Kiroo's diagnosis of diabetes came March 23rd, 1996, after she
had lost
an alarming amount of weight. She'd probably been ill for more
than 6
months. Our original vet recommended hospital blood curves which
were
impossible because of Kiroo's terror of the hospital. We decided
to
regulate her based on clinical signs, how much she ate and urinated.
Initially she needed 12 units of Humulin Ultralente insulin per
day, an unusually large amount for an 8 pound cat, but that was because
she was eating twice as much as normal. After she got back up
to 10
pounds, she settled on 6 units of insulin per day. We gave it
to her in
just one evening shot, so that she would never suffer a hypoglycemic
episide when we were away at work. She cannot digest the standard
diabetic diets because she has food intolerences. The only other
problem
we've had was boarding her, because she doesn't eat much while boarding.
We've had to board her when we travel, since she has always been
terrified of other people, and never has willingly let anyone else
give
her a shot.
Taking care of Kiroo's diabetes has not been a lot of trouble.
We've
learned to monitor her appetite and adjust the insulin accordingly.
We've also learned to treat her occasional episodes of hypoglycemia
with diluted corn syrup. When Kiroo was initially diagnosed,
we were
afraid that we couldn't handle the challenge, but after 7 years, it
doesn't seem difficult at all. She has slowly developed neuropathies
which especially weaken her hind feet, and has some gastrointestinal
symptoms too, but we are very glad to have had so many good years
with Kiroo, in spite of her illness. See Kiroo's home page
for
photographs of the adventures she has had and a more detailed
description of her medical history.
Cheers,
Susanna Gross (and Frank Evans)
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