pistachioboy
Member
Greetings, everyone-
Sorry it took me so long to post this. Gorda has been off of insulin for almost a month now, and her blood sugar has consistently stayed at non-diabetic levels. Her fur is growing in fully and shinier than I've ever seen it, and she's back to being really, really annoying when she wants attention. She's also trying to cuddle with every dog that passes by our house, which really confuses them. All that is to say she's back to being herself.
I'm amazed at how quickly this happened, and after having a cat several years ago who declined and died because of diabetes, it was the last thing I expected. So there's a few things I wanted to share.
1. When I first brought Gorda back from the vet, it's quite likely that she was suffering from ketoacidosis, because she wasn't eating and was severely dehydrated. This made her very hard to feed, and very hard to regulate. But forcing her to eat some wet food was the best thing I could have done, and over the course of about a week, she recovered from the ketoacidosis. But from there, it was all about getting her regulated.
2. The diet is SO important. It was really tough to get her to change her ways, but through a gradual introduction of wet foods and the occasional treat of raw meat (which she LOVED), I was able to convince her that there was never such a thing as dry food. She still free feeds, but doesn't turn her nose up at wet food any more. As soon as her wet food intake became regular, her blood sugar stayed consistently under 200. That was a start.
3. Humulin N should never be used if it is avoidable. The drops and valleys that her blood sugar went through when I was giving her Humulin N were simply absurd, but I couldn't see it because I had never done this before. The moment I switched to PZI, her BG became infinitely manageable. If anyone reading this has not made that switch yet, do it immediately. To get a better idea of what I'm talking about, take a look at her spreadsheet.
4. I think that once her BG was consistently held at under 200, it was only a matter of time before her pancreas recovered. I want to emphasize that I have an otherwise healthy 11 year old cat - this will not be the case for everyone. But if you're in a similar situation to me, please take my advice - and understand that your odds of recovery from this are very high. There's no reason a cat who is in a similar situation to Gorda's should ever be put to sleep.
And finally, thank you, thank you, thank you. Particularly Sue & Oliver, and several other people who gave me really excellent advice. You were all prompt and amazing, and helped me even though you didn't have to. For that, I am supremely thankful. I will make sure to drop in from time to time to return the favor to some other unsuspecting cat-owners.
Best wishes to all of you,
Steve & Gorda
Sorry it took me so long to post this. Gorda has been off of insulin for almost a month now, and her blood sugar has consistently stayed at non-diabetic levels. Her fur is growing in fully and shinier than I've ever seen it, and she's back to being really, really annoying when she wants attention. She's also trying to cuddle with every dog that passes by our house, which really confuses them. All that is to say she's back to being herself.
I'm amazed at how quickly this happened, and after having a cat several years ago who declined and died because of diabetes, it was the last thing I expected. So there's a few things I wanted to share.
1. When I first brought Gorda back from the vet, it's quite likely that she was suffering from ketoacidosis, because she wasn't eating and was severely dehydrated. This made her very hard to feed, and very hard to regulate. But forcing her to eat some wet food was the best thing I could have done, and over the course of about a week, she recovered from the ketoacidosis. But from there, it was all about getting her regulated.
2. The diet is SO important. It was really tough to get her to change her ways, but through a gradual introduction of wet foods and the occasional treat of raw meat (which she LOVED), I was able to convince her that there was never such a thing as dry food. She still free feeds, but doesn't turn her nose up at wet food any more. As soon as her wet food intake became regular, her blood sugar stayed consistently under 200. That was a start.
3. Humulin N should never be used if it is avoidable. The drops and valleys that her blood sugar went through when I was giving her Humulin N were simply absurd, but I couldn't see it because I had never done this before. The moment I switched to PZI, her BG became infinitely manageable. If anyone reading this has not made that switch yet, do it immediately. To get a better idea of what I'm talking about, take a look at her spreadsheet.
4. I think that once her BG was consistently held at under 200, it was only a matter of time before her pancreas recovered. I want to emphasize that I have an otherwise healthy 11 year old cat - this will not be the case for everyone. But if you're in a similar situation to me, please take my advice - and understand that your odds of recovery from this are very high. There's no reason a cat who is in a similar situation to Gorda's should ever be put to sleep.
And finally, thank you, thank you, thank you. Particularly Sue & Oliver, and several other people who gave me really excellent advice. You were all prompt and amazing, and helped me even though you didn't have to. For that, I am supremely thankful. I will make sure to drop in from time to time to return the favor to some other unsuspecting cat-owners.
Best wishes to all of you,
Steve & Gorda
