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Old male cat with diabetes

I have an old male cat. He was diagnosed with diabetes 1 month ago. For the first 3 weeks, I was giving him insulin twice a day. The vet said "fill to the first ine". Last Saturday I took him in for a check up because he was not responding to the insulin, and found that the first ine on my syringe was different than his. I was only giving half doses! I started that Sunday giving the full unit, and for the whole past week, he is running in the high 500's for his blood sugar, it was 600 tonight!! The vet said not to worry, and not to increase his insulin. I worry about liver damage, and he is drinkng water like crazy. WHat should I do to treat his high bood sugar besides increasing his insulin?

Hi,

Besides insulin there are oral medications that could be given like glipizide. This could help control diabetes in some cats.

Another important thing is diet. Gradual weight loss in an obese cat can be acheived with a high fiber high complex carbohydrate diet. This diet can also be helpful in control blood glucose swings. I beleive it is a prescription diet so talk to your vet about these things as well. If you feel the vet cannot help you ask him/her for a referral to another vet.

Thanks,

Dr. Chris

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Old male cat with diabetes

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May 09, 2008
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by: Jennifer

I'm so sorry to hear that your cat has diabetes. I too have a older male cat 13 years old. A couple of years ago he was diagnosed with diabetes. His also was around 600. I'm happy to say he is now off insulin. His sugar is about 165. Try feeding him 3 times a day. What we did was a small can of wet in the AM (make sure not to give him wet food with gravy or sauce) then at lunch I would give him 1/4 to 1/2 cup of dry cat food (try to use high protein low carb) then at 7pm I would give him another small can of wet. Stay away from the gravys and sauce in wet since they are high in carbs. Also the needles you get from wal-mart or other store are not the same measurement as the vet. I know they are cheaper at others stores, try to figure out the difference in the units and tell the vet so you can still buy the cheaper needles. It will take time to figure out the right dose for him and then you will have to go every few months to have him re-checked to see how his sugar is and to see if you need to change the dose. Just keep an eye on how much he is peeing and drinking. I hope this will help you.

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