Cat diabetic, starting his 7th year.

[cashy]

Somehow our 22 year old black Siamese cat is still alive, 23 this October. He is the oldest cat that we have ever had. He is still on insulin.

From most of what I have read it looks like 3 years is a good run for diabetic cat.

2 weeks ago he decided that he wouldn't eat, we felt that is it for him. Some how he bounced back and is back to himself. Looking back we wonder if he was affected by some Sevin powder which was spread on our deck to prevent beetles on a vine.

6 years ago in August he started losing weight, after a month or so it became apparent that he had something wrong when his gait was affected. Initially I figured it was just his age.

At any rate we are doing nothing heroic as we have never had a cat anywhere near his age. 16-18 seems to be about the max for a fairly healthy cat.

About his spreadsheet, I give him Vetulin in a u100 .3ml syringe so the real amount is .4x the amount. Ei 10=2.5. Every month I put average blood glucose and average insulin both the raw unit and the real unit

We have found that we can not give him more than 2.4u (6u on my spreadsheet) we risk hypoglycemia. He is a brittle diabetic and the same amount of insulin will one time give him 300 and the nest leave him with 80. I figure if he is at 200-300 at least some of the day is probably near 100.

Vaya con Dios

http://veloliner.com/cashinsulin2.pdf

I would like to add that he doesn't move like an old cat. He will still run some when out side or if the door is opened. He doesn't climb ladders any more, only steps.

 

[Diane Tyler's Mom GA]

Wow going to be 23 yrs old bless him.
If you want to set up our spreadsheet here is the link if not that's fine
https://felinediabetes.com/FDMB/threads/how-to-create-a-spreadsheet.241706/

 

[cashy]

Thanks for your kind words, We wonder how he keeps going. When he was 20 we decided that we wouldn't do anything heroic.

He still climbs on the bed in the morning at 5 am for a wake up call. Gives his distinctive siamese meow, right in my ear. Gets our 6 dogs grumbling.

I figure that if I can keep his blood glucose at 300 he is probably down to 100 mid-day. I don't use any insulin if his BG is under 200

Until this year we had a Relion Prime glucometer. I don't think it was very consistent. We replaced it with a Relion Premier. The new unit gives a reading with probably half the blood, an important consideration on an old diabetic. It also operates faster. with more consistency. The sticks are about 10¢ each. A far cry from the early 80s when we had to wet a strip with blood and then blot it off, wait a prescribed amount of time and stick it in the machine.

We also use Everpaw lancets, 28 gauge they are longer than human grade units and seem to give more consistent blood. Very sharp.

I had downloaded the FDMB sheet but felt it was overly complex for what I wanted.

The end result of treating diabetes is to give a better quality and longer life. Beyond that it just an exercise in torturing the pet. We all spend plenty keeping these critters going.

The only reason our "buddy" is still with us is from what I learned on this forum

 

[Christie & Maverick]

Nice to see another long-hauler doing well, and at 23 that's no small feat . Sometimes just reaching happy and generally healthy with these sweet old timers and getting more time to enjoy their company is what it's all about.