Diabetes. It's a fairly common disease among aging domestic pets. In an old cat it's pretty hard to tell when energy is lacking. They sleep so much anyway. Recently, though, this 19-year-old kitty has been drinking and peeing buckets so we knew something was wrong. The vet did some blood tests last week that showed Missy's one factor that was really out of whack was her blood sugar level — over 450 — was way over a normal of around 200. He put her on insulin right away and she was showing improvement within 24 hours. I've had to learn how to give her daily injections and I've never handled a syringe before. Sounds cruel but she doesn't even flinch as the short, sharp needle delivers the drug. In fact, I've found the best time to do this single-handedly is while she is having her breakfast. So while she's busy eating, I pinch a bit of loose skin near the shoulders or upper back, stick her with the syringe, and we're set for the day. Like I said, she doesn't seem to notice it at all! I'm getting better at it but still fear I won't get the insulin injected properly. Confidence and skill will come in time. Her condition continues to improve and she's getting better hydration with less drinking, better skin condition (it was very flaky with much loss of fur), brighter eye (she has only one), and greater alertness. She has even returned to her old habit of visiting us at the dinner table to see if there's anything she'd like. No, we don't feed table scraps, but she feels the need to check on things anyway. We go back to the vet next week for another blood sugar test. Today it was a blood glucose level of 358 and we're shooting for 200.
