Question about Tilly - peeing a lot and drinking more but acting normal?

[Cataholic]

Its manageable, Naomi, hang in there, both of you!

[Nomilynn]

I went to the vet this afternoon and had an hour consult with the vet. He's really awesome. Tilly will be on 1 unit of insulin 2 times a day. She also really likes the new food that the vet wants her on. Luckily I can feed both Tilly and Nutmeg the same food. Nutmeg didn't eat all her serving though, which may be an issue because Nutmeg really misbehaves when she's hungry. I'm hoping that when she realizes that when she doesn't eat it she can't go back to it she will eat all her food at one time, but time will tell. So we are managing for the moment, and I'm trying not to be totally overwhelmed and stressed about it all. Thanks for all your prayers.

[Moesha]

My Morgan had diabetes. At first, I was overwhelmed. Partly because I had just had to say goodbye to a kitty with congestive heart failure. Morgan started with 10 units once a day and then went to 5 units twice a day. I changed his diet and for awhile he was on Purina DM and then I switched him to a grain free cat food. He'd also get a spoonful of canned food before he got his shots. If I forgot, he'd come and get me. He really wanted that canned food and didn't mind his shots at all. But with the change in diet and being very strict about what he ate, I was actually able to ween him off of the insulin completely. It took about 6 months though. We'd get his blood checked every 2 weeks and the vet kept reducing his insulin by 1 unit for each dosage. I know that is not the normal thing that happens, but it can. We were proof of that. But the main point of sharing this was to let you know that while it is stressful and overwhelming at the beginning, it is very manageable and we usually have more problem accepting it than our furkid. Make sure you have some Karo syrup on hand though just in case.

[krazyaboutkatz]

I'm sorry to hear that Tilly has diabetes but at least now you know what you're dealing with. I hope that you'll be able to keep it under control. Prayers and positive thoughts are being sent your way.

[TommyCat]

So sorry Tilly has diabetes; it is manageable and not a death sentence. It's a shock at first though, as I understand. Is Tilly on Lantus insulin? Maggie has been on Lantus a year and a half. Here is a good website if you want to learn more about feline diabetes. Just click on the topic diabetes. Prayers and good thoughts for you and Tilly.

www.catinfo.org

[smokey the elder]

There are a couple good web sites: www.felinediabetes.com and www.mycathasdiabetes.com.

Cats can go into remission; I've seen it happen, and there are loads of examples on felinediabetes.com. There's a diabetic in our rescue. It's interesting how different vets manage it. He's on Humulin, which is kind of surprising, but is doing well.

Good luck with Tilly!

[Nomilynn]

Thanks everyone. She is on Caninsulin, and is getting 1 unit 2x a day to start with. She's on Hills m/d because the vet wants her weight to come down to about 12 pounds (she's 14 right now).

I fed her last night and she loved the new food. I left out some of her old food too because I didn't want to shock her system, but then around 2:30am she threw up all her dinner I didn't offer her any more food because I wasn't sure what to do, but I stayed up for over an hour, just watching to see if she had a low blood sugar. She fell asleep long before me.

This morning she wanted her breakfast, but right after eating went to lay down and sleep, and I wondered if it was upsetting her tummy a bit. This food is higher in protein than what she's used to, and so I'm wondering if it's just a bit of an ajustment we need to make. The vet called this morning just to check in and I told him what happened, and asked if I could give her Pepcid A/C to try and settle her stomach and he said that would be fine. So, if she throws up her breakfast I will go to the drug store tonight and get her some Pepcid and see if that helps. Nutmeg, by the way, loved the new food and had no problems with it. The vet said that Nutmeg should also get her weight down because we don't want her to develop any health issues, so they are both on kitty diets right now. Once things are stable and they are at an appropriate weight, they will likely be switched to a senior food that is meant to maintain kidney health, but we will cross that bridge when we come to it.

She's had 2 shots so far and has been so good. She didn't even flinch or whimper. She just sat there and let me do it and then got down and gave herself a bath

[kuhio98]

Cats can go into remission; I've seen it happen, and there are loads of examples on felinediabetes.com. Good luck with Tilly!

Yes, I've seen this happen also. Jetsie (my Mom's cat) started off on a large injection once a day. After a few months, the dossage was cut in half. She did well for a year and then went into remission. Kitties are amazingly resiliant!