Feline Diabetes thread

[Disneylover79]

I know there are a few of us out there that have dealt with diabetes in their cats...I personally have had a diabetic cat in the past that was on insulin and now I have her sister with diabetes...

I just found out today that my oldest cat (Aexis in my siggy) has diabetes...her sister had diabetes for almost 3 years before she passed on...so I am looking for any support that you can give me....

I also would like this to be a thread in which we can all rely on for help,questions, suggestions..etc.

Please share your experience with diabetes...the Vet tells me that research shows cats can be cured with Lantus insulin...anyone have any insight into that?!?


Thanks

 

[Robindianne]

I know there are a few of us out there that have dealt with diabetes in their cats...I personally have had a diabetic cat in the past that was on insulin and now I have her sister with diabetes...

I just found out today that my oldest cat (Aexis in my siggy) has diabetes...her sister had diabetes for almost 3 years before she passed on...so I am looking for any support that you can give me....

I also would like this to be a thread in which we can all rely on for help,questions, suggestions..etc.

Please share your experience with diabetes...the Vet tells me that research shows cats can be cured with Lantus insulin...anyone have any insight into that?!?


Thanks

First of all, .

I'm sorry I have no experience with Lantus insulin.

I had a cat with diabetes many many years ago. She received insulin shots twice a day. Then (2000 or 2001) my vet asked me if she (cat Maddie) could be her "guinea pig" and try a food made just for cats with diabetes that might let us cut back on the insulin a bit. Well, it worked so well she had insulin shock (too much insulin) because they cut back the insulin too slowly and the food worked too fast. She died at age 20, 4 years insulin free, with just feeding on demand this food. It's called Purina DM canned and was delivered to my vet for me.

Best of luck and good wishes to your fur baby and you. Feel free to PM or ask questions and I'll try to answer.

 

[si-am]

I have a cat with diabetes. Our vet wouldn't give us Lantus without an expensive two night stay at the hospital for monitoring (we hometest but she doesn't seem to believe us). Lots of cats have had success with it (going into remission) but it's crucial to get started on it soon after diagnosis. It's not cheap though.

We were on Vetsulin for a while, and our cat did extremely well on it. He was able to go off insulin for months at a time! Unfortunately, Vetsulin was recalled and now he's on Prozinc, and his numbers just haven't come down far enough to ever hope for a cure now. He is regulated, but he still needs shots twice a day.

The most important thing is to change your cat's food to all canned, low carb. Prescription diet not necessary. Google "Janet and Binky's food chart" for a list of foods and the carb content. Fancy Feast pate formulas are really good.

We've been dealing with the diabetes for two years now. Feel free to ask any questions you have-- if I don't know the answer, I can refer you to people who do!

ETA: felinediabetes.com is a great message board with forums full of really helpful, knowledgeable people!

 

[low-key]

What would be a sign of diabetes ?

 

[si-am]

What would be a sign of diabetes ?

Excessive thirst, weight loss, throwing up.

 

[low-key]

Excessive thirst, weight loss, throwing up.

Thank You

 

[jackemail]

I had a diabetic cat who lived 3 more years after his diagnosis (he was already 10 when diagnosed)..this after my dog had diabetes.

Now I have another 10 year old cat who is diabetic. I tried him on the Purina DM because the vet was hopeful he would be able to get off the insulin shots (twice daily) by eating this food. He would not touch it....he would starve rather than eat that food. So--I am resigned to him having to keep with the shots . I can deal with that because, with the shots, he has been more active than he has in years--running, jumping, playing.

This cat is a pain to inject, though....the other two animals cooperated nicely. This cat hides when he sees me coming, and hisses at me with every shot.

 

[si-am]

I had a diabetic cat who lived 3 more years after his diagnosis (he was already 10 when diagnosed)..this after my dog had diabetes.

Now I have another 10 year old cat who is diabetic. I tried him on the Purina DM because the vet was hopeful he would be able to get off the insulin shots (twice daily) by eating this food. He would not touch it....he would starve rather than eat that food. So--I am resigned to him having to keep with the shots . I can deal with that because, with the shots, he has been more active than he has in years--running, jumping, playing.

