r/FelineDiabetes

hi guys!

my cat got diagnosed with diabetes 1 week ago.

the symptoms started with him peeing everywhere multiple times a day, and drinking a lot of water. (hes 6 years old btw)

we give him insulin 2x a day as instructed, and thank god his energy has gotten better!

but we’ve had to keep him outside along with his food, bed etc, because every chance he gets inside / upstairs to the bedrooms, he pees in the corner.

this is still happening after a week of insulin, will this ever stop? i really want to let him in, but my mum refuses (rightfully so)

he doesnt use litter boxes, he HATES them & normally before diabetes he would know to go outside to do his business.

has this happened to anyone before? thanks so much for your time 💗💗💗💗

He was fine and got sick Friday. Money is tight but we figured things out and took him to a vet today. They did a blood test and it was DKA and fluid in his heart. The vet just said hes suffering and to put him down so we did like two hours ago because it wouldnt have been affordable and the vet just said it was at a point where all the money in the world likely wouldn't even save him.

He's been my everything. We're incredibly clingy to each other. I feel like I failed to detect anything. I feel like his diet was bad. I'm coping it was genetic. I feel like I failed with financials to take him to the vet regularly. I don't even really know exactly where to direct my life from here because he was apart of everything.

One of my dogs passed in September last year as is. My current dog is 14 so it's been on my mind already. I expected this decision to be a thing that happened in like 10 years or so from now. It doesn't feel real and I feel numb and physically numb. I've been together with him everyday. He's been in major parts of my life. He's just my everything. My mental health is a mess so like I'm genuinely home all the time so literally we're together all day every day. I just like am in a stage of denial still.

He was already super sleepy and weak so when he passed from euthanasia it was quick and it didn't even seem like he noticed anything. I'm trying to help myself feel better that this was the case but I don't know.

When we got home I asked my mom to put up everything in the house, but so much is his the house is genuinely empty now. I didn't want it put away but I cant look at it either. I don't know how to cope or how to continue my usual. I know I need to build routine or anything. I don't usually do anything on reddit but I just want advice and support, people who can relate right now. I just feel like vomitting, my head hurts, and I'm a mess. I know I can't rush anything, I want to though and I also don't want to because it feels wrong to him.

I don't know what to do or how to handle this. This was my worst nightmare come true. Nothing feels like reality. Please help me feel better and figure out a way to somewhat navigate my life now.

My 15 yo cat got diagnosed with diabetes a little under 2 years ago, and has been very difficult to get regulated ever since.
He was diagnosed with BG levels in the mid-high 500’s, but he has always responded well to insulin, meaning that even relatively low doses (according to vet, relatively low compared to his BG) brought his glucose down significantly. The most he has been on is 2 units twice a day, but that was too high a dose as his BG plummeted to below 40. Lowering to 1 unit (decreased in steps of 0.25) gave lows of around 100-125. Giving less his BG would stay too high (not going below 300). Unfortunately during those 2 years his BG always skyrocketed after the lowest point (which he reaches pretty early in a cycle, around 4-5 hours, until he was back to 400-500 at shot time. This never changed.

He’s on a low carb diet by the way, pate wet food with around 3-7% carbs depending on variety and low carb dry food (5% carbs, power of nature), the dry food is mostly for my other cat who NEEDS to have food available all day due to their medical issues.

I kept being told he was bouncing, to start from scratch from 0.5 units, keep the dose for a week or even 2 weeks, and increase in 0.25 steps. Didn’t work. Low doses meant he was in very high numbers constantly, until we got back to 1 unit and he would do his thing of lows around 100 and highs reaching 500. Very wild curves. And this cat does NOT show any behavioral symptoms of being either high or low except drinking and peeing a ton when his numbers are high. He’s very active no matter what his BG is. Those wild curves were day in day out for 1,5 years. Until now. Starting 3 weeks ago he suddenly started having lower BG levels at shot time. At first they were around 300, not spectacular for a diabetic cat, but for him they were. Gradually they kept getting lower, and now they are around 200 most days, and I’ve had to skip shots because he wasn’t going over 150 a couple times. And even without a shot for 24 hours he doesn’t go above 200.

