Hello, my sweet 11-year-old Simba has diabetes, and I am having a hard time giving him his insulin, I am doing the best I can for him, I have even researched a one-time medication for him by mouth, instead of the insulin. Can you please tell me how long cats survive in this condition? If treated properly.
Warm regards,
Carrie Hayes
Hi Carrie,
I'm sorry to hear your kitty has diabetes. It does require a lot of dedication and close communication with your veterinarian to treat properly. It can incur a good deal of expense too.
But if treated properly, a well-regulated cat can still live for several years. While I try to set the expectation that a cat will remain diabetic for life, it is possible in about half of cats who are treated properly to go into remission from their diabetes (though it is always possible they can revert back again too). There is no one time treatment/cure for diabetes, though if you are referring to the newer daily oral medications, there are some precautions. These medications only work by removing glucose from the bloodstream and dumping it in the urine. While this does technically lower blood sugar, it still leaves you with a cat that drinks and urinates excessively, you'll still have glucose in a urine sample, and these cats can still go into diabetic ketoacidosis. You also cannot start these medications if insulin has already been started. I would not consider them miracle drugs and they are not the same as human oral medications for diabetes that lower A1C and things like that. In cats (and dogs) insulin is always going to provide the best control. A diabetic prescription diet can also help a lot by curbing blood sugar spikes after meals and can help to reduce the insulin requirement.
If you can learn to do glucose checks at home with a glucometer (like the AlphaTrak), this will save you a considerable amount of expense. Our hospital team provides courtesy demos for people to see how to use them properly. Some vet offices will still charge for interpretation for a set of readings (a glucose curve) that are sent in, but this will be less expensive (and in many cases more accurate) than a day-long hospital stay.
Giving insulin injections can take some practice. My own cats do best for injections at home while they're eating a meal and you also want to ensure with diabetics that they are eating a full meal before giving a dose. I know there are a lot of good resources out there for diabetic cat parents, as well as support groups.
Hello Dr. Chris, thank you so much for all your kind words, and all the wonderful information you have given me. I am really scared because he is missing he shots. Thank you again, for everything! Kind regards, Carrie and Simba!
@carriehayes thanks for the info