Hello!

I was very happy to find this forum. I have a cat named Billy who will be 10 next month. He was diagnosed with diabetes in October. I've had him since he was 10 weeks old, and he's always been full of personality and attitude. He likes to torment his mild-mannered sister, jump into boxes while I'm trying to pack and rub against the legs of people wearing flannel pyjamas.

I first noticed an issue last summer when he was peeing outside the litter box. I tried for weeks to figure out which cat was doing it and why. I spent countless hours and hundreds of dollars trying to figure out the problem and clean up after him. I had a urinary analysis done at the vet, but not blood work. I went away for a week and my mom watched him and noticed he was drinking a lot. She googled and told me she thought he was diabetic. The vet did blood work and that's what it was.

I live alone and figuring this stuff out by myself has been an emotional experience. We're on regular insulin now (Prolinx: 3 units in the morning, 4 in the afternoon) and doing regular glucose checks. He goes up and down. My goal is remission one day. He has arthritis too, and we just started him on gabapentin last week. The change has been remarkable. He's climbing the stairs for the hell of it now, cleaning his hind quarters, sleeping on the back of the couch again, etc. That stuff works wonders.

My other cat is 13 and, knock wood, healthy as a horse.

Anyway, nice to meet you all!

 

Welcome! This is the best place for help and support. Please post on the main health forum and include the following info:

• the insulin you use and dose
• what starting dose your vet prescribed
• what glucose meter you use
• what you feed your kitty.

 

I forgot to mention that just to add to the fun, he's overweight. He was around 17 pounds before he was diagnosed, and I was giving him weight loss food when he was diagnosed. He's around 14.5 pounds now, which is still too heavy. So I'm ALSO counting his calories. This cat is like a second job.

I'm attaching another photo for a size comparison. The other cat was sitting where he wanted to sit, so he just sat partially on her. She didn't seem to have any issues with it though.

 

Thank you! Will do.

 

Two very cute kitties!

 

Welcome! Your fur babies are super cute! I am fairly new here and this forum has been tremendously helpful

 

Welcome to FDMB! Billy and his sister are so adorable!

 

Glad that you found an answer for Bill. It took blood work from vet too in order to diagnosis that my cat wasn't losing weight from the new feeding regiment that was recommended. Cute cats! Gotta find pictures of my babies.

 

Thank you for the cat compliments! I let them know they were getting love on the internet.