I’ve been told by my vet that remission if it happens always happens in the first couple months, and certainly not after 2 years of poorly controlled diabetes. So I don’t dare to have much hope, but is it possible?

My cat went into DKA (we were not aware he even had diabetes) we were able to hospitalize him for 4 days and he came home Saturday. Saturday night to Sunday morning his blood glucose was high range (the freestyle libre 3 will just say HI after maybe 360?)

Sunday morning he got his food and insulin dose at 8:30AM and by the time I got home he was in the 200s maybe less. On Monday morning he again was high but got his dose and it lowered. The only thing is though Monday afternoon he was in the 56/60/70s range. By the time I gave him his food he was in the 150s/170s range. I didn’t feel comfortable giving him his 2 units so I settled with one.

Today after his breakfast and before his shot he was at 342. Again in the afternoon he went back to being in the 60s-70s. I gave him his dinner at 8:00pm and his blood glucose has been at 130/120s range and I don’t feel comfortable giving him more insulin.

My vet told me to do 2 units if above 150 and 1 unit 150 or under. Has anyone dealt with something similar to this? I skipped his dose for the night just in case but should I lower his dose in the mornings to avoid getting to that 60s BG in the afternoon?

**just want to add he’s on Lantus

My cat Leo was diagnosed two weeks ago and I just feel really overwhelmed. My boyfriend and I have been giving him insulin and tracking his blood sugar before injecting. He’s 10 years old. We’re on a conservative dosage of 1 unit after meals twice a day. We’ve switched the food. Even treats are high protein low carb.
I took his blood two hours after insulin just to get a sense of how’s going. For reference his blood after food has been in the 300s, but I just took it two hours after insulin and it’s in the 500s.

Is this normal for the first week? We’re going back Friday for a two week check up and maybe it’ll be upped. Idk my vet is kind of cold and clinical and i want to switch vets.

I also want to cry because im so scared to travel now. Like im scared of leaving him, and I have to travel for work, and my boyfriend’s family lives far away and we can’t NOT visit them. Idk any words of encouragement would be helpful

Also I have immense guilt I can’t help but feel it’s my fault

To say I'm devastated would be an understatement.

I've cried since I found out the news six hours ago. I thought at first we would make it work. But as I started hearing more numbers; the cost of a glucose monitor, glucose curve, insulin, specialty food, it became clear that it could never be a possibility for us. Just the blood and urine test cost from today was nearly $400 and will make it very difficult for us to pay for gas and groceries for the month. My husband recently lost his job and we had to move into a family members basement. We sold our house at a major loss. Our credit is barely recovering from the loans we had to take out for the repairs to the house, so a care credit isn't an option either. I reached out to the Pet Fund, but don't have long to wait. His glucose is over 500, he is limping from neuropathy, and peeing everywhere. The vet said he could go into crisis any time.

I just hate the world right now. I hate myself for not realizing this sooner. I hate the veterinary system. I hate that the only thing I can do for my best friend is to let him die peacefully with us rather than alone and in pain.

Sorry for the rant.

I’m looking at a feline one by pet control hq on Amazon but I heard you can use human ones . I’d like to get one asap from like a pharmacy or something. Can anyone suggest anything?

Hello, I'm new to this subreddit but searching for any information about the Alpha Trak 3 app that's similar to what I'm experiencing today.

My cat has been diagnosed since September last year and I've been home testing since March with the Alpha Trak 3 with no issues. Bluetooth is great, I use it to keep track of preshots and mid cycle numbers. Today, I have continuously gotten an "Oops, there's been a problem. Please try again later" message when I open the app, and another message that says "Offline Data Synced", and although it still is uploading via Bluetooth, it visibly looks like it's glitching when I try to get the latest results from the meter and then when I force close and reopen the number is uploaded.

I can't find any information about whether their servers are down, or what the issue is. I'm scared to delete the app and redownload because she's looking like she's in remission and the data I have for the past 8 days is really important for me to have.

Just wondering if I should wait it out and see if it fixes itself or if anyone is having or has had similar problems with the app.

Thanks for any information!

