A Cat On Insulin Is Losing Weight

A cat on insulin is losing weight and her worried owner has asked for advice. The cat is fourteen years old and  has been on four units of insulin a day being administered in two jabs. The cats back legs are buckling, the cat looks sad and the owner does not know whether the cat is in pain or not. The owner has been giving the cat sugar water as advised by the vet whenever the cat looks withdrawn.

Well there is a lot of detail missing. When was the last blood test carried out to check for other problems such as thyroid or kidney function? What diet is the cat on?  What insulin is the cat on? And are blood sugar tests being carried out at home to ensure that the correct insulin dosage is being administered?

But here are a couple of replies from people anxious to help:-

“Your kitty may now have kidney or thyroid issues to add to the diabetes. Do you have the glucometer at home so you can do blood draws to check the glucose levels? That way your vet can instruct you how to adjust the insulin units based on the glucose numbers. You should get blood drawn at the vet to see what else is going on. So you need to fast (no food) the cat for 8 hours before the appointment. Sounds like he is arthritic too. You may need to consider his quality of life and decide if or when “its time”. Sorry to hear about your kitty. Good luck at the vet. Canned kitten food is actuallly good for senior cats that are loosing weight and muscle mass. The higher fat and protein and lower carbs is better for them. Changing to a special medical diet at this rate wont make much of a difference.”

“First off this is not a death sentence no life span needs to be lost and you can have your cat thriving again IF you are proactive in treatment. The problem is many vets are not up to date on the correct treatment of this disease and some can be dangerous in their advice. I know from your post that your vet falls into this category Sigh You are doing things wrong here Sugar water> You have to be kidding”.

So firstly you have to rule out other issues such as thyroid and kidney problems. Make sure the cat is on a high protein low carbohydrate diet. The best food for a cat, believe it or not is a mouse! Lastly going to the vets every now and then to get blood sugar levels checked is not enough. You need to be able to check blood sugar levels at home to ensure that you are not overdosing or underdosing on insulin. Some vets do not like home testing, why?? A cat on insulin is losing weight can be brought round by following a few simple steps.