This cat is a pain to inject, though....the other two animals cooperated nicely. This cat hides when he sees me coming, and hisses at me with every shot.

That would be tough. Our cat strangely seems to like his shot. He seems to instinctively know when it's time for his shot, and he'll saunter into the kitchen and sit on the floor, waiting on it. I think it makes him feel better so in a way he WANTS it. (Plus he gets a treat after, which helps!)

 

[snarlingcoyote]

That would be tough. Our cat strangely seems to like his shot. He seems to instinctively know when it's time for his shot, and he'll saunter into the kitchen and sit on the floor, waiting on it. I think it makes him feel better so in a way he WANTS it. (Plus he gets a treat after, which helps!)

We had a cat with diabetes for 7 years. Our cat used to come and TELL us if we were late for his shot. He got his at 6 and 6 every day, so there was NO sleeping in, or else we had him sitting on top of one of us, explaining to us that it was time for his shot!

 

[snarlingcoyote]

I had a diabetic cat who lived 3 more years after his diagnosis (he was already 10 when diagnosed)..this after my dog had diabetes.

Now I have another 10 year old cat who is diabetic. I tried him on the Purina DM because the vet was hopeful he would be able to get off the insulin shots (twice daily) by eating this food. He would not touch it....he would starve rather than eat that food. So--I am resigned to him having to keep with the shots . I can deal with that because, with the shots, he has been more active than he has in years--running, jumping, playing.

This cat is a pain to inject, though....the other two animals cooperated nicely. This cat hides when he sees me coming, and hisses at me with every shot.

One thing we were told by a family member who had type I was to always use the finest, tiniest, littlest needle around, cost be damned, and that we would never regret this as it hurts so much less. We were always so grateful to her for this advice as our cat would actually ask for his shots!

 

[mackeysmom]

My Mackey has been living with diabetes for almost 6 years - he will be 15 next month. He is on a once-a-day PZI insulin shot combined with Purina DM (available through the vet) dry food.

The only "blip" we had was with some anger/stress issues when I introduced a new cat - Blackie - into the house. His blood sugar started to spike and drop like crazy. For about a year he was on Prozac, but has been off it and his blood sugar has been re-regulated for almost 6 months now.

Our cat strangely seems to like his shot. He seems to instinctively know when it's time for his shot, and he'll saunter into the kitchen and sit on the floor, waiting on it. I think it makes him feel better so in a way he WANTS it. (Plus he gets a treat after, which helps!)

Mackey is the same way - every morning he goes to the fridge and cries until I give him his shot (and of course his follow-up treat.) Now Blackie sits behind Mackey and waits for his treat too .

- Laura

 

[Disneylover79]

Bump!

 

[Music City Mama]

We had to put our cat to sleep about 2 years ago (non-diabetes related), so the details are kind of fuzzy now, but she was on insulin shots twice per day the last 4 years of her life.

Vetsulin was the brand of insulin -- she never fought getting her shots -- like others said, she probably instinctively knew that it made her feel better.

We initially did the expensive food, but after a little research we were able to switch to a combination of canned and dry food that that had a low carb content.

IIRC, the website I got a ton of info from was sugarcats.com. The message boards there could probably help you with your questions about Lantus.

Good luck!

 

[Katie's Butterflies]

My cat was diagnosed with diabetes just a few months ago. Because of a mixup with results, we were sent home and told to come back in a couple weeks for a follow up. (we were also told to give her junk prescription food). Instead, I did some research and found an all meat wet food. We switched her to that and she did great. She regained her energy, she stopped drinking so much, her weight regulated and she just seemed like a more happy cat.

The vet called us back in early. She was very worried because she had misread Patches blood sugar. (she switched it with another patient ) It was 465 (not 120 as she had read). The vet took paches blood sugar and it was perfect. She couldn't believe it. She told us to keep doing whatever we're doing and bring her back in in another month. We went back a month later to make sure Patches was still doing fine, and again, her blood sugar was perfect.

