My name is Janet and my baby is Nallycat. She is 14 years old. We love her dearly. We have started her on insulin therapy but I am not sure this is what we should do. I believe it is about her and not about me. I have searched this site and haven't found anything about what our cats are really going through. Any thoughts on this and specifically with the elderly?
Is Nalliecat suffering?
- Thread starter Jmhesk
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C
Carl & Polly & Bob (GA)
Hi and welcome to you and Nallycat!
14 isn't "elderly". ;-) There are kitties here that are older than she is. And if she is getting insulin, she isn't suffering like she was before you started treating her.
An untreated diabetic cat is basically starving to death. Most of them will eat more than normal, but will continue to lose weight no matter how much they eat. That's because a diabetic's body can't process food correctly. Their cells can't absorb glucose right, so they are always starving for "energy". More food doesn't help. Lack of insulin from their pancreas makes it impossible for their cells to get the needed energy from their bloodstream.
When you put her on insulin, you started helping her body to heal.
A couple of questions for you...
What type of insulin and what dose did your vet put her on?
What is she eating?
And have you been home testing her blood glucose, or considered doing that?
This disease is not a death sentence, provided you treat it. And you just found the best place in the entire world to help you do just that.
Carl
14 isn't "elderly". ;-) There are kitties here that are older than she is. And if she is getting insulin, she isn't suffering like she was before you started treating her.
An untreated diabetic cat is basically starving to death. Most of them will eat more than normal, but will continue to lose weight no matter how much they eat. That's because a diabetic's body can't process food correctly. Their cells can't absorb glucose right, so they are always starving for "energy". More food doesn't help. Lack of insulin from their pancreas makes it impossible for their cells to get the needed energy from their bloodstream.
When you put her on insulin, you started helping her body to heal.
A couple of questions for you...
What type of insulin and what dose did your vet put her on?
What is she eating?
And have you been home testing her blood glucose, or considered doing that?
This disease is not a death sentence, provided you treat it. And you just found the best place in the entire world to help you do just that.
Carl
Thank you Carl and Bob for your response but that did not really answer my question. I can treat the cat, but is she SufferrIng? Is she miserable? Is she hurting? Is she just getting by? That is what I can't deal with. I love her and will not stand by if she is in pain.
BJM
Member Since 2010
Jmhesk said:
If you treat her, she is not suffering; if you don't, she is.
She isn't in pain; she is starving if she is not treated. That feels crappy. By giving the insulin, she can use the food she eats. That feels good.
Ask a human diabetic. If a human diabetic needing insulin doesn't use it, he is hungry constantly, thirsty constantly, urinating constantly, and losing weight despite eating. If fat gets broken down for energy, ketones are created and may cause diabetic ketoacidosis with nausea, and vomiting.
Dusty Bones
Member Since 2013
Think of it this way... If you had an elderly parent, brother, sister, or husband with diabetes would you not treat them because they might feel a pin prick, be on a special diet, or have to maintain a healthy weight? Once you start treatment on your kitty as with people you'll see the difference of night and day; they'll be happier and full of life again. Everyone comments how their cats stopped playing and people just thought they were too old but as soon as treatment started their kitties were once again running around like kittens and full of life. You wouldn't give up on a family member with diabetes, why would you give up on your kitty? :cry:
C
Carl & Polly & Bob (GA)
OK, I understand. There's a thing we use here to try to look at how a cat is doing overall. We call it the "whole cat report". Or "the 5 P's"
These are just things you can observe that will tell you how she's feeling...
Is she peeing less often than she was before she was diagnosed?
Is she pooping normally?
Is she playing, at least as much as she did before she got sick?
Is she preening? Grooming herself. How does her coat look?
Does she Purr more or less than she used to, before she started getting insulin?
Does she just lay around and look like she's in pain a lot? Is she still getting around okay?
They can't tell us how they feel. We have to look to see if we can see any clues.
I do know this. When Bob was first diagnosed, he was nearly dead. After a week or two on the insulin, and on a good low carb diet, the improvement was extremely obvious. He was still weak, but that wasn't because of the diabetes. It was because he also suffered from a very low level of potassium. He got supplemented with potassium and his weakness went away.
