Diabetic Cat. What!

Yup, unfortunately, all the fruits, vegetables and sugars we add into cat food is making cats get the same diseases we do..

Welcome to TCS, Phillip. I'm sorry it had to be under these conditions.

Diabetes in cats really does seem to be an entirely man-made disease, unfortunately. Of course, knowing that doesn't help you now, does it? <<<<hugs>>>>

Have you taken a look at www.yourdiabeticcat.com? I have no direct experience with this disease, but I do know it can be managed and sometimes even reversed or eliminated with the right treatment. This will almost definitely include a change in your furbaby's diet.

Dr. Elizabeth Hodgkins authored and maintains yourdiabeticcat.com. She is also a member of the Feline Nutrition Education Society. You might find some helpful or interesting info on their site (feline-nutrition.org), but for now, I'd concentrate on Dr. Hodgkins' site.

Good luck to you and your kitty, Phillip!

AC

CatInfo.org also has information on diabetes: http://www.catinfo.org/?link=felinediabetes

The most important thing with diabetes, both human and feline, is to work with your health care provider. Your vet should be able to help you with diet options, as well as treatment. This is not necessarily a death sentence - diabetes can be successfully managed with your care. There are a couple of posters with diabetic cats who probably will be able to tell you their experiences. It is important follow the program your vet will, or has, worked out immediately and consistently - and to keep your vet in the loop with any changes you make in your cat's life (food, etc.).

IMO,the most important thing is to continue working with your vet - no one on the internet has examined your cat. Good luck - I know (from human experience) this is scary at the start - but you'll learn and things will not eem as horribly scary. As my internist points out - no use in looking at the past and no point in beating yourself up - taking care of the future is what counts, and your kitty will be lucky to have you watching out for him.

Hi Phillip. I have a 16 year old diabetic cat. She was diagnosed a couple of years ago after I took her to the vet for drinking lots of water and peeing like a river. Currently her disease is controlled by diet only, no medication.

Cats are type 2 diabetics, much easier to control than in dogs who are type 1.

My vet put Mist on the "catkins" diet - high protein, low / no carbs. That means no dry food, only canned and lots of label reading. Avoid wheat, corn, etc. as much as possible.

Mist was "pleasingly plump" - she had to lose a couple of pounds and get down to a healthy weight.

My vet treated her with glipizide, oral medication. I'd put the small pill in a little wet food, Mist would gobble it up and look for the rest of her meal. Very easy.

On my own I switched her from morning & evening wet food with dry available for free feeding to four meals a day of wet only. Smaller, more frequent meals would, I figure, keep her feeling satiated and also avoid fluctuations / level out her hormone levels.

In the beginning we went to the vet for relatively frequent blood tests. As she responded well to treatment these were spaced out. Then she was doing well enough that the glipizide and testing was no longer necessary.

Every cat is different. Your big blue boy - what's his name, can you post a picture? - may need a different regimen. I just wanted to reassure you that diabetes in cats is not difficult to manage and your cat can continue to have a happy life with you and your wife.

Phillip,

Don't feel badly. I have a female cat that was only 5 when diagnosed and she was not overweight. I had another male cat that was but we did try to control it. Personally I felt he had a thyroid problem . In the end, he passed away from cancer and not because he was diabetic. Megan is a little bit of a challenge but she gets her two shots a day and goes in for quarterly sugar level checks. We hope to have her with us a long time. Do you research and ask your vet any questions. I'm sure that you and your vet will be able to manage it well

Phillip, do you mean that Blue only eats roast turkey, roast beef, and chicken?

Or do you mean that you making your own cat food?

Cats need taurine which isn't available in muscle meat. I don't know much about feeding raw but do know it includes a proportion of organ meat such as heart and liver for this reason (providing taurine.)

Catapault is right Philip, if Gray is eating only muscle near, then he would be lacking in many nutrients. But today is a new day, and the start of a healthy regimen so don't beat yourself up for anything.

While I would agree that Gray's apparent diet is a little odd, may be unbalanced and could, if Phillip is talking about deli meats, be pretty unhealthy, I also need to correct some erroneous info.

