Michelangelo was a feral rescue kitten who was extremely malnourished and underweight when his mom abandoned him at eight weeks old in favor of his two bigger, healthier brothers. He had a severe coccidia infection, requiring two rounds of albon to clear it up and weighed in at only half a pound. His whiskers would also break off and fall out.
When Michelangelo was five and a half months old, he finally weighed enough for the vet to neuter him (4.7 Lbs). Less than a week later, he showed signs of PU/PD, initially blamed on a possible infection from the neuter. A fructosamine test result of 597 showed that he had been diabetic even prior to being neutered, with the vet thinking since birth.
Michelangelo was initially started on Lantus and required very close monitoring of blood glucose levels along with the tiniest of dosing changes because of his diminutive size and age. He quickly put on the appropriate weight for his age and his whiskers grew back. As he continued to grow, his dose needed to be increased to coincide with his growth spurts. By about two years of age, his weight finally topped out at around 13.5 pounds.
After a year and a half on Lantus with him proving almost impossible to regulate, Michelangelo was switched to Levemir with spectacular results and finally achieved regulation and on a lower dose, too.
Michelangelo is free-fed low carbohydrate, wet food and is allergic to all red meats (they make him vomit) and prefers poultry only.
He has no previous use of steroids, no congenital defects, no diabetic complications, and no other health issues. As of December 2020, he is doing well and has no diabetic complications.