Question about life expectancy with FD diagnosis

Mary & Jude

Mary & Jude

Very Active Member
Perhaps this is a question for the general forum, and perhaps this is a question that is too sensitive to post, since all of us are navigating the issue, but I'm wondering what the long-term prognosis is for cats diagnosed with FD. I see some cats on here living good, long lives (@Karen and Chispa, for example), and, of course the care-level of the care-giver factors into the equation. I suppose what I'm wondering is what sort of longterm damage is FD doing to my little buddy? What is his body experiencing that it would not if his bg were normal? This is probably not an easy question to answer, given that there are certainly so many variables. Someone asked me this question the other day, and I honestly hadn't considered it, perhaps my head is in the sand, but I'm thinking about it now.
 
A properly treated diabetic cat can live as long as a non-diabetic cat. There's never an "expiration" date stamped on the bottom of their feet so it's impossible to say how long one cat might live compared to another.

The sooner and better you control the glucose, the less damage is done. The "good"? news is that cats tolerate high glucose levels better than most and it does take a long time to do significant damage, but consistently high glucose levels do add strain to the kidneys which are a cat's weakest organs. Pretty much all older cats are going to start to have some kidney disease but kidney disease can be managed too.

The best way I can put it is to treat your cats' diabetes as aggressively as you're comfortable with to get that glucose level down as soon as possible and he could live as long as he would have if he'd never had diabetes.

My first diabetic cat, China, was 13 when diagnosed and died at 19 1/2 from undiagnosed cancer. Cats that are treated, don't die from diabetes. They pass for the same reasons any other cat passes from. Cancer, heart disease, CKD, just plain old age.
 
I was never able to get Bandit regulated. She would eat only dry food and after a couple of years of low carb dry food, she would not eat that either, and was only eating kibble with 16% carbs. Her numbers were all over the place and she never stopped bouncing. Still, she had 4.5 good years after diagnosis and when she passed at 16, it wasn't FD, or even kidney disease that took her.

You are doing the best you can! And some more. It can be very frustrating to see numbers all over the place and not be able to make any sense of them despite everything you do. More so when you see other cats flatten out and get regulated much more easily. You've recently switched to TR and are giving him a better chance to get regulated. Paws crossed that he gets there. :bighug::bighug::bighug:

I don't remember, but have you ruled out any other reasons why he could have fallen out of remission/that could be interfering with him getting regulated?

Lastly, a cat is more than its numbers. I used to keep telling myself that with Bandit. She was happy and healthy despite not being regulated. :-)
 
Bandit's Mom said:
I don't remember, but have you ruled out any other reasons why he could have fallen out of remission/that could be interfering with him getting regulated?
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Jude came out of remission because he had a UTI. He's had other UTIs in the past (at least 3 since I rescued him about 7 yrs. ago), so there could be something there causing them to recur. He currently isn't showing any signs of a UTI, but he's very, very good at hiding pain and sickness (the only way I knew he had a UTI when he came out of remission was because his bg shot up). I'm taking him back into the vets next week for a complete check up. Once I do that, if nothing surfaces, I've decided that I'm going to take him to the University of Florida vet school where there is a doctor who specializes in feline diabetes.

That said, thanks for sharing your story about Bandit. How frustrating that must have been to never have gotten her regulated. But you did the best thing: focused on the positive--she was happy and healthy. And Jude is too. He is, for the most part, asymptomatic. And he's such a good, gentle cat: he tolerates all the multiple ear pricks and has adjusted to me taking away his favorite kibble, and is content to eat the LC food. But I worry about the high numbers--I worry about his kidneys. And I worry that his other internal organs could be damaged by the lack of regulation. Honestly, I see other cats on here that are so much more problematic with their health, that I should just be quiet and be thankful. But, you know, they are our little babies, and we worry.
 
We did have one member who lost her cat about a year ago. He had been diabetic, went into remission, and fell out of remission and back a couple times. He passed at age 25. I've seen cats on insulin for 11 years.

Neko was "complicated" due to her acromegaly and IAA diagnosis. The acromegaly contributed to her diabetes, CKD, heart conditions, small cell lymphoma and arthritis. She lived just one week shy of 5 years as a diabetic. It was the heart/CKD/SCL that did her in at age 16. But she was more or less regulated at that point and had been for a few years. When I worried about her periodic episodes of higher numbers due to one condition or another, her internal medicine vet told me it was prolonged time in higher numbers that was the risk for higher damage, not the short periods of time or bouncing.
 
Bandit's Mom said:
Lastly, a cat is more than its numbers. I used to keep telling myself that with Bandit. She was happy and healthy despite not being regulated. :)
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This!! So many people only focus on the diabetes and blood glucose numbers and forget about the whole cat. My first diabetic was a lemon and never got regulated but he lived for 4 years post-diagnosis happily until he had other health complications. Now I have Leroy who's a total mess :p:facepalm: but he's happy.
 
Bella was diabetic for over 3 years, she was very well regulated after a few months and lived completely normally for those 3 years. She died for causes completely unrelated to her diabetes, clot and probably heart disease, maybe cancer.
Her numbers were so predictible, I gave her shots and adjusted the doses, but other than that the diabetes was not an issue.
Our vet thought she was a few years older than what we were told, we adopted her as an adult and the Humane Society said she was 5 then, in 2017, but she thinks Bella was probably closer to 10. So that would mean she was actually 16-17 when she died. Impossible to tell, but just to add to the fact that they can live very well with diabetes.
I think Jude is starting to show nice numbers, you are doing a great job. It is very sad and depressing when cats die here, but you have to look at them before. Kit, Mikan, Bella, Chispa, were all doing very well and lived good lives, they were happy and loved. It is so, so sad when they leave us, diabetes or not.
I have been on this forum for 3 years and I think I can remember only one cat who dies because oif his diabetes, he had ketones and was in a coma. All the other ones dies of old age, cancer, or other causes. Look at Tyler, Diane's cat, for example: he was in remission and lived a very long life with his wonderful mom @Diane Tyler's Mom GA
It is a difficult journey but keep going, it will get easier and you are in the best place possible here with so many people who can guide you :bighug::bighug::bighug:
 
I’ve been around the board for 20 years and remember one cat who lived 14 years with diabetes. That cat, just as so many other, died from something else.

Treated, and especially if managed well with the proper food and insulin (as is encouraged here), a cat can live a normal lifespan. We see it often.
 
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