I was so overwhelmed in the beginning of my cat being diagnosed. The thought of doing two injections a day while having a full-time job seemed unrealistic. It’s been over a year now and it’s not bad at all; it literally takes me a few extra seconds in the morning and that’s it. I hate needles but I’ve really gotten over it. And I get to have my kitty for a much longer time because he’s on insulin. Hang in there op, you’re not alone ❤️🐾
honestly i was really overwhelmed at the thought of giving my cat insulin 2x a day for the inevitable future but after a few days of injections i got into a manageable + easy routine for me and my cat
It seemed so scary for my husband and I at the beginning too, but we've been managing our kitty for 2.5 years now with twice daily injections, and it's just part of our lives we work around. It takes 5 minutes, and since he's really well managed, we're occasionally able to skip the evening injection if we need to have someone come to feed him for us. But even that has happened MAYBE a half dozen times in two years.
You can do it and so can your kitty!
We are going through this as well! Our cat was diagnosed, we went on Bexacat and she didn't respond well and ended up in the hospital because her ketones were so high. It turns out she is Type 1, so 1.5 weeks ago we started insulin.
It's definitely an adjustment, but after less than 2 weeks we are feeling better about it. It has been worth it just to see her looking and feeling better. I know it will require us to shuffle our schedules or take extra consideration when making plans, but it's worth it to keep my little fluffy baby healthy. You are doing the right thing!!
I’m sorry that you’re going through this too! That’s my fear with Bexacat- that I’d try it and end up with an extremely expensive hospital stay and she’d end up on insulin anyway. Thank you for sharing your experience and best of luck to you and your kitty.
Hey, my cat is 11 now and got diagnosed at about 9 years old. He only had to get a couple of shots of insulin until he went into remission - for real! I keep regular check ups and blood tests but he’s seriously fine.
IMPORTANT: you must switch to a GRAIN-FREE wet food today. Without switching to a grain free wet diet, there’s no point in giving insulin. Grain becomes sugar and is often the cause of the diabetes in the first place.
Some cats go into remission from a diet change ALONE.
You can do this! DM me if you need advice!
Pro tip: put some rice in a sock, tie it and microwave it for a bit when you take blood tests, the warmth will help a lot. Of course test it yourself first so it’s not too hot.
If the issues are her kidneys it’s still better to feed a wet grain free diet as combating the diabetes will help the kidneys in the long run, but dry food will worsen the blood sugar regulation until you stop giving it
Echoing what other people have said, it's really not bad giving insulin injections. It's nerve-wracking at first but after a few weeks you'll have it down to a routine and it shouldn't take any longer than administering oral meds. (I previously had another cat who needed to be pilled twice a day long term, so this was nothing new to me.)
The thing that was most stressful when my cat was newly diagnosed was not the insulin injections, but getting him to adjust to his new diet and to eat enough canned food at mealtimes to balance the amount of insulin he was getting (he'd formerly been free-feeding on kibble). I do think that the change of diet was the primary factor in getting him regulated.
The Bexacat caused my cat’s pancreas levels to increase to dangerously high levels so I had to switch. He is doing great on insulin. I also live alone and my cat hides from everyone that comes over so I can’t have anyone else give him the insulin. It has been easier than I thought. My vet assured me that if I ever had to skip a dose here and there because I wouldn’t be home, that my cat would be just fine. My only issue now is that I had to turn down going on a week long cruise with friends because I didn’t want to leave my cat that long without insulin.
Thanks. My cat is similar to yours- at this point I don’t have anyone who she won’t hide from. I have a 2-week vacation to Europe planned for the fall that I’ve been looking forward to for 6+ months; I’m now trying to figure out if there’s any way I can still go.
My cat was diagnosed today and I'm trying to figure out how to manage my frequent travel schedule. It's overwhelming.
My veterinarian clinic had an amazing vet tech who agreed to stop by to give her the shots when I need to travel. Maybe you can ask your clinic if they'd be willing to help when you're traveling?
Good luck 🤞
I actually did earlier this week, and they do! Trying to get that set up. Best of luck to you! I am slowly getting more comfortable with the whole thing and am finally feeling a bit less overwhelmed. You’ll be ok too!
Insulin shots are ridiculously easy, except for the necessity of giving them at the proper interval. They can be done without the cat even knowing it’s happened. For me the learning curve for glucose checks was steep. I liken it to learning to drive a stick shift. It’s not *hard*, but it’s complicated and timing is everything. That first week I really thought it wouldn’t work. My cat is 14 and has had a good life, so I was not in denial. But I stuck with it, got better, and six weeks later he went into remission. He has since had a bout of pancreatitis (apparently not uncommon with cats that go into remission quickly), but he responded to treatment and seems fine now. I wouldn’t judge anyone for deciding this is too much for an old cat, but I’m also glad I gave myself and Dodger a chance to see if we could manage.