Organs are part of a raw diet because they produce nutrients not found in the rest of a prey's body, not because they contain taurine.

Taurine is produced in levels directly related to how hard a particular part of the body works. Thigh meat, for instance, can be expected to contain a higher level of taurine than breast meat. By definition, then, muscle meat produces the highest levels of taurine; for raw feeding purposes, heart is considered muscle meat (not organ) and theoretically contains the highest levels of taurine in a prey's body.

Phillip, can you clarify what you're feeding Gray on a daily basis? I'm a little alarmed if it's cooked meat, and definitely alarmed if it's deli meat.

Did you have a discussion with your vet about Gray's diet? What was the recommendation? Does that match what you've found on www.yourdiabeticcat.com?

How is Gray's appetite and behavior? Hope he's doing well!

Best regards.

AC

By packaged meats, do you mean the kind that you put on sandwiches? Or like raw meat like you cook for steak, sirlion etc.
If it is the first, it needs to stop Immediately. If it is the second, you need to make sure to add supplements to it. Visit a raw feeding forum or catinfo.org for recipes for raw feeding. It's essential that the vitamins and minerals are added in otherwise he could develop a deadly deficit.

Deli meat is not only NOT raw meat, it's heavily processed meat and very, very unhealthy for a cat. As is the once a day tuna meal. To have done as well as he has for as long as he has on this diet, Gray must have had a very strong constitution.

If you are not willing to change his diet, and not able to find a way to get the cat a single shot per day, then... well, I just don't know what to say...

Rather than killing this beautiful boy, however, may I suggest you try rehoming Gray? Or, failing that, at least bring him to a shelter where he'll have a chance at recovery as well as finding a new owner who can do for him what you are not able to do?

Diabetes is so far from a death sentence that I am, frankly, rather appalled at the turn your conversation has taken. If you are not able to care for this cat, PLEASE try to find him a new owner who can!

AC

He's spoiled, not dumb, you can get him to eat proper food, it's just going to take work.
And sadly, I'm going to have to agree with Auntie Crazy. Diabetes is not a death sentence in any way, but if you don't change his diet, it will be... If you don't have the time to change it, at least give him a proper chance in a new home, he deserves it.

Oh my goodness, please do not put him down...I have had two diabetics and they lived very long lives, once their sugar has been controlled.

When I take a kitty in, I realize that there are going to be rough spots to get over. It comes with ownership and commitment.

Processed meats in packages are horrible for your cat and no diabetic cat should have access to dry food. I have 7 seniors who now all eat wet food with my diabetic guy. They changed ....took a bit, but was not a real problem.

Your cats need to be eating better than they are. Please be willing to change their eating habits. Especially with the diabetes....the right food is so important. So you aren't doing him or yourself any good feeding what you are. So much easier to feed the right thing and the sugar should be easier to regulate.
'
You need to do your part in fighting this.

No one is assuming anything, Phillip. These replies are in response to your previous post here....

If you are willing to work to change Gray's diet, there are many folks here who can offer a plethora of advice, having already done so themselves. No matter how difficult it may be, I've no doubt someone here has a similar experience that you'll be able to leverage to your benefit.

Let us know, as we'd be happy to help you. But I wouldn't wait too long, as Gray's current diet really is what's making him sick, and the damage is only going to get worse the longer he's on it.

Best regards.

AC

Hi Phillip,

Please don't feel as though you are being attacked, people are just trying to give good advice. Cats need a range of essential ingredients that are found in cat specific food, as people have said, and it is especially important because his diet may have contributed to his diabetes. You may very well be able to find a high quality food that he likes, and that alone will probably help his diabetes management drastically.

My aunt had a diabetic cat, and while she could mostly manage his diabetes with a very specific diet for a while, eventually he got worse and for years lived with daily injections. She also works long hours, so would always get up a little early and do it first thing in the morning, and would do it while he was eating - that way he was distracted, and wouldn't even notice what she was doing.

