Cats + Diabetes

whodatnurse · Jun 28, 2008

Don't have any personal experience with a diabetic cat. I did have one to whom I had to give subcutaneous fluids (Lactated Ringers) every other day to stave off kidney failure. I gave him his breakfast, then 'plugged him in' for a few minutes while he ate. He was happily occupied so he came to barely notice the needle prick. I'm sure your neighbor's kitty is familiar with the routine, so he ought to be okay about getting his daily shot.

The one thing I do know in terms of prevention...only wet food! Cats should not be eating dry food because the low protein / high cereal content leads to overweight and obesity, which places them at risk for diabetes. Both of mine aren't even a year old, and my vet already noticed a tiny bit of tummy hanging down from them. She said to nip it in the bud and that the dry stuff had to go. Inconvenient...yes...but I love them so much and want to keep them in the best of health for many years to come. I'm slowly weaning them off of dry completely.

**canoehead, BSN, RN** · Jun 28, 2008

As the glucose levels come down the cat will pee less. How is she checking the glucose level?

allnurses Guide · Jun 28, 2008

Is this medical advice? :chair:

steph:sofahider

miko014 · Jun 28, 2008

I had a diabetic cat before I was a nurse, and let me tell you, the insulin is a bad idea.

I gave my baby insulin then went to work one day. She threw up, had seizures, went into a coma, went to the animal hospital, and cost me a TON of money.

AFTER the fact, I found out that they make diabetic cat food. I was LIVID that the vet didn't tell us about the food first, and THEN go to the insulin if that didn't work. My baby almost died (on Christmas day, no less - yes, it was my turn to work it), and it cost well over a thousand bucks to save her.

PS: You don't check their sugar. You just give them the insulin and then feed them.

TheCommuter, BSN, RN · Jun 28, 2008

Is this medical advice? :chair:
steph:sofahider

Perhaps it is advice revolving around veterinary medicine.

allnurses Guide · Jun 28, 2008

Perhaps it is advice revolving around veterinary medicine.

I'm kidding around ... :coollook: :chuckle

jennyfyre · Jun 28, 2008

My friends cat has been diabetic for years now. She gets her shots twice a day. She also has her glucose checked every day and when she seems "funny". My friend uses a regular meter, can't remember which brand, and gets the blood from her ear. She calls the cat to her and the animal jumps up on the arm of her chair to sit while being checked and getting her shot! Then she tells her cat to go eat. It's really quite amazing if you think about it! I wish our young DKA pts would listen that well!!!! :) Hope all goes well with your cat sitting!

txredheadnurse, BSN, RN · Jun 28, 2008

I have a diabetic cat. He has been diabetic for nearly 5 years now. Initially the first feline specialist put him on dry "diabetic" food and insulin. He survived but did not thrive and she kept increasing his insulin dosages.

I took him to a different feline specialist who put him on strictly "wet"/canned food and we gradually tapered the amount of wet food as his excess weight came off. The vet stopped the insulin once his fructosamine levels were normal for a three month period. He is now within his proper weight range, no insulin and a happy guy for over 2 years without insulin.

The key for controlling the litter smell is good quality clumping litter, minimal twice a day scooping and strictly wet food. As the glucose levels normalize the cat stops spilling glucose and the urine stops being so strong smelling. My guy was a real trooper about his shots and his blood glucose checks. As a previous poster noted I wish our human patients were so cooperative about managing their diabetes lol.

MaryAnn_RN · Jun 28, 2008

One of my cats starting drinking incessantly, always peeing and loosing weight. I thought she might be diabetic, took her to the vet who laughed but took bloods anyway...BM over 30 mmols. She was started on insulin. At first I was taking her to the vet for bloods, £££££££ each time. I then bought a glucose monitor and found that it was possible to get a little blood from her ear, so did her BMs myself and the vet reviewed these each month.

As for litter, I used Catsan for Mog which was expensive but it worked.

In Mogs case she had a tumour on her pancreas and began to suffer so it was kinder to have her put to sleep.

Daytonite, BSN, RN · Jun 28, 2008

my cat was diagnosed with diabetes a little over 2 years ago when she was losing weight, peeing up a storm and found to have a blood glucose of 600!. she is currently on 3 units of nph insulin q12h and back up to her roly-poly self. the only time she pees a lot is if i forget to give her one of her insulin shots. (i know, bad mommy.) if this cat is peeing a lot, his blood sugar is over his renal threshold. if you have a glucose meter you can check it. i prick my kitty in the base of her ear or on one of the pads of her feet to get a drop of blood. if the glucose is over 250, same as humans i believe, they'll start dumping sugar in their urine and get glycosuria just as humans do.

all i can suggest is that you change the litter box frequently. if this is a male who has not been neutered, this may be the reason for the strong odor just because of the amount of urine or he may be getting a uti. dabetic cats, like diqabetic humans, are subject to infections. if unneutered, males cats are at risk for fus (feline urologic syndrome--kidney stones).

i was wondering why this cat is only on insulin once a day? what kind of insulin? my vet tells me that the blood sugar needs to be regulated round the clock which is why i have to inject my kitty q12h. she has the vet equivalent of the hba1c, or glycosylated hemoglobin, (fructosamine?) drawn several times a year to assess her average blood glucose level over the previous 90 days. this test monitors the effectiveness of the insulin dosage, but it runs about $200+ here in the u.s. i bookmarked this website 2 years ago because i found it helpful then: http://www.felinediabetes.com/

i had an elderly female calico that died a month ago of renal failure. she was urinating all the time surprisingly--high output failure i guess. when i took her to the vet 6 months ago they got a urine sample from her quite easily (catheterized) and knew immediately that she had a uti at that time.

i don't know about you, but if this were me, i'd have that cat to a vet today for a checkup and exam, ask a lot of questions and be expecting that it's going to cost a lot. that wouldn't even begin to address how i was going to deal with my neighbor.

Jules A, MSN · Jun 28, 2008

I had a diabetic cat before I was a nurse, and let me tell you, the insulin is a bad idea.
I gave my baby insulin then went to work one day. She threw up, had seizures, went into a coma, went to the animal hospital, and cost me a TON of money.
AFTER the fact, I found out that they make diabetic cat food. I was LIVID that the vet didn't tell us about the food first, and THEN go to the insulin if that didn't work. My baby almost died (on Christmas day, no less - yes, it was my turn to work it), and it cost well over a thousand bucks to save her.
PS: You don't check their sugar. You just give them the insulin and then feed them.

I am so sorry that your cat had a hypoglycemic reaction but insulin is absolutely necessary in a diabetic cat that can't be diet controlled. I wouldn't be comfortable giving insulin without a blood glucose check which can be easily done with an ear stick.

FWIW many diabetic cats, especially early on, can be diet controlled if you dump the dry crap. It doesn't have to be a special diet but a low carb, high protein canned food, no gravy, works really well and is good for all cats actually. It is also very rare that a cat will be regulated on only 1 shot a day, most require 2. Good luck.