My cat's story: Diagnosed with diabetes on 10/3/12 - Illness & Recovery! (eating, weight)

[LuckyGem]

I noticed my cat had been drinking a lot more water than usual over the last week or so, he had a vet appointment in August (his yearly check-up), nothing showed as out of the ordinary during his exam for a 7 year old Persian.

The day I had to take him to the animal emergency his water bowl was empty in the morning when I woke up, from being full before bedtime. I fed him as usual, he seemed hungry as ever, and I went to work. The weather had been hot so I attributed his thirst on the heat, but I had a gut feeling something was a little different this time.

I arrived home from work to find him listless, staring off into space, motionless, almost in a hypnotic state. My cat is ordinarily "chirpy" and vocal, if you talk to him, he'll talk back. Only this time he wasn't talking, just silent. No purring, no tail flicking, nothing.

I took him to the pet hospital a little after midnight. The vet ran a couple of tests and diagnosed him diabetic. He stayed in the pet hospital for 2 days, the cost of his treatment was NOT inexpensive, but since there are plenty of humans who live productive healthy lives and are diabetic, nobody would dare suggest euthanasia for them, why not give my cat a fighting chance to live. At least give it a try, and if he was too unhealthy to survive, then that would be his eventual fate. I adopted him at 1 year old and there was no way I was going to send him to the rainbow bridge without at least trying everything I could. I would have a guilty conscience if I didn’t at least give it a try.

On Thursday evening, the vet decided that I could take him home, but I would have to be diligent about feeding him on a 12 hour schedule, followed by .01 ml of insulin 30 minutes after each feeding. The vet told me he's not out of the woods, and my care will determine how well he recovers, and that it is possible for a cat to go into remission and control his diabetes only with diet when you follow a strict diet and insulin regimen in the beginning and are consistent with his care.

I went into nurse mode (more like Nurse Ratchet mode). I bought the food that was recommended by the vet - Hills M/D (canned wet and dry food), and his Humulin insulin.

I had to feed him by hand, basically against his will for 5 days straight. He refused food, wouldn't eat on his own at all, and I had to get the food in him before I could administer his injection.

On the first day I pureed his canned food in my food processor till it was smooth like "pate", I tried a turkey baster syringe on him, that didn't work so well and on his next feeding I made a pastry bag out of waxed paper and used that to pipe food into his mouth. That worked perfectly. He'd get 2 tablespoons (or so) of wet food per feeding. When he wouldn't take the squeeze of food into his mouth, I'd have to pry open his mouth and scrape it on the roof of his mouth with my finger so he would eat it. That worked very well. He also wouldn't water himself so I had to syringe water into his mouth after each feeding to keep him hydrated.

We have been following a strict 12 hour feeding and insulin schedule since last Friday, and this morning he finally ate on his own! I was so elated! I could see him improving daily since I brought him home from the hospital, and this morning my persistence finally paid off!

Although he’s not 100% yet, I know that he will return to being the same lovable kitteh he was before this unfortunate diagnosis. I have a follow-up all day blood glucose test for him next week.

I saw other threads on cat diabetes but I wanted to share my cat’s story and let other cat families know that it’s possible to nurse them to health, and the diagnosis doesn’t need to be a death sentence for your furry family member.

I have some recommendations for owners of overweight cats or cats at risk for diabetes. It will be FAR cheaper for your vet to make a simple blood glucose test during their yearly check-up rather than spend over 2k for emergency treatment. Watch for the warning signs, and monitor their food more closely, smaller portions, and keep them under 14 pounds.

I’ll report back here any updates on his recovery, and I hope – eventual remission.

[Ohiogirl81]

Best wishes for you and your kitty. I'm glad he's doing better. No doubt you'll take the best care of him possible.

[ouijeewoman]

Great job taking care of your kitty! Thank you for sharing.

It is possible for the diabetes to go in remission. I had a diabetic cat that went "OTJ"(no more insulin shots) in about 6 weeks. The only thing that concerns me is the dry food. If you can get him off that you have a much better shot at success. Here is a website that helped me through this ordeal. www.YourDiabeticCat.com

I should explain that OTJ actually means off the juice! Also if the food the vet prescribes is too expensive the Fancy Feast Classic line is approved for diabetic kitties. Good luck to you both!

[jasper12]

Great. We had a diabetic cat...and knew we would not be able to do the medication and feeding schedule required. He lived 21 years....and will be waiting for us on the other side of the rainbow. He had other health issues as well.

[=^..^=]

I'm glad your kitty is doing better. Like someone else said, if you can get him off the dry food entirely, it would be best.

[dogluvr2012]

SO glad your kitty is doing well. Some cats (depending on type and severity of diabetes) can be managed with diet. I have a dog with diabetes and both cats and dogs do very well with treatment. My dog is healthy and happy and managing the diet and shots isn't that hard!

[M3 Mitch]

My cat Mr. Biggs came down with diabetes last year, I have been treating him with daily insulin injections and a better diet - the "classic" Fancy Feast canned food is a good low-carb and low cost food. There is an excellent cat diabetes website - just search for "feline diabetes" and you should find it. My vet prescribes a protamine zinc type insulin, this is discussed on the website as being better for cats than human insulin.

Important to establish a pleasant routine for the injection - I give Biggs some cat treats, put him on the bed with a paper towel sprayed with Comfort Zone (calmative) near his head and give him a good rubdown, positioning him with his head to my left and facing away from me. Then I "tent" his skin on his side, pinch quite firmly, and put the needle in the skin on the right side - so the pinched skin is between the needle and his head - this seems to reduce the pain.

Kudos to you for keeping your cat alive!

[LuckyGem]

So, Sugar had his 12 hour glucose monitoring test today.

Seems as if they're going to dial back his insulin dose from .1 to .05 ml of insulin, which will be a challenge to gauge on the syringe because .1 is the smallest measure. That's good news, that his diabetes isn't as severe as I thought.

He's also gained 10 ounces which the doctor was pleased with.

I'm so fortunate to have been able to catch his condition before it really got out of control.

I'm hoping that I'll be able to control his diet and he will not need insulin injections.

Two weeks later I am still hand feeding him the Hills M/D wet food, about a tablespoon and a half (pureed through the food processor) and feeding him a small finger of food in the roof of his mouth at a time - he tolerates the hand feeding a little better now. I also put out a 1/2 cup of dry for him to self feed through the day (which he doesn't finish all, but at least it's there). I'll try the Purina M/D wet food which I have been told that cats prefer over Hills.

My vet also told me that if he won't eat the wet formula that it is o.k. to give him the wet food he's used to because it's more important that he eat on a schedule than refuse the food I'm giving him. Meanwhile I've still got 15 cans of that stuff and in this economy we're not wasting that food so he's definitely going to finish what's left!

So my fuzzy buddy is on the mend. He's recovering very well.

Again, whoever is faced with the challenge of a diabetic cat, I am learning that it's a manageable condition and you don't need to think that it's an automatic death sentence for your pet as I was sooo worried and stressed out two weeks ago.

[ouijeewoman]

Thanks for the update. I'm glad to hear his progress AND I'm glad you're more comfortable about the whole situation.

[LuckyGem]

I am so happy to report today's glucose curve results!

Two weeks in, my cat's blood sugar problems have NORMALIZED.

His test result today shows no sign of diabetes.

My vet says he doesn't need to take insulin anymore, I can simply control his diet and won't need to give the insulin!

She said cats sometimes go in and out of states of diabetes, but with the proper diet he will not need to take the insulin shots anymore!

I will have to watch him for signs of a recurrence like drinking water excessively, litter box frequently, listless etc...and if he shows signs I'll need to take him to the vet so they can regulate him.

I was very very strict with his diet, and will continue to be. I'm so lucky that I caught it before he had organ damage and other serious health complications from it.

Again, if there is anyone who has a cat newly diagnosed diabetic, it is possible by being extra extra careful about their diet by sticking to two meals per day, protein based, no carbs no veggie no rice no fillers - your cat can be off the insulin in a month's time.

It took one month, we're 4 weeks into his diagnosis. He's a healthy 15 pounds, and very happy.

In the future if anyone has any questions about how I cared for my pet, feel free to send me an IM.