To me, there was no doubt at all that he felt better, and was suffering much less. Once his BG numbers got under control, even though he was still getting shots, you could not look at him and tell that there was anything wrong with him. He wasn't suffering, he wasn't in any pain. He was just a normal cat who happened to need two shots of insulin per day. And it worked for him. After 10 weeks, he no longer needed insulin. He kept eating nothing but low carb canned food, and for nearly two and a half years, he was perfectly fine. No insulin, and normal blood glucose values. About a month ago, something went "wrong". He relapsed, and sadly, I had to have him put to sleep last week.
But the really important thing was that he was diagnosed, he was treated, and he was "healed". He got two an a half years of a life where he was healthy. Healthier than he was before he became diabetic. He weighed much less, his weight was "right for him". He had been obese. He suffered badly before he was first diagnosed. He was a day or two at most away from being dead on the day he got his first shot. There was no doubt in my mind that if I chose to treat the disease, he would suffer less. Did I think he'd go into remission? I prayed that he would, but I didn't choose to treat him because there was a possibility he'd go into remission. I chose to treat him because I didn't want him to die. I just wanted him to have a longer life. He was 11 when he was diagnosed. I'd had kitties live to be 19 or 20 years old before. I knew that if I treated the diabetes, I could give him a longer healthier life. I wasn't doing it "for me", like you mentioned worrying about whether it was "about her or about me". Treating her is the right choice. For her.
There are cats here who have been on insulin for years. They might not ever go into remission. But they will live normal otherwise "healthy" lives, and a normal life span, because they get two shots of insulin a day, have their blood sugar tested a few times a day, and eat a proper diet. And their caregivers, I think, would unanimously agree that on the day they chose to "treat the disease" it was the best decision they ever made.
Nallycat isn't suffering as much as she was before you started giving her insulin. And every day you give it to her, she'll suffer less. And you might not have to keep giving her shots for the rest of her life, which could be measured in years from now.
These are just things you can observe that will tell you how she's feeling...
Is she peeing less often than she was before she was diagnosed?
Is she pooping normally?
Is she playing, at least as much as she did before she got sick?
Is she preening? Grooming herself. How does her coat look?
Does she Purr more or less than she used to, before she started getting insulin?
Does she just lay around and look like she's in pain a lot? Is she still getting around okay?
They can't tell us how they feel. We have to look to see if we can see any clues.
I do know this. When Bob was first diagnosed, he was nearly dead. After a week or two on the insulin, and on a good low carb diet, the improvement was extremely obvious. He was still weak, but that wasn't because of the diabetes. It was because he also suffered from a very low level of potassium. He got supplemented with potassium and his weakness went away.
To me, there was no doubt at all that he felt better, and was suffering much less. Once his BG numbers got under control, even though he was still getting shots, you could not look at him and tell that there was anything wrong with him. He wasn't suffering, he wasn't in any pain. He was just a normal cat who happened to need two shots of insulin per day. And it worked for him. After 10 weeks, he no longer needed insulin. He kept eating nothing but low carb canned food, and for nearly two and a half years, he was perfectly fine. No insulin, and normal blood glucose values. About a month ago, something went "wrong". He relapsed, and sadly, I had to have him put to sleep last week.
But the really important thing was that he was diagnosed, he was treated, and he was "healed". He got two an a half years of a life where he was healthy. Healthier than he was before he became diabetic. He weighed much less, his weight was "right for him". He had been obese. He suffered badly before he was first diagnosed. He was a day or two at most away from being dead on the day he got his first shot. There was no doubt in my mind that if I chose to treat the disease, he would suffer less. Did I think he'd go into remission? I prayed that he would, but I didn't choose to treat him because there was a possibility he'd go into remission. I chose to treat him because I didn't want him to die. I just wanted him to have a longer life. He was 11 when he was diagnosed. I'd had kitties live to be 19 or 20 years old before. I knew that if I treated the diabetes, I could give him a longer healthier life. I wasn't doing it "for me", like you mentioned worrying about whether it was "about her or about me". Treating her is the right choice. For her.
There are cats here who have been on insulin for years. They might not ever go into remission. But they will live normal otherwise "healthy" lives, and a normal life span, because they get two shots of insulin a day, have their blood sugar tested a few times a day, and eat a proper diet. And their caregivers, I think, would unanimously agree that on the day they chose to "treat the disease" it was the best decision they ever made.
