KTrain,
Sorry to hear of your cat but it definately is not a death sentence. if it can be controlled your cat will continue life without major problems. My brother had a cat with diabetes for over 5 years.
My dog was diagnosed with diabetes over 2 years ago. I figured if she made it 3 or 4 more months i would be happy. Well she is still going strong. We take blood samples before every meal to adjust her insulin dose as it goes but i believe it is easier with cats. My brother would take his cat to the vet every couple months for a blood test and just keep her diet and insulin the same. I believe it is possible that cats will go into remission and not need insulin as well.
Check out this link
http://felinediabetes.com/ i know i did a ton of research on dogs when Jesse got diagnosed and learned alot from others. I believe this one would be the same. Search some other pet forums as well. There are glucose monitors strictly for animals but they are expensivem my dogs test strips run at $60 for 50 strips and the same ones can be used on cats. Research it before you make a rushed decision.
The hardest thing for us is to find someone to feed and give our dog insulin if we are gone but there are vets and pet boarding places that will do it for you.
Good luck