Could I get some opinions on my cats blood work?

[Kaylin]

Hi everyone! My name is Kaylin. I’m from Atlanta, Ga I have a 7 y/o cat named Zaria who I love very much.

My cat had an annual check up a few days ago and unfortunately I got some scary news back. I was told that her glucose levels were elevated and there was sugar in her urine. They are running a Fructosamine test to rule out (or in) diabetes but I am completely anxious as I won’t hear back until Monday.
I also want to note that my cat does not enjoy the vet at all. I gave her 100mg of gabapentin before her appointment (this is our third year doing this and the vets prior have been able to get things done, so i wasn’t expecting anything crazy) however this time it wasn’t enough, they took about 20 mins before letting me know she was at her stress limit and she had to be fully sedated for this appointment and I ended up having to leave her at the vet for about 4 hours total. It was traumatic for us both.
The vet mentioned this could have caused the spike.

Her glucose level was 211. Her urinalysis shows +1 as her glucose levels. No ketones. Her t4 is 3.3. She weighs 13.4 pounds (I am also going to be addressing her weight regardless of the outcome).

I didn’t take her to the vet because I noticed anything crazy. It was just her annual appointment. She needed labs and vaccines updated. I don’t know that she’s drinking or eating excessively? From what I’ve read this is quite obvious but I feel like her eating habits are the same as they’ve been.
The only symptom I’ve noticed is her coat has dandruff and was quite oily right above her tail on her back. I assumed this was moreso due to the fact that she maybe can’t reach. I’ve been grooming her myself back there.

I am curious anyone else’s experience and if their cat was diagnosed with numbers similar to these?

I was up all night reading all your posts and I’m so grateful for all of the information I’ve found thus far. I’m already looking into switching her to an all wet diet and working on her weight loss. The last time she was able to be weighed was 2020 and she was 9.4 pounds.

If there’s anymore detail I can fill in please let me know!

 

[Bron and Sheba (GA)]

Hi and welcome to the forum.
I’m glad you vet is doing the fructosamine test to definitely diagnose whether it is diabetes or not.
Cats can get a high BG at the vet from stress so it is an excellent idea to get the fructosamine test done.
211 is not really that high so it could possibly just be stress.

Either way, if you are not already feeding Zaria a low carb wet diet, I would strongly recommend you change it over slowly now. All cats whether diabetic or not should be eating a low carb diet.
Here is a link to low carb foods. Look for foods that are 10% carbs or under.
FOOD CHART

If she does happen to be diabetic, make sure the vet gives you a good insulin for cats such as Lantus (glargine) or Prozinc. I like Lantus best.
And the starting dose should not be more than 1/2 to 1 unit.
Please post and let us know the test result.

HELP IS HELP YOU has information for new members.

 

[Veronica & Babu-chiri]

Hi and welcome!

Hopefully when you get the fructosamine test results it will be ok, because yes she probably was under a lot of stress, but if it is not there are lots of experienced people here that can help you and diabetes is something you can manage quite well by testing at home so you will not have to take her to the vet to handle it, vet visits will continue to be just as they have been for her checkups or some other illness, so hang in there and let us know how the results came back

And changing her to a low carb diet regardless of her result is a very good idea I changed all of my cats and that's one of the best things I could have done even their coats improved with the change

 

[Larry and Kitties]

How long between when you administered the gabapentin and the vet was seen by the vet?
How much does Zaria weigh?
I have to wait a min of about 2 hours for my 8 ½ lb Nala. FOr jy 17 lb Snuffles Even 150 mg gabapentin is not really enough

 

[Kaylin]

How long between when you administered the gabapentin and the vet was seen by the vet?
How much does Zaria weigh?
I have to wait a min of about 2 hours for my 8 ½ lb Nala. FOr jy 17 lb Snuffles Even 150 mg gabapentin is not really enough

Zaria weighs 13.4 pounds and I have her the gaba at about 11:45 and her appointment was at 1pm! The vet did suggest that perhaps the dosage was off and it looks like she weighs more from the first time it was prescribed!

 

[Kaylin]

Hi and welcome!

