Any experiences with Diabetic cats?

[Simba's Mom]

Mom and Dad just found out their cat's diabetic. She (the cat)'s home now, and Mom's giving her insulin shots twice a day. But Mom just Emailed me and said she doesn't know "how long" they'll have to give the shots for. No, they don't think Pasha will die, but they think that the shots may be for a month or so, til everything's stabilized. I thought that once insulin shots started, they were permanent. Who can tell me any more about diabetes and kitties.

 

[DizBelle]

It could be permanent but it could also be temporary if the kitty's pancreas sorts itself out and produces insulin properly again. But, I don't believe it would be the insulin shots that were the catalyst for the pancreas normalizing.

I strongly, strongly, strongly recommend regularly (daily) testing of the cat's blood sugar. You DO NOT want to give your cat insulin if they don't need it which would drive their blood sugar too low and could result in death. You can test your cat's blood sugar with a regular human blood glucose monitor. The Freestyle Lite monitor requires only a teeny amount of blood for a test.

With my cat, he has inflammatory bowel disease. And when he gets symptomatic, the treatment is steroids. But the steroids can cause his pancreas to not produce enough insulin and drive his blood sugar up. It's a balancing act to keep all the systems in check.

 

[bballmom56]

We had a diabetic cat and once we got into the routine, it was very easy. The toughest part might be making sure you (and the cat) are available two times a day, 12 hours apart. I suppose it's possible if there is another problem causing the diabetes, and it resolves itself, that the cat may no longer require the shots. But that wasn't the case with our cat, and the vet did not suggest it as a possibility. We were in it for the long haul and I think it extended his life by about 3 years. He was about 13 or 14 when he was diagnosed.

 

[jackemail]

I've had a diabetic cat and dog. They had to have shots twice daily for the duration of their lives. The shots did help extend their lives for 3 years each.

Vet told me that it was possible (but not likely) that the cat could eat the special canned "diabetes formula" food and it would stabilize him enough so that he might not need the shots. Cat would not touch that food for anything.

 

[si-am]

Cats can often go into remission with diabetes; the pancreas can heal itself with initial help from insulin and a permanent new diet (all canned, low carb).

This isn't always the case though.

 

[Carina]

My dad has a diabetic cat. It has been on insuling for 3-4 years now. He gets skin ulcers real easy, but other than that is still doing well ( much better than before the diagnosis)

I asked my step mom once about how hard it was to hold down the cat to give him his shot and if he ever hid if he knew it was time. She laughed and said its time for a shot right now watch this. She grabbed the insulin dose and shook it in the plastic container so it rattled... The caat came running from the far end of the house and jumped up in front of her on a stool.

He LOVES getting his shots. She figures he knows that what makes him feel so much better. Apparently after just a few doses he started coming running for them.

 

[PatsMom]

My diabetic cat needed shots from diagnosis until she died of other causes. She gave me no trouble about the shots - she always got a treat afterwards. And they really don't hurt much if they are like giving myself an insulin shot. I do my shots without a problem!

 

[DVC Kathy]

We've had two diabetic cats. Neither got to a point where they no longer needed insulin. Pepper had another medical condition that caused the diabetes, so that wasn't a real possibility for him.

Giving the shots isn't a big deal for either human or cat - once everyone gets used to the process.

Until things stabilize, the cat will need to see the vet more frequently.

Big rule of thumb - if the cat doesn't eat, don't give the shot.

We've even found professional pet sitters who would give insulin shots.

I learned to check glucose levels from Pepper's ear, but that wasn't nearly as easy as the shots.

Good luck to your parents. It's not as difficult as it seems in the beginning.

 

[alliecats]

My cat has IBD, pancreatitis, some liver damage and also diabetes, which we have been successfully treating for six years next month! It is by far the easiest of the other conditions to deal with, even with 2x daily blood testing & insulin.

What insulin is your mom's kitty on? Some insulins are more likely to result in remission than others. My cat is currently on Lantus (Glargine) and has been for 2 years. Despite the fact she takes massive doses of steroids every day, her dose is extremely low and she is very well regulated.

It is possible your mom's cat will go into remission, esp. if she switches to low or no-carb food (all canned, for example, not the gravy kind) and hometests the glucose 2x a day. As lfontaine said, hometesting is SO important. Insulin is a very powerful drug and she does not want to get into a hypo situation. Any diet change should be done very slowly and with your vet's knowledge so the insulin dose can be adjusted as necessary.

 

[si-am]

My dad has a diabetic cat. It has been on insuling for 3-4 years now. He gets skin ulcers real easy, but other than that is still doing well ( much better than before the diagnosis)

I asked my step mom once about how hard it was to hold down the cat to give him his shot and if he ever hid if he knew it was time. She laughed and said its time for a shot right now watch this. She grabbed the insulin dose and shook it in the plastic container so it rattled... The cat came running from the far end of the house and jumped up in front of her on a stool.

