Adopting a Diabetic Cat Today

Discussion in 'Feline Health - (Welcome & Main Forum)' started by Chelsea, Sep 25, 2017.

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  1. Chelsea

    Chelsea New Member

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    Sep 25, 2017
    Hi everyone, its been a very long time since I've used a forum!

    I've got maybe a unique situation. My cat and I lived with one of my best friends for a few years. He had a herd of cats as result of his last girlfriend leaving them all at his place (she was a real winner).

    Anyway, when I moved in we had SIX cats under one roof. It was insane. We managed to adopt out two of them. Which left us with my cat (her name is Mac), my roommate's cat (Squirt), and two from his ex (Sugar and Kitty).

    As you can imagine all the cats in the house had their own distinct personality. Kitty, (who is a male and weighed in at a whopping 26lbs.) stole my heart. He carried shoes around the house in his mouth while serenading us with the song of his people. He slept on my feet in the winter. He loved belly rubs and we joked petting his belly fur was like frolicking on the back hair of an angle. He kept the peace when the other cats had their fights. He could take down a full sized rabbit. And happily ate it too.
    He was a wonderful cat.

    I lived there for two and a half years. I moved out in June of 2016 into an apartment with just Mac. I live just a few miles down the road and I'm over very often. So I still got lots of Kitty belly rub time in.

    This spring I noticed that Kitty had dropped a good bit of weight. Which wasn't too uncommon for him. He gets more outside time during the warmer months so its not unusual to see him loose a pound or two. Now you might be thinking 26lbs holly crap that cat is overweight! He certainly had some excess weight, but he wasn't one of those fat cats that looks like a little barrel on legs. He's much larger than the average house cat and stands head and shoulders over all three of the other cats in the house. And is nearly a tail length longer than the rest of them too.

    June rolled around and Kitty had continued to really drop weight, and he was obsessively grooming to the point that his tummy and haunches were missing fur. At that point I insisted that he go to the vet. My old roommate took him in, the vet gave Kitty a round antibiotics and a steroid shot. And basically said old cat, what to do you expect? Kitty was 14lbs in June.

    It's been a record breaking busy summer for me, so I've not had much of a chance to get over there. I went to lunch with my old roommate's girlfriend last week. She mentioned that Kitty was peeing everywhere still and was still losing weight. I knew that cash was a real factor for my friends, so I offered to foot the vet bill if they took him in again.

    He was diagnosed with diabetes on Friday and is now just over 11lbs, his muscles have atrophied and there is zero fat on his body. We start insulin today. I'm taking Kitty so that he can live in a little more of a controlled environment, and I'll be taking care of his medical expenses. Which admittedly are very steep.

    I'm mad. I'm sad. I know the vet is going to push me to accept the diabetic food that they push, a good chunk of the reading I've done says the stuff is really a waste of money. I've done a ton of reading on Dr. Pierson's website http://catinfo.org/ which was immensely helpful. I'm super worried about my big guy.

    :(

    -chels
     
  2. FurBabiesMama

    FurBabiesMama Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    Jul 6, 2017
    Welcome! I am glad you are taking Kitty. Poor boy. :( Do not let the vet 'push' you to do anything. Unfortunately, there do not appear to be a lot of vets that are very knowledgeable about feline diabetes/nutrition. You really have to educate yourself (which it sounds like you have been doing!) to make sure your cat gets the appropriate care. Hopefully, your vet has some knowledge/experience and is willing to work with you. If not, there are other vets. It took me three to get to the right one.

    I hope Kitty starts doing better very quickly.
     
  3. Kris & Teasel

    Kris & Teasel Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    Aug 17, 2016
    Welcome! We can help you to help Kitty and have ways you can save money too. Post all your questions on the main health forum where more people will see them. :)
     
  4. Dyana

    Dyana Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    Dec 28, 2009
    You're a good person, Chelsea. :bighug: I wish you The Best Of Luck with your Kitty.
    Dr. Pierson is great. I hope you will continue to post on the Main Health Forum.
     
  5. Noah & me (GA)

    Noah & me (GA) Well-Known Member

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    Dec 3, 2016
    Wow! You are the definition of a good person. I think you mispronounced a word. Your friends girlfriend is a wiener, not a winner. I got you beat with Kitty! Our Kobiashi was 28 pounds and it was all love. You've come to a forum where there's no back stabbing, crying is allowed and we're all civil. Lot's of smart people here. Probably the last place left on the internet.
     
  6. JanetNJ

    JanetNJ Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    Jun 8, 2016
    You are a kind soul to take on the responsibility. We are here to help. The first month of diabetes is very expensive, but after that it's much less, and we can help you navigate that. Welcome. If you have any specific questions just ask. Start moving to low carb food now.... No dry, fancy feast classic or Friskies pate. Feed him as much as he wants whenever he wants. When you start home testing, just no food two hours before preshot testing so the numbers are not food influenced. You've got this and we are here to help.
     
  7. Amanda and a Loudogg

    Amanda and a Loudogg Well-Known Member

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    Jun 16, 2017
    Welcome! Quite frankly, I feel like Kitty has stole part of my heart as well, just hearing you talk about him. Do you have any pictures you can share? I just can't believe how much weight he's lost. Poor baby. I am so thankful you are taking him in. You are most definitely in the right place! :bighug:
     
  8. JanetNJ

    JanetNJ Well-Known Member

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    Jun 8, 2016
    Haha you may be right about that last part.
     
  9. Chelsea

    Chelsea New Member

    Joined:
    Sep 25, 2017
    A few pics of Kitty, pre diabetic!
    2015-04-26 15.38.47.jpg 2015-06-08 22.25.45.jpg 2015-06-27 11.33.22.jpg
     
    Dyana, JanetNJ, Kris & Teasel and 2 others like this.
  10. Amanda and a Loudogg

    Amanda and a Loudogg Well-Known Member

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    Jun 16, 2017
    He could almost be my buddy Lou's brother! He's adorable! :D
     
  11. Chelsea

    Chelsea New Member

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    Sep 25, 2017
    Thanks! He's my cuddly one :D
     
    Amanda and a Loudogg likes this.
  12. Kris & Teasel

    Kris & Teasel Well-Known Member

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    Aug 17, 2016
    What a sweet boy! :)
     
  13. Dyana

    Dyana Well-Known Member

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    Dec 28, 2009
    He looks like a sweetheart <3
     
  14. Noah & me (GA)

    Noah & me (GA) Well-Known Member

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    Dec 3, 2016
    Since your birthday is the same as my Dad's AND Kitty is a sweetie we would like you to join our cult, I mean friendly group! Pass the KoolAid please.
     
    Chelsea likes this.
  15. Noah & me (GA)

    Noah & me (GA) Well-Known Member

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    Dec 3, 2016
    Chelsea, you mentioned it's been a long time since you've been on a forum. Maybe you're like me, no time for politics or arguments. Your birthday? There is a "snoop" feature in this software. It's not creepy. If you click on Noah's big fuzzy head you can drill down and see what I have chosen to post about myself. It's only a 1/10 on the creepy scale when you click on location and Google Maps pops up. Most of us are 40+ in age so we're past the high school behavior you see in some other forums. That same software allows you to "tag" other members (gets their attention) or if you know a member whose help you need you can see if they're on-line right now and possibly in what forum. Maybe the cats are making us civil. After all, we pick our poop! I live across the street from a big dog park, surprises everywhere. Yechh!
     
    Chelsea likes this.
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