Diabetic Cats

[Spaniard]

Last night I came home from work to find my 13 y/o cat (Hercules) pretty much blind and delirious roaming the house constantly sniffing anything he could find. He was completely unresponsive to anything going on around him so we rushed him to the ER. Turns out his blood sugar was very low. Good thing is they have him stabilized and as of this morning he regained all of his eyesight and blood sugar returned to normal levels. They're now weaning him off of the dextrose drip while monitoring his levels.

We'd been giving him a pill (glipizide) for about 2 years now which helped to regulate his diabetes quite well. We decided not to give him insulin because my g/f and I were both in college and rarely home at the time to be able to administer the shots.

The situation is a little different now so I was looking for some feedback from anyone with a diabetic cat on administering insulin. I have a follow up appointment with my vet on Tues but I was just wondering what your experiences have been. Are there any concerns or issues I should be aware of or ask my vet about?

What kind of diet do you have your diabetic cat on?

Any feedback is welcome!

Thanks,

[rabernet]

I had a diabetic cat and gave her insulin shots 2 x a day. It was uneventful for the cat and for me. She got lots of loving after each shot and never was concerned about them.

I had her on a diet the vet recommended (the Science Diet) but today I'd follow this site if I still had her:

http://www.catinfo.org/felinediabetes.htm

[Spaniard]

Thanks Robin, I just picked him up 20 minutes ago and he's doing much better. He ran to his litter box first thing he got in the door hehe

I'm definitely going to read the link you provided. Have the follow up appointment on Tuesday and will be discussing the best option for kitty with the vet then.

[littleindiangirl]

Not that it has to do with diabetic cats, but it does have to do with diet.

I just saw my vet today for my cats rabies shot. He got a fecal done and yes, his poop is still extremely stinky. She had mentioned that his fur was incredibly soft and plush. We told her that we switched his diet a few weeks ago and we saw an immediate change in energy, he was already a psycho, but he is even more energetic now, and his fur is very soft too.

She said she has a lot of patients that are in love with the Wellness brand and Innova for their cats, and she told us to keep him on the diet for 4 more months, if his poo doesn't stink less by then, then perhaps we should review different diets for him.

The point I'm making is I am very happy with the Evo we are feeding him, however it IS super low in carbs and very high in protein, so feed cautiously to an older kitty if you were to. See what your vet says, I'm sure they have many patients who made the switch.

Good luck with the kitteh.

[Spaniard]

Thank Connie,

He's on prescription dry and wet food now. If you think your cat is stinky you should see or rather smell my guy sometimes.

I'm going to the store tomorrow to do some serious browsing. I'll make sure to check out the Evo.

[littleindiangirl]

Thank Connie,

He's on prescription dry and wet food now. If you think your cat is stinky you should see or rather smell my guy sometimes.

I'm going to the store tomorrow to do some serious browsing. I'll make sure to check out the Evo.

Well the stink is certainly new for us! Our vet said it's normal and that his body is adjusting, so I'm REALLY hoping he transitions.

[SatanicIntention]

Nature's Variety and a ground raw/supplemented diet would likely snap him out of the diabetic condition

Get him off of the prescription crap. It's just full of fillers and carbs(sugars).

[Spaniard]

Hey Becky,

I was just checking out the Nature's Variety, there's a few places in my area that carry it. What nature's variety were you recommending, the raw frozen, or the canned/dry (Instinct / Prairie).

I don't mind preparing a mix myself but was hesitant going to raw because his entire life he's never eaten raw food and I didn't know if he would get sick. What would you recommend as a ground raw/supplemented diet?

I want to bombard my vet with questions when I see him so I appreciate all the help.

[4theSNAKElady]

I have had quite a few customers (i work in a nataural pet feed store) come in who had diabetic cats, and did research on the best diet. I never thought to ask why, but many had dicovered that the HALO brand Wholesome turkey formula was at the top of the list.