When do you know it's the end?

[ElizabethMcLove]

Hi everyone, I decided to join this thread so I could get opinions of people that have been dealing with A diabetic cat,most people I talk to don’t understand why we go through so much for a diabetic cat that we do. Our 12-year-old has had diabetes for eight years now and has been managed really well through twice daily insulin injections prescription wet cat food and special litter. However within the last few months we have been dealing with pancreatitis (resolved as of now), incredible difficulty regulating his insulin levels, urinating outside of the litter box, and a severe rash around his neck. We’ve been to the vet at least twice a week for the last few months as well as done at home glucose testing.He doesn’t seem to be getting better, I don’t know if after eight years we’ve reached that time where we can no longer help him. Does anyone have any advice?

 

[FurBabiesMama]

Hi. You will probably want to post this in the main health forum so more people will see it. This is just an introduction/welcome area.

I am sorry your baby is having such a hard time. I do not feel that I have enough information to really offer any advice. For example, my initial questions would be: What type of insulin is he on? Has he been on the same kind the entire 8 years or have different ones been tried? What is his current dose and for how long? On what are dosing decisions based - glucose curves, fructosamine test, or? Do you have a spreadsheet or something with his glucose test results on it that you could share so we can get an idea of his patterns? Has he had comprehensive blood work recently, and if so, what were the results? What do they think is causing the rash? Has it been seen by a dermatologist?

Please post on the main health forum and include as much information as you can. You've come to a great place to get help and support!

 

[Sandi and Toby]

Hi Elizabeth, so sorry you've joined based on these circumstances, but welcome. Clearly you've done a great job with your boy to be here in his 8th year with diabetes. But @FurBabiesMama is correct, while there are plenty of suggestions on how to gauge quality of life in general, I presume that you came here because you are more concerned specifically about your kitty's diabetes, and all of the questions she asked are exactly what I would ask. A few others would be things like: are there any other health issues, like are you seeing diabetic neuropathy (walking "flat footed" or down on his wrists), and more general questions like does he eat well or is getting sufficient food in on a daily basis a real chore, and what do you feel his quality of life is?

So we encourage you to post over in Feline Health to get more eyes on your questions and answers to some of these new questions, and we'll go from there.

That aside, our boy Whispy has been with us for a little over 4 years now, and we know that he was diabetic for 3 years before that (which is why he was turned into a shelter 7 years ago, because he was diagnosed diabetic). So we are just now entering his 8th year with diabetes as well, and he is doing very well on the whole. Knock on wood, we've never had pancreatitis, and never had DKA, so that certainly helps. Whispy is clearly getting to be an old man, we estimate he is 14-18 years old now. I say all of this only for you to know that it is absolutely possible for these guys to live with diabetes AND a good quality of life for a very long time. But "Each cat is different" is a popular saying here, and it couldn't be more true than with regards to longevity with diabetes. So that's why we want to dive in and explore everything about your boy so that we can see if there are other suggestions we can make to help.

Hang in there, you are among people who care, and who "get it".

 

[Noah & me (GA)]

You said he's not getting better but is he getting worse? I've had cats for 40+ years and have seen a lot but peeing outside the box and being unregulated is not the end. We need more of his medical history and current treatment. Can I ask why you're going to the vet twice a week? Spending wads of money is depressing affecting your quality of life and then your cat's. The more sick you think he is the more you'll believe it and it might not be the case.
I know the feeling of having not just one but two diabetic cats but diabetes was not what took them from us. I've routinely had cats live well past 15 and one to 23. Without knowing more we cannot possibly say it's time.

 

[Sandi and Toby]

Elizabeth, I just noticed that it looks like the Administrators must have just moved this post into Feline Health, so no need to start a new one.

Just give us some more info (and hug your dear little boy for us!), and we'll go from there.