Quote:
Originally Posted by cosis
Although I think I caught it early. He has been drinking a lot of water and just started peeing outside the litter box Monday. They gave me the insulin today and have me start 1 unit every 12 hours. Next week he will be there all day while they run the blood sugar tests. Anyway the shot wasn't too difficult.... it is easier with someone else helping..........
|
Glad you caught it early, and glad you're going to check out the link I suggested.
It's worth it just for the information there on the correct diet for diabetic cats (most vets don't suggest the right diets, unfortunately). Changing his diet NOW could actually cause remission of his diabetes since you caught it early. (Cats are the only known species, if I remember correctly, where that can happen.) And that actually did happen to my cat - once I started giving him the right diet suggested at the FDMB, he was what we call OTJ (off the juice, no longer needing insulin) for nearly a year before some of his other health problems forced him back onto insulin.
The other thing that they'll hit you over the head with at that site I suggested...and I'll
strongly suggest it here - is that if your vet has you giving insulin without you doing a blood test on your cat - THAT'S WRONG. You
need to learn to test at home. It's quick and simple, and can save your cat's life - for example, if his glucose level is returning to normal, and you shoot him, he could go too low and into a life-threatening crisis. (Think of it this way: would you give yourself, or even worse give your child, an insulin injection without knowing what his blood sugar was? Of course not.) But most vets don't teach home testing right away, if at all...even though it's simple and after a few traumatic first-tries, easy. The people at the board will help you with it - with suggestions, how-to-do-it videos, even possibly coming to your house to help if you live near one of them.
Best of luck, and after you read the info they have there for newbies, please join the "health" messageboard when you get to FDMB - and take the advice of people at the FDMB seriously. They have new folks joining every day, and are happy to welcome you and give you all the right information.
It seems that you're at a stage where you could actually have a cat who
doesn't need insulin in a very short period of time if you get him onto the right diet
now. And if that's not in the cards, you'll learn everything you need to know so you can just test, feed, shoot --- and both you and your cat will live very normal lives