My cat whos 14 years old was diagnosed with diabetes around this time last year and his nunbers still arent regulated so hes got that and he has seizures so he's on meds for that and now hes got a swollen face and vets think its rather a tooth absess or something with his eye but its hard to tell as the swelling is quite big, they have given us antibiotics and pain meds and see if it goes down if not and it is tooth absess hell need an xray and dental done which I assume is tooth extract so hell put under anesthetic so worries me putting him through that when he isnt very well anyway and because hes a senior cat

Hi! Feline diabetes + early kidney disease newbie here.

I’m looking for support or anyone who can relate, as I’m tired and feel like I’m failing my cat in many ways.

My cat Phoenix(16) was recently diagnosed with diabetes early last month. I had a meltdown the day I found out because it was so overwhelming and I didn’t know exactly what it all entailed at the time. She started her first dose of insulin shortly after, and we’re still learning how she reacts to it throughout the day. She’s a grazer, which has made it difficult to make sure she eats enough with her doses. She’s on Vetsulin 2units 2x a day. She ALSO has early-stage kidney disease, so we have a double whammy. Last fall, when I took her to the vet, they told us her kidney numbers were high and to try a kidney diet on her. After hundreds of dollars and months of trying many, many, many kinds of kidney soft food and hard foods - she would be interested in one for a day or two and then walk away. Nearly wanted to rip my hair out every day as she would barely eat. I ended up just going back to giving her Fancy Feast pates/Blue Buffalo hard food so she would eat SOMETHING because she was losing weight. 

I took her to the vet early last month because she was excessively drinking/peeing/losing weight. I associated it with her kidney issues, but it turns out she is newly diabetic, unfortunately. 

My mom gives her the morning dose in the morning around 7am and together we give her the evening dose around 7pm. Now that her numbers are a little lower, her hunger has come back a bit. We’re trying to help her gain some weight back. Right now, we’re giving her Fancy Feast pates 1/2-3/4 a can with breakfast, ¼ a can for lunch, and 1/2-3/4 a can for dinner. Then she has a kidney food dry food in her bowl to munch on as needed (maybe once overnight she does if she’s desperate since she doesn’t care for it). Unfortunately, the only way to help her kidneys is to have her on a kidney food only diet, which is a nightmare. I’ve tried that for months and gave up. She only gets kidney diet hard food, but the wet food that she mainly eats is still Fancy Feast(I rotate flavors). I do give her a treat mid-day sometimes, when I’m testing her glucose, and at night before bed. Treats = Churu or fish flakes. 

I feel like a terrible pet parent that I haven't acclimated her to a full kidney diet yet, but she also isn’t helping me. It’s hard balancing her blood sugar, kidney numbers, all while trying to help her gain weight. It’s overwhelming, and I worry about her 24/7, and there are days I have so much anxiety going to sleep thinking she’s going to randomly go hypo overnight. I’m nervous to leave the house because I worry about her numbers dropping when no one is around or her just not feeling well in general. All new worries as this has been quite a lifestyle change for us all.

Since she’s started her insulin, she has thrown up several times. My vet says it could be from stress or from her kidney numbers, as there’s no consistency to it. I’m keeping an eye on the frequency and events surrounding the times in a log. It’s not every day, but when she does throw up, it’s usually projectile vomiting a ton of liquid that’s tinted with food. 

Basically, I’m here to see if there are any other diabetic kitty pet parents who are also dealing with kidney issues to feel less alone. I don’t test her glucose every day. I feel SO bad when doing it, and she hates her ears being touched now since curve day. I’m a bit scarred from her first glucose curve day when she ended up intensely projectile vomiting mid-day potentially from the stress of it all. I know I should be testing her every day or at least every few days, and feel so guilty. I'm going to try to get better at it. I have my neighbor who had a diabetic cat for a decade and she never tested her cat, and then my mom telling me not to bother testing all the time, and then I read so many posts online about how you should every day - I’m overwhelmed by all of the opinions. 

Her numbers when I have tested her have been all over the place, but generally OK. But every day her demeanor can be different. From sleepy to slow-moving to hyper. She IS a senior, but we’re not sure what our new normal is anymore. I just created a Sugar Spreadsheet from the Feline Diabetes Facebook Group. 

