Diabetes in Cats

[TommyCat]

Hi,
My 11 year old girl kitty was recently diagnosed with diabetes mellitus and is on insulin every 12 hours. I caught it early by noting her excessive intake of water and filling the litter box. Can anyone here recommend a good feline diabetes message board? I have a lot to learn.

[Freedom]

Check out my post in this thread:

http://petoftheday.com/talk/showthre...+forum+support

[TommyCat]

Thanks, Freedom. That thread is a great help to me. It is at first a shock and a lot to take in with her having diabetes. I just read the thread and your post with all the links. I will be doing a lot of reading and the boards will be a great help. Maggie is doing really good, and I've been doing the insulin shots for a week now. I do it while she is napping in her favorite chair. I start scratching her neck and then pull the scruff up and make a tent and give the shot. I take her to the Vet early today where she will be assessed and a glucose/blood test. I am going to ask how to take a blood sample and check her glucose and do some at home monitoring. Thanks again.

[GILL]

Good luck with your baby. our Patchs was diabetic for 16 years. You do have to keep a close eye on them. A couple of times we came home to a passed out cat and then the run to the emergency clinic. BUT I would not change a thing, she was my girl and she has be gone for 8 years now I still miss her very much. She knew that every morning before she was feed that she had to have her shot.

[lvpets2002]

I was so scared one time when I thought one of my babies had diabetes.. However the Test came back negative & I was so releived.. My problem is that I just cant stick a needle into anything.. I guess you get use to it if it is a needed thing to do for your baby.. I mean of course I would do it if I needed to.. Hope your baby keeps doing great with her shots & all.. Good Luck & keep us posted..

[TommyCat]

Thank you Gill & Crew,
Wow, that is amazing that Patches had diabetes for 16 years. It's encouraging for me to hear. Patches was a beauty, as well all the rest of your pet family. That is what scares me is the hypoglycemia and watching out for it. Thanks again.

[TommyCat]

Thank you LVPETS,
At first I was a little anxious when doing the insulin shot. It is a really fine needle which helps, and she doesn't seem to feel it at all. I'm so glad your kitty's test turned out negative.

I did just get back from the Vet, and her glucose is 126 which is good, as it was 421 a week ago the first exam to see what was wrong. I am to keep her on the 2 units insulin every 12 hours, and I will take her back in a week for another recheck. Thanks for the encouragement.

[smokey the elder]

www.felinediabetes.com is a great site, especially for beginners! My RB Moby had diabetes and they gave me a lot of help. They are big on home testing; if you are willing to learn how to do this there are lots of tricks of the trade.

Good luck with your new "sugarcat".

[TommyCat]

Thank you Smokey the Elder for the link and for the good wishes for my "sugarcat" Maggie; that is cute! I am willing to learn the glucose monitor. I thought I would get to talk to my Vet today, but he was tied up in surgery, so all they did today was check her glucose. I do have a call in to ask more questions.

[Moesha]

What kind of food do you feed your kitty? My Morgan had diabetes. He had been on Science Diet Lite as recommended by the vet. After his diagnosis, where he started at 8 units once a day and then went to 5 units twice a day, we changed his food first to Purina DM. He gradually worked his way off of the insulin after about a year or so and his sugar was controlled by his diet. Eventually we changed to a grainfree food, Innova EVO, and he was still able to maintain a healthy sugar level. For the next two weeks I am cat sitting for a kitty with diabetes. No matter how much I tried to get his meowmie to change food, she wouldn't. Mr. Jennings gets 6 units twice a day. Diabetes is by no means a death sentence, as I first thought it might be. Be sure to have some Karo syrup on hand just incase an emergency arises. Keep us posted!

[TommyCat]

Hi Moesha,
Well, I had been feeding Maggie Fancy Feast canned (I know, it's bad, huh!)and Eukanuba Dry, but now her Vet has her on canned Purina DM which she's balking at and does not like it. I'm mixing in some of her old Fancy Feast just to make her eat, but soon I hope to have her totally on the Purina DM. She needs to lose some weight. The Vet says sometimes they do go into remission. I've heard good things about the Innova EVO. Yes, I bought some Karo syrup just in case her sugar gets too low. I sure don't have to worry about her appetite; she seems always hungry, probably she's hoping I'll spoil her with her favorite FF, but no way.

As soon as I get a digital, I'll post a picture.

[Moesha]

Morgan wouldn't eat the Purina DM wet, and he didn't really like the EVO wet either. Although he LOVED his wet food. There is a website with a chart of the protein/carbs in many of the canned foods. I found that Nine Lives Tuna Select was very high in protein and low in carbs. Morgan loved that, so that's what he got. He only got a small spoon of it after his shots. He had been getting it in the mornings all along, but we added it to his routine when he had to have shots in the evenings. That made him so happy. He would remind us that it was time for his shots because he loved that wet food. After he didn't have to have the insulin anymore, he still got his wet food treat.

[TommyCat]

Hi Moesha,
Thanks for the above info on Nine Lives Tuna Select. Did you keep Morgan on some of the Canned DM Purina, or was he eating totally Nine Lives tuna? Maggie loves tuna, so I bet she would like it. It's amazing when they don't mind the shots if they know they can have something good to eat afterwards.

[jennielynn1970]

My one foster cat, Calloway, was diagnosed with diabetes, and he did not respond well to the insulin. His glucose levels were over 400 almost everytime we went in for an appt, it was horrible!! I had him with me for about 3 years, but 1/2 a year of that was him being diabetic (he's still around, but with another foster placement that can do injections more often when needed).

What I found that helped with the eating was buying Stage 1 in babyfood. Chicken, Turkey, Ham, Beef, Veal.... Calloway LOVED this, and would eat it rather than eating the wet food. He HATED the wet food. Stage 1 is just the meat and the broth, so it's good for them.

I hope you find something that will work for you that your kitty will like to eat. The food prescribed by the vet is just not tasty stuff.

[TommyCat]

Thank you Jenn,
You're so right; the DM food looks awful, and it must also taste blah if all our cats won't eat it. Thanks for the suggestion of the baby food. It's too bad she can't eat the Fancy Feast, but it is too fattening, and she is overweight. I was at Petco today and bought a few cans of the Nine Lives Tuna Select, which Moesha recommended, to see if she likes it. And now I have the baby food suggestion, too. Fortunately, she is doing very well on the Lantus Insulin, so I am relieved. I am glad Calloway is still around and doing okay. Thanks again, and I'll keep you all posted.