tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-234648302011-11-27T19:50:15.133-05:00The Understanding and Treatment of Feline DiabetesHazardGirlnoreply@blogger.comBlogger241100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23464830.post-1168654986090420192007-01-12T21:23:00.000-05:002007-02-25T21:14:05.207-05:00

Cats are one of the most popular pets in North America. They are loving pets, capable of providing you years of companionship. Like other pets, cats can sometimes get sick. There are several different types of ailments that cats can get, one of which is feline diabetes. Feline diabetes is a serious disease, although it can be treated by a veterinarian.Diabetes is more common with humans than with

HazardGirlnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23464830.post-1168654601455640722007-01-12T21:16:00.000-05:002007-02-25T21:15:05.109-05:00

As a cat owner, your first responsibility is to keep your pet healthy. However, even with balanced nutrition and a good amount of love and attention, cats can still get sick. Learn about the most common ailments that affect cats so you can try to prevent them or cure them quickly with the proper medical care when you first spot the symptoms.FleasAlthough cats and dogs can live with fleas, flea

HazardGirlnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23464830.post-1168654477396728532007-01-12T21:14:00.000-05:002007-11-10T22:19:47.265-05:00

Anxiety ManagementEveryone has felt anxiety at one time or another. It may just be a little twinge or might be an overwhelming feeling that seems to last forever. Anxiety management is easier to deal with if you properly understand it. However, anxiety management or the short-term relief of anxiety symptoms, is now possible.In order to manage anxiety, you must first assess your behavior. You need

HazardGirlnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23464830.post-1160349964343163132006-10-08T19:25:00.000-04:002007-02-25T21:17:01.879-05:00

Just another photo of my guy!

HazardGirlnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23464830.post-1148699783746293532006-05-26T23:14:00.000-04:002007-02-25T21:16:31.590-05:00

Obtaining the PZI (insulin) from the vet has been a shmozzle.I wanted the Beef, she got me the human. I requested three weeks ago that I really wanted the beef and haven't heard back. grrrrrIn the meantime, I am trying a new human insulin called Levemir. It is long acting and a basal insulin, like Lantus was. We are still in early days (barely two weeks) and I think Kitty's numbers are better

HazardGirlnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23464830.post-1146446579669092812006-04-30T21:21:00.000-04:002007-02-25T21:17:35.665-05:00

The bad news is that we are going to switch insulin. I guess the good news is that we have something to switch to.The Lantus is not cutting it. It is inconsistent and driving us MAD. Actually this weekend, I think his numbers weren't too bad. We used to get a 2+ on the urine glucose and now we are at approximately 1/2 on the reading, so this is improvement.This week on Lantus Insulin: Last Friday

HazardGirlnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23464830.post-1145319344344871242006-04-17T20:05:00.000-04:002007-02-25T21:18:10.419-05:00

We test Kitty's blood sugar at home, using a human glucometer. We prick the edge of his ear and use take a small drop of blood as a sample to measure how much sugar is in his blood. This is an absolutely invaluable tool for us, especially since Kitty has proven so difficult to regulate.Case in point: Last week, his numbers were terrible. Worse than usual. I thought we had totally lost the plot in

HazardGirlnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23464830.post-1144715779240055552006-04-10T20:28:00.000-04:002007-02-25T22:18:48.937-05:00

One of the more difficult things when treating feline diabetes is well meaning friends and family that don't understand the energy, effort and expense that goes into treating this disease.I recently turned off comments on this blog because of some hurtful and mean comments.Kitty has not been easy to regulate. We aren't even close. But we are trying to give our guy the best care possible and the

HazardGirlnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23464830.post-1144107058654117682006-04-03T19:19:00.000-04:002007-02-25T21:25:40.832-05:00

Cats are unusual creatures as anyone that has one can attest. There is a phenomenon with feline diabetes where a cat might go into remission. It seems that their pancreas perks up and suddenly decides to work again. Often insulin treatment can be greatly reduced or even eliminated.Another (auspicious) turn of events is when a cats diabetes can be corralled through change in diet. Often a cat fed

HazardGirlnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23464830.post-1143683180390832802006-03-29T20:46:00.000-05:002007-02-25T22:19:51.648-05:00

An invaluable tool for the monitoring of feline diabetes is the glucometer. This is a device designed so that human diabetics can test their own blood. It is very useful for cats as well. Many people question the use of them as they are designed for human blood, but in reality, the devices cannot read DNA and tell that it is a cats blood :). Glucose is glucose.The technique involves pricking the

HazardGirlnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23464830.post-1143590706592506842006-03-28T19:02:00.000-05:002007-02-25T21:19:08.615-05:00

Just a photo today of my very much loved Kitty (yeah, his name is Kitty).Stay tuned for more...

HazardGirlnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23464830.post-1143166473920284132006-03-23T20:40:00.000-05:002007-02-25T22:17:57.419-05:00

There are many resources on the Internet when it comes to Feline Diabetes.I will highlight some of my personal favourites and give a brief description of what you can expect there:1) Feline Diabetes Message Board (FDMB): www.felinediabetes.com Any google search on Feline Diabetes will send you to the FDMB, owned by Dr. Rebecca Price. It is an amazing site for information on feline diabetes.

HazardGirlnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23464830.post-1142856991618013442006-03-20T06:56:00.000-05:002007-02-25T22:17:01.398-05:00

Below is my Top 8 list of things that will help you to regulate your diabetic cat.1) A diabetic cat: really, otherwise, what's the point? (small joke)2) A glucometer used to measure blood glucose: We use the AccuCheck Advantage. Many people do not test their cats at home and the cats do just fine. However, it can save a lot of money by not getting curves done at the vets as well as time and

HazardGirlnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23464830.post-1142712850179827992006-03-18T15:07:00.000-05:002007-02-25T21:18:53.450-05:00

The last post described the phenomenom known as somogyi or rebound.I believe we just experienced this with Kitty last night.His evening preshot was 26.1 mmol/dl, quite high. I gave him his full dose. Note that when I report a result, I report it as the amount of time after his shot. Therefore, preshot is before he gets his shot. +5 is 5 hours after his shot, etc. At +5 he was at 3.2, which is a

HazardGirlnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23464830.post-1142381937997759522006-03-14T19:04:00.000-05:002007-02-25T21:25:06.947-05:00

Contrary to what common sense would tell us, there are times when the best solution to high blood glucose numbers is to give LESS insulin. This instinctively seems wrong. However, there is very interesting physiology to explain this phenomenon.In a non-diabetic, there are two hormones that maintain blood glucose levels. These are insulin, and glucogen, both produced by the pancreas. Insulin

HazardGirlnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23464830.post-1142211662900991362006-03-12T19:47:00.000-05:002007-02-25T21:24:42.871-05:00

There are many different types of insulin used to treat feline diabetes. Part of the trick of feline diabetes is that none of these insulins are exactly like cat insulin. You must find, through trial and error, the best insulin for your cat.Many vets prescribe human insulins. These are cheap and easy to get and work very well for many cats. Humulin N, L and U are three that are typically

HazardGirlnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23464830.post-1142094389489423872006-03-11T11:19:00.000-05:002007-02-25T21:19:43.265-05:00

As part of my blog, I am trying record of what is happening with my cat, Kitty. Kitty is a 15 year old tabby, weighing in at 23 pounds. As I mentioned before, he was first diagnosed with feline diabetes back in January of 2o01 but "snapped out of it" (so to speak) by June 2001.Fast forward to Octiber 2005, and his diabetes is back!! We started on the animal insuln, Caninsulin which proved to be a

HazardGirlnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23464830.post-1141994635107133152006-03-10T07:32:00.000-05:002007-02-25T22:14:01.458-05:00

Once your cat has been diagnosed with feline diabetes, you may be asking yourself "How much is this going to cost me?"In our experience, we had Kitty at the vets for a day. As he needs to be sedated before he even gets out of the carrier (did I metion he is an incredibly BIG cat?), we usually leave him there all day and pick him up after work.Our vet did a full blood workup, urinalysis and

HazardGirlnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23464830.post-1141870096318276552006-03-08T20:39:00.000-05:002007-02-25T21:22:33.931-05:00

Further to the "OH MY GOD, My cat has diabetes" theme, I am going to talk a bit about initial treatment of feline diabetes. Once your vet has determined that indeed you are dealing with feline diabetes, he or she will send you home with a vial of insulin (or instructions on where to get some), instructions on how and when to inject it and perhaps suggestions on a diet change (we'll get to that at

HazardGirlnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23464830.post-1141778418439631442006-03-07T19:23:00.000-05:002007-02-25T21:20:09.425-05:00

So, today I am digressing a bit from our history to discuss Feline Diabetes Symptoms. If you have stumbled upon my blog and think your cat may have feline diabetes, here are a few things to look out for:1) Increased drinking: (also known as PD, or polydipsia) the kidneys are working, trying to filter out the excess glucose from the bloodstream. This creates terrible thirst. This was the first

HazardGirlnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23464830.post-1141686164357863202006-03-06T17:57:00.000-05:002007-02-25T21:21:03.609-05:00

Initially, our veterinarian wanted my diabetic cat on Caninsulin 2U BID (twice a day). We got absolutely no response. Day after day, the glucometer was reading HI (or >33.4 mmol/dl). We increased to 3U, then 4...At around 5 units of Caninsulin scary things started to happen, we got crazy highs and crashing lows. We never knew what was going to happen from one day to the next. My poor cat suffered

HazardGirlnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23464830.post-1141587197436298842006-03-05T14:21:00.000-05:002007-02-25T22:15:05.792-05:00

Back in late 2000, I noticed that my cat Kitty was drinking an awful lot of water...Sometimes he would drink 4 bowls overnight! However, I was in denial, it's winter, it's dry...He was a big boy (25 pounds!) but one day I weighed him and he was 19 pounds. He lost 6 pounds and I knew this was trouble. Took him to the vets in early Jan 2001 where my worst fears were realized-Kitty was diabetic.She

HazardGirlnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23464830.post-1141594066184551912006-03-05T14:05:00.000-05:002007-02-25T22:20:42.776-05:00

According to the Wikipedia Entry on Diabetes in cats and dogs-Diabetes mellitus strikes 1 in 400 cats and a similar number of dogs. Symptoms in dogs and cats are similar to those in humans. Generally, most dogs and about half of cats experience type-1 (insulin-dependent) diabetes, rather than the type-2 that's now becoming common in obese humans. The condition is definitely treatable, and need

HazardGirlnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23464830.post-1141580756627823552006-03-05T12:41:00.000-05:002007-02-25T21:23:33.259-05:00

Hi, and welcome to my Sugar Cats blog.For years I have had a cat with diabetes. Throught the Internet I discovered there were many others like myself, looking for information and support for dealing with feline diabetes.I discovered there are treatments for cats with diabetes or sugar kitties as we call them. There are various types of insulin for cats with diabetes.I hope you find my blog

HazardGirlnoreply@blogger.com1