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Post by naomi on Nov 30, 2016 22:01:13 GMT
Hi, I am almost certain my 10 year old obese female cat has diabetes. I will obviously need to take her to the vets to confirm but I just wanted some information about the likely insulin regime. Is it correct that a Lantus vial can be used longer than the 30 days we use it for in humans? Also how do people cope with leaving their cat overnight? I'm not expecting to be covered for this by insurance so need to think about costs. Do people always buy the insulin from their vets or is there a reputable online company? Sorry all the questions. I just want to be prepared. Thanks Naomi.
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Post by tonib on Dec 1, 2016 17:25:52 GMT
Sorry to hear about your cat naomi, is it Eric's sister or the stray you were considering keeping a couple of years ago? I've no experience of diabetic cats although we did wonder about our Penny early last year as whe was weeing & drinking a lot & had been overweight. However the vet's blood tests showed it to be Kidney Disease (CRF) and sadly we eventually lost her this year at just short of 17. We consciously don't have insurance and were happy to bear the costs, so that wasn't an issue but if your cat is insured I would have thought that the costs would have been borne by the company, at least up to their max., of course it does depend on the policy exclusions.
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Post by naomi on Dec 1, 2016 17:49:21 GMT
Hi, Thanks very much for replying. It is Eric's sister who I'm concerned about. She is also weeing and drinking lots but seems pretty healthy so I guess diabetes would be the better option hopefully. Sorry to hear about your cat. They are such a part of the family. The insurance won't cover her for her obesity or any condition linked to it so I'm doubtful they will help. She is on prescription diet food and I use microchip operated feeders but she doesn't get much slimmer! Polly, my stray cat is very much at home here with me now :-) She still headbutts Eric but not as much. Naomi
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Post by tonib on Dec 1, 2016 18:36:53 GMT
Hi naomi, glad to hear Polly has settled in well. We also have the microchip feeders (I'm assuming you mean the Sureflap ones), they were a godsend for us when having to give Penny meds. We'd originally got them as Penny had to lose weight ( she was 5Kg & should have been 4Kg or less!) & arthritis meds. We'd originally moved the other 2 cats' (we didn't have Lexie at the time) food bowls on to a worktop as with her arthritis she couldn't jump up that was in 2009/10. She'd been hoovering their food (they were all grazers) whilst we were at work! When the feeders came on the market in 2014, we were one of the 1st 100 purchasers & they proved a real boon in making sure Penny got her arthritis meds as well as controlling the food intake, along with the occasional meds the other cats have needed. We managed Penny's weight loss (gradual) with Hill's R/D although she wasn't the biggest fan of the moist tins as, like all our cats, she wasn't the biggest fan of liver based foods. When they brought it out we changed her to Hills Metabolic which also worked well for the weight loss & aalso as a maintenance diet when she'd lost the weight. For her kidney disease she was eventually moved to either Hills or Royal Canin renal dried foods - we tried a few - the moist was always renal but from a number of brands. With Roman's weight loss (earlier this year when he damaged his cruciate ligament) we used Royal Canin Light & Ultra Light foods along with their Sterilised Appetite Control 7+ which worked very well. As he was haaving to be kept in we could really control wha he had but now he's back out again I suspect he is supplementing his diet from nature. Is that a possibility for Eric's sister or is she an indoor only cat?
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