So found out my cat is diabetic..

[Mecca]

Anyone have any experience in having a pet with this condition and what that's like?

[htismaqe]

Originally Posted by eDave

My ex's cat has it and we maintained it for 12 years. Two insulin shots daily and special food.

If maintained, your kitty will be fine.

Sounds like a royal PITA.

[DaFace]

Originally Posted by htismaqe

We have over a dozen cats. Some of them have dietary restrictions (we're an overflow for the rescue league).

You need something like this:

https://www.amazon.com/SureFlap-MPF0..._t1_B00DRBFBVM

If anyone has any questions on this, let me know. I have two of these due to one of my cats having kidney disease. They work great.

[eDave]

Originally Posted by htismaqe

Sounds like a royal PITA.

It becomes routine. Fairly expensive though and with lots of vet trips at first to balance out dosage to maintain healthy glucose levels.

[DaFace]

Originally Posted by htismaqe

Sounds like a royal PITA.

It's not quite the same, but we had to do sub-q fluids twice a day for a year or so for one of my cats (who passed last September). It's obviously a PITA, and if you've got a busy family, it would be very difficult. For us, though (no kids), it was almost a nice bonding experience when our cat was otherwise fairly immobile.

Sucked like hell when she finally went though. Suddenly getting like 20 minutes of your day back that used to be "her time" made the house feel pretty empty.

[DanT]

Our older Samoyed was diagnosed with diabetes early this year, after having numerous seizures during the holidays, before we could get a vet appointment. Poor girl has had a whole series of health issues, including an autoimmune disorder that causes her immune system to attack pigment-containing cells. For a Sammy, there's not a lot of pigment, but the retinas are pigmented and we battled for years to preserve her vision before having to take out her eyeballs. Now, we struggle trying to get through the night without her moaning. During the day, she's fine, but nights are rough on her. Managing the diabetes isn't too bad. We have to inject her with insulin twice a day and try to stay on top of her glucose readings. I'm still trying to figure out how best to dispose of the sharps. For the first couple of containers, I bought an container that costs about $12 and then another $20 or so to send via USPS to a proper facility, but recently I learned that my county's landfill will take the sharps, so I just need to figure out a cheap option for a container.
I've sorta looked at the managing of the diabetes as practice for when I get diabetes, as it runs in my family. However, I might not get it for at least a few years, if I'm lucky, because I've lost about 25% of my body mass during this pandemic, jogging a lot and not eating all the unhealthy food I enjoy too much.

Good luck with your cat's diabetes.

[Mecca]

Originally Posted by KC_Lee

Not to rain on your hopes, but you're more than likely in for shots everyday. Best you can hope for is lower dosages of insulin based on your cat's bloodwork.

So I'm back from my appointment, 2 shots a day of 2 units. They told me his food wasn't an issue unless I want to buy expensive md food which I don't really believe.

I'm going to cut out free feeding and move away from dry food.

[Mennonite]

Originally Posted by htismaqe

Sounds like a royal PITA.

Originally Posted by eDave

It becomes routine.

Tell that to the cat.

[Dunit35]

Had a diabetic husky for two years. Two shots daily and grain free food. At first, our vet came over once a week to check her levels until we got her insulin dosage and food at the right levels.

It was easy to see if her levels were off. She’d drink a ton of water and obviously pee a lot. We had to put her to sleep due to a back problem that had nothing to do with her diabetic issues.

[JohnnyHammersticks]

Originally Posted by DaFace

If anyone has any questions on this, let me know. I have two of these due to one of my cats having kidney disease. They work great.

Benazepril really turned around a cat I have who was starting to decline due to kidney issues. Went from losing weight and just laying around most of the time to putting on muscle and chasing his sister around the house at all hours of the night like he used to when he was younger. He was a rescue so I don't know for sure, but he's in the area of 16 yrs old.

[Coach]

Sorry to hear about that Mecca, but it sounds like y'all got it identified early, so that's good.

And whoever said get syringes from other instead of your vet, I agree with that. You can also request some from Hy-vee as well, usually it's free.

I'm assuming the medication you're being given for your cat is orally? If so, a suggestion is to get a old bath towel/blanket, and just try to wrap your cat (with it's head sticking out obviously) like a burrito, so that way you don't get clawed (if not de-clawed) and also helps keeps them still so they don't fidget around while providing the meds orally.

Also when providing it orally, gently grab their cheekbones to immobilize their head for a brief moment while administering the meds.

[tyecopeland]

My brother and his wife have a diabetic dog who then went blind. It has not been an enjoyable experience for them.

[Mecca]

Originally Posted by Coach

Sorry to hear about that Mecca, but it sounds like y'all got it identified early, so that's good.

And whoever said get syringes from other instead of your vet, I agree with that. You can also request some from Hy-vee as well, usually it's free.

I'm assuming the medication you're being given for your cat is orally? If so, a suggestion is to get a old bath towel/blanket, and just try to wrap your cat (with it's head sticking out obviously) like a burrito, so that way you don't get clawed (if not de-clawed) and also helps keeps them still so they don't fidget around while providing the meds orally.

Also when providing it orally, gently grab their cheekbones to immobilize their head for a brief moment while administering the meds.

No oral medication at this time, just changing his diet and an injection every 12 hours.

[htismaqe]

Originally Posted by DaFace

It's not quite the same, but we had to do sub-q fluids twice a day for a year or so for one of my cats (who passed last September). It's obviously a PITA, and if you've got a busy family, it would be very difficult. For us, though (no kids), it was almost a nice bonding experience when our cat was otherwise fairly immobile.

Sucked like hell when she finally went though. Suddenly getting like 20 minutes of your day back that used to be "her time" made the house feel pretty empty.

I guess I've gotten to the point where I know what the shelters feel like. There's NO WAY we could devote that much time and money towards just one animal - the rest would likely suffer. We've got a paraplegic dog that has to be hand-fed and cleaned because he has no bodily control and he's almost more than we can handle.

[Mecca]

Originally Posted by htismaqe

I guess I've gotten to the point where I know what the shelters feel like. There's NO WAY we could devote that much time and money towards just one animal - the rest would likely suffer. We've got a paraplegic dog that has to be hand-fed and cleaned because he has no bodily control and he's almost more than we can handle.

Odd question is he really difficult or does he act like he knows. So far my cat acts way more appreciative than I expected, it's like animals just know.

[htismaqe]

Originally Posted by Mecca

Odd question is he really difficult or does he act like he knows. So far my cat acts way more appreciative than I expected, it's like animals just know.

He was definitely happy about it at first. As he degenerates over time, though he gets more and more stubborn and belligerent. Probably about time to put him to sleep, unfortunately.