Just diagnosed at age 16

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tommietim

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Hello,

My lovely cat has just been diagnosed today as being diabetic. He is nearly 17 years old. Earlier this year he had a terrible allergy; the skin between his thighs and stomach was raw and weeping - and he was very ill. Following allergy testing, I was told he was allergic to chicken and wheat, and tried various restricted diets - he wouldn't eat any of them, lost lots of weight and started drinking lots of water. Eventually I put him on Felix Fish Sensation pouches which he is eating - he has been eating up to 5 per day - his skin is ok, his fur grown back, and his weight has started to go back up. He has been back to his happy self.

Ten days ago he wet my bed one night, and the following day wet the house again. I got a litter tray (despite him not using one since he was 6 months old) and he is now using that regularly. The blood test results today say he is diabetic...... He HATES getting put in his box to go to the vets,hates injections, hates the car, and because I know he hates it, I wondering what will happen (ie how long have I got him for) if I choose to do nothing ......

What will his quality of life be for weeks / months / years? He doesn't seem distressed at present, is very affectionate still, purrs when I am near him, has a good coat, bright eyes is is content.

At his age, is it worth putting him through regular trips to the vets, injections everyday etc...
 
First off Welcome your in the right place.

Second to do nothing and leave his diabetes untreated he will literally starve to death with full bowls of food in front of him. Because he can not properly digest the food he is eating like a horse.

Third: we can teach you to home test him and he won't have to keep going back to the vet's. The shots are no big deal and they aren't done with the same size needle that is used to give say Vaccinations. the needle we use is very very small, they hardly feel a thing. Most of us give the shots while our kitties are head down in the food bowl.

I'm gathering from the food you mentioned you aren't in the US, so you might want to change your heading to indicate US, Canada, UK etc to make sure you get the right eyes that can help with food, supplies etc. and we might even have a member close enough to you to swing by and help you get started with everything.

Many cats on here have gone into remission (off insulin) with a little help so IF he turns out to be one of those then he can stop the shots, but you will have to keep testing every once in awhile to keep an eye on things but we can help with that. 16 isn't that old really, true not a spring chicken but we have several diabetic cats here that have celebrated their 18th, 19, & 20th birthdays.

There really is only a couple of choices: Treat him, don't treat and watch him die slowly, or if you aren't going to treat have him put to sleep (which is kinder than let him suffer with this disease.) The upside is that it is very easy disease to treat.

Mel & Max
 
Ditto everything Mel said. We have kitties here who go off insulin without six months; we have cats who live happily on low doses of insulin for years with a great quality of life.

We can teach you to test at home, saving money, aggravation and stress on your kitty's part. There are people who deal with food allergies and they will have lists of food for you to try. Just let us help.
 
Let me tell you, it is worth it.
My Tom was diagnosed in May of 2008 at almost 15. I thought that was it. My life with him was coming to an end. I did research, found this place and went right ahead and dealt with it.
He turned 17 this past August and he acting like a kitten again, he feels so good!

You found the right place.
 
tommietim said:
What will his quality of life be for weeks / months / years? He doesn't seem distressed at present, is very affectionate still, purrs when I am near him, has a good coat, bright eyes is is content.

At his age, is it worth putting him through regular trips to the vets, injections everyday etc...
Click to expand...

Gandalf has been diabetic for almost 6 years, diagnosed at age 12, so he's 17 1/2 now. He's been slowed by arthritis, chronic pancreatitis flares and a thyroid tumor. But he's always happy to see me and the time we spend treating him has strengthened our human/pet bond.

My advice to newbies faced with treating diabetes is become proactive. Learn all you can about insulin, about food and even about the tests the vet will want to do. Hometesting the blood glucose yourself will give you better information about how the insulin is working and save stress for your cat as well as money for you.

This site and board is the best way to learn about feline diabetes and treatment options. You and your cat are fortunate to come here so early. We can help!
 
Tucker was diagnosed diabetic over five years ago and I think his quality of life is wonderful. We are very close, probably the hometesting and treatment brought us close, inseparable in fact. He was adopted at age 13+ already sick, so I can't say what his life was like before adoption and diagnosis, but he's very happy, spoiled and king of the house.
 
All I have to say is that you do NOT need to go to the vet to treat your own cat for diabetes. I take mine to the vet if they are not feeling well, but have diabetes is not what I call being sick, but rather they have a condition which requires medication, insulin. If you think about all the human diabetics, they live full lives and just take insulin and watch their diets. Actually, some cats turn out to be diet controlled diabetics... cut out the high carbs, feed a low carb wet diet, and you may not need the insulin eventually.

Most people home test their cats; mine pretty much sleep through my poking their ears for blood drops to test their BG. And the shots, injections, I give when they are eating, they could care less.
People don't like going to the dr, so it's no different for the cats. The stress is not necessary because you can take care of your cat yourself and at home.

Once you sort out the diet issues and stay clear of the items due allergies, and start the insulin injections, you will soon be seeing a much happier and very relieved cat again.

Your cat's QOL will rise quickly once he has the meds and food he needs.
 
Thank you so much for your lovely, kind comments and advice. I was distraught on Tuesday evening but now feel that there is a future for lovely Tommie - I must at least try the treatment to see whether he and I can cope with it - I am going to see the vet again to get more information and will update you all again - THANK YOU xx
 
Wonderful. I hope your vet is experienced with feline diabetes and will start you off on a nice low dose (.5 to 1 unit twice a day) of a long lasting insulin like PZI, Lantus or Levemir.
 
Fantastic! Hopefully your trip to the vet's will be a good on and you will get him on a nice gentle long lasting insulin and be started at a nice low dosage. But even if it isn't a great experience and all you come away with is a script for insulin we can help you with all the rest of it.

We will be right here to help hold your hand and Tommie's paw through it all. I think you will be surprised how easy it will become after awhile. It is all so overwhelming and scary when you first hear that you baby has diabetes. But you are off to a great start you found us!

I adopted my extra sweet boy from this very board after the passing of my first sugarcat. Trust me if this was something that was difficult to do I certainly wouldn't have volunteered to take on another one. :-D Afterall I already had 9 other cats, so it wasn't like I was going to be catless...lol

Looking forward to hearing more about you and your best buddy Tommie.

Mel & Max
 
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