About a year ago, I noticed some drastic changes in my cat, Molly. She was eating all the time but losing a lot of weight. Molly was also drinking much more water than she had in the past. After a visit to her vet, she was diagnosed with feline diabetes. 

This has been a life-changing diagnosis for both Molly and I, as she is now insulin-dependent and receives two shots per day. I realized very quickly that I needed to be educated about feline diabetes and that I needed to do it fast.

RCPL offers many pet health guides for checkout. There are large extensive pet health guides such as the Merck/Merial Manual for Pet Health and then smaller pet-specific guides such as Guide to a Healthy Cat. These books deal with everything from what to do during a health crisis to finding a veterinarian that can best take care of your pet. 

A great resource is Internet Guide to Pet Health by Elizabeth Connor. The entire book is dedicated to Web sites dealing with pet health and each include a brief synopsis of each site. 

Many of these books also deal with the incredibly tough decision of deciding when to let your family pet go. Kindred Spirit, Kindred Care: Making Health Decisions on Behalf of Our Animal Companions deals with this topic. 

Molly is doing so much better. She gained some of her weight back, and has much more energy than she did.  She is so good with taking her shots. I feel very fortunate that with the help of the vet and a few books, she is back on track.