Feline Neuropathy, Diabetic Cat Care

The information contained in this sticky is provided for educational purposes only and is not intended to replace veterinary advice. The intention of this sticky is to open doors to understanding about the specific medical condition or topic, allowing for educated and on-going discussion with your vet.

Diabetic Cat Care

Neuropathy 101

Graphic courtesy of Becton, Dickinson and Company

Diabetic neuropathy is more common in FD cats than it is in diabetic dogs. It can develop early in the disease, or later and the cause is directly related to uncontrolled hyperglycemia (high BG). It's very sad to watch a cat with diabetic neuropathy move around.

Diabetic Neuropathy is a nerve disorder caused by diabetes and presents with symptoms such as; weakness in the hind legs, walking on the hock (back legs)- on the wrists (front legs), lying down frequently after short walks. Diabetic neuropathy also causes tingles and numbness in the affected areas.

Neuropathy Complications- Diabetic Cats

The best thing you can do for your cat if it should present with neuropathy is be as aggressive as possible when it comes to getting their BG under much better control to help stop the progression of neuropathy to the point where it is irreversible. If your cat is experiencing neuropathy, it's a signal the treatment regime prescribed for your cat isn't working - please post on DCC's Talking TR forum for assistance from experienced members to help you reverse your cat's neuropathy. Quite often it resolves relatively quickly with Tight Regulation and supplementation of Methyl B12.

Videos of diabetic cats with Neuropathy

Tootsie

Dreamsicle

Gehngis

Albert

In addition to aggressive BG control, treatment for diabetic neuropathy includes Methylcobalamin (methyl B12) available in shot forum, or in the pill form. Zobaline is a high quality product, and is made by Life Link, which if purchased by clicking through on their link on our Affiliate Programs page, earns DCC a very small commission to help pay site costs and assist members in need.

Recently researchers studying the use of the supplement inositol IP6 for cancer therapy discovered IP6 is also very helpful when it comes to treating diabetic neuropathy in humans, and likely is for cats as well.

Diabetes & Inositol

Inositol and IP6

Diabetic Neuropathy

Some great links about Feline Neuropathy:

Petdiabetes Wiki

Warning Signs of Diabetes in cats

Feline Diabetic Neuropathy VetInfo

DCC has a comprehensive info sticky available to learn more about how the benefits of Methyl B12 can provide for our cats, including reversing neuropathy.

It can take weeks to months for nerve damage caused by diabetic neuropathy to reverse itself. Physical exercise as well as gentle massage of the affected areas is recommended in addition to using Methyl B12.