Does anyone have experience with diabetic cats?

[NaturalHigh]

My big guy was diagnosed with diabetes a couple of weeks ago. We've been giving him insulin shots twice a day. He doesn't seem to mind, and I don't think they're painful (very small needle in the skin). I still wonder if we're doing the right thing, though.

Does this ever turn out well?

[Sanity Claws]

1. I have a diabetic cat

He's been on insulin for over 2 years. Food is another important part of caring for a diabetic cat.
Feel free to send me a personal message if you would like more info.
Good luck!

[NaturalHigh]

2. Thanks! I'm going to send you a PM.

[shenmue]

3. {{{Kitteh}}}

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

4. I had a diabetic cat. It turned out well.

I gave him insulin shots twice a day for many years; he finally passed away at age 16 from something unrelated to diabetes (R.I.P., Teddy). It wasn't a very big deal; I just had to be sure I gave him the shots on a regular schedule. He didn't seem to mind them or run away from them - I think eventually he realized they would make him feel better. He lived a perfectly normal and otherwise healthy cat life for many years. Your vet can give you advice about food. A lot of commercial cat food has corn and other grain in it, which should be avoided.

Your kitty will be fine.

[NaturalHigh]

6. Thank you. That's encouraging.

[irisblue]

5. Yep

I noticed Kira felt better when her insulin levels were better, she started slapping the dog around again. Kira was 10 @ diagnosis, she is 14 now. Doing a 'skin pop' injection is crazy easy, I put her measured food dish in front of her face, she eats, and I inject her back end, and I make sure to rotate the injection sites. She gets a vet visit twice a year, and she had to have a dental cleaning
b/c the tarter built up with the diabetic cat dry food. Bad teeth leads to gum problems, which often lead to kidney problems which can be very hard to treat in old cats. She had one episode of very low blood sugar which did lead to a middle of the night vet er visit, and it was totally my fault, she really likes bagels and had eaten quite a bit of my unattended bagel sandwich.
She does know when it is time for her meals, and has come and stood on my sleeping body and woke me up by patting my nose when I was late with her breakfast. She's plays with the nip bags, chases bottle caps and watches the bird feeder daily. She is doing well.

[NaturalHigh]

7. Thanks for the encouraging words.

Hopefully Sylvester will do as well as Kira.

[Curmudgeoness]

8. My neighbor's cat is 22.

He was diagnosed as diabetic two years ago and is still doing well for an old man. The only thing that there was a problem with was getting the amount of insulin right. He had a few seizures when the amount of insulin was too high, but that got resolved. I think that the first couple of months until you know you have the dosage right is the hardest.

[NaturalHigh]

9. I think the dosage is pretty accurate.

He's a pretty big cat, and the dosage is very small (.23 CCs). I haven't seen any sort of side effects.