"Charles Packer" wrote in message
news:190ebe08-982a-4911-8ced-
He's at least moving toward a low-carb diet by default,
since my wife is trying to find tasty food in which to
dissolve his Glipizide dose. I would question the use
of Glipizide too, on the grounds that, based upon what
I read in Wikipedia, he's been prescribed a human-sized
dose -- 5 mg -- albeit twice a day instead of every
5 hours, the way humans take it. But my wife and I agree that
we don't want to be sticking him with a needle regularly,
for any purpose; she because she'd have to do it -- this
is where I say "It's your cat" -- and I because it seems
ridiculous to torture an animal so it can be your
..companion for a little while longer.

Charles,

I've treated many diabetic cats- at least a few dozen over the years- and I
can say, based on actual experience, Glipizide does not work, over the long
run, in the vast majority of diabetic cats. The failure rate in cats is
~75-80%. The most serious- and potentially life-threatening side effect of
Glipizide in cats is loss of appetite and nausea. Loss of appetite in a
diabetic cat that's receiving Glipizide can result in *profound*
hypoglycemia. The higher the dose the greater the chance- and severity of
adverse effects. The dose your cat has been prescribed is *twice* the
normal initial dose. I strongly suggest you seek a second opinion from a vet
who is current in treating diabetic cats.

Btw, how was your cat diagnosed with diabetes? IOW, what prompted the visit
to the vet or was diabetes an incidental finding during a routine exam?
Also, do you remember what your cat's blood glucose levels were and if
glucose was found in his urine? This is *very* important. If your cat's BG
was high and glucose wasn't found in the urine, he may not even be diabetic.
Does your cat get very stressed out from trips to the vet? I need more
information to go on before I can make any suggestions.

As far a "torturing" your cat, here's a short video of testing a cat's
blood:

http://maxshouse.com/bgtest%5B1%5D.mpg

Giving insulin injections is even easier on them.

You and your wife might want to join the Yahoo Feline Diabetes group.


http://pets.groups.yahoo.com/group/Felinediabetes/

Get back to me with the BG numbers.

Best of luck,

Phil