Several months later, she's still doing great!
She is not on any medication including insulin. We are just feeding her By Nature wet food (Turkey-Chicken flavor).

 

[Nickimouse]

So glad I found this thread.
My 15 year old cat was diagnosed with hyperthyroidism (I believe the vet said a normal number is 1-4 and hers was 20) and diabetes a little over 3 weeks ago.

She was started on her thyroid meds and 2 injections of Lantus and Purina DM food.(much to my surprise she likes the food) At almost a week her sugar dropped and we rushed her to the vet. She was put on glucose and monitored for 2 days. The decision was made to only give one injection a day. The thinking is getting the thyroid under control and the special food was helping her improve.
She goes back on tuesday to test her sugar.

In just that week she was on the meds she had a weight gain of 7 ounces. A GREAT improvement!

I truely hope she is regulated because sadly I'm not sure we can afford to have her in and out of the vet. Just the 2 day monitoring cost $370 and add to that the initial testing plus meds and food we have spent about $900.
We love our kitty and had to try. Hopefully this takes!

 

[pppiglet]

Just switching from dry to wet food is enough to keep most cats from getting diabetes or help them recover from it. Fancy Feast pate mentioned above is a good choice.

 

[eeyoremum]

I have a recently sick cat. She is drinking but not using the litter that often but she has stopped eating. Since Saturday she has eaten two teaspoons of tuna which I gave her out of desperation because she would eat nothing. She has lost weight and cries a lot, poor thing. Sunday and today I could not even tempt her with tuna.

It seems to have come on so quickly, although I have to admit that we were focused on our dog's illness since late January. We almost lost him to a bizarre genetic condition. We honestly didn't notice an issue until last week. So I am feeling REALLY very guilty that I didn't notice sooner.

We have a vet appointment tomorrow (called last Thursday it was the best they could do) we have even called to see if there was a cancellation we could take.

My first thought was the kidney issues some cats get until I read this thread. Thank you for posting this information.

 

[Disneylover79]

So I got to bring my kitty home today...she is doing very well..no insulin for now just change in diet and watch her blood sugars.... I am so happy...

What diet are your kitties on? Alexis is going on DM!

Can I get treats that are all natural?

How much water is to much water?

Thanks for all the prayers and thoughts.....

 

[Disneylover79]

I have a recently sick cat. She is drinking but not using the litter that often but she has stopped eating. Since Saturday she has eaten two teaspoons of tuna which I gave her out of desperation because she would eat nothing. She has lost weight and cries a lot, poor thing. Sunday and today I could not even tempt her with tuna.

It seems to have come on so quickly, although I have to admit that we were focused on our dog's illness since late January. We almost lost him to a bizarre genetic condition. We honestly didn't notice an issue until last week. So I am feeling REALLY very guilty that I didn't notice sooner.

We have a vet appointment tomorrow (called last Thursday it was the best they could do) we have even called to see if there was a cancellation we could take.

My first thought was the kidney issues some cats get until I read this thread. Thank you for posting this information.

I am sorry to hear your baby is not feeling well... I did the same thing I had to tempt her with tuna but then took her to the Vets.. I hope you baby feels better soon...does your vet talk walk in's?

 

[si-am]

So I got to bring my kitty home today...she is doing very well..no insulin for now just change in diet and watch her blood sugars.... I am so happy...

What diet are your kitties on? Alexis is going on DM!

Can I get treats that are all natural?

How much water is to much water?

Thanks for all the prayers and thoughts.....

Glad to hear your kitty is home!

DM actually isn't the best diet out there. Lots of OTC pate wet foods are just as good if not better, and less expensive. Google "Janet and Binky's Food Chart" for a list; feed food with low carbs (under 8).

Our cats get dried salmon or chicken treats. That's pretty much 100% protein. Halo makes good ones, but you can also find them at PetSmart.

As for the water... when our cat was unregulated, he was drinking a lot more than normal, and peeing a TON. That was kind of how we figured out something is wrong.