diabetic animals

I had a diabetic cat who's condition was manageable with oral insulin.
My parents had one that needed a daily shot.

Both were fairly manageable. Don't freak out just yet and be sure to read up on diabetic cats (google it). It can be ok to deal with-

Hope that helps
L.

Didn't know that,it sucks...

I have one that is diabetic and one that has epilepsy. Both are managed well with meds. The diabetic cat is 10 years old and was diagnosed about 18 months ago.

My diabetic kitty gets an insulin shot twice a day. They are very easy to give. It took a while to get the dosage right. It meant checking his blood sugars several times over the course of 12 hours when we were tracking it. The blood sugar test for kitties uses the same little monitors as humans use. Only difference is where you get the spot of blood from. In a cat, it is from a vein that runs around their ear just inside of the edge. The vet showed me how to take it.

He has had some diabetic neuropathy in his hind legs because of it. Cats normally walk on their toes, but with the neuropathy in cats it effects the nerves in their hind legs (not the blood vessels as in humans). He walks more on his whole 'foot' from toe to the first joint back on his leg. He'd been like that for about a year and suddenly in the last few weeks I've noticed him almost back to walking normal.

Prognosis in diabetic cats is good as long as their blood sugar levels are kept in check and they receive proper checkups every few months.

PK

How do animals even get diabetes???

From toilet seats! Do you even know what it is?

My parents have a diabetic cat. She was diagnosed about 13 years ago when she was only 3. She's been on varying dosages of insulin (injections) for the entire time. She's around 16 years old now. If managed properly, it doesn't have to be a death sentence.

She's still doing fairly well. She limps a little sometimes like her paws hurt from poor circulation and her eyes are dull with cataracts but she still enjoys life. At 16 years old it's not uncommon to see her run across the house or chase one of her toys.

My beloved cat had diabetes (and many other health challenges - he could overcome all of them except a brain tumor, and he fought that one pretty damn well until he was almost 20).

My best suggestion - and I URGE you to check it out, it can be a life saver - is to check out Feline Diabetes - and join their message board community. There are thousands of people there all dealing with feline diabetes (FD), plus vets and vet techs, and the wealth of information and caring there is absolutely astounding. They will welcome you with open arms, give you all the information you need and give you feedback on whatever the doctors tell you - you'll find tons of help on how diet and other stuff can help - and if you ever run into a crisis with your cat, there are members there 24/7 who can help, walk you through whatever needs to be done, tell you if the cat needs emergency treatment or what else you can do.
In a nutshell, even though caring for diabetic cats is relatively easy once you get used to it --- I'm not sure I would have survived without the people there.

PLEASE check it out and join the messageboards --- I can't urge you strongly enough to do it asap. It will change your life in terms of living with and dealing with FD.

PK - have you tried giving him Methyl B-12 supplements for the neuropathy? (It's NOT regular B-12, it's a special type of B-12 available in pills - most vets have never even heard of it.) I learned about it on the FDMB that I mentioned above and tried it - and his neuropathy was just about GONE within a few weeks - it's something that has been researched on humans, with encouraging results - but it works wonders with most cats. It's sold under the name Xobaline.

Here's an article on it, and here's where I bought it. Watching his improvement after starting it was just astounding

Cats suck, just put it to sleep.

You suck. Put yourself to sleep before you procreate.

Yes.. I did the research back when the neuropathy first started. Took all the information to my vet and he checked into things also. We figured since it's a supplement it wouldn't hurt to try it. One problem is the pills for humans are sublingual and I sure wouldn't want to try to get the cat to let it disolve under his tongue and the pills seem bitter to cats. I broke them up to the proper dosage and put them in gel capsules.

I dosed him for 3 months with no change so we stopped. The brand I used was from Source Naturals, called MethylCobalamin. I gave him 3 mg a day.

Ah, OK...just wanted to make sure you were aware of it. You're right, the human pills are sublingual - the Xobaline is made for cats so you just pill them the way you would with any other pill. Sorry to hear it didn't work (and the dosage you gave was "right" from everything I know) - but it sounds like you take the kind of care of your furries the way people should but usually don't - they're lucky to have you

Thanks.. yeah.. mine all tend to live good long lives.

I thought about being a vet when I was a teen. Both my parents were in the medical field so I got lot of medical stuff thrown at me young. Spent a summer interning for a vet's office and it tore me apart. I knew I'd spend my life miserable trying to do the work they do and make the choices they do, even though it's helping animals. One thing though.. it's always made me easier to work with for the vets. I probably get more leeway (helping on procedures etc) than most clients because I understand and want to know more.

You're right about most vets not knowing about the methyl B-12. I came armed with documents and websites, etc.

I completely believe that the vets not only give you more leeway, but are happy to have a client who understands what they do and, to a large degree, what they're saying. You're also fortunate to have a vet who's open-minded enough to look at the info you bring in and say "never heard of it, but it makes sense, let's give it a try." I was lucky that way too with Cat's vet and all of his specialists. But having been active at the feline diabetes board for quite a while, the stories of cats being diagnosed incorrectly, being given completely inappropriate treatments, etc. - with vets actually threatening to discontinue care if their expertise is questioned - are heartbreaking.

Give yours scratches for me

Nope....

Wow I really haven't noticed this yet... Although I think I caught it early. He has been drinking a lot of water and just started peeing outside the litter box Monday. They gave me the insulin today and have me start 1 unit every 12 hours. Next week he will be there all day while they run the blood sugar tests. Anyway the shot wasn't too difficult.... it is easier with someone else helping..........

Thanks for the link I will check it out....

I hope Oscar doesn't get it.the non pet owners wouldn't understand how living with a pet for around 10 years and older they are treated like child or family.

Aw! cute.

Glad you caught it early, and glad you're going to check out the link I suggested.

It's worth it just for the information there on the correct diet for diabetic cats (most vets don't suggest the right diets, unfortunately). Changing his diet NOW could actually cause remission of his diabetes since you caught it early. (Cats are the only known species, if I remember correctly, where that can happen.) And that actually did happen to my cat - once I started giving him the right diet suggested at the FDMB, he was what we call OTJ (off the juice, no longer needing insulin) for nearly a year before some of his other health problems forced him back onto insulin.

The other thing that they'll hit you over the head with at that site I suggested...and I'll strongly suggest it here - is that if your vet has you giving insulin without you doing a blood test on your cat - THAT'S WRONG. You need to learn to test at home. It's quick and simple, and can save your cat's life - for example, if his glucose level is returning to normal, and you shoot him, he could go too low and into a life-threatening crisis. (Think of it this way: would you give yourself, or even worse give your child, an insulin injection without knowing what his blood sugar was? Of course not.) But most vets don't teach home testing right away, if at all...even though it's simple and after a few traumatic first-tries, easy. The people at the board will help you with it - with suggestions, how-to-do-it videos, even possibly coming to your house to help if you live near one of them.

Best of luck, and after you read the info they have there for newbies, please join the "health" messageboard when you get to FDMB - and take the advice of people at the FDMB seriously. They have new folks joining every day, and are happy to welcome you and give you all the right information.

It seems that you're at a stage where you could actually have a cat who doesn't need insulin in a very short period of time if you get him onto the right diet now. And if that's not in the cards, you'll learn everything you need to know so you can just test, feed, shoot --- and both you and your cat will live very normal lives