Has anyone had a cat w/ diabetes?

[ohbejoyful]

Poppycat, I'm so glad everybody's going to A-OK.

I just wanted to add my 2 cents - my first very own cat Timothy had diabetes, and for me it was really very little trouble. I'd set his food down and he wouldn't even notice me injecting him (it's very easy, just under the loose skin at the back of the neck). He lived for several years, and I only had to adjust his dosage once. Then at one point he just started failing, and that was it. He was fine until he wasn't. But while he was fine, he was happy, active, normal, so if anyone ever *does* have a kitty diagnosed with diabetes, please know that it can be very do-able.

 

[chickbea]

Glad she's going tp be OK!

 

[Judymae]

YEA!! I'm so glad everything is gonna be alright!

 

[Dom'sHEns]

thats fantastic news!

 

[AK-Bird-brain]

Yay!!! I am so happy for you!!! Giardia is still no fun, but at least it's easily treatable!

 

[poppycat]

Thank you all for your kind words and good wishes! We are so relieved. Still have to treat all our pets for a week but it's really not a huge deal.

 

[MTchick]

I worked at a high-end fancy pet store for a while and we often had people come in to find specialty foods for diabetic dogs and cats. Many of them would come back months later and say, "That food is amazing! my (buddy/ kitty/ pookie/ spot) only needs half the insulin now and he is so much happier!" It is because almost all mass produced feeds are laced with beet sugar, beet pulp, corn meal, white flour, and other really problematic ingredients for diabetic animals.

I'm mentioning this because if anyone does have a dog or cat with this problem, adjusting their feed to a very pricey (sorry, but it is true) high protein, almost no grains, no beets, no corn, fancy deluxe food may actually save you money in vet bills down the line. Just something to think about.

The beets thing is because pet food manufacturers are savvy to the fact that a consumer might read the ingredient and think "corn syrup... gross..." but when they read "beet pulp" it doesn't ring the same bell. Beet pulp is an agricultural byproduct of sugar beet production and is incredibly sugary. It should not be in a pet food for overweight or diabetic animals, period.

-MTchick

 

[dreamgirl]

I'm glad your cats OK. I also had a cat with diab. We caught it late, after his kidneys had been partially compromised, but he lived 2 more good years. Because of his age, our vet felt that making sure he ate regularly was more important than changing his diet (after 14 years of "junk food", he didn't like the healthy stuff). He got 2 shots a day, which he didn't mind. When I had to go away (and couldn't take him, which I was able to do), I would pre-fill needles for the sitter.

 

[chickaboo7]

I have a torti. with the same thing. we use the special food and monitor her with urine strips. She was NOT happy at first but is now used to our invasion of her privacy. I also cat sit a cat on insulin she hops right up for her shot everyday. We also have a holistic vet in the area we are going to check out.

Blessed Be All Life

 

[rooster-red]

Being Diabetic myself I'd like to stress the importance of feeding at the same time everyday.
It may sound funny but I know from personal experience that it makes a huge difference