Hi there, I'm not used to forums but I will do my best to get the hang of this. We have been struggling with receiving this diagnoses for our boy Onyx and this seemed helpful.
We took him to the ER yesterday after noticing his hind legs didn't seem to be functioning properly and he was really struggling to use them. He is 10 years old and has always been super active and curious and now he barely wants to leave whatever cat bed he finds comfort in. The vet almost immediately assumed diabetes because of his recent history of excessive drinking plus his hind legs resting flat on his hocks (i forget the technical term for this). Did blood work and confirmed his glucose was very high and something about enzymes with his pancreas but the rest of his bloodwork was unremarkable. This took us completely by surprise because it seemingly happened over night and this is all such new territory for us. Of all our animals we really didn't expect Onyx to be the first with something more serious like this. We are still learning the new life with diabetes obviously since this is currently the 24 hour mark of his diagnosis but we feel like our life was flipped upside down and I know I personally am struggling with the fear of doing something wrong and having a fatal outcome. The very real idea that his life is literally in our hands every minute is overwhelming.
We are really just looking for any advice on navigating the transition period from "normal life" to "closely monitored and scheduled life" because we are beyond overwhelmed. Thankfully our diagnostic vet is a 24/7 hospital and have been more than willing to help with our "we just need peace of mind" moments. They even had us bring him back in today (after his 2nd dose of insulin) because I couldn't tell if his leg wobble was his current normal or if he was low, and they were kind enough to not even charge us for this. I am hoping to learn a little more that allows us to provide our own peace of mind and what tools help with this such as a monitor so that we're not constantly calling our vet with the "I don't know what I'm looking for's".
Any words of comfort would also be very welcomed as I am already an overly emotional person as it is and this is hitting us pretty hard. I am so thankful we weren't at a point where it was time to plan our good byes to our sweet boy, but the idea that this makes his future uncertain is very difficult to cope with.
Thank you in advance.
Side Note:
I also wanted to ask if anyone has struggled with their babies having the hind leg symptoms causing them to lay their hocks in their urine while using the litter box. Our boy keeps getting litter stuck to his legs and I feel super guilty when I see it. The vet recommended considering a different litter or switching to non clumping at least. We have 4 cats in total so we are just trying to figure out the best route while still considering our other cats. (One cat has sensitivities to certain litters and will only use Purina unscented clumping litter on top of being our oldest with mobility issues in her joints, and our other boy has a chronic urinary tract history resulting in special food and close monitoring of his bathroom habits.)
We took him to the ER yesterday after noticing his hind legs didn't seem to be functioning properly and he was really struggling to use them. He is 10 years old and has always been super active and curious and now he barely wants to leave whatever cat bed he finds comfort in. The vet almost immediately assumed diabetes because of his recent history of excessive drinking plus his hind legs resting flat on his hocks (i forget the technical term for this). Did blood work and confirmed his glucose was very high and something about enzymes with his pancreas but the rest of his bloodwork was unremarkable. This took us completely by surprise because it seemingly happened over night and this is all such new territory for us. Of all our animals we really didn't expect Onyx to be the first with something more serious like this. We are still learning the new life with diabetes obviously since this is currently the 24 hour mark of his diagnosis but we feel like our life was flipped upside down and I know I personally am struggling with the fear of doing something wrong and having a fatal outcome. The very real idea that his life is literally in our hands every minute is overwhelming.
We are really just looking for any advice on navigating the transition period from "normal life" to "closely monitored and scheduled life" because we are beyond overwhelmed. Thankfully our diagnostic vet is a 24/7 hospital and have been more than willing to help with our "we just need peace of mind" moments. They even had us bring him back in today (after his 2nd dose of insulin) because I couldn't tell if his leg wobble was his current normal or if he was low, and they were kind enough to not even charge us for this. I am hoping to learn a little more that allows us to provide our own peace of mind and what tools help with this such as a monitor so that we're not constantly calling our vet with the "I don't know what I'm looking for's".
Any words of comfort would also be very welcomed as I am already an overly emotional person as it is and this is hitting us pretty hard. I am so thankful we weren't at a point where it was time to plan our good byes to our sweet boy, but the idea that this makes his future uncertain is very difficult to cope with.
Thank you in advance.
Side Note:
I also wanted to ask if anyone has struggled with their babies having the hind leg symptoms causing them to lay their hocks in their urine while using the litter box. Our boy keeps getting litter stuck to his legs and I feel super guilty when I see it. The vet recommended considering a different litter or switching to non clumping at least. We have 4 cats in total so we are just trying to figure out the best route while still considering our other cats. (One cat has sensitivities to certain litters and will only use Purina unscented clumping litter on top of being our oldest with mobility issues in her joints, and our other boy has a chronic urinary tract history resulting in special food and close monitoring of his bathroom habits.)
. Biggest thing for your diabetic kitty is low carb wet food and at home monitoring. We use a libre sensor because our old man really doesn't stand his ear being pricked and it gives us a good overall sense of his numbers, so less stress for us. 