Has anyone else dealt with a picky eater/grazer kitty who is also dealing with kidney issues? Does anyone else deal with random projectile vomiting? Can anyone relate or have any words of encouragement?

Thanks for reading my book if you've made it this far! 😄

In the last 9 days alone, there have been 3 posts promoting vibe-coded AI apps for diabetes-related purposes (1, 2, 3). I also have seen many posts about 'Shotclockr' which are written by AI and fake accounts are used to falsely promote it.

The posts all use the same format, i..e "I'm genuinely curious what works for you" "I'm a long-time lurker" etc etc.

I understand why one might want to take all of the knowledge on feline diabetes and throw it into an app. It's a lot of information and it takes a lot of experience to build that knowledge.

However, this is a community of volunteers who so kindly provide their expertise in so many forums - Reddit, the FB group, and of course, the Feline Diabetes Message Board. It feels wrong to me to promote apps written by AI, designed by people who have very little experience compared to those who offer their support every single day to the community.

Where are they planning to give back? If it takes off are they going to donate proceeds to the FDMB?

I would love if these posts could be banned. I really don't think they add anything to this subreddit. These are frankly vibe-coded garbage apps with no reviews or testimonials from ACTUAL vets or longtime members of the community who can verify that ANY of the features or advice given through these apps are valid and accurate.

The tried and true way to get help with feline diabetes is to use the literal 24/7 HUMAN support system that we are all so lucky to have.

I am not sure if everyone feels this way but considering these posts are becoming more frequent I thought I would ask.

Hello! I'll keep things simple; I've got a 9 year old cat whose glucose reading was 272 on intake for a dental(a tooth removal+cleaning). He has severe hyperaesthesia, and what's worse, he has extreme stress relating to being caged/contained/bound/restrained in any way(he also has paradoxical reactions to most sedatives, and only a mild relaxation effect from tricyclics and gabapentinoids). Obviously, the vet is not sure if this glucose reading is valid, since glucose spiking during extreme duress is pretty normal.

So, they sent home a loaner test unit(Freestyle Libre). They didn't think a Sensor would last long on him given the above, so I got some strips and 28 gauge lancets+a lancet device.

Now to the problem: I may have the world's first bloodless cat. I've tried every single one of his paw pads, even after warming them, as well as both near the edge of his ears(skirting the vein), AND hitting the vein directly(again, also after warming and massaging the ear). I have yet to produce enough blood for a valid test read. We've gone through 19 of the 25 strips we bought(which yes, means I've unfortunately had to lance my hyperaesthete cat 19 times). He is also very physically strong and begins thrashing pretty hard if his ears/paws are touched even at the best of times, which has made all of this very stressful for everyone involved - and, more concerningly, might also render any test blood I do get from him similarly glucose spiked.

He's a sweet cat, and he's very affectionate and hand-friendly - his ONLY no-go places are his ears and his paws/feet(including his carpal pads, which are thick anyway), but I cannot find information about lancing any other spots and while I do have medical training and decades of experience working professionally with cats, I do not feel comfortable lancing or sticking a major vein just for a simple glucose draw at home... which leaves me here, asking what possible recourse I have.

To say nothing of the fact that, ideally, I would want a glucose curve, I have no ideas as to how to humanely get even a single test result owing to the above. Any help or advice would be appreciated.

Has anyone in this group experienced a diabetic cat that had Megacolon ? If so can you share what it was like ? How you handled it ? How your cat handled it ? Cost? Outcome? I really appreciate it 😻

He smelt like insulin after his shot today, but didn't feel wet. The curve is horrible for him, he hates every second of it, and im worried that if i missed the shot it'll all be for nothing.

Is it worth to do still? If we are trying to measure the effective of his new dose and he didn't get it, will the vet get anything from the results?

I really dont want to put him (and my hand, good god im covered in scratches) through it if it will be inconclusive.

Hi, everyone!

I just took in a cat with diabetes and I'm so, so nervous I'll mess things up! I just gave him his first dose of insulin (well, not his first dose ever, but his first dose administered by me) and I'm so paranoid all I can do is stare at him. I'm afraid to go to sleep lol.

If you have any advice, I'd appreciate it! I've been reading the posts here and it's so amazing to have other people who can relate and help each other.