#I don't want to disappoint anyone. So it's just going to be Human-esque diabetes

[bonefall]

Cat Diabetes

So as you've probably seen, lately I've been considering what Diabetes will end up looking like, both for my rewrite and any herb guide I make. I had been trying to consider how to strike a balance between Human Diabetes and Feline Diabetes... but I'm not sure if it's possible to do that.

Cat Diabetes and Human Diabetes have significant differences.

Human Diabetes:

Type 1 is typically an autoimmune condition where the body destroys the cells responsible for insulin production, usually with a childhood onset. Type 2 diabetes is the body becoming insulin-resistant despite the pancreas still producing insulin, usually with an adulthood onset.

Type 1 is treated with insulin injections. Type 2 is treated with medication, usually metformin.

In human diabetes, Type 2 does not progress into Type 1.

Feline Diabetes:

Type 1 is the total failure of insulin production in the pancreas, it is very rare in cats. Type 2 is insulin resistance or reduced production in the pancreas, it is common in cats.

Both Type 1 and Type 2 is treated with insulin injections. Type 2 can be managed with medication, but this is becoming an outdated practice because...

In feline diabetes, Type 2 can progress into Type 1. This is a significant side effect of oral medication in cats.

So What?

It didn't come up before in any discussions of what to do, but I've been told that it could be offensive to diabetics to show a character progressing from Type 2 to Type 1, even if they are cats, because that is a misconception of human diabetes.

Ultimately my goal is representation. While I WANT my herb guides to be consistent for Warrior Cats and be adapted for feline biology, I will bend those secondary goals in the name of better reflecting the real human people with fake cat OCs these guides are made for.

I wanted to mix the two and strike a balance between Feline and Human diabetes, but the more I work on this and consider every angle, the more I'm feeling overwhelmed and the enjoyment is actively draining out of it.

I'm not having fun imagining disappointing everyone with a compromise that doesn't accurately portray Diabetes in either species.

So I'm going to commit to making a herb guide that reflects human diabetes, and in this case, ignore feline diabetes. It seems like the more requested option anyway.