This was literally a shitty situation. This time we had a different vet at the same practice who fortunately seemed to have more experience with feline diabetes. He shook his head apprehensively, Hubi was pretty old by now, and his teeth weren’t all that great either. It could be that he wouldn’t make it. It looked like the blood sugar stabilization we were all hoping for was farther away than ever.

Initial diagnosis

They did a blood test and kept him for observation. The blood had inflammation markers, but the kidney values were still okay. Blood sugar was, of course, very high because I didn’t want to inject insulin either (diarrhea/vomiting and insulin are not a good combination if you are still adjusting the dose). The vet suspected pancreatitis, which can quickly become fatal. But the ultrasound didn’t reveal anything conclusive and didn’t look like a tumor either. After a while, he got a little better. He was given a dose of broad-spectrum antibiotics and we readjusted his amount again.

Finally! Blood sugar stabilization

That crisis was actually the last hurdle we had to overcome because from there on his condition improved quickly. He finally gained weight, in fact, he quickly became a pretty round “Moppi”. So being overweight isn’t that great either, but I didn’t want to twiddle another knob for the time being. All diet plans have always remained just that: plans.

He got along with Mia moderately well, but since I was at home anyway (thanks to the pandemic), I was able to observe their interaction closely. She would soon be free to go out again anyway and that took some of the stress away. He had to go to the doctor once for a chest injury, but that was quickly remedied. He started to become more active and took to exploring the stairwell. Waddling up and down the stairs still went quite well, even though he could never remember where my apartment was. But he couldn’t make it onto the table and chairs anymore and he had never really internalized the concept of ramps.

He was totally relaxed – half turned on his back, paws in the air, he snored very close to me and Mia as if nothing in the world could upset him.

He had finally arrived.