Diabetic cat - opinions / experiences please?

[Orangeinmybluelightcup]

Hello! I've just had a call from the vet that my 13yo boy looks to be diabetic. He has lost a lot on weight and is drinking a lot, so I was suspicious. Treatment would be twice daily insulin injections and regular vet check ups. He's a lovely boy, he's usually around and about in the garden and comes in the house in the evenings. He's not a mega lap cat but does like a bit of a cuddle every now and again. He isn't awful about going to vets but does hate it, like they all do, he gets upset in the car. I think I could probably manage with injecting him and getting him to the vets. But I am not sure whether it's the right thing to do or not. I have no clue about costs at this stage and he is not insured. I would like to say that's not important but if we're talking thousands then it becomes a consideration. Equally I am not sure the alternative of putting him to sleep feels right, as he is quite contended otherwise. Has anyone got any experience of this?

Bumping with cat photo

Hopeful evening bump before I give it up as a dead thread. Having done some research we have decided to treat and hope he has a comfortable couple of years to come. Any experiences or tips would be appreciated.

Bumping for you!
Many years ago we knew someone with a diabetic cat. Was managed with the injections. Do think what you would do if you ever needed to go away.
Re check ups. How regular? Could they do a home visit?

Sorry I don't have any experience of a diabetic cat , but hopefully this bumps it for you.
Have you thought about phoning the practice to see if a nurse could talk you through what happens / monthly cost etc ?

My rescue cat developed diabetes a few months after I got him. He had twice daily insulin (very easy to manage).

The costly part was the regular glucose curves. He was quite (very!) Difficult to stabilise, and so had to go in for overnight stays regularly for a glucose curve, where they test the blood every few hours over 24 hours. This is how the insulin dosage is set. He probably had one a month for the first year.

He was insured, thankfully. Petplan were amazing. He managed very well for 4 years after diagnosis.

Id ask the vet for costs on the glucose curves.

I had a diabetic cat. He lasted for years after diagnosis, died at age of 21. Super straightforward to treat, you get very used to the injections and after only a few weeks my cat barely seemed to notice it. He even seemed to be going into remission towards the end. And an excellent quality of life until a few days before he died.

Quite a few cat sitters are also used to giving the injections while you are away - though expect to pay a small premium.

I remember reading that it’s possible to reverse diabetes in cats. I can’t remember the details but it’s probably worth researching.

This popped up on active, I have a diabetic dog. It's perfectly manageable although restrictive and I think I'd rather try and get a needle into my dog rather than a cat! It's also expensive.

I had a diabetic cat, and was shell shocked when I got that phone call as well. The insulin injections are straight forward, in fact he knew when it was time got them and jump up on the table ready and waiting.
I did not focus so much on the blood testing at first, I kept him on a strict diet and as he lost weight that's when I started to step up the tests.
Low and behold as his weight dropped six months later he was no longer in need of insulin. It was the best day ever, when the vet told me, he's fit he's healthy and just keep an eye on his weight.
The worst thing is if they ever go hypo, basically they stumble around, wee themselves and it's awful. Always make sure you have glucose powder in the cupboard and mix a teaspoon with three teaspoons of water. Fill a feeding syringe and gently open the cats mouth and slowly push a little bit on the cats tongue. Wait five minutes and repeat, you will know when they are coming out of it. Keep calm, you can do this, there is a lot of support forums and help out there.
Good luck, the first few days are a bit stressful but after that your get the hang of it. If you need any advice don't hesitate to do me.

Ah thank you all! We used to have a diabetic dog when I was a kid so I know ill manage the injections ok. I just hope my lovely boy is still my friend! I hadn't thought about him having a hypo, as he's quite outdoorsy there's a risk of him not being found. I hadn't thought of that. I don't want him to have a grizzly end.

I've got some extra questions for the vet now, thank you.

@Orangeinmybluelightcup my cat developed diabetes at an old age and we started insulin injections. She surprisingly became non diabetic within about 5 months and lived till about 17

Our old girl was diabetic. It is daunting at first but you soon get into the swing of it. The injections were easy to do (easier than flea stuff on our current cat). We did glucose curves at home-the vet/vet nurse can go through this with you if you wish. You'll need to buy a glucometer and the strips etc but is por
You could ask your vet for a prescription to buy insulin online as it will be cheaper; the vet will have a fee for issuing the prescription. If you buy syringes online do double check they are the correct ones.
We had some cheap honey in case of hypos which you can just rub in the mouth; keep it with cat stuff so nobody uses it on their toast!

Our lovely old cat developed diabetes last year and had to have insulin injections twice daily. No insurance here either but we bought the insulin and needles online with the vet's prescription which bought the cost down. The cost of specialist food was a lot more than regular cat food too.

Our cat did not like the injections at all, and we found it quite hard at first. The vet suggested doing it while she ate so she was distracted, but that put her off eating as she associated the two. She did get more used to it after a while, but it was stressful at first.

One thing i would say though is that our cat was a skinny little thing, and generally diabetes in aging cats is caused by excess weight. Our cat got more and more poorly and it turned out that she had kidney cancer, which is what had caused the diabetes. So i would really recommend getting the vet to confirm there is no underlying condition, particularly if he isn't really overweight. If we had known, we could have saved her a lot of stress in those last few weeks/months.

Ah that's sad @lozzadoo
My boy is currently very skinny can feel his spine and ribs. He's previously been on the larger side but not grossly so, about 5.5kg. Despite being on a diet most of his life and an active cat out all day.