Older cat, possible diabetes

[FiveWhatByFiveWhat]

Hi all, hoping for some guidance please. I'm feeling really anxious tonight.

Our old boy is coming up to 15, we adopted him from the RSPCA when he was about 3 years old. Real character, always pretty healthy.

We took him to the vets tonight as recently he's lost weight despite eating and drinking more, seems less active and has shown some repetitive behaviours. They suspect diabetes and we need to take him back Monday for blood tests. We need to give him sedatives before we take him - he's a friendly cat with us but HATES being "messed" with in any way.

I'm so worried. About potential long term care, mostly for how stressed he gets if we ever have to do anything with him, especially as he's old and just wants to relax. And shamefully, about the costs. I know it shouldn't matter, but it might do, we're not exactly rolling in it.

Has anyone had an old cat diagnosed with diabetes? What's the crack? Or could it be something else?

Diabetes generally means regular insulin injections alongside their meals at a minimum - I'm not sure about costs or anything I'm afraid as I suspect it varies based on a lot of different factors.

@biscuitsandbooks this is what I'm worried about, I genuinely can't imagine having to inject him every day. Not sure who would be more traumatised, us or him 😬

@FiveWhatByFiveWhat I have two cats who need daily medication and they both adapted surprisingly quickly - one has tablets and the other has liquid Metacam and they both know they have them before breakfast and wait really patiently, haha.

He may surprise you!

My mother had an older cat with diabetes. She needed frequent blood tests at the vet, daily insulin injections and a specialist diet. I thought it was unreasonable, expensive and unfair to the poor cat and owner. After a while the injection site in her scruff got hardened and it was difficult to inject.

If it had been my cat I would have let her go rather than put through all that trauma (she hated the vet, the injections and the food).

I'm sure you can make the best decision that's in everyone's best interest. Sympathies, OP.

There's an alternative to the injections now for cats OP, it's a brand new medication option, you should ask your vet about it!

I have recent experience of this with my Mum's cat. Lost a lot of weight, drinking lots and therefore peeing lots, tired and subdued.

My Mum is quite elderly and has severe arthritis and couldn't manage the daily injections which he would have needed. I discussed an alternative with the vet which was drops into his mouth but the treatment is aimed at 'well diabetics' not those whose disease is quite far advanced (which his was). I haven't got the notes to hand that I wrote from the discussion with the vet but it required blood tests every 2/3 weeks for the first few months and urine samples (collected at home) every 2/3 days for the first fortnight. And no guarantee the treatment would work.

In the end he was pts as he deteriorated and we didn't think it was fair carting him backwards and forwards to the vets constantly. He was about 15 at the time and the vet suspected he may have had other issues. It wasn't cheap either when you consider the volume of tests as well as the drugs.

There are far worse things than quietly and calmly having a pet pts rather than putting them through tests and treatment that they don't understand. They live in the moment, they can't understand that in x number of days or weeks that they might feel better.

Weigh up the all the factors of treatment, the possible outcome and the temperament of your cat. Discuss with your vet and be honest about what you feel you can manage.

Hugs to you as it's difficult to know what is the best thing to do as we are so desperate to help them.

My cat had diabetes, it can be quite easy to manage other than the injecting at a certain time, he didn't really notice the needle and it wasn't as much as I thought it would be

Our 14 year old was diagnosed immediately after my mother died. The vet gave us an option for him to leave, but neither my 6 year old (in the consultation room with me) nor I were in a position to lose another loved one. We tried for two years with insulin injections but while he coped with the injections it really did ware him down. We eventually allowed him to pass this year. Now when we look back on photos we see we needed him to stay for us and it wasn’t the best thing for him.

It is so hard to decide especially as diabetics live normally among us but it just isn’t the same for a pet.

@biscuitsandbooks, My parents cat who can't be a bit feisty absolutely loved his metacam. They'd show him the syringe and he'd open his mouth. We couldn't believe it! I think they know somehow it's making them feel better. My I stopped having to chase my late girl to get her heart medication down her. She was very good with it.

I had an older cat with diabetes. The injections were a piece of cake and he couldn't have cared less about them. He used to have low blood sugar episodes now and again, and I got good at dealing with them. I can't help with costs as I'm in NZ, and it was many years ago, but I don't remember it being very expensive. He lived for a few more years, and died from something else.

@Toddlerteaplease yes, they're quite clever when they want to be! Mine will shout at me to do it - and then he just waits nicely while it's done - like your parents' cat he can be a feisty sod when he wants to be as well!