OT.. Did you all know that your PET can become diabetic?

[CarolineRn]

This may seem silly to some, and for that I apologize. However, I don't know why this never occured to me before.

I have a cat who is about 12 years old now, and for the majority of his life has been classified as "grossly obese" by his vets. "Tiggrr" flat out refused to eat the "prescribed" weight loss cat foods the vet gave him, so I fed him what he would eat... 9 Lives, etc..

Well, in the past few months I noticed 'Ol Tig was constantly eating, he stopped using the litterbox and peed where ever he stood, and he drank gallons of H2O. Hmmmm... The three P's.

Also, and this was the most alarming, he showed signs of neuropathy... Walking almost on his "knees." (use your imagination)

I went online and googled "cats and diabetes" and what do you know? There are a myriad of websites devoted to this. I read up on it, and took Tiggrr to the vet, telling the vet what I suspected. Guess what? Tig is now on 6 Units of insulin daily. Despite his distaste for it, he is on a special diet, and has lost about 10 lbs. Beleive it or not, he is a new cat! The lizards in our yard are toast! He pounces, jumps, plays, and acts like a kitten again.

Just a reminder to all of us that our nursing skills can indeed cross species, and help every special member of our families.

[obeyacts2]

I had an assignment that involved caring for an elderly IDDM that was big-time brittle and we gave her insulin and accuchecks q 4h around the clock. She had a cat that was also IDDM and we gave him shots too. I think I get better feedback from the cat. Give a painful shot to a human and they wince.......do the same to a cat or dog and they just turn aound and tear your hand off:chuckle

Just as humans have low blood glucose reactions, so do pets. I just lost my rat terrier to a insulinoma (pancreatic tumor). She started having the doggie equivalent of grand mal seizures complete with foaming at the mouth.....we took her to the vet and they couldnt find anything wrong but low bgs. The vet tried phenobarbitol on increasing higher doses ..... up to 45 mg/bid:eek: For a 13 lb dog. They got worse and finally we had to either get the surgery..with no guarantees as to outcome or euthanize her. Due to age, we put her down. I mis her very much, she was a nice dog, very warm cuddly and loving.

Laura

[jackieliz]

I've had a fresh kidney tx pt the last three nights who is diabetic and also happens to be a veterinarian. He's doing really well, but he keeps telling us how poorly we-and by we he means endocrine and renal docs-manage diabetes and how much better diabetes is managed in animals!