Diabetic Cat is very sick

[ljmarcu]

Found out just Friday that my cat has diabetes. He had been throwing up and not eating. So he gets an insulin shot and special medicine and since his glucose levels were back to normal, he got to come home.

He ate his dinner that night and took his liver medicine(he has an enlarged liver too) and ate his food all saturday. But saturday night he began throwing up again. He has thrown up about 10 times since last night. He is still drinking some water but I know he is dehydrated. I also know that not eating has jacked up his glucose levels and could further harm his liver.

The vet was closed today since it's Sunday. They open at 8am tomorrow and we will be getting him there asap.

I am just very upset and nervous tonight because he is of course now very lethargic and I am just so scared I'm going to lose him

He is only 2 by the way.



If you have any advice, encouraging words, or anecdotes of your own please feel free to share. heart

[Valiska Pines]

My cat Asterix has diabetes. It sounds a lot worse than it is. It's just like diabetes in people. It's a big pain in the butt because you can't just go away for the weekend with a big bowl of dry food on the floor, but your cat will probably not die of it.

The worst problem with a newly diabetic cat is getting them to eat right. Once you have that licked, your cat may not even need shots any more! (But most cats don't mind shots. It is much easier to give a cat a shot than it is to give them pills or even liquid medicine. They hate blood draws, but insulin goes just under the skin and they barely feel it. Asterix will come to me and beg for one if he feels bad because he knows it makes him feel better. Asterix is diet controlled now, but if he gets into something he shouldn't--he's mischievous and smart--he will have to have a shot.)

Diabetic cats do best on an ALL WET FOOD DIET. (So do most cats, to be honest. Dry food has too many carbs and not enough water.) Cats love dry food because of the taste enhancers they put on it and it can be hard to break the habit. Asterix didn't mind the switch, but I also had to switch my other cat because he lets Asterix eat his food, and that was a trial. As you know already, cats need to eat every day or they have liver problems, so you may have to switch them over gradually.

Generally speaking, you want a canned cat food with less than 10% carbs. That means it doesn't have "gravy" -- just a pate. My boys do well on relatively cheap food--the "meat by-products" are often the organs and other parts of an animal that a wild cat would eat, but humans most often won't consider to be meat.

Cat Info.Org canned foods

The Feline Diabetes Message Board and CatInfo,org are life savers.

Talk to your vet. Let them know you are willing to change your cat's food and ask if they want you to do home testing. If your cat's case is challenging you may want to do home testing too (whether your vet is enthusiastic or not). Asterix was an easy case so I just keep an eye on him.

You can find cat sitters who know how to give shots, so you're not stuck at home for the rest of your cat's life--it's just expensive.

There will be people who have never had a diabetic pet who will encourage you to put him down. They're full of s**t. All you need to keep your cat alive and happy is the right food, insulin shots and a little extra attention & love. Feel free to friend me. I have a job so I'm not on during the week except in the evenings, even though my home computer is on so it might look like I am. But it should be OK.

[Malted Shark]

Yes, yes, YES to all that AradiaWindbourne said!! I have a diabetic cat too, since Valentine's day 2012. I'm a member of the FDMB and they've helped me tremendously. I definitely recommend testing often and at home. It's cheaper and will eliminate any vet stress that'll cause numbers to go up. The important thing is not letting numbers get low. I definitely recommend something like Lantus or Levemir if your kitty isn't already on it, people have seen a lot better results on it.

But the important thing to remember is every cat is different and to go with what works for yours.



(BTW, if you're curious about how my diabetic kitty's been doing, here's the spreadsheet I use over at FDMBL LINK, I don't recommend following that dosing though, it's very high for most cats)