Cabergoline and food obsession

MamaMija

MamaMija

Member Since 2026
Have folks found that once their fur baby is on Cabergoline they are less food obsessed? I am considering starting Lunar on it. Insulin resistant DM x 2 years. 13 years old. Auto feeder 4x daily but hunts down everyone’s food (dog, human, other cat)-ate 1/4 pumpkin pie last Thanksgiving….I am interested in whether this behavior decreases as Cabergoline takes effect, lowering blood glucose levels. It’s awful to see him so driven by this. Doesn’t even come cuddle at bedtime anymore because he has to watch his feeder (starts to do this 1 hour before it opens). Thank you!
 
Has Lunar been tested for acromegaly? Cabergoline only works on cats with confirmed acromegaly.
 
I don't personally have experience with cabergoline, as it came out just a bit too late for me to try with Neko. But I have watched others here. I have seen reports that some of the acro symptoms can diminish when on cabergoline. I know that Neko's appetite because somewhat controlled after she had her radiation therapy. Other things that helped were getting her blood sugar numbers somewhat regulated plus I think the raw diet helped satiate her more too.

What insulin are you using with Lunar and what dose? Are you home testing his blood sugars?
 
He is currently on Prozinc for well over 1 year. He was on Lantus initially summer 2024 but did not adequately respond; blood glucose did not normalize. On the Prozinc, he has had some intermittent response with slightly lowered blood glucose to the 200's range (very occasional high 100's) when we increase the Prozinc dose but he always reverts to elevated blood glucose levels in the 300-400's. I check his blood glucose 12 hour curve intermittently using AlphaTrak. He is currently on Prozinc 14 U twice a day. I finally had an abdominal ultrasound last month which ruled out other illnesses. The vet and myself had delayed the ultrasound for a while; her because last year he had a brief time where he had lost a little weight so she didnt think it was acromegaly; me because of the cost honestly. He has gained back that weight and more. Now that we have the IGF level which confirms acromegaly, I am looking at starting cabergoline.
 
Hello! I believe that it’s more likely your cat’s high glucose values are causing this food obsession. Acromegaly is also not helping, of course.

When my cat was not regulated and was in high BG numbers, he was extremely hungry pretty much all the time. On Cabergoline, as his numbers came down his hunger normalized.

He was on ProZinc for a while, which wasn’t helping him (although I was also not increasing his dose like I should have and later did under Wendy’s guidance.) Cabergoline really did help him.
 
Hello!
That's what I am hoping for (decreased food obsession). The first year or so of his diabetes he was not like this so I presume it is because the acromegaly is progressing. Of course, we did not know that this was what we were dealing with. Like I said, the weight loss threw off the vet. He has the breathing that acromegaly cats get as well. Sounds like he's snoring sometimes while wide awake!
 
That makes sense. If the cabergoline helps in reducing the overgrowth of the pituitary it makes sense that it may also reduce the overgrowth of the soft palate which causes the breathing sounds.
 
MamaMija said:
Hello!
That's what I am hoping for (decreased food obsession). The first year or so of his diabetes he was not like this so I presume it is because the acromegaly is progressing. Of course, we did not know that this was what we were dealing with. Like I said, the weight loss threw off the vet. He has the breathing that acromegaly cats get as well. Sounds like he's snoring sometimes while wide awake!
Click to expand...
One of our members here from a few years ago reported that her cat’s breathing greatly improved on Cabergoline. She said he had been so loud that she could hear him from the opposite end of her house.
 
How long does it usually take to start to see a drop in blood glucose levels? I have emailed Lunar's vet for guidelines on testing and adjusting his insulin but am just curious how long people have seen it take.
 
I'm afraid there is no "usually" with cabergoline. I've seen cats on less than 10 units go completely off insulin in 7-10 days, and I've seen cats on on those size doses and much higher take several months to see dose reductions. With cats with active tumours, staying flat in dose is better than increasing dose, so that's still an effect. Guidelines for testing is you need to it frequently. I would recommend at least 4 times per day, twice just before the shot (preshot time) and one other time per cycle so you can see how low he's going on a particular dose.
 
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