I want you to know how important home glucose testing is for the health of your cat living with diabetes

Last fall, I started showing symptoms of feline diabetes. I was getting super thirsty and began to drink a lot more water. And even though I was hungry and eating more, I was getting thinner. I was making more trips to my little box too.  My parents scooped me up and put me in my cat carrier and we went to see my doctors at the Morris Veterinary Clinic. My diabetes had returned. This time, my doctors didn’t think it was going to be transient like it was after suffering from pancreatitis the previous year.

Hearing that your pet has developed a health condition can be a scary time for pet parents.  But feline diabetes is treatable and your cat can resume a normal, happy healthy life once the diabetes is under control.

One of the best ways to help aid in regulating insulin levels is for your parents to learn how to use a blood glucose meter and plot a glucose curve at home. Now at first, you might think this will be too difficult, and it can be intimidating, but with some practice and patience, you will be able to get this testing down to a routine.

A blood glucose curve is a plot of your cat’s blood sugar levels during the day. The purpose of the glucose curve is to obtain blood glucose levels at the time of the morning meal and every 2 to 4 hours afterwards for at least 12 hours to show a pattern of when the level is too high, too low or just right. This is valuable information that is needed to get optimum regulation of insulin levels.

If your cat is like me, I get super nervous when I am at the veterinarian clinic. When cats are nervous and afraid, their blood glucose levels might be higher than normal, so if you can monitor your cat from the comfort of their home, the reading might be more accurate and help to get a more precise measure of your cat’s insulin requirements.

My parents use a glucometer to monitor my blood glucose levels and I take two insulin injections per day.  During the first week or two, my parents were so worried, they even cried. Sometimes they would give me the injections but the insulin would pool up on the outside of my skin. Sometimes I would wait until they were ready and then take a big step to the right to avoid the needle. But now we have it down to a routine. Most of the time I am cooperative with having my glucose tested but there are times that I just refuse to behave.  My parents just take their time, pet me and talk to me calmly explaining why it is so important to monitor my health.  After I settle down, they do the test and I get a treat.

Now, 11 months after my diagnosis, my weight is back up to 8 lbs., which is a perfect weight for a cat my size.  I am playing and jumping and back to my mischievous self. My health is stable and that makes my parents, my doctors and me very happy

This post is part of the Sensible Feline-Blogger Edition brought to you by World’s Best Cat Litter™

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