Kitty has diabetes

[PinkBike]

My baby, Morris, is a "raging diabetic," we just found out. She was soooooo fat then we limited her to dry food and she went from 15 pounds to 9. We thought that was a good thing but her coat started to get ratty-looking and she started spraying. We started feeding her canned food again but her behaviour didn't change. She was so pitiful, she just seemed to be starving all the time and we were feeding her like crazy. So a trip to the vet. She said 6 pounds weight loss is extreme, they normally get 1 - 2 pounds when they put a cat on a diet.

So yesterday we started insulin shots twice a day along with prescription diet. Hopefully we'll see a change within two weeks.

I feel guilty about what she went thru, like did i cause this or did i wait too long? I knew you guys would understand. Guys at work have a very different view about how to remedy her condition.

[mimitabby]

I don't know if this is going to help you or not, but this is a topic near and dear to my heart. "Good" cat food is not what cats should be eating. Cats are carnivores and if what you are feeding her is a mix of rice, corn, wheat and meat by products she's getting too many carbs. cats can do well on very high protein diets (like 100%)
Over the years I have lost more than 1 cat due to problems that i believe are caused by the commercial cat food diet. I even switched to the expensive brands and they still gained too much weight!

So when I got yet another "Chowhound" easy keeper cat; she was overweight before she was a year old. Rather than watch her turn into a ball of blubber and then watch her die young from a food related disease, I started feeding my cats 50% raw meat. My oldest cat just won't make the switch, but Enza, my chubby cat and Aggie happily scarf down ground chicken (whole chicken, including bones and hearts and livers) every day. I also feed them dry cat food because they're used to it. I'm hoping that for my cats, at least this will be an answer.

The science diet (or whatever it is) is probably a lot better for your cat than what you were feeding her, and I hear cats do very well on insulin.
Good luck.

[Blueberry]

My aunt has a kitty who has been on insulin shots for YEARS. He jumps up and waits for his shot. Doesn't seem to bother him a bit. He's happy and (otherwise) healthy.

CA

[SouthernBelle]

Cats are much easier to give shots to than people! My late, great Tuff Kitty was diabetic. If I was late with her shot, she would come and get me. If I was on time, she would run. I think she thought she was funny.

But shot time turned into our cuddle time together.

[jobob]

My dear long-departed Bozo Kitty was diabetic. It was no problem at all with the insulin shots. He liked getting them because he knew he'd be fed soon after.

[bikerchick68]

Pink... I understand your feelings of guilt... but remember that animals hide illness VERY well until they're very, very sick. In nature if they show any sign of illness they become prey... so it's not that you waited too long... my cat Gabi had cancer and seemed fine one day and then a week later she was skinny. The vet said she'd probably had cancer a long time but there is no way we could have known.

Hope the meds and diet help...

[PinkBike]

wow, you guys are great, thanks so much for the responses!
here's the little brat helping (?) me with an embroidery project.

[makbike]

Laurie,

My beloved Scooter was diabetic. He battled many health issues for the last 9 years of his life and it did in with dignity and grace. When I learned he had become diabetic I was crushed but after the inital tears I decided I needed to learn as much about feline diabetes as possible. I visited the following site: http://www.felinediabetes.com/index.html and joined their forum. What a wonderful group of people.

If I could give you any advice about treating Morris's diabetes it would be to learn to test is glucose levels at home. The readings the vet will obtain will be inflated due to the stress of being at their office. The people at the feline diabetes board can give you a ton of advice about home testing. Your vet may be one of the few who supports it and if they do ask them to teach you how to test at home. Finally, home testing will actually save you a lot of money and may actually save Morris's life.

Feel free to PM me if you need any information or need an ear to bend. I so miss my Scooter but I know he had a wonderful life the 17 years he was with me. In reality his diabetes was just a little wrinkle and he once again taught me some important lessons.

Take care!

[sbctwin]

I hope your kitty is doing ok. When Kallie was diagnosed with diabetes, I really thought MY life would end having to give her shots TWICE a day. But you know what, it didn't phase her a bit. She accepted them. And I got really good at giving them to her. It took ME time to learn I wasn't 'killing her' when I administered her shot. I am so terrible when it comes to needles. In the end, that was not what she died from. She was doing really good in that respect. Diabetes in your kitty is NOT a death sentence. Adminster your kitty's insulin on a consistent basis and he/she will thrive. Kallie did.

[bmccasland]

Herald the cat was diagnosed as diabetic a couple of years ago, but fortunately for me his is controlled with Rx Science Diet W/D. About the same color as cheerios... He was fat (and was eating Science Diet Lite), then didn't eat for 3 days. Told his vet that not eating may not be necessarily bad, but was out of character. We had been battling his weight for years. When they checked his blood sugar, it was sky high. And he stayed overnight at the hospital. But so far he's been controlled with diet, so long as I'm vigalant that he only eats HIS food, and limited quantities. Currently new kitty, Callie, thinks his food is better than hers. Which makes keeping up with what HE eats a bit difficult. And besides, she doesn't need the special diet.

Anyway, PB, I hope your baby gets to feeling better, and maybe with the diet under control, and meds things will improve. Mimitabby is right, cats are obligate carnivores (must eat meat). I remember pretty much freaking when my French friend bought rabbit heads for her cat at the market. Was kind of strange to see it in the cat's bowl. Chipette the kitty thought they were a terrific treat! (and I'm generally not squemish )

[mimitabby]

rabbit heads??! GROSS!

[KnottedYet]

Do dogs get diabetes?

They seem to be more on the omnivore side of carnivory, I'd be interested to know if they handle carbs better than cats.

(Stinky Butt Dog eats Innova Evo, something like 40% protien without grains. Plus table scraps. Plus a frozen sardine in a Kong. Plus training sausage. Plus cheese in his puzzle toys. Plus whatever he digs out of the garbage.)

[aka_kim]

My late Domino, the best girl ever, was a diabetic in her later years too. I'm extremely squeamish and afraid of sharp objects , but giving the injections was easy and she actually liked to get them, along with the healthy treat and loads of attention that went along with a shot. I found the Feline Diabetes web site mentioned by makbike really helpful, and also monitored her BG levels. With a new high-protein diet and more exercise, Domino stopped needing insulin after less than a year.

[makbike]

Yes, dogs can develop diabetes as well. They seem to have a much harder time with it. I don't ever recall seeing a cat who developed catracts from diabetes but just about every dog we treated did. However, as with cats if owners are vigilant, watch diet, home test, etc the animals do well. As it was pointed out diabetes is not a death sentence if it is treated properly.