My Cat, Diabetes and Diet

So, I came home from the vet that evening, gave my cat some insulin for her sky high blood sugar and didn't feed her until the morning. I was trying to make her hungry enough to actually eat so I could give her the insulin the vet said she would need after every meal. In the morning, I opened a new can of this special diabetic cat food and added a half a slice of turkey. She didn't really eat the food or drink any water, actually. Her protest continued until dinner, at which point, she hadn't eaten in 36 hours. She finally ate a meal.

Her recent, continuous over consumption of water was the way I was monitoring her need for insulin. Well, it turns out that my not so little kitty doesn't need insulin. She just needed healthier food--DM Dietetic Management Wet Cat Food instead of dry food. Eating two meals instead of grazing continuously all day has also helped her.

Her over consumption of water, which was the sign she was diabetic, ended as soon as her diet changed. I have to say, I feel like I dodged a bullet, with this one. My saga made for a good post, but I really didn't know how I was going to handle the feeding/insulin schedule--I forget EVERYTHING and I would hate for my cat's life to be dependent on my memory.

According to Your Diabetic Cat--Helping and Preventing Diabetes:

"Diabetes in the cat is a man-made disease, which is completely preventable by avoiding the "kitty junk-food" that is dry kibbled cat food. Without question, it is the continuous, day-in, day-out consumption of this poor-quality, highly processed, carbohydrate rich "breakfast cereal for cats" that causes so many felines to become diabetic. "

The truth is, life around my house at 7 am and 7 pm is really crazy enough. Isn't it funny that a non-human member of our household needs a special diet to be healthy? You can't make this stuff up. There is even a yahoo group called felinediabetes for owners of cats with feline diabetes.