Tag Archives: feline diabetes

Cat update: Silverman spent the night in the hospital

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Silverman’s visit to the vet yesterday afternoon resulted in good news and bad news.

The good news is that he’s not suffering from kidney failure, which was my fear based on his age, increased drinking, weight loss, and recent inactivity. His kidneys are functioning just fine, as is his liver.

The bad news: According to the tests, Silverman, like Duke, is diabetic. Although his glucose count wasn’t as high as Duke’s had been, he already had ketones in his urine, which is not good. He was also dehydrated, so he went into kitty hospital care right away to get fluids, and initial insulin treatment.

Our regular vets weren’t on duty, so we saw Dr. Jenny Tarr, a very nice young woman who seemed nervous at the prospect of walking me through the ins and outs of feline diabetes treatment. When I told her that we have already learned the ropes with Duke, she was visibly relieved.

And, surprisingly, the news was a relief for me as well. Kidney failure would be a much worse diagnosis, in my view. At least we now know diabetes can be treated, and we have a good shot at controlling it.

Our regular vet, Ann Sakamoto, is on duty this morning, so she’ll take over Silverman’s case. When she leaves late in the day, her shift partner, Dr. Doris Wu, will take over. He’s in good hands.

What are the odds of having a cat with diabetes?

I quickly found several articles with estimates of the prevalence of feline diabetes.

One study, based on a large insured population in the UK, put the number at 1 in 230.

Another found estimates ranging from 1 in 50 to 1 in 400 “depending on the population studied”, and put the risk in Australia generally at less than 1 in 200.

The risk factors include being male, older, neutered, inactive, and overweight, which seems to describe some of our cats. So I’ll guess that the risk among our male cats is somewhere towards the higher end.

If the odds of any one of our cats being diabetic is 1 in 50, I believe the odds of two diabetic cats is 1 in 2500.

Well, take me to Vegas, because we’re beating the odds.

How insulin shots have gotten to be a treat for Mr. Duke

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When Mr. Duke was first diagnosed with diabetes a couple of months ago and we were told he would need twice-a-day insulin shots, it seemed like the end of the world.

Getting a pill into him is already a problem. How could we possibly get one of our unruly cats to let us stick him with a needle morning and evening?

And after my first clumsy attempt attempt to restrain Duke while readying the syringe, I was nearly in despair. It’s never going to work.

Then I read the most helpful suggestion–make it all part of an enjoyable ritual. And that’s what we’ve done.

It has worked like magic! In two months, Duke has come to look forward to these moments.

I thought I would share this with others getting the same news.

You can do it!

Anyway, it took a little over two minutes last night to go through the ritual and, midway through, sneak in the shot.

Ooops…down the electronic drain

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I managed to accidentally delete today’s main entry just before it was ready to publish and right before our 6 a.m. walk.

Don’t ask how.

I saw it happen with one of those, “Oh, no!” moments.

I’ll be able recreate it, but not until I get into town later this morning.

Since getting back from the walk, I’ve been going through my twice-a-day routine with Duke.

He gets a dish of canned food and encouragement to eat, which sometimes just involves an encouraging word, other times requires a few strategic strokes with brush or hand. Usually we’re in the bedroom with the door closed to keep the other cats out. They don’t get canned food in the morning and are not happy about the discrimination.

In any case, after Duke eats his fill, I sit down with the brush and groom him. He likes his face brushed, and his head, and, well, all body parts. He usually starts purring right about now.

With luck, he just settles down. While still brushing, I pinch a place on his shoulders, reach for the syringe with his dose of insulin, and manage the injection in one smooth stroke. Most times, he doesn’t notice the needle. He does notice the disruption of the brushing/petting.

After he’s gotten his insulin, I wrap up the grooming session. He usually finishes cleaning and then goes to sleep. I can open the door and let other cats in to clean up any leftover food.

All this isn’t hard, but it takes some time. Twice a day. We’ve been at it for several weeks. So far, so good.

Unfortunately, though, it takes precedence over necessary blog rewrites, as this morning.

So have patience. The rewrite is coming.

Duke gets his first insulin shot, and I get major relief

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We returned to VCA with Duke this morning, and I gave my first insulin shot, under veterinary supervision, of course.

The good news is that it was easily accomplished. The needle used for insulin is very small and ultra-thin, and it’s given subcutaneously. That means just under the skin. No need to stick the needle into muscle. It didn’t seem to phase Duke in the least.

This was a huge relief. A lot easier than giving him a pill. We can do this.

There was other good news. The insulin he is starting out on is “Lantus”. Do a Google search for “lantus” and “cats”, and there are a number of reports of cats going into remission after temporary use of Lantus. So we’re trying to maintain a very positive attitude.

The hard part, by most accounts, is getting to the correct dosage and keeping Duke stable over the course of a normal day. He’ll have to get two shots, one morning, one evening, after eating. We left him in Dr. Sakamoto’s care for overnight observation during his first 24 hours receiving insulin, just in case of a negative reaction of some kind. We’ll pick him up tomorrow and go from there. Weekly follow-ups with the vet are recommended for the first month as they seek the right dosage.

He’s starting out at a low dose, which should decrease the chances of problems. It can be increased over time, if necessary.

Even at the Costco Pharmacy, insulin is expensive, just under $100 for a small vial. Hopefully, it will last several months. Actually, the hope is that he won’t need the insulin treatments more than a few months. We can hope!

In the meantime, we’re already thinking months ahead to our next scheduled trip and arrangements that will have to be made for Duke while we’re gone.