Diabetus

My cat used to weigh 10 pounds,I took her to teh vet and now she weights 7.5. They checked her out and said she is borderline for diabetus,her count is at 229,should be 100,but they said 300 is for sure diabetus. Can any tell me there opinion? I love her so much and will do whatever it takes,I heard I may have to give her a shot a day,is this true?

I have limited knowledge but I know this site comes recommended..

www.gorbzilla.com

Welcome to TCS ...

Yes some diabetic cats like humans need insulin

There are a lot of people here on this site, whose cats are diabetic. I have to be honest, I have not had a diabetic cat.

I don't think YOU will have to give them a shot, I believe that the medication, IF your cat needs to be on it, is in pill form. I wish I could help you more, but I am sure that the others will be along shortly.

Hopefully everything will be just fine with your baby.

I just dont want my cat to hate me if I have to give her shots everyday.

May I ask how old your kitty is >?? and what it is currently eating??

Is she obese? What food she eats is so important. Poor food quality leads to obesity and that leads to diabetes. What do you feed her and how old is she?

They seem to understand that you are helping them...at least after a short while. My last cat had kidney disease and we had to give her subcutaneous fluids (needle under the skin, cat has to stay still for about 10-15 minutes so the fluids can be dripped in) two times a day when she was first diagnosed. She was very unhappy the first few times, but after that she relaxed and no longer complained while we did the procedure. She never tried to run away when she knew we were coming with the fluids, either...

she is about 8 yrs old, I leave a dish of hard food out for her when im at work along with water,I feed her moist food in the A.M. and she loves it

Pardon my prying but what brands of food are you feeding .... This could be very important in taking care of this illness

PLEASE do yourself and your kitty a favor and go to www.felinediabetes.com. Sign up for the message board (FDMB) and ask any questions you have. That site and the people there helped me to save my Trixters life when he was diagnosed and SO sick! There is a lot to learn with this diagnosis, as I know personally, but you CAN do this!

Most of the time, the pills do not work. Taking away all dry food and feeding only low carb (less than 10% carbs) food can make a HUGE difference. You can find a list on the felinediabetes site, up in the top right corner, in red, Janet and Binkys food chart, which will show you the carb contents of many commercial foods, including friskies, fancy feast, etc. My Trixter only needed insulin injections for two weeks, and with that and the diet change, his pancreas is back in full force and he is in perfect health again!

You can take control of this disease, and prevent insulin overdose, (hypoglycemia, or "insulin shock") which can be deadly, by buying a human blood glucose moniter and testing your cats blood sugar levels at home before each shot, etc. You can also save LOTS of stress and money from vet visits this way. People at the felinediabetes.com message board can help. They will become invaluable to you and your kitty, I promise you that. Please always test before giving shots, and start your cat on a very low dose. I recomend ONE unit of PZI insulin, twice a day to start and monitering closely. There are other insulins available. PZI is what I used and is supposed to be the insulin which most closley resembles cay insulin.

Please go to www.felinediabetes.com and read, read, read and ask, ask ask. You and your sugar-kitty will be SO glad you did!

Love,
~ Bobbi ~

the hard food is meow mix

If you can try going to a pet store ( yes evan a big box) and ask about food... Meow mix is not very good as it has sugars , artificial colors , LOTS OF CORN and BY products

Call and schedule a no-animal present appointment with your vet. Be prepared in advance with a list of questions you have for him about the disease, how to treat it, how to lower glucose levels with nutrition instead of drugs ... and I encourage you to do your own research as well. Learn as much as you can about diabetes so you know your opponent. It is a battle but you can win it.

With my own diabetic cats, Whitney and Chloe, (now at the Rainbow Bridge, bless them), we were feeding Purina's Prescription D/M (Diabetic Maintenance) Formula and it not only helped Whitney to lose the extra weight slowly, but it also decreased her insulin requirements from 4 units twice per day down to only 2 units twice per day. I highly recommend it.