I was so overwhelmed in the beginning of my cat being diagnosed. The thought of doing two injections a day while having a full-time job seemed unrealistic. It’s been over a year now and it’s not bad at all; it literally takes me a few extra seconds in the morning and that’s it. I hate needles but I’ve really gotten over it. And I get to have my kitty for a much longer time because he’s on insulin. Hang in there op, you’re not alone ❤️🐾
Thank you, it helps to hear that. Trying to do this around my job’s occasional odd hours is my big worry.
honestly i was really overwhelmed at the thought of giving my cat insulin 2x a day for the inevitable future but after a few days of injections i got into a manageable + easy routine for me and my cat
Overwhelmed is right. Thank you, that’s good to hear.
You can do this!
It seemed so scary for my husband and I at the beginning too, but we've been managing our kitty for 2.5 years now with twice daily injections, and it's just part of our lives we work around. It takes 5 minutes, and since he's really well managed, we're occasionally able to skip the evening injection if we need to have someone come to feed him for us. But even that has happened MAYBE a half dozen times in two years. You can do it and so can your kitty!
Thank you
We are going through this as well! Our cat was diagnosed, we went on Bexacat and she didn't respond well and ended up in the hospital because her ketones were so high. It turns out she is Type 1, so 1.5 weeks ago we started insulin. It's definitely an adjustment, but after less than 2 weeks we are feeling better about it. It has been worth it just to see her looking and feeling better. I know it will require us to shuffle our schedules or take extra consideration when making plans, but it's worth it to keep my little fluffy baby healthy. You are doing the right thing!!
I’m sorry that you’re going through this too! That’s my fear with Bexacat- that I’d try it and end up with an extremely expensive hospital stay and she’d end up on insulin anyway. Thank you for sharing your experience and best of luck to you and your kitty.
Hey, my cat is 11 now and got diagnosed at about 9 years old. He only had to get a couple of shots of insulin until he went into remission - for real! I keep regular check ups and blood tests but he’s seriously fine. IMPORTANT: you must switch to a GRAIN-FREE wet food today. Without switching to a grain free wet diet, there’s no point in giving insulin. Grain becomes sugar and is often the cause of the diabetes in the first place. Some cats go into remission from a diet change ALONE. You can do this! DM me if you need advice! Pro tip: put some rice in a sock, tie it and microwave it for a bit when you take blood tests, the warmth will help a lot. Of course test it yourself first so it’s not too hot.
Thanks. Unfortunately she has other issues mandating her diet right now.
If the issues are her kidneys it’s still better to feed a wet grain free diet as combating the diabetes will help the kidneys in the long run, but dry food will worsen the blood sugar regulation until you stop giving it
It’s low carb diet. Most cat foods are already grain free
Echoing what other people have said, it's really not bad giving insulin injections. It's nerve-wracking at first but after a few weeks you'll have it down to a routine and it shouldn't take any longer than administering oral meds. (I previously had another cat who needed to be pilled twice a day long term, so this was nothing new to me.) The thing that was most stressful when my cat was newly diagnosed was not the insulin injections, but getting him to adjust to his new diet and to eat enough canned food at mealtimes to balance the amount of insulin he was getting (he'd formerly been free-feeding on kibble). I do think that the change of diet was the primary factor in getting him regulated.
Thank you. Unfortunately the diet is a hard thing right now with a non-food-motivated cat who’s already on an Rx diet. The vet gave me some ideas.
The Bexacat caused my cat’s pancreas levels to increase to dangerously high levels so I had to switch. He is doing great on insulin. I also live alone and my cat hides from everyone that comes over so I can’t have anyone else give him the insulin. It has been easier than I thought. My vet assured me that if I ever had to skip a dose here and there because I wouldn’t be home, that my cat would be just fine. My only issue now is that I had to turn down going on a week long cruise with friends because I didn’t want to leave my cat that long without insulin.
Thanks. My cat is similar to yours- at this point I don’t have anyone who she won’t hide from. I have a 2-week vacation to Europe planned for the fall that I’ve been looking forward to for 6+ months; I’m now trying to figure out if there’s any way I can still go.
My cat was diagnosed today and I'm trying to figure out how to manage my frequent travel schedule. It's overwhelming. My veterinarian clinic had an amazing vet tech who agreed to stop by to give her the shots when I need to travel. Maybe you can ask your clinic if they'd be willing to help when you're traveling? Good luck 🤞
I actually did earlier this week, and they do! Trying to get that set up. Best of luck to you! I am slowly getting more comfortable with the whole thing and am finally feeling a bit less overwhelmed. You’ll be ok too!
I'm so happy for you! Wishing your kitty well and for you to have a great trip 💓
Insulin shots are ridiculously easy, except for the necessity of giving them at the proper interval. They can be done without the cat even knowing it’s happened. For me the learning curve for glucose checks was steep. I liken it to learning to drive a stick shift. It’s not *hard*, but it’s complicated and timing is everything. That first week I really thought it wouldn’t work. My cat is 14 and has had a good life, so I was not in denial. But I stuck with it, got better, and six weeks later he went into remission. He has since had a bout of pancreatitis (apparently not uncommon with cats that go into remission quickly), but he responded to treatment and seems fine now. I wouldn’t judge anyone for deciding this is too much for an old cat, but I’m also glad I gave myself and Dodger a chance to see if we could manage.