Feline Diabetes

[amber913]

Does anyone have experience with feline diabetes? One of my cats was just diagnosed, and i have no idea what i'm up against. Tomorrow, i go to the vet to learn all about it, but i'd like to hear about personal experiences, if anyone has any.

[Mom2M]

Yes, I had a cat who was diabetic, I gave him an insulin shot every day.
That was super easy, mostly because he was a very mellow cat and had easy skin to pull up and inject.
It was hard at first but you get used to it and once you can do it fast, your cat won't even notice it, Hobbes barely blinked.

I had to test his urine by holding a strip under him as he peed (not fun!)and for a couple years he was very stable at one dose. Then he started to get sores around his gums and jaw and it was from his diabetes not being controlled well. We had to try different doses to try to get him back to regular levels. During this time, despite our best efforts, he developed a couple infections that wouldn't heal without some extensive work. He ended up losing both his eyes but he was so amazing! We moved to a different house and he still had no problems getting around even though he couldn't see. He jumped on stuff and ran around, it was very cool.

Anyway, he stabilized for a couple more years and then his numbers went way out of whack. I gave him his insulin one day and he went into shock because his glucose dropped so low. He was unconscious and I ran to the vet and he immediately saw what was wrong, gave him sugar and he was fine.
But it was very hard to keep his sugar at a good level from then on. I kept a syringe and Karo syrup handy because even on days when he didn't get insulin, his glucose would sometimes drop for no reason but other days it would go really high and he needed the insulin.

He died not long after that, the vet said he had become a "brittle diabetic". But he was a terrific cat and he had many good years after his diagnosis.

[lonegirl]

I am on the vet end of things....I have taught, many, many people to give insulin and check glucose levels (urine and blood)....really everyone one whom I have taught has never come back and said...it is just too much work, I can't handle it.

[amber913]

Thank you for your insight, PP's! We thought he was experiencing kidney failure, so while we're a bit overwhelmed by what's to come, we're relieved that he's not dying.

Right now i'm struggling to get a urine sample. I locked him in the bathroom last night for a few hours to get one, but he didn't go and just cowered behind the toilet b/c he had no idea what was going on. He's also not the most compliant when it comes to "doing things to him". He's labeled ferocious at the vet (though he's a teddy bear at home), so we'll see how this goes! I'm willing to do what it takes for him.

[Mom2M]

Hobbes was difficult about urine samples too. I had to kind of hang around and pretend I was doing something else when he got near the cat litter. He even knew what the stick looked like so I had to hide it but have it ready. As soon as he started to pee, I would get over there and stick it in the stream, lol. He definitely didn't like his privacy violated and I really tried to be quiet about it.

[muldey]

My dad's cat,Peacey had diabetes.The vet never asked us to do a urine screen,but he did get insulin twice a day when he ate.I had to do one shot while my dad was at work.It was very easy.The worst part for my dad was the cost.The constant vet visits and the cost of the insulin and syringes.Peacey was on a special food as well,which he hated,.He was quite old when he developed the diabetes,around 16yo.He died about a year later,I think more from old age than anything.He died in my dad's arms.He was the sweetest cat and we miss him so much.

[amber913]

(I'm the OP) Just got the insulin: $100 for 25 days. This in addition to his $50/12lb bag of food, the vet visits, the syringes. I'm not sure i can do this. And i'm not sure i can give up on him either. Wow.

We had already reserved a puppy we're supposed to get on Sep. 7. Our dog passed away in June, so we're very excited for the puppy. Now i feel like it'd be irresponsible, even though her fee is covered (we refinanced and are using the missed mortgage payment to get her) and her food is covered for several months (we won a pet store drawing for $100).

What do you think? I need some guidance here. Treating my cat will make things tight. Getting a dog might just be stupid. I can't tell.

[Mom2M]

Wow, that is expensive! It's been a few years but I know his insulin was not that much, I think it was about half that or even a little less.

Could you ask the vet if there is a less expensive brand of insulin to try? Same with the food, that's a lot of money! I would talk to the vet and tell him that you need to work out a way to budget this so that it doesn't put such a strain on your family. I never gave Hobbes special food, we had to watch the amount he ate, though.
Once he is stable and his sugar is well controlled, you shouldn't need too many vet visits.

I would totally get your puppy, you're excited about it and the fee is already covered! Anyway, a puppy could give your cat exercise and that would be good for him!

[amber913]

I'm an idiot. I called the vet to see if there was a way to make this more financially possible, and they informed me that one vial of insulin is supposed to last several months, not 25 days. (Simple mistake really: It says "100units/ml", he gets 4 units/day. What i didn't notice was further down on the vial, it says "10ml". So it's not 25 days, it's 250.)

We'd already called and "cancelled" our puppy. I called back and it's back on--we're getting our puppy!

In case anyone's following: the cat's doing well with this shots. I'M doing well with his shots. All's well.

[Caneel]

We have a diabetic 16 yo female Siamese cat. Until recently, she was received two insulin shots per day, 12 hour spacing.

She also eats Rx food.

DH is 110% on board so together, we split her work. We do not test at home, I take her down to the vet periodically to get her levels checked.

Right now, it appears she is coming out of it and is down to 1 shot a day.

In fact, I am getting ready to post a new topic with some questions about our current situation.

A couple of thoughts -

It is important that you can stick to the shot schedule. For example, if kitty needs her shot at 7pm, one can't forget or put it off until 11pm because it (the shot) doesn't fit into one's schedule.

The food is an important part of the treatment, going cheap or skipping the diabetic management food will be counter producticve. We tried to switch to a raw meat diet but she simply wasn't interested.

We have had several crashes, each time landing her in the animal emergency center. That costs $$$$. This is an issue between DH and I. Writing about too much will surely cause someone to lecture on "no cost is too great" but I feel like we have spent an irresponsible amount of money. I hate to be negative and I hate to put a $ on life but we are in a "when is enough enough?" place right now.

Giving the shots is very easy once you get used to it. We practiced in the vet's office and got comfortable right away. Our cat doesn't mind it at all.