Tigger's Friend
Member Since 2013
Hi, I'm Tigger's Mom. Tigger is a 10 y/o neutered dmh orange & white cat we found nearly blind as a tiny kitten when we bought a few acres in a rural area of California. Tigger was starving, had foxtails in his eyes, and herpes. He eventually lost one eye, was diagnosed with bartonella & has really bad stomatitis mouth & lost most of his teeth. Otherwise, he's in great health and spirits, a very happy & loving fellow. He lives here with his 2 brothers (one is a blood brother), all rescue cats found on our property.
April 18th, I took tigger to the vet for a dental infection, that's when he was diagnosed with the LPGS (stomatitis) & given a cortisone shot. I was concerned about the shot, but the vet told me cats tolerate cortisone really well. Prior to that, on October 8, 2013, his glucose was completely normal at 149, & on September 20, 2014 it was 123. (tigger accidentally went into the pantry & ate our dog's rimadyl on September 20th, & I rushed him immediately to the vet where they were able to induce vomiting & retrieve the pill - we did blood work on 9/20 & 10/8 to check for any liver toxicity, and thankfully there was none)
Due to the stomatitis, we scheduled tigger for a dental on 5/15. Prior to the dental, we did blood prep work and his glucose was 383. His plateletts were at 1470 (!) & he was also borderline anemic. A urinalysis showed 3+ glucose, & fructosamine level was 390.
Tigger has never presented with any diabetic symptoms, other than drinking water, which he's always done - he's a large cat, looks like Maine Coon, and his coat is quite heavy. Having been a starving feral kitten, he's always had a good appetite, but he's not overweight. I previously fed Fromm grain free kibble (soaked in water) & combined with Wellness Turkey & salmon canned or Lotus canned food, all mixed with water to a gruel consistency.
Once I knew the glucose level, I switched Tigger to Wellness canned w/ water only, & recently ordered Nature's Variety Instinct canned for the lower carb count. I also ordered Tiki Cat fish flavors & will try their chicken.
Our vet placed him on amoxycillin, a 3-day painkiller (nsaid - oops) for tooth extractions, iron for the anemia, & glipizide 5 mg (1/2 tab every 12 hrs) w/ food. It's been 1 week now, & he's doing fine.
When I asked, our vet said Tigger's diabetes could have been brought on by the 1 cortisone shot, though it is rare. She feels he already had the diabetes because of the fructosamine test - but Tigger already had the effects of the cortisone in his system for 4 weeks when the fructosamine was done. But - if steroid-induced diabetes is the case, we are looking at up to 7 more weeks of elevated steroid-induced glucose levels.
Tigger went to the vet's today for his first glucose curve - it was great, low number was 201, & high was 264. Yea! The vet would like to keep him on glipizide & do a glucose curve in 2 weeks. If at that point he's still doing well, we may be able to start reducing the glipizide. The vet doesn't want to reduce the glipizide yet, and says home glucose testing with human glucometers doesn't work very well. From other posts, I am going to try home testing anyway. I figure it can't hurt.
I have read that glipizide can actually contribute to permanent diabetes, due to the other protein secretions it causes the pancreas to produce as well as insulin. My vet says that Tigger's case is so mild she's had great results with glipizide and the insulin swings in his case would create more potential for problems at this point. She says the glipizide is mild compared to insulin, and feels strongly Tigger should remain with the glipizide, not switch to insulin, and not wean off the glipizide yet.
I would love to get feed back from Members with glipizide experience, and brands of glucose meters. I see there is a veterinary brand, AlphaTRACK 2, that gets good results on Amazon, but it's expensive at $113. But - if that's whaqt we need, we'll do it. I'll also read the forums about that. My main concern is the glipizide at this point, and creating a hypoglycemic situation if any steroid-induced high blood glucose were to reverse. I am also probably in denial, and really anxious for this to be transient. We have 8 rescue cats, and not alot of financing.
Thank you all so much for reading this, and for any suggestions you might have. I feel like I've found an oasis in the middle of the desert, and am so grateful!
April 18th, I took tigger to the vet for a dental infection, that's when he was diagnosed with the LPGS (stomatitis) & given a cortisone shot. I was concerned about the shot, but the vet told me cats tolerate cortisone really well. Prior to that, on October 8, 2013, his glucose was completely normal at 149, & on September 20, 2014 it was 123. (tigger accidentally went into the pantry & ate our dog's rimadyl on September 20th, & I rushed him immediately to the vet where they were able to induce vomiting & retrieve the pill - we did blood work on 9/20 & 10/8 to check for any liver toxicity, and thankfully there was none)
Due to the stomatitis, we scheduled tigger for a dental on 5/15. Prior to the dental, we did blood prep work and his glucose was 383. His plateletts were at 1470 (!) & he was also borderline anemic. A urinalysis showed 3+ glucose, & fructosamine level was 390.
Tigger has never presented with any diabetic symptoms, other than drinking water, which he's always done - he's a large cat, looks like Maine Coon, and his coat is quite heavy. Having been a starving feral kitten, he's always had a good appetite, but he's not overweight. I previously fed Fromm grain free kibble (soaked in water) & combined with Wellness Turkey & salmon canned or Lotus canned food, all mixed with water to a gruel consistency.
Once I knew the glucose level, I switched Tigger to Wellness canned w/ water only, & recently ordered Nature's Variety Instinct canned for the lower carb count. I also ordered Tiki Cat fish flavors & will try their chicken.
Our vet placed him on amoxycillin, a 3-day painkiller (nsaid - oops) for tooth extractions, iron for the anemia, & glipizide 5 mg (1/2 tab every 12 hrs) w/ food. It's been 1 week now, & he's doing fine.
When I asked, our vet said Tigger's diabetes could have been brought on by the 1 cortisone shot, though it is rare. She feels he already had the diabetes because of the fructosamine test - but Tigger already had the effects of the cortisone in his system for 4 weeks when the fructosamine was done. But - if steroid