Diabetes in cats - any experience?

Pyewacket1

Regarding getting the urine sample, the vets will sell the plastic balls. Our female cat hated them because they weren’t deep enough so we managed to source a much bigger supply online at a fraction of the cost the vets were charging - exactly the same kit. She was still resistant to using them but we eventually got a sample to avoid the vet needing to sedate her to get it.

Another thing that the vets offered was to give us a prescription in order that we could get the medication online for a far lower price. They even told us which website to use!

Good luck with it all and I hope your cat responds well to treatment.

Hi Pyewacket1, do you remember where you bought those extra balls from, please?

I’ve had two diabetic cats. The first one accepted injections without a murmur and seemed to know exactly when they were due. He was difficult to control because his pancreas started producing insulin again when the strain was taken off by the injections, so he was forever at the vets with hypers or hypos. He lived for 2 years after diagnosis and was 17 when he died.
The second cat had a type of diabetes that couldn’t be treated. They do a test which shows an arc on a graph in “normal”diabetes and a straight line in untreatable cases, and unfortunately Pugsy had the straight line and had to be put to sleep.

Good luck with the treatment, we had a cat who developed diabetes, needed 2 injections a day (no other option at the time, this was a few years back).
But for other readers, the injections are simple enough, you pull up a 'tent' of skin at the back of the neck, inject into the 'void' underneath. Or you can pull up skin elsewhere (as the vets often do) but the back of the neck seems easier for amateurs.
And yes, as several have said, you need to place puss onto a special diet.
We did find that our girl had toileting issues, after going on the injections she seemed to have 'the runs' half the time, which makes the litter tray a bit messy -- unless you have a cat who prefers the garden?! That could have been just her though.
We did lose her eventually, but not to the illness, she'd developed a tumour, and she was about 17 by then, so the treatment had given her a good few more years.

30 years ago we had a diabetic Siamese. She had to have regular steroid injections and that was pretty much all we could do for her.

Regarding getting the urine sample, the vets will sell the plastic balls. Our female cat hated them because they weren’t deep enough so we managed to source a much bigger supply online at a fraction of the cost the vets were charging - exactly the same kit. She was still resistant to using them but we eventually got a sample to avoid the vet needing to sedate her to get it.

Another thing that the vets offered was to give us a prescription in order that we could get the medication online for a far lower price. They even told us which website to use!

Good luck with it all and I hope your cat responds well to treatment.

I had the same question @exdancer. The vets gives you plastic non-absorbent little balls which you replace your cat litter with. Once the cat has peed you use a pipette (part of the kit) and squirt it into a test tube. Then clear the balls out (you can wash them so you can reuse them, saves money on a new kit) and replace normal cat litter back in the tray.

One of my cats several years ago developed diabetes Wolfie and required a daily injection of insulin which thankfully Mr. S. was able to administer.

Nothing else was available at the time but had an oral method been offered we'd have taken it. Less distressing for the cat and Mr. S.

*Opens her mouth

My cat has thyroid problems and has to have meds twice a day. She opens her problem takes the dose and foes back to sleep. No problem. She has been on this liquid for four years and has no other problems

My dog, a working sheepdog, accepted injections without flinching and I would imagine a cat would be similar. I came to the conclusion they didn't feel the pain from the needle as sharply as we do.
I would go with the liquid for as long as you can afford it and resort to injections when the money runs out.
ps - how do you collect a sample of pee from a cat?

My sister’s cat was diabetic. She gave him twice daily injections. He was quite compliant to this, and would hunker down slightly when he saw her getting it ready! Amazing as he was a grumpy old sod otherwise. He did very well, and had a normal cat life. Fortunately I was able to look after him when they went on holidays, as asking a neighbour isn’t easy when they need extra care. But I’m sure a cattery would be familiar with it anyway.

I am sorry to hear about your cat. My experience with diabetes in a cat dates back nearly 30 years, when treatment was unsatisfactory and ruiniously expensive, so we had only one real option, sad as it was.

I hope your cat responds well to treatment.

We’ve gone down the route of once a day Senvelgo liquid. So far (two doses in) he’s not detected it in a Lick-e-Lix. It apparently takes a week to fully take effect. This will be monitored via another blood and pee test. Vet says we can switch to insulin injections if not successful, but you can’t swap the other way around.
So sorry to read of other OP cats affected by this disease. Thank you all for your advice. I’m keeping all fingers, and paws, crossed. Keep you posted.

I'm so sorry about your puss. We had a diabetic cat who died at 8 years old in 2022. We were then only offered injections which I knew I couldn't give her beyond 1 or 2 and I certainly couldn't expect anybody else to inject her twice a day as she was, shall we say, averse to any type of interference. We did give her special diabetic cat food and discussed everything with our vet.
I'd say base your choice of medication on the type of cat you have. Some are very compliant and would let you give injections but liquid medicine sounds much easier. I wish that we had been given that choice.

We had a cat who needed two insulin injections every day. It was important he had the injection after eating, and he was placed on a special diet. He used to sit next to the fridge as I prepped the injection and didn’t flinch or complain when it was administered.

If he’d had nothing else wrong with him I’d have happily done this every day for the rest of his life because he was amazing and the most loving cat.

He ultimately needed to be put to sleep because he’d developed both Cushings and Conns syndromes as the result of an adrenal tumour and he was incredibly ill.

Vandali, Thanjs for the info. it’s supposed to be palatable! So either squirt into mouth (good luck with that!) or mix in with small amount of food to ensure he’s had it. Having said that he’s just been on palatable anti inflammatory and he didn’t notice it in his Lick-e-Lix.

Hi we have a dog with diabetes and he copes well with twice daily injections of insulin.

How would you get on giving your cat liquid medicine once a day? Sometimes with cats, injections are easier!

Had a look & I would go for the latter as it is supposed to slow the progression of the diabetes rather than just replacing the insulin. (helps endogenous insulin production). Your cat is still relatively young , so this sounds a good optio