Hey Everyone

My beautiful Maine Coon cat, Bubba who was 25 lbs started losing weight, drinking excessively and peeing brick size amounts in the litter box was diagnosed with Diabetes on 5.27.15. I gave him 1 unit of insulin twice a day for 2 weeks when deciding to take him off insulin and give him a zero carb diet. Are there any other owners out there who have done the same? . It has been 6 days so far and he continues to lose weight, a 1.2 lb in 3 days! I would love to hear from you.

 

Are you home testing his blood glucose to know how high it is? Zero carb food will not exclude the need for insulin!

You need an inexpensive human meter like the WalMart Confirm or the Target Up and Up, matching test strips (that is where things get pricey), and lancets labeled for alternate site testing (25-28 gauge).

Also, with the weight loss, it would be a very good idea to check for urine ketones. Ketones form as a byproduct of fat breakdown for calories. Too many ketones may indicate diabetic ketoacidosis, a potentially fatal, expensive to treat complication of diabetes. See my signature link for some tips on urine testing, plus this site.

 

Thanks so much for the reply. I am taking him tomorrow to the vets for them to test his glucose and I will take my meter I bought and have them show me how to do it at home. I will also ask them about testing his urine for ketones. At his worst, he was only in the 300's, not sure the exact number but when I brought him home he was 300. He would not eat at the vets and they knew the stress would keep his numbers high. He has an appetite and still wants to go outside in the morning after breakfast. Another concern is that he spends a lot of time in the basement as he always did, but he hides a lot. I know that hiding is an indicator of a cat being sick and especially with cancer. Has anyone else experienced their diabetic cat wanting to hide? He has a condition with his eye that deems it necessary to be removed so that potentially melanoma will not go through into his body. The specialist has no guarantees that some of those cells have not already escaped. I am fearful that the rapid weight loss is more about that than the diabetes.

 

Here's a video of home testing.

 

Thanks so much for sharing that video!