Just found out my cat is diabetic

Just found our 8 year old male cat has diabetes (blood sugar of 560).   He was not obese and we started to notice he was losing weight and was less active in the last month.  The vet is keeping him and we will have to give him insulin shots when he gets out.  Is this something that can be managed reasonably at home? Any experience on longevity or other big problems to watch for?

Yes, it is easily managed for most cats.  By noticing something was wrong before he went into ketoacidosis, you saved his life, so congrats on being an observant cat guardian!  Once they get his insulin dose calculated, you will need to give him an insulin shot once or twice a day right before meals or right after meals, whatever works with your schedule.  It is given with a tiny needle and it doesn't sting.  What I did was to do it right before he ate his canned food morning and night.  He would come and sit in front of the bowl waiting for the Fancy Feast (the pate forms of Fancy Feast are low carb) and I would give him the shot and then give him the food.  It didn't take long for him to figure out that no shot meant no food, so in less than a week it was a routine.  I do suggest you learn about foods, though, because what he needs is a high protein, moderate fat and low carbohydrate diet.  You may opt for one of the "prescription diet" foods but many of us prefer getting another low carb food.  There are many choices so I would recommend you read Dr. Lisa Pierson's web site on feline nutrition, including the part on diabetes and on "prescription diets."  Some cats have totally reversed their diabetes eventually on the proper food.  www.catinfo.org is the site you need to read.  There is tons of information there and they even have lists of foods and their protein, fat and carbohydrate content.

Diabetes can be managed My previous cat was diabetic for 4 years before he passed away from another illness. His diabetes wasn't quite regulated where I wanted it to be but he was otherwise happy and fairly healthy and responded well to the insulin and diet (low carb canned food). 

I highly recommend that you join the FelineDiabetes.com message board. You'll get a lot more help and tips and advice from the members there than you can here since TCS is more of a general cat web site. But you are certainly welcome to stick around and introduce yourself and your cat to the board and join in some of the fun things happening and ask general cat questions

Insulin is easily done at home as well as daily bood glucose testing. Blood glucose testing is important, even if the vet discourages you from doing it. You MUST know what your cat's blood glucose level is before giving any insulin. Blindly giving insulin can be dangerous. If the blood glucose level happens to be too low (it does happen even in newly diagnosed cats) and you blindly give the usual amount of insulin, your cat's blood glucose level can drop very very low in a matter of a few hours (hypoglycemia). If you are not home when the hypo happens, your cat is potentially in big trouble and may suffer severe other health issues (or worse) by the time you get home. The FDMB board can tell you more about how to test your cat's blood glucose levels at home, how often, whent to not give any insulin based on the blood glucose level (usually under 150 mg/d for newbies) etc.

I posted some info here to somene else about insulin choices: http://www.thecatsite.com/t/318492/emaciated-cat-with-type-1-diabetes The FDMB board has more info about all the different types of insulins that are used in cats and which ones are best to use.

My cat was diabetic for 7 years. It can be managed just fine. Losing weight is a common first sign. Your vet will show you what to do.