Hi all..
Just as the subject says, really... after a couple of weeks of being convinced that there's something wrong with our cat, we've just had the diagnosis that he's diabetic. Our cat Eric is 16, and already on various medications - 2kg dose of Metacam daily for a life-long limp on his front leg (which seems to keep the limp in check), and 10mg of vidalta as he's hyper-thyroid also. In addition to that, he's been on lactulose long term as he has regularly gets constipated. Recently he started drinking a lot more, losing weight, being lethargic etc. We thought perhaps his thyroid medication needed increasing, but it turns out he's diabetic. Now my wife and I are a bit shocked and struggling to work out how we are going to fit this new set of drugs into our routine in addition to everything else he needs already. We're seeing the vet on Monday to talk about our options.
The cost looks bad enough, and the fact that we can't board him at the same cattery anymore (they don't take diabetic cats) but the real issue is how we're going to adjust our lives to make sure we can give him his jab every 12 hours. I've read some of this (very helpful) website tonight, including the FAQ, and the section about trying to time the insulin. Does it have to be exactly 12 hours? How do people manage this? Are some types of insulin more flexible on time than others, or are they all the same? Has anyone come up with any ingenius ways of making this easier? How do you make sure you don't forget?
I really hope we can push through this and make it work, he's such a fantastic cat, a real character and very affectionate - but having read everything that's involved I understand how some people decide they can't go on with it and have to make some very tough decisions.
Too much thinking for one evening, i'm going to bed..
Thanks,
Adam
Just as the subject says, really... after a couple of weeks of being convinced that there's something wrong with our cat, we've just had the diagnosis that he's diabetic. Our cat Eric is 16, and already on various medications - 2kg dose of Metacam daily for a life-long limp on his front leg (which seems to keep the limp in check), and 10mg of vidalta as he's hyper-thyroid also. In addition to that, he's been on lactulose long term as he has regularly gets constipated. Recently he started drinking a lot more, losing weight, being lethargic etc. We thought perhaps his thyroid medication needed increasing, but it turns out he's diabetic. Now my wife and I are a bit shocked and struggling to work out how we are going to fit this new set of drugs into our routine in addition to everything else he needs already. We're seeing the vet on Monday to talk about our options.
The cost looks bad enough, and the fact that we can't board him at the same cattery anymore (they don't take diabetic cats) but the real issue is how we're going to adjust our lives to make sure we can give him his jab every 12 hours. I've read some of this (very helpful) website tonight, including the FAQ, and the section about trying to time the insulin. Does it have to be exactly 12 hours? How do people manage this? Are some types of insulin more flexible on time than others, or are they all the same? Has anyone come up with any ingenius ways of making this easier? How do you make sure you don't forget?
I really hope we can push through this and make it work, he's such a fantastic cat, a real character and very affectionate - but having read everything that's involved I understand how some people decide they can't go on with it and have to make some very tough decisions.
Too much thinking for one evening, i'm going to bed..
Thanks,
Adam