Could I recognize an hypo if my cat is sleeping?

[Owen & Ceci]

I've just came across this question.

I shot my cat Owen and some minutes later, 15 or 30, he went to one of his pillows to rest. He's there right now.

But in case he would have an hypo (knock on wood), he would get up and show the symptoms?

 

[Tuxedo Mom]

I've just came across this question.

I shot my cat Owen and some minutes later, 15 or 30, he went to one of his pillows to rest. He's there right now.

But in case he would have an hypo (knock on wood), he would get up and show the symptoms?

A kitty having a hypo will not necessarily give you a warning. Some kitties when their numbers drop low become very vocal about food...others do not. Some kitties will become very lethargic and non-responsive others will not. The VERY best way to see if your kitty is approaching or having a hypo is to do glucose testing,

 

[Chris & China (GA)]

Most kitties will look for food, just as with human diabetics....if they're blood glucose goes too low, they get hungry and eat a candy bar or something.

Now not all do this, but most will give you some kind of sign that something's wrong. Vocalizing, being hard to arouse, "drunk" walking, seeming to be blind, etc.

When it doubt, test!!

 

[Olive & Paula]

The very first time my guy was hypo I did not know it, it was the night I found FDMB. He did not come to eat the bedtime food I was putting out. Shaking the civvies dry food did not get him to come out. DH had to get him and when I tested he was 32. And I was about to go to bed. So now I test every night before I go to bed.

 

[Blamethecats and Hannah]

Hannah had a very unexpected hypo on July 20, 2016. She had absolutely no visible symptoms... none at all. She acted great, very normal and happy. But I test her every afternoon, right around +4 and she was at 33. That's how I caught it and was able to get her numbers up quickly with high carb food. I cannot over emphasize the importance of BG home testing!

 

[Tuxedo Mom]

One of my kitties will HOWL for food when he is low...the other one does NOTHING....without testing I would not be able to tell when she goes low.

 

[Dyana]

J.D. always acted fine when he was low, and most of the time would seek food, but if food wasn't out, he would start drinking water, like water was going to fill him up.

I had a very diabetic human employee once, and a couple of times he was late for work, and he lived with his mom, and I would call him, and she heard his cell phone ringing and intervened before he went into a coma.

I know it's hard. Even when you are home testing your cat. I hope you start soon, if you are not already.
I used to wake up every 20 minutes to wake up J.D. to make sure he was okay, for about the first year.

 

[Tuxedo Mom]

Another example:

Today my girlie hit 1.8 (32 US) on a pet meter at her +4 reading. I had a gut feeling she might drop and had given her some HC with a few drops of syrup at her +3 even though the numbers did not warrant it. When I tested at +4 and got the hypo number she was acting perfectly normal and wasn't really even interested in food. I had to "sweeten the pot" with a bit of tuna to get her started eating.

My other kitty would have been howling and virtually attacking me for food if he hit this number.

Just another example that different kitties react different to low numbers. It is ALWAYS best to monitor carefully and not wait until you see "signs". With some kitties it could be too late to intervene at home and would require an ER visit.