So my kitty Esther had her appointment yesterday. We were there two and a half hours. She was diagnosed with diabetes. Her sugar levels were in the 600's!!!! (They are supposed to be in the 100's) but thank you Lord that her kidney's weren't damaged. She is going on insulin (started shots last night) and a special diet of all wet food (which she isn't happy about because she likes her dry food). The insulin and the syringes were expensive. About $100. The special food is going to be expensive too, about $42 a case. Then she also has a bladder infection, so she's on antibiotics $50. That's fun, because I have to pry open her mouth and chuck the pill down her throat. But so far (two times now) she's taken it. She's a pretty chill cat and doesn't get too worked up normally. We need to get some pee strips so we can check her blood sugar, but they had to order them, and those are going to be $100. All I can say is thank goodness for tax refunds. The doctor said she might not have to be insulin dependent her whole life (she's 13). If we can get her numbers down to about 300 all the time then we would only have to give her insulin if it spikes above that. Two shots so far and I can already tell she is drinking less water (drinking lots of water is a sign of diabetes in cats and in humans) so I am hoping she will start feeling better. I don't care if she doesn't put on more weight because she's on the low end of healthy right now, (she used to be overweight), I just want her sugar levels controlled. It was an expensive visit, and we still need to get a case of food (they wanted us to try it before we bought a case in case she wouldn't eat it) and buy the pee sticks when they get them. But I'm glad her kidney's weren't damaged and they weren't in failure mode. Her white blood cell count is low but that is probably due to the infection. So we are working on getting her healthy and happy again. My poor baby. I feel so bad for her. Luckily the syringes have a really small needle and so most cats aren't bothered by it. She let out a small mew this morning but didn't fight me about it. I think it's going to be harder for her to just eat wet food all the time than it is to take the shots. When she was younger and could go hunting for birds and stuff she was super healthy. But my baby is getting older. Hopefully she won't be insulin dependent the rest of her life. HUGS Kit