Diabetic cat

[Jellycatspyjamas]

So my 14 year old boy has been loosing weight, problems with toiletting and generally a bit under the weather. I took him to the vet fully expecting his time had come. It turns out he has diabetes, they’re doing some further tests to look at treatment options. I’m wondering if anyone had experience caring for a cat with diabetes. I want to give him the best care possible but I also don’t want to put him through unnecessary discomfort if it doesn’t improve his quality of life.

Can anyone share how it was for them and, more importantly their cat?

Cat tax attached.

Hi. Yes. My last cat was diagnosed with diabetes and we managed it very well.for 6 years. She had to have daily insulin injections, the vet showed me how to do it. First time I though oh my god..but I picked her up and put her on the kitchen worktop. You inject them in the scruff of the neck. I then began to do it as she just finished eating, so she was distracted lol. Cat wasn't fussed. Have to have more regular vet visits for diabetes monitoring as cats are the only species that can recover from diabetes .yes, really!!!! Please go to the vet appts, my partner didn't and his cat ended up having a diabetic crisis. Quality of life? Perfect. Holidays? Need to find someone who will inject your cat. Cost .£1 a day for the insulin. Is it worth it? Yes. Have a look at feline diabetes.com

Yep I had a diabetic cat years ago, the main faff was making sure her insulin dose was correct and in order to do that I think there were various trips and to and from the vet over a short period quite intense at the time to get bloods and urine samples

She then needed insulin injections which were easy to administr as they were in the scruff of her neck.

She lived for about a couple of years or so after the diagnosis but that involved a house move and living with a dog and I dont know if the stress killed her to be honest. She was about 12 I think by then. She exhibited signs of a stroke after a year and then seemed to recover and then almost a year to the day after that seemed to suffer with the same thing and then died at the vets.

I treated my cat with diabetes for 4.5 years. He had a daily injection of insulin that I gave in the scruff of his neck each morning when he was eating his breakfast. I kept him in one night a week so i could test his urine (using /litter tray with aquarium gravel) and then adjusted his dose accordingly. He was supposed to have a special diet but he hated the food so we decided quality rather than quantity of life was more important and so he had normal cat food. He did have a couple of hypos (he would put his nose on the wall) but i kept a bottle of glycerin in the fridge and would put some in his mouth which always did the trick. The hardest part was finding someone who would inject him when we went on holiday

There is a new oral product that might be an option too

I have had a diabetic cat, as has my mum and I also cared for some during my time as a catsitter. Once you know how to do the injection - the vet will show you, just do it in their scruff so they can’t really feel it - it’s fine. The insulin always had to be kept in the fridge in my experience and you had to roll it gently in your palms, not shake it.

My cat had other health issues and the diabetes was by far the easiest to control.

I had a diabetic cat too (also a tabby) & we had to give her one injection a day.
It was easy to train friends & neighbours on how to give our cat her injection if we were away overnight or for a weekend.
If we were away longer that then we'd book her into her usual cattery where the staff were used to dealing with cats with health conditions.

My cat had diabetes, it is quite a lot of work and in the end my cat developed liver failure and sadly died.

If I had another cat develop diabetes, especially if they’re an older cat, I’d seriously consider pts as a kinder option than all the blood tests and injections…

Thanks everyone, that all sounds manageable and if it gives him some more, good, time then definitely worth it. He’s a gorgeous boy, loved by everyone, the thought of losing him has been so hard I want to be sensible about ongoing treatment but it sounds very doable.

I guess that’s what I’m questioning, whether it’s kinder in the long run to let him go. I’ll know more when I speak to the vet.

No need to let the cat go. It's very manageable. As others have said it's just a jab in the scruff of the neck. I used to test mine with a blood prick on her ear. Occasionally the insulin dose had been too high and I put syrup on her paws to bring the glucose levels up. Feel free to PM me.
Mine lived another 4 years after diagnosis.

Yes, our cat was diagnosed last year aged 13. She was eating constantly but losing weight, lethargic and so, so thirsty. She had been overweight before despite our best efforts - we think she visited all the neighbours for extra meals - which the vet said was the main risk factor.

Anyway, all is well. We decided on the new(ish) oral medication - senvelgo - which is a once day liquid squirted on her food (no injections). It’s much more expensive than insulin but we saved money as no regular monitoring / blood tests / vet check ups needed. She was only the second cat the vet had ever treated with it so we learnt together. Her symptoms disappeared within a week - it was suddenly obvious how rubbish she must have been feeling.

One year later we did a trial without medication as cats can go into remission from diabetes after 6-9 months of treatment. And she’s fine! No diabetes, stable weight, happy and well, her normal self. Off all medication. We just dipstick her wee now and again to check there is no sugar in it and are alert to return of symptoms.

So I would not consider PTS based on our experience and I am hopeful of more healthy years to come.

Please join the UK Feline Diabetes Support Group on FB (even if you don’t use FB). There a world version too, also good to join. They will get you set up. The oral med is great but there are strict checks the vet must do and UK vets don’t seem to have got it yet, e.g. monitoring blood ketones. Don’t be put off by horror stories if your cat is a candidate for Senvelgo. Basically they have to be otherwise totally healthy.

It does depend a bit on the cat, the cat I had with diabetes was very —thick— soppy and he didn’t mind having his ear pricked or having injections.

My other cat would be a completely different scenario as she hates any messing about, she hates the vets, screams when she has her boosters etc. She’s a complete drama queen and it would be much more stressful for her and I.

The new medication sounds interesting though, I’ve not heard of that before.

Have had several cats for over 60 years. At one time we had five in our household, none had ever had diabetes or health issues. What I believed then is that cats are carnivores and unfortunately vets and supermarkets sell highly processed rubbish akin to a McDonalds, with barely any meat, mostly wheats and sugar. I ordered from an online pet food distributor and got reindeer, oxen, pollock, lamb, hundreds of different varieties including a vast array of fish, they also had what was left of our roasts. Even the small premium containers (stupidly priced) have barely any meat.
I think the whole food industry is pretty dire and helps promote bad health, which is entertwined with the health industry.