Nallycat isn't suffering as much as she was before you started giving her insulin. And every day you give it to her, she'll suffer less. And you might not have to keep giving her shots for the rest of her life, which could be measured in years from now.
C
Carl & Polly & Bob (GA)
Six months before Bob was diagnosed, he weighed 22 pounds. He weighed about thirteen when he was diagnosed. When he went into remission, he weighed 14.
RobinCot
Member Since 2013
I always heard that when a cat is not on insulin and is getting high bg numbers it feels like a really bad and constant hangover. The insulin allows the pancreas to heal and then work properly which is a great remedy for that hangover. Of course, I asked my FD Alska if this is true and he just stared at me.
Elizabeth and Bertie
Member Since 2010
Hi,
I saw this thread and just had to comment.
Bertie was dx with diabetes almost 7 years ago. I'd been pretty ill myself for much of that year and hadn't noticed how ill he'd become. Then, one day, I just turned around and looked at him and thought, "Jeez, how did I miss that?!" He looked truly awful. He'd lost weight. His coat condition was dreadful. He looked depressed. And he seemed to have some kind of problem with his back legs and couldn't walk properly.
He was dx with diabetes. And I do think he was suffering at that point, certainly from the problem with his legs (diabetic neuropathy).
He was put on insulin, and I switched him to a low carb wet diet. I also learned to test his blood glucose at home (way easier than it sounds).
Well....within just a couple of months of his receiving insulin his health started to improve enormously. And that happened in spite of the fact that his blood glucose levels remained high for a long time after starting insulin. The insulin seemed to work some kind of beneficial magic in spite of his blood glucose levels still being high.
I also gave him vitamin B (methyl B12) to help with his neuropathy, and in about 3 months his legs appeared to have healed completely.
He's 15 now, and is a happy and healthy cat, full of character. He loves to play. And I do not doubt for a single moment that he absolutely loves and enjoys his life.
As I type this Bertie is sitting next to the keyboard wondering what sort of mischief he can perform. He's very good at deleting what I'm writing so I'm going to click on the 'submit' button before that happens!
Oh, one more thing (if Bertie will allow it!). Many of us have found that treating a diabetic cat actually strengthens the bond of love, trust and affection that exists between us. cat_pet_icon
If you are in any doubt about whether to try treating your diabetic cat, why not try it for say, 3 months, and see how you feel then. I think you may feel very differently. ;-)
Best wishes,
Eliz
I saw this thread and just had to comment.
Bertie was dx with diabetes almost 7 years ago. I'd been pretty ill myself for much of that year and hadn't noticed how ill he'd become. Then, one day, I just turned around and looked at him and thought, "Jeez, how did I miss that?!" He looked truly awful. He'd lost weight. His coat condition was dreadful. He looked depressed. And he seemed to have some kind of problem with his back legs and couldn't walk properly.
He was dx with diabetes. And I do think he was suffering at that point, certainly from the problem with his legs (diabetic neuropathy).
He was put on insulin, and I switched him to a low carb wet diet. I also learned to test his blood glucose at home (way easier than it sounds).
Well....within just a couple of months of his receiving insulin his health started to improve enormously. And that happened in spite of the fact that his blood glucose levels remained high for a long time after starting insulin. The insulin seemed to work some kind of beneficial magic in spite of his blood glucose levels still being high.
I also gave him vitamin B (methyl B12) to help with his neuropathy, and in about 3 months his legs appeared to have healed completely.
He's 15 now, and is a happy and healthy cat, full of character. He loves to play. And I do not doubt for a single moment that he absolutely loves and enjoys his life.
As I type this Bertie is sitting next to the keyboard wondering what sort of mischief he can perform. He's very good at deleting what I'm writing so I'm going to click on the 'submit' button before that happens!
Oh, one more thing (if Bertie will allow it!). Many of us have found that treating a diabetic cat actually strengthens the bond of love, trust and affection that exists between us. cat_pet_icon
If you are in any doubt about whether to try treating your diabetic cat, why not try it for say, 3 months, and see how you feel then. I think you may feel very differently. ;-)
Best wishes,
Eliz
Wendy&Tiggy(GA)
Member Since 2011
I have 2 diabetic cats on insulin. One is 17lbs and the other is 6lbs. They are both happy boys - playing, eating well and acting normally. You wouldn't tell from looking at them that they are diabetic.
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