Bonnie’s Story
Here is an owners account of her cat’s battle with diabetes and digestive problems – Bonnie’s story. She’s had the cat for ten years and was really devastated to learn that Bonnie had been diagnosed with cat diabetes:-
” A week later, we went back for the results and they gave us Bonnie’s diagnosis, Feline Diabetes. My heart sank. I would have to give her shots? Twice a day? I hate needles and I cried at the thought of having to hurt my sweet girl. I was worried about the expense of it all and needed sometime to take in all that this new diagnosis entailed. In addition to the shots, I had to test her blood sugar, which means I have to collect her blood, I was in shock. It was the worst month of my life, probably because it was all leading up to the best day of my life. You know how stressful it is when your pet is sick. It felt like a terrible joke!”
Not surprisingly the initial diagnosis was a shock and the thought of trying to cope with injections etc. can lead to an anxiety state. The happiest day of her life she is talking about is about her getting married. But as we’ve said many times before after the initial shock and with a bit of training everything becomes routine after a short period of time. Lets see how the owner got on.
Bonnie’s Story
“So here we are a year later and you know what? It’s really not that bad. Every morning and evening I give Bonnie a good pat, and talk to her, give her a couple of cookies, her 4 units of insulin, then fill her food dish. Once every 2 weeks I test her blood sugar level to make sure we’re on track – I’ve learned that with a cat, at least, a normal blood sugar level is between 80-150. Bonnie’s is almost always higher, but it’s much more in control than last fall (it was between 300-500!). I attended a Dog Park fundraising event and learned about a new dry food that is 50% protein, as opposed to the cheaper store brand foods that are about 22% protein, and mostly carbs. I was told this would help to regulate her blood sugar levels, and maybe even help her get into “remission.” This food (Evo brand, I buy a 15.4 lb bag) costs about $45 every 3 months or so. She eats about ½ what she used to, because it’s got more protein she feels full sooner – AND less waste! I’m totally sold on this. When we find a flavor our other cat will eat, I’d like to put him on at least a mix of this, for feline diabetes prevention. We go to the vet every 6 months to have a blood glucose curve done. A blood glucose curve is when they check her blood glucose level every 2 hours for an entire day, to see when and how bad her blood glucose level spikes or drops to determine a dosage of insulin. Twice a day I give her insulin, and she expects it, just like she expects her “cookies,” her food, and for me to clean her litter box.”
So Bonnie is getting on well but what we disagree with is the dry food. 50% protein is better an 49% protein but a meal a cat would eat in the wild would be much higher in protein and it would be animal protein not vegetable protein, there is a difference. What type of protein does this dry food contain and what else is it made of? With the correct Bonnie may already be in remission. Bonnie’s story is not that unique but we wish more research and education is carried out in regards to diabetes diets.
