10-29 Babibear BG 59, Lucky BG 59/90 (relion question)

[Lori in Ohio]

There was urine on the hallway carpet this morning - is Ginger haunting us??? confused_cat

I tested my 2 non diabetic cats.
This was 3-4 hours after eating.

Babibear went TOTALLY spastic, but finally got a 59 reading.
Lucky's was 59 too, but not that much blood went into the test strip, so I did another test with him and it was 90.

With a Relion meter if there is not enough blood, I thought it would give an error, so I am confused about the difference of the 59 and 90 readings of Lucky's.
Has anyone else had this happen?

Apparently, neither is diabetic, still.
Lucky is 15 and has lost a lot of muscle mass and weight in the last 2 yrs. A year ago I took him for blood work and they found nothing wrong.
He is starving all the time and overly active.
I am going to take him back in for blood work soon.

And Babibear was born in the same litter as Ginger was...... He is a big Blue Russian 18# cat.
Neither really acts sick.

 

[Kelly & Oscar]

My relion meter has done that before. If there is just enough blood for it to work, but not enough to give an accurate reading, you will get an abnormally low number. Not nearly enough blood will give an error code. There is a very fine line between the two results unfortunately.

 

[Anne&Muffin (GA)]

Lori, I wouldn't worry too much, or expect the other kitties to be diabetic. All 4 of my cats are family - the mom and 3 kittens, and Muffin is the only diabetic in the bunch. I did have them all tested shortly after Muffin's dx, fearing for them because they were related, but they are all just fine.

 

[Lori in Ohio]

I know that they are not diabetic, but "someone" urinated on the carpet just like Ginger use to do.

 

[Pat+Raja+Shadow (GA)]

That is something to watch. Hopefully you will discover who is doing that. It might have been just an accident.
But, if it continues, there is a good chance that something is wrong and a check up is in order. It could be a UTI so do have whoever it is checked out by your vet, okay?
Once any physical things are checked, then you might think about it being behavioral....but do check it with your vet first, okay?

 

[Fern and Justine]

Lucky is 15 and has lost a lot of muscle mass and weight in the last 2 yrs. A year ago I took him for blood work and they found nothing wrong.
He is starving all the time and overly active.
I am going to take him back in for blood work soon.


Did they run a T4 in last years bloodwork? Lucky might be hyperthyroid, based on your above description.

 

[Lori in Ohio]

Yes they ran a T4 last year. It was normal.

 

[Libby and Lucy]

in older cats, a T4 in the upper part of the normal range can still be hyper-T. Next time you have blood drawn, ask for T4 and free T4 (which will cost extra). The free T4 is more accurate and should be run in cats that show hyperthyroid symptoms and are in the middle or high end of the normal range.

Those are classic symptoms of hyperthyroidism and many vets don't seem to realize that the number can be in the normal range and the cat can still be hyper-T. It is easy to treat hyperthyroidism, but if left untreated it can cause a lot of damage to the heart and can mask kidney disease.

I'm glad they are not diabetic, though! Hopefully a good diet with keep them that way. If the peeing problems continue, though, a vet visit is in order.