours post injection of insulin. The reading should be between 110 and 120 (optimal). Once the cat is regulated, he would need to be monitored, maybe glucose readings once every few months or so. Or the vet can teach you to do it at home with a glucose monitor.

More than likely, he'll be on some type of insulin. That coupled with dietary changes.

My cat hasn't had any problems being on insulin. Giving the shots are easy once you do them a few times. The insulin can be purchased over the internet with a prescription from your vet somewhat cheaper. And the needles are pretty inexpensive. The only thing is being regular with giving the shot, even if you go away. Someone will have to be able to come into your home to give the cat his insulin. Other than that, my cat is fine.

Hope this helps...good luck to you all.

Answer 4

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Answer 5

We lived with a diabetic cat, sadly he was lost to lymphoma a couple years ago. Our guy was about 13 when he was dx'd with diabetes & did very well with insulin injections (it is my understanding that some cats are abl to have oral medication instead of shots, but I found injections *much* easier than pills & think many cats would agree with this).
Yes, it seemed overwhelming @ first but the vet was very patient about showing us exactly how to give the injections & gave us a lot of encouragement. There are online support groups for ppl who have diabetic pets too. Within a week or so of the new routine we were very optimistic & it was just one more of those adjustments that a family makes when one member (of any species) needs special care.
Good luck with your daughter's cat. Feline diabetes is relatively common & usually not difficult to manage.

Answer 6

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Answer 7

Older cats do quite well with insulin injections. I had a 14 year old that ran to get his twice a day shot because he knew he got to eat after.
Your vet may suggest that your cat be hospitalized for "regulation" and treatment. If your cat is very ill, hospitalization is advised. Most cats do NOT need to be hospitalized to begin treatment for their diabetes. If your cat is alert, well-hydrated, eating and drinking without vomiting, your cat can be managed as an outpatient. The U.S. veterinary literature now considers PZI to be the insulin of choice in treatment of feline diabetes. In many areas, beef PZI is used with great success in cats. Newer insulins such as glargine (Lantus) and detemir (Levemir) show great promise.
Talk to your vet and tell him that your finances are tight but you would like to start treatment at home. Maybe he will instruct you in the proper way to give injections and where to give them. The scruff of the neck is not the only place you can inject.
Once your cat is started on insulin, you should monitor your cat at home. To monitor, you can simply observe your cat for the resolution of symptoms. If your cat starts drinking and peeing normal amounts and its weight normalizes, it can be considered regulated. This method only works if you keep insulin doses low and do not increase the dosage amount without using other monitoring methods. Urine testing is advocated by many veterinarians and you have various options for collecting urine, including the Smart Cat Box, a specialized litter box. Perhaps the most accurate method is to use a glucometer to test blood glucose levels just like human diabetics do. Blood testing sounds intimidating, but many animal owners do it without problem. You must decide what method you will use based on your veterinarian's recommendations and your own education about the various techniques. Good luck

Answer 8

my mom had a dabetic cat for many years. she had to give it a shot every day if I remember right

Answer 9

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