Hopefully when you get the fructosamine test results it will be ok, because yes she probably was under a lot of stress, but if it is not there are lots of experienced people here that can help you and diabetes is something you can manage quite well by testing at home so you will not have to take her to the vet to handle it, vet visits will continue to be just as they have been for her checkups or some other illness, so hang in there and let us know how the results came back

And changing her to a low carb diet regardless of her result is a very good idea I changed all of my cats and that's one of the best things I could have done even their coats improved with the change

Thank you so much for your kind words! I will keep you posted.

 

[Kaylin]

Hi and welcome to the forum.
I’m glad you vet is doing the fructosamine test to definitely diagnose whether it is diabetes or not.
Cats can get a high BG at the vet from stress so it is an excellent idea to get the fructosamine test done.
211 is not really that high so it could possibly just be stress.

Either way, if you are not already feeding Zaria a low carb wet diet, I would strongly recommend you change it over slowly now. All cats whether diabetic or not should be eating a low carb diet.
Here is a link to low carb foods. Look for foods that are 10% carbs or under.
FOOD CHART

If she does happen to be diabetic, make sure the vet gives you a good insulin for cats such as Lantus (glargine) or Prozinc. I like Lantus best.
And the starting dose should not be more than 1/2 to 1 unit.
Please post and let us know the test result.

HELP IS HELP YOU has information for new members.

Thank you so much!! This is very helpful. I’ve read a lot of information on the phosphorus levels. Is there anything I should look out for here? Not sure what is considered an ok amount?

 

[Larry and Kitties]

Zaria weighs 13.4 pounds and I have her the gaba at about 11:45 and her appointment was at 1pm! The vet did suggest that perhaps the dosage was off and it looks like she weighs more from the first time it was prescribed!

Yes you might want to increase dse and I would administer it sooner before the appointment. I started about the same 1 ¼ hr before but I found out more time was needed.

 

[Bron and Sheba (GA)]

Thank you so much!! This is very helpful. I’ve read a lot of information on the phosphorus levels. Is there anything I should look out for here? Not sure what is considered an ok amount?

Unless Zaria has kidney issues, there is no need to worry about phosphorus levels in the food.
Would you be able to get your signature set up please? It will tell us all about Zaria and will appear below all you posts for us to see.
You will find how to set the signature up in this link…it’s very easy.
HELP US HELP YOU

 

[Veronica & Babu-chiri]

Thank you so much!! This is very helpful. I’ve read a lot of information on the phosphorus levels. Is there anything I should look out for here? Not sure what is considered an ok amount?

You didn't mentioned that she had any kidney issues, phosphorus content is important only for cats with kidney issues if her kidneys are ok you do not have to worry about the phosphorus content in food.

If she does have kidney issues then you would want her food to have a low phosphorus content

 

[Kaylin]

Yes you might want to increase dse and I would administer it sooner before the appointment. I started about the same 1 ¼ hr before but I found out more time was needed.

Will certainly increase the dose and try giving it a bit sooner. Also she doesn’t have kidney issues, thank you for clarifying this!
Update on Zaria. Fructosamine level was 310 (normal range is 143-373 umol/L) and so we have ruled out diabetes at this time but are going to continue working on weight loss. Also doing another urine analysis in a few weeks (getting sample at home) to make sure there is no sugar present anymore.

 

[Kaylin]

Unless Zaria has kidney issues, there is no need to worry about phosphorus levels in the food.
Would you be able to get your signature set up please? It will tell us all about Zaria and will appear below all you posts for us to see.
You will find how to set the signature up in this link…it’s very easy.
HELP US HELP YOU

Thank you! Updated signature.
Update on Zaria. Fructosamine level was 310 (normal range is 143-373 umol/L) and so we have ruled out diabetes at this time but are going to continue working on weight loss. Also doing another urine analysis in a few weeks (getting sample at home) to make sure there is no sugar present anymore.

Been working on switching to a combo diet and hopefully fully wet soon.
Thank you for your help!

 

[Kaylin]

You didn't mentioned that she had any kidney issues, phosphorus content is important only for cats with kidney issues if her kidneys are ok you do not have to worry about the phosphorus content in food.

If she does have kidney issues then you would want her food to have a low phosphorus content

Thank you! I was confused about the phosphorus levels but Zaria does not have kidney issues - thank you for the clarification here!

Update on Zaria. Fructosamine level was 310 (normal range is 143-373 umol/L) and so we have ruled out diabetes at this time but are going to continue working on weight loss. Also doing another urine analysis in a few weeks (getting sample at home) to make sure there is no sugar present anymore.