diabetic cat

[joyce and bootsie]

Hello, my name is Joyce, I have a beautiful tuxedo cat and I cannot afford to keep him, he also has diabetes.
I am located in New York, my e-mail address is sallyjones000 AT aol DOT com.

If someone could keep him, pls mail me an e-mail.

thank you.

sally


(Edited to "disguise" your email and protect you.
/Mod.)

 

[Hillary & Maui (GA)]

Joyce can you give us more information about you and your cat. Why can't you keep him? Diabetes is a very manageable disease and with some very simple changes you can become a pro in no time.

You said you are in NY? Where in NY are you? I work in Midtown and can help you, if you are willing to take care of your cat and keep him.

There are three key factors to managing diabetes: food/nutrition, home testing and insulin

1) Feline Nutrition: Now, as far as diet - definitely dump the dry food (if you are feeding any) and if the vet recommends purchasing prescription food like DM just say "no thank you". ALL cats, and especially those with diabetes, do best on a species appropriate diet that is high in protein and low in carbs. Dry food DOES NOT fit that bill and DM food, even canned, just really isn't that great as far as quality. Most here on FDMB feed low carb/high protein canned, raw bought from a pet store or they make there own.

Here great links, one is to a food chart put together by one of our board members that breaks down the carb % and protein % of most of the commercial brand foods. You want to keep the carb % below 10% and around 7% is great. The other link is to a site by a vet "Dr. Lisa DVM" ... who also posts on this board from time to time ... there is in-depth info. there about many things, including nutrition and how to make raw food.

Nutrition/food info

The good thing with feeding your diabetic cat this way, is that it is ALSO good for any non-diabetic cat too. All your cats can safely eat the same food without worry and it may save you some costs and headaches of having to do separate feedings and keeping track of what they are eating.


2. Home testing: It is impossible to convey the value of testing your cat's BG (blood glucose) level at home. Some vets will "suggest" this, but most won't even mention it. They will send you home with insulin and an amount to shoot and maybe some instructions about hypoglycemia (blood sugar dropping to a dangerously low level).

Well, the thing is, human diabetics don't EVER give themselves insulin without checking there BG to make sure it is safe to do so, so why shouldn't it be the same for our kitties. Here on FDMB it is. You will notice that the vast majority of people here test their cat's BG at least 2x/day (before giving each shot to make sure the level is safe enough) and periodically at other times to see how the cat is responding to the current dose. We use a human glucometer, test strips and lancets - which are all very readily available and easy to use.

Our kitties get lots of love and treats for "putting up" with this and most of them actually come out to be tested on their own 'cause they want those treats . Here is a collection of great links that "Carolyn and Spot" pulled together about hometesting. See what you think ... it truly is the best way to not only keep Your cat safe but also really get a handle on this disease and help him to live a healthy life with FD (feline diabetes).


Home testing Links

3. Insulin: There are several types of insulin available. Many people, myself included use Lantus or Levimer both of which are great insulins. They are gentle insulin and given twice (BID) per day in 12 hour increments. Or you could also choose PZI or the new version called Prozinc.

Please read up on the insulins available, here is a link to the Insulin Support Groups:

Insulin Support Groups

However, one caveat and again this shows how these three things are inter-related:

If you are feeding dry food or even a high carb food, BEFORE removing these foods, please make sure of your insulin dose as it will most likely need to be reduced, so as to avoid a possible hypoglycemic situation due to the removal of the dry/high carb foods that will lower the BG’s and reduce the amount of insulin required. Again, another reason why home testing is important.

 

[Sue and Oliver (GA)]

Hello Joyce,

I would suggest altering/deleting your email address. We do have spammers who visit this site. If you use our private message function, you can get messages safely. Check the Control panel option at the top of the page if you haven't already set up this option.

I am sorry you are worried about keeping your kitty. We do have lots of ways to treat diabetic cats, economically, if we can help in that way. There is also an organization that might help: Diabetic Cats in Need. Here is a link: http://fdmb-cin.blogspot.com/

As you can imagine, diabetic cats are hard to place. Most people here are already dealing with a diabetic cat and in some cases, several.