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Yesterday afternoon, when I selected photos for today’s Feline Friday gallery, I saw this as a funny picture of Duke. It looked like the end of a kitty binge. Empty food dish, catnip toys, and a good nap in the middle of the living room.
It’s the photo I chose to introduce today’s Feline Friday. And you can click on the picture to see all the rest of our Kaaawa cats. All eight made it into this batch of pictures.
But a couple of hours later we got a call from our vet, Ann Sakamoto at VCA in Kaneohe. It wasn’t news that I wanted to hear.
I had taken Duke in for another check on Sunday. The good news was that he lost another two pounds on his diet, and now weighs in at just over 15 pounds, a loss of nearly five pounds since the beginning of the year. The diet has worked. But I was concerned about his activity level and a couple of other things, so she did another blood test.
Now she was calling with the results. It’s not good news. Duke is diabetic, according to this latest test. Recall that we started the diet because both his mother and sister died of feline diabetes, and all that extra weight was a huge risk factor. He will have to start getting regular insulin injections.
It’s not the end of the world, Dr. Sakamoto says. That thought is echoed by a bunch of web sites that walk cat owners through what to expect. She also said that cats can recover from diabetes, and some new forms of insulin have increased the odds of that.
We’re scheduled for instructions on diabetes care and how to give those insulin shots first thing Sunday morning.
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Two of my friends had diabetic cats — both lived to be 15 yrs old. I think once you give shots it’s like clockwork. One found someone to do the shots while she and her husband traveled. It’s not the end of the world, just one more thing in your day to do.
Duke’s sleeping pose is a common sight in our household, as our little guy El Gato often assumes the position both to sleep and to attract one of us to give him a belly rub. Here’s hoping the best for Duke!
My friend was just telling me about their old cat who is diabetic, on special cat food and insulin and doing just fine. Their vet also has them giving the cat an antacid every day, because… let’s see… the medication? the special food? (apparently I wasn’t listening too closely) can upset the stomach, and then the cat doesn’t eat, and that impacts the insulin and causes problems. Ask your vet! My friends were really glad to learn this and their cat is sweet and just fine. Doesn’t mind the shots, either.
sorry to hear about dukie’s condition, but i’m also glad you caught it so you can treat it, and also glad duke has lost five pounds… that’s a lot for a little (or not so little) cat.
Sorry to hear about Duke! Diabetes is no fun for anyone. He has a blessing with you looking out for him though and with the fact that you started to combat it early and that you caught it, Duke will be one to live to an old age.