That being said, I have a fraidy cat too who jumps at her own shadow, and if she got something like diabetes, I'm pretty sure I would never be able to give her daily glucose testing.

I would recommending talking to your vet, and let them know what you're feeding your kitty, and how you can change/supplement his diet to help the diabetes.

Guys, I think Phillip is just going through the shock and denial most of us go through when faced with diagnosis of a chronic condition - the idea of changing a lifestyle can feel overwhelming, whether for our pets or ourselves. Phillip clearly loves his boy and is reaching out for help.

Phillip, my advice again, speaking as a diabetic myself, is to work with your vet regarding diet. And believe me, your vet has heard it all regarding fear of getting the blood samples, administering shots, changing diets, picky eaters, the whole deal....just like human doctors do. Believe me, the first few times it does seem impossible....but, most of the time, with patience and perseverance, you and your family, and kitty, will make it routine. Heck, sticking myself for blood wasn't fun at all - but your vet and the techs can work with you and, I promise you, it does get easier. And it can take time til you stabilize the blood sugars and get the dosages rights - it doesn't happen overnight!

And don't be shy of bringing up your work schedule, etc., with the vet. Let her help you work out something that does synch with your work demands and shots. I can't do the perfect diabetic schedule myself - life does interfere - but most of the time you can work out adjustments that do allow proper care. I know how it's overwhelming at the start and you can feel totally overloaded with information.

The internet can actually be a hinderance at times - too much info and nothing to help you sort out the useful from the scary and, sometimes, just plain wrong info. I see it on human diabetes sites - I bet the same is try for feline diabetes.

The internet can give you ideas, but your vet is the only health care provider who's examined your cat, and you're the one who knows how your cat is reacting to treatment. It's been what, three-four days since diagnosis? You've made more of a start than you realize - but it's a shock and it takes time to integrate everything you're learning and being asked to do.

Like darlili said, you clearly love this cat, and it's wonderful that you found a way to give him his two shots a day. Don't feel like it's too late to change his diet as well, it will really, really help him get better and possibly allow him to go insulin free for many years if not the rest of his life!

Here are two videos from Dr Karen Becker, talking about the health of older and sickly pets, and they are very inspiring. I would highly recommend you watch them.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xqs7VGz7zws
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ib7nZfMWmiY

Please stick around, we only want to help. I'm personally sorry that I jumped on you a bit, I'm just Very passionate about animals and hearing you talk about thinking of putting down Gray made me very upset.. :[

Phillip and Minka, for what it's worth, I've heard humans saying they'd rather die than take insulin, test their blood, etc etc - and at the time they were relatively serious. It's a big shock and at the beginning many people just can't figure out how they'll live with a serious, chronic condition.

Phillip, we're truly all here for you - and lots of purrs for your buddy and for your family as you deal with this.

I have a diabetic cat that's about 7 years old. I took him to the vet cause he was losing weight, looked miserable, and peed without end.

He's doing well now. I have to give him 2 shots a day - my vet says as long as I give them about 12 hours apart but within a 2 hour window of the 12 hours that that is ok.

It has taken quite a while to get the right combination of prescription food and medication/insulin. I'll have to admit that I almost gave up as he was very sick and it was very very expensive. Thankfully we seem to have found a good combination now and I hope and pray he has a long life. The vet said that he can.

I do still need to take him in every 2 or 3 months for blood sugar check but that is not too bad. After trying pills and several kinds of insulin we've finally ended up with Humulin 5 units twice a day. Most importantly it has worked best for my big orange and white cat named Charlie and thankfully is considerably less expensive than some of the other ones we've tried.

My biggest problem is arranging for him to get the shots when I go out of town to visit family. I can do medical boarding at the vet - that is my first choice and I have done that but it is really costly. Hope to make other arrangements in the future.

Well I am sorry you feel that way. You came asking for help and we all tried to help. You received some excellent food information that I hope you consider. Please do not let anything deter you from good advice, even if you are not happy here. The main thing is the health of your kitty.

Good luck with your cat.

I'm sorry things didn't work for you here...but your family and your kitty will be in my thoughts.