He LOVES getting his shots. She figures he knows that what makes him feel so much better. Apparently after just a few doses he started coming running for them.

Our cat gets his shots at 7am and 7pm, and at 6:50pm each night, he wanders into the kitchen and sits in his "shot place" just waiting. I think he wants the shot because it makes him feel better and he also likes the treat he gets after!

The insulin we use (ProZinc) is somewhat flexible in that it's not crucial to give exactly 12 hours apart, so if we want to go out to dinner or a show and are home late, it's not really a big deal. The worst part is having to hire a petsitter every single time we want to go away for a weekend. (When, previously, we could leave the cats a bunch of dry food and they'd be fine on their own for a few days).

 

[KristaTX]

My 9-year old cat Ernie was diagnosed with diabetes in April. It's kind of long, but here's his story so far. . .

Ernie has always been a snacker and had a weight problem, although his brother/littermate (probably from a different father) Bert has never had a weight problem. For the most part I have only ever given them Purina dry cat food and just left it out all the time for their convenience and for mine. I fed them Cat Chow for years, and then I had switched to a Purina Pro Plan type which has a higher protein percentage in an attempt to get Ernie's weight down.

When Ernie was diagnosed, his blood sugar was in the 600s. It should be more like 70-150, much like with humans. I suspected diabetes because of his decreased energy level, his increased appetite and thirst, and a greatly increased urine output which was evidenced by the amount of litter we were suddenly going through. The vet said that in cats, the urine spillover doesn't show up until it gets much higher than it does in a human, and that cats can survive (unhealthily and temporarily) with it as high as his was.

I switched both cats over to strictly wet food (Friskies Prime Filets - they'll both eat it and not vomit it). Ernie was put on Prozinc insulin twice a day. I am a nurse, and it wasn't a big hassle for me to give him the shots, although occasionally he would feel it and get fussy because he was already stressed out from vet visits and just being "sick". The only thing that made it a minor hassle was having to be here approximately every 12 hours to give it to him. Plus the insulin was somewhat expensive.

I had to take Ernie into the vet every few days to get his blood sugar checked and insulin dosages adjusted.

We went on vacation soon after his diagnosis. My mom was willing to give Ernie his shots, but because he was particularly grumpy because of all the visits to the vet and also because of the stress of our absence, I told her not to give it to him unless he was in an exceptional mood. She only was able to give him one shot, but Ernie did fine for that week since cats can
do okay on a temporary basis with their glucose levels elevated.

I did purchase a glucometer - the human ones work fine for cats, too. I just prick his ear like you would a human's finger for the testing. So I began testing his blood sugar daily or even multiple times a day and keeping a log of the time, the glucose reading, and the insulin dosage. I was very afraid of giving him too much insulin, which can be deadly and is worse than not giving enough insulin.

I am SOOO glad that I did this. By the end of May, after I had changed the cats' diet to strictly wet food and had been giving Ernie insulin twice a day, his glucose levels normalized. I am looking at the log right now, and after May 25th I did not have to give Ernie any insulin. I just would check his blood sugar a few times a month.

However, in October I noticed his energy level was going back down and he just didn't seem to be himself. So I started checking it again for a few days, and it was steadily back up into the 250-400 range. After several days of this, I started the insulin again. I had gotten kind of bad about keeping some crunchy food out again (bad kitty momma!!! ) because Bert also seemed to be losing weight which he didn't need to do. Plus, it is just a bad habit that is hard to break. Unfortunately, Ernie is a crunchies addict .

So I put the crunchies away except for a few very small, snack servings occasionally - usually trying to do it just for Bert when Ernie was asleep. I also started the insulin again on October 19th, but I only would give it after measuring Ernie's blood sugar. After about a week of insulin and very, very limited dry food, Ernie's blood sugar normalized again. I've been checking it once a day since then and so far so good.

I've been lucky so far. But I do highly recommend learning to check the kitty's blood sugar yourself, and also getting rid of any dry food. The food issue kind of depends on the cat's other health issues, though, so you'd want to follow the advice of your vet. Luckily Ernie doesn't seem to have any health problems (e.g. kidney) besides the diabetes.

 

[KristaTX]

The worst part is having to hire a petsitter every single time we want to go away for a weekend. (When, previously, we could leave the cats a bunch of dry food and they'd be fine on their own for a few days).

I agree. Obviously the fact that a kitty has a health problem is the worst part, but going out of town is the biggest inconvenience for the people. Cats are normally so low-maintenance, but diabetes sure makes them much more high-maintenance.