As some of you may know, our little man Dexter has been diagnosed with diabetes. I haven't written about it only because its been so crazy with getting ready for the move and his health. Seems everything is hitting at once. I am so glad I have support from my husband. I don't have kids. So these animals have become my children. And to see him sick makes me so sad. I wanted to write this post not only as a way to get out some feelings but also maybe help anyone who is going through having to take care of a diabetic cat and the frustration and struggles that come along with it.
It all started when we noticed that my little man was losing weight. And for anyone who knows or has seen Dexter knows that ever since we had him neutered he gained a lot of weight. It was really sudden, the weight loss. And we also noticed that he was drinking a lot of water. A LOT! I told myself we needed to take him to see a doctor. Especially when we noticed his sides were all sunken in.
We didn't have a vet so I decided to ask around at work. One of my co-workers has 6 cats and I figured she would know a good doctor. She recommended a good doctor and we made an appointment. We we had the first appointment they wanted a full blood panel to really see what was going on. They suspected diabetes, liver failure, or Cancer. They also wanted to check his bladder to make sure that he didn't have any k tones which I guess is common in diabetic cats. That would mean that he would be in shock which is life threatening.
So after the blood panel they said his blood glucose level was 380. Which is way high. He was diabetic. This meant the we would be giving him 2 insulin shots a day. Feeding him their specialty food.. which we have learned that through research we dont have to do that its just a way for them to make more money. There are plenty of foods out there that are good for diabetic cats.
Since then we have upped the dosage 3 times. From 1 and a half units up to 4 now. We seem to be having the same results every time and its getting frustrating. We kinda feel like we are getting ripped off. They want us to come in every week and have his glucose checked. Yet the results are the same every time. I just don't know what to think. We are thinking about getting a glucose checker for the home and check it here. Save the 30 bucks every time we go. So all in all we are still struggling to find the right dosage of insulin for him and he is still drinking a lot of water. I will keep you posted. And trust me I could do a whole other post about the people at the front desk and how they don't know what they are doing. That will be at another time. lol Just frustrating.
