My Overweight Cat needs help

[Catlady711]

Sorry to hear Cocoa is a diabetic.

On a more positive note sometimes if the glucose gets stabalized they can go off insulin after a year or two, but not all cats can do this.

You'd said on your previous visit the glucose was elevated, did you vet happen to mention what the result was that time? If it wasn't elevated much then the vet probably saw no other red flags to assume that Cocoa was going to become diabetic, only that the weight could cause him to get that way.

Where I work they tend to go with OM when the weight is the greater problem, and DM when the glucose is the bigger problem. Sometimes neither helps and the wheels of diabetes have already been set in motion before that.

Sad to say there are some vets out there that don't go to seminars, and keep up with the latest research on pet health/nutrition. I hope your vet isn't one of them and simply chose the best choice based on lab results and his experience at the last visit. If you really do feel your vet is the former then maybe look into finding another vet you can have more confidence in?

Either way I really hope the insulin gets Cocoa's glucose stabalized and eventually he could be one of those cats that doesn't have to stay on it permenantly.

Keep us updated, and thank you for posting the updates so far.

[Moesha]

I have a diabetic kitty, Morgan. He started at 8 units of insulin once a day and then went to 5 units twice a day. His food was changed to Purina DM (diabetic management). It took about 7 or 8 months, but gradually he was weaned off of the insulin. He's been off of it for over a year and a half now. I strictly regulate the amount of food he gets. In addition to the dry DM, he also gets a pinch of canned food in the morning and the evening. He always had his morning treat, but the evening was added when he started to get the insulin shots. He didn't mind the shots since he knew he was getting his canned food as well. In fact, he'd come and remind me when it was time. He still does. LOL I know that each cat is different, and Morgan's case isn't the norm, but I just wanted to let you know that diabetes can be managed. In fact, it's easier to do in cats than humans, because we can make sure they don't "cheat". Also, in case you haven't found it yet, here is a link with lots of helpful information about protein vs carbs in all different kinds of cat foods. Keep us posted!