Pets with Diabetes: Moosh's Story

My pet's name was Moosh. Moosh He was a neutered male, domestic short hair. He was diagnosed with diabetes at six years old and died when he was 8. Being of holistic belief, I fought the idea of insulin shots. After a while however, I realized they were essential. I started giving Moosh 12 units of Humulin U insulin in the morning between 7 and 10 a.m. 1/2 hour after his shot, I fed him three ounces of Wysong dried food. Three hours later, I fed him another one ounce of food. I did this over a period of two years and he appeared to be fine. As a matter of fact, many of my friends mentioned how he was looking much better.

My big mistake, however, was becoming complacent about observing his symptoms. I became so used to our routine that I was not aware when he started to show signs that something had changed. In the last week of his life there was one day when I went in and he looked wet. His meow was a lower than usual and he appeared to be spaced out. After feeding him some food he came around quite nicely. Later in the week I noticed that he was quieter than usual. He also would fall occasionally and I thought this was just due to his excitement over getting food. What I didn't realize was that Moosh was going hypoglycemic. One morning soon after, I came in and Moosh was in a coma. The amount of brain damage was extensive and his suffering over the next six days was unbearable for both of us. We decided that he had to be put to sleep. It's quite heartbreaking to realize that a little bit of extra food or a smaller insulin dose may have saved his life.

The lesson I would like to pass on to those of you who have diabetic cats is to never take for granted the seriousness of the problem. Do not become complacent and fall into a routine and ignore the signs and symptoms your cat is trying to tell you. Be very acutely aware to any changes in your cat's behavior. Be ready to take your cat to the vet to get an update on his condition as I believe that it changes often. I loved Moosh immensely and will never be able to quite get over the grief that it was a mistake on my part that caused his death. Hopefully this message will be able to save the life of one of your diabetic cats. Feel free to e-mail me any questions you may have at scsheaffer@earthlink.net
--- Contributed by Steve

	Moosh's Story