Back on the juice?

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Juliet

Member Since 2017
Hi,
My cat Silver has been off the juice for two years. He was diagnosed and very quickly, after ignoring advice from vet and following this forum's advice, was off the juice in just ten days and diet controlled with Fancy Feast.

He has been on antibiotics recently and I noticed since he came off them that he's been drinking more water than usual so I decided to test him. He was at 20.2 mmol/L (about 360).

Should I rush to put him back on the juice or is there something else I can try first? He also just (about a month ago) started a new dry food that the vet recommended for his teeth (Royal Canin dental) - he's only been getting 4 teaspoons a day.

Please help.
 
Juliet said:
He also just (about a month ago) started a new dry food that the vet recommended for his teeth
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There is your culprit. I'd stop the dry immediately and test daily for a few days and see if he will come back down. If not, you'll likely need to start insulin as he's out of remission. Diabetics cannot ever have dry again even when in remission. I brush my cats teeth twice a day to help with dental issues and give chunks of chicken between meals.
 
Ok thanks for the reply. I will stop the dry right away. I am hoping I don't have to start him on insulin again as it was so scary and hard to manage as I am out the house 12 hrs a day. Do you think the antibiotics had anything to do with it? I've given him dry all along throughout the 2 years he's been OTJ - but just the four teaspoons a day.
 
Have you been doing any spot checks? That would give you an indication of when and what may have caused it. What are the antibiotics for? An infection and/or teeth issues can also knock them out of remission....not the antibiotic itself
 
I did spot checks monthly for the first 6 mths OTJ; then was down to annually. He was fine a month ago as I got a full blood panel done at the vet with his annual check up.

If I do have to go back OTJ - what should I start at? I really don't want to ask the vet as they got it so wrong last time.

The antibiotics were for diarrhea that I really don't believe he needed. I should have fought the vet more. He had two different doses of it. I insisted the vet go over the blood tests with me and nothing looked out of whack. My other cat looked like it was fighting an infection and he gave me antibiotics for both. I've been in the UK for the last three weeks so don't know when his numbers started to spike. I noticed the increased water intake immediately and it prompted me to test him today.
 
A couple of thoughts...

What antibiotic was Silver given? And in what form (i.e., pills, shot, liquid)? An infection can raise numbers. Likewise, if the AB was a liquid, if it was in a syrup suspension, that will raise numbers.

Despite a cat being in remission, it's helpful to remember that it's remission, not cured. Once OTJ, your cat's diabetes is diet controlled. Give any food that's high carb and numbers zoom up and can knock your cat out of remission. Just as an FYI, the Royal Canin Dental is 44% carb. Your vet should have his hands slapped for recommending it to a diabetic cat. It is a common misconception that crunchy, dry food helps to clean teeth. If that were the case, we could eat biscotti and tortilla chips all day long and never need to go to the dentist.
 
He was on pills and it was metronidazole. I don't believe he had any infection at all. Vet thought he had IBD (he was wrong) and prescribed steroids which I refused to give. I have not come across a competent vet yet. He knew he was diabetic when he told me to give the dry food. I despair of getting proper care for my boy.
 
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