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| - Yemala and her sister Erzuli were adopted in 1999, soon after we lost a well-loved tortoise shell kitty to renal failure. She has always been an affectionate, engaged, and active cat, enthusiastic about feeding and play. In mid-May, we noticed that she was lethargic and off her food. She would lay on the coolest spot on the floor and not move for hours. Eventually, she refused even routine affection. We took her to the vet on Memorial Day weekend, 2006, and she was diagnosed with diabetes.
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| abstract
| - Yemala and her sister Erzuli were adopted in 1999, soon after we lost a well-loved tortoise shell kitty to renal failure. She has always been an affectionate, engaged, and active cat, enthusiastic about feeding and play. In mid-May, we noticed that she was lethargic and off her food. She would lay on the coolest spot on the floor and not move for hours. Eventually, she refused even routine affection. We took her to the vet on Memorial Day weekend, 2006, and she was diagnosed with diabetes. Our vet prescribed 1.5 units Vetsulin twice daily, and the usual dry low-carb cat food. He held out the hopes of a year or more of continued life without loss of quality, but no more. We put her on the treatment plan he recommended, but soon found the FDMB and began to pay attention to the advice we found there. As a diabetic myself, I have glucose meters and soon began to test her sugers regularly. We switched her to a canned diet, along with her sister and the three other cats in our home, and eventually persuaded them all to be carnivores again. At first, her highs were too high, particularly the pre-shot numbers. But around +6, she bordered on hypoglycemia. Some members of the board recommended I reduce her dose to 1 unit twice daily, let it settle, and perform another curve a week later. We found her bgs dropping noticeably. Her appetite increased, as did her energy levels. After another week, her pre-shot bg had leveled out to appx. 150 or lower. We reduced her dose again to .75 units. That dose was further reduced when we found that she rarely crested over 130. For one final week in June, we gave her mini-shots - .25 -.5 -- only if she was over 100 before feeding. In late June, she went entirely into remission. Spot checks on her glucose levels are never higher than 80 or 90 -- perfectly within ideal range. Her behavior is completely in line with her pre-diagnosis behavior. She is, by turns, sweet, ornery, demanding, affectionate, and gentle. She eats heartily from the wet food we give her, and plays happily with favorite toys and other cats. Vetsulin may be a harsh insulin, but it can be made to work well for cats. Mala has been off insulin entirely since late June.
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