Just learned my cat is diabetic...
Maura63
16 years ago
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anicee
16 years agoMaura63
16 years agoRelated Discussions
Neighbours cat just killed my last chipmunk :(
Comments (103)Well I don’t see many chipmunks but I know they are very cute. You had 5 of them? And now you have zero. I think it’s rude of the owner of the cat to do nothing about it. As you can see on my profile picture I have a cat and he also Kills birds. In fact, I have saved numerous birds form him. If the lady won’t do anything about it I suggest that whenever your chipmunk goes outside you should go with him/her just to be safe, another option is keep your chipmunk more indoors than outside, yes I know he has to feel the nature but you should get it like some toys or like some nature in your house. The last one is get a large cage and put it outdoors, also make sure the cat can’t squeeze it or stretch the wires of the cage....See MoreNewly Diagnosed Cat - Diabetes
Comments (11)Allison, I am not caring for a diabetic cat right now. A couple of years ago, my heaviest cat, Noddy, was erroneously diagnosed with diabetes and prescribed insulin. I gave him insulin for a few days (maybe as long as a week - I can't remember the exact time frame anymore) until he experienced two hypoglycemic episodes in two days. The first was quite severe. He was nearly comatose by the time I caught it, and it had only been about 15 mins since his insulin injection. Up until that point, I had not been testing his glucose at home, though I did have the necessary equipment and had read up on the procedure. I was still trying to work up my nerve to actually start doing the ear pricks when Noddy had the first hypo episode. It was during that episode when he was barely conscious that I did the first ear prick (actually more like six pricks because I couldn't hit the tiny vein properly while simultaneously trying to snap him out of hypo with Karo Syrup). His BG didn't even register on the meter, it was so low, but it rose quickly with the Karo. After Noddy went hypo again the next day, I stopped insulin and started testing him every day. His BG never rose out of normal range, so I never restarted insulin. He's been fine ever since. I'm particularly sensitive to the hypo issue because of my experience with Noddy and because my housemate at that time was also diabetic and had experienced several hypoglycemic episodes. I know how dangerous they can be. So please do learn how to do at-home BG testing on your cat and buy the necessary equipment. And ALWAYS know exactly where your Karo is. Laurie...See MoreDiabetic cat peeing weird places
Comments (2)Most diabetics need monitoring for UTIs and insulin checks every 3-6 months anyway. And just because kitty is diabetic doesn't mean he can't also have another disease causing inappropriate elimination. Most diabetic cats, when they are under good control, have completely normal litterbox habits. So something is probably amiss....See Morediabetic cat food options
Comments (27)I know I'm late to this discussion, but wanted to add that I also have a now 11 y/o diabetic cat who was dx 3 years ago. My vet of course prescribed Hills Prescription Diet for diabetic cats and this did nothing to help his BG as it is NOT a low carb food. I requested a prescription for Purina DM (another local vet carries Purina Rx foods but not mine), which was a bit better but more than I could afford long term. DM is actually a better prescription food than Hills' (which is HORRIBLE for feline diabetes) as it is lower carb but the vet nutritionist who helped formulate DM recommends Fancy Feast as an alternative. I also tried Wellness and some of the other grain free premium brands and even they still kept my cat's BG too high. My cat has been on Fancy Feast Classic varieties only since 2 months after dx and it didn't take long afterwards for me to regulate his BG. It rarely goes over 130. It is usually in the 75-125 range. He's on Lantus which is an expensive insulin but works well and if you keep it refrigerated and only draw with sterile syringes lasts a long time. ONLY USE STERILE SYRINGES. I use Walgreens brand 30 unit which are around $17 for a box of 100 and are also calibrated in .5 unit increments--helpful for small dosages as we give our cats (my cat is now on .75 unit 2x day which is down from what I was giving him at dx). Make sure to get Classic varieties only. No gravy, shreds, grilled, "florentine," cheese, etc. They all have wheat gluten and other carb sources and frankly are meant to be appealing to the humans who buy them and not the cats who eat them! But almost all the FF Classic varieties are grain and gluten free. In fact, I have to be careful with 1 of the flavors (Cod, Sole and Shrimp) because his BG tends to go too low if I feed it more than 1 or 2 feedings in a row. This is more dangerous short term BTW than high BG. But I can't remember the last time his BG was up over 200. Probably when he got into "contraband" (food for the other kitties). Prior to dx the cats were eating a mix of Wellness wet and CORE dry. As an added bonus, I changed his obese brother's diet at the same time to Fancy Feast and no dry, since they eat at the same time and routinely switch food dishes no matter what I do. At his heaviest he was almost 25 lbs, even when closely watching his calorie intake and feeding only 2x/day (no free feeding)! Prior to changing him to his brother's diabetic diet I was able to get him down to 21-22 lbs. but still far from a healthy weight. He was the one I was afraid would become diabetic, btw. The last time he visited the vet he came in at just under 14 lbs. and she said that he was now a healthy weight. Yes, he is a big cat but no longer obese. Non-fish flavors are the best overall (poultry and beef varieties especially). Unfortunately, my cats are somewhat addicted to the fish flavors plus the 36 can club pack at our local Sam's Club is by far the cheapest I can find them (Walmart 12 can packs next cheapest if I want to get poultry/beef varieties) so I'm aware I'm trading one risk of feeding a fish based diet to my cats for the very real one of losing my cats to either diabetes or other weight complications....See Morelaurief_gw
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