4 Tips for Cats with Diabetes in Pasadena, CA

Cats with diabetes can be managed with proper care unless the disease is in its very last stages. There are many adjustments that you can make to diet and many supportive medications that you can use to make your cat feel much better. Maintaining the quality of life can be easy if you have the right management protocol in place for your kitty.

If you have never had a cat with diabetes, you might be feeling worried about caring for your pet. This is a normal reaction, but don’t worry! A lot of the different things that can be done to care for a diabetic cat are very straightforward, and you should be able to take care of your cat’s needs with ease. Your vet can help you to make a treatment plan for your cat’s needs that will allow them to get back to enjoying life again.

If you are ready to learn some more about the tips that you need to care for a cat with diabetes, you need to keep reading.

Make sure that you are working with your vet to care for your diabetic cat. This is a serious condition and one that cannot be improved without proper medications and adjustments to diet. Your veterinarian will help you to make the right plan to care for your cat after their diagnosis.

1. Insulin Dosing Needs to be Very Accurate

One of the key things that you need to do when you are first starting the management process to care for a cat with diabetes is to work with your vet to find the right dosing for their insulin. This can take a little adjustment over time, and you will need to monitor your cat’s comfort and their behavior as they adjust to this new medication. The testing that your vet will do when your cat is diagnosed will tell you what your cat’s current blood sugar levels are, but these can level out as the disease processes are slowed through diet and other alterations to your cat’s care plan.

Watching your cat’s behavior related to water intake, hunger, activity, urine frequency, and a few other factors can help to determine if the dosing that you have in place for your insulin is correct. Never hesitate to reach out to your vet to make adjustments to this critical medication that is necessary for your cat’s well-being.

2. Get Testing Equipment

One of the easiest ways to monitor your cat’s blood sugar levels is to get a blood or urine testing kit. The urine kit is often the easiest since extracting blood can be difficult on your own at home. Urine strip testing will give you a good idea of the ketones in the urine, which are linked with diabetes processes. Ask your vet about which testing kits are the most ideal for cats and how to use the testing kit accurately.

This is one of the easiest ways to make sure that your cat’s glucose levels are correct and to be able to adjust your cat’s insulin as needed. Being sure about the way that your pet’s body is handling sugars can help prevent the need for emergency care. As with human diabetes, blood sugar in some cats can be hard to control and might tend to swing up and down wildly on some days.

3. Stick to the Diet

The diet that your diabetic cat needs to be eating is critical to their long-term well-being. You cannot cut corners where diet is concerned, or your cat’s blood sugar will become very hard to manage. You will need to stick to the diet plan that your vet has laid out for your pet and follow it precisely. This is a key aspect of caring for your pet and one that is very important to be precise about at home.

Most vets will recommend diabetic cat food that you can easily source through your vet’s office. You might also be asked to feed your pet at specific times of day and in specific quantities. Some cats can still eat dry food, and you might need to invest in a cat feeder that will deposit set amounts of food at specific times to your cat. These feeders can make controlled feeding much easier but might not work well in a house that has more than one cat.

4. Exercise

Cats with diabetes need to exercise or they might become obese. Exercise can also impact blood sugar levels and their stability, so it is important that your cat engages in healthy activity each day. If your cat is not inclined to play, you might need to speak with your vet about ways to get them to engage in some form of activity each day. Very old pets might be exempt from this requirement due to the aging process, but younger animals will need to remain somewhat active for optimal support and health despite their diabetes.

Cats With Diabetes Can be Easy to Care For

Diabetes is a condition that can be easy to manage if you catch the disease early and you make sure that you follow all the treatment protocols correctly. Your pet will thank you for taking the time to invest in their well-being in this way, and you will see an immediate improvement in your pet’s symptoms in most cases. Working closely with your vet is key to managing your cat’s well-being, so be sure that you have a good avenue for communication set up with your vet’s office.

Diabetic cats can have a very positive outlook and enjoy years of comfort if they are correctly managed with medication and diet adjustments. If you were worried about taking care of your diabetic pet, you should feel a lot better having learned more about the condition and how to care for it. This is one of the easier conditions to treat at home, and cats often do quite well on diabetes protocols that are owner managed.

To talk with your Altadena Pet Hospital veterinarian about cat diabetes in Pasadena, call (626) 798-0738 or book an appointment online!