Hi Tobermory....sorry to hear your cat has Acromegaly and Diabetes. I do not know a lot about the Acro, but I do belong to a fantastic forum Home | Diabetic Cat Care where the people know pretty much all there is to know about Feline Diabetes

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Nellie Paddy Mitzy Milo Peggy Murphy

Millie and Monty, the White Devils!

Hi, I am so sorry to hear that your cat has acromegaly.
George was on a human drug to treat the acromegaly at the RVC. I understand that this is not an option for you. He had monthly injections as part of a trial. I don't think they helped him like the radiotherapy did but I feel that by letting him partake in the trial he will help other cats maybe in the future.
In the end with George it was just a case of contolling the diabetes the best we could and making him as comfortable as possible. He was a happy cat right until the end. He started turning in circles and he was going blind. They think that this was due to the size of the tumour. I have a pic of his tumour when he was first diagnosed. (I will add for you)
He missed the tray a lot torwards the end and I had to surround the area with puppy pads. Despite all of this he was still a happy cat and I miss him more than I could even tell you.
If you have facebook I have a couple of friends on there with acrocats (and also have human friends from across the world with acromegaly.) One is in canada and her cat is doing great!
Unfortunately when they did Georges post mortem they found he also had lung cancer, oesophogus cancer and pancreatic cancer. I had been to the vet with him a week before he died and yet he still appeared quite well. He was an amazing cat.
Give your cat a cuddle from me. I look forward to hearing from you. I know how alone you must be feeling with this. x

hi thank ou for your reply.
its amazing how brave these little creatures can be and how much we can love them. when i was pregnant people said to me i could not compare a child and a pet... well dunno if that makes us bad parents but we love everyone living under our roof the same. they are our responsability.
just now we are hoping that we wont have to see tc going down hill too much, i would rather him to go in his sleep one day. i dont know if that can happen to cats with acromegaly... but just the thought of having to take the decision of putting him down makes me physically sick. i ll keep updates of TC on this thread. btw whats the facebook group called?

Hello,
I really cannot believe the timing of your messages. I posted my original message back in Nov 2009 and yesterday woke up to a message on here. The strange thing is, Pootle was fine yesterday morning & I was due to take her to the vets for a regular check up. I was going to write a quick reply saying how Pootle is still going strong with no obvious signs of the acromegaly. Back in Nov 2009 I was putting my life on hold wondering what was going to happen when after all this time she is still going strong. It's been a running joke that I will be forever rushing home at 6.30 am & pm wherever I may be to give her the insulin! Anyway, I am struggling here to say all the things I want to tell you because the regular check up turned into me having to make the decision whether to have her put to sleep there & then or take her home. So I have brought her home but the vet is coming at 4.30pm today to put her to sleep at home. It is the hardest thing I have ever had to do & I feel so alone. At the moment she is curled up in her favourite chair having a snooze and i'm just counting the hours.
It is her time though, she has become a lot slower & doesn't do much anymore, her coat is all scruffy & she is not the cat she used to be. I swear I have done every single thing I ever could possibly do for her, but the vet showed me an x ray showing her lungs not working properly & her tummy so distended where she has been swallowing so much air trying to breathe properly. I guess she is lucky, her eyes have been getting bad but she hasn't had to go through all the deterioration associated with the acromegaly so I would rather do this now than wait until she is in pain. She has been so close to the end before but I know this time is different.
I just have no idea how I will be able to hold her in my arms while she passes away.

I have just had a look and found a group called Feline Acromegaly. I think this was possibly a group started since I lost George. You have to request to join but I recognise some of the names there. Wendi is the lady in Canada I mentioned. My name is Lynnette Carr if you want to add me.
I was so lost when George was diagnosed that I joined a human acromegaly group who welcomed me with open arms and are still friends now.
I know how you feel about TC being part of the family. George was like one of my children and I still cry a lot for him now.
I always thought that George would pass in his sleep but unfortunately it was not to be and he had a seizure one morning. I am just glad that he was unaware what was happening. I did ask the vet treating him when I would know the time is right and she just said that I would and I did. It is heart breaking. I am here if you need any advice and please add me on face book.

Sharks, I have just read your post about pootle and I just want to say how incredibly sorry I am. Please give her a hug from me and also a big hug to you.xx

Thank you Housecat. My vet said the same thing about knowing when the time is right. I was always scared of getting up and finding Pootle really ill one morning. It is so hard but I think this is the best way for her to go. I just have no idea how to actually go through with it. Thanks for the hugs x

Hugs to you x Hope you are ok.

omg skarks, so sorry, i am crying just to read your post. big big hugs xxxxi am sure you ve done the best you could for her.my inlaws once said tc was lucky cos he had us, first i didnt think he was lucky but now i realised that maybe not many cat owners would devote their life and time(plus a lot of money since tc is not insured and the arrival of my daughter...)to their cat. it wont make it any easier for you for me to say that but you know you done everything you possibly could and she s been very much loved!xxxx

housecat, i gonna have a look on fb now. thanks for your support.