My Boo Boo Kitty has been diabetic for almost 4 years. He will be 17 in January! Diabetes is very manageable in most cats once you get the correct insulin dose. I assume they started Grimmy off on a low dose (usually around 1 unit twice a day) and then will recheck her glucose and possibly do a fructosamine level in a week or two. Food is also a big factor when dealing with diabetic cats - they do best on a canned food only diet, there are ones that are specifically designed for diabetics (Hills w/d, m/d or Purina DM) but really, any canned food is fine - I don't feed Boo any of these because he wouldn't eat them - he just eats regular canned food that I buy in the grocery store.
The biggest thing with diabetics is to know if they are going into a crisis situation - Boo Boo actually did this just once and it was only a couple weeks ago - he got too much insulin and didn't eat enough food... it was my fault, I was in a hurry to leave and didn't pay attention to how much he ate, gave him his shot and then left. I came home to a totally crashed out cat who couldn't walk, couldn't see and urinated all over himself :( Fortunately, being in the vet field, I knew what was happening and knew what to do. I have a home glucose test kit (some vets will allow their clients use them, others want to see the cat), his glucose had plummeted down to 16! Normal in a cat is 60-120! Make sure you have Karo syrup on hand. All I had to do was rub a small amount on his gums and he started to perk up within a few minutes and then he ate an entire can of food like he had never eaten before! Once all was said and done, his glucose had some back up to the mid 50s and by the next morning, it was back in the 400s. Diabetics MUST eat before they get their insulin and it needs to be more than a couple bites of food. Now, I make sure he eats more than 1/2 of what I give him (he gets 1/2 can of food, twice a day) and then I wait about 20-30 minutes and then give him his insulin. He did fine after that incident fortunately but I really don't want that to happen again. Some cats will "honeymoon" and go off their insulin for a period of time, Boo Boo has never done that but my last diabetic cat did, he was off for about a year and then went back to being diabetic and many times they will crash, honeymoon and then return to diabetic state.
As far as giving the insulin - it is recommended to alternate areas where you give the insulin. If you always give it in the same spot, the skin will get really tough so I generally give it once in the middle of the back (where the scruff is), then the next time, off to one side and alternate sides often.
Let me know if there is anything else you want to know! I (obviously) have a lot of personal and professional experience with diabetics. :)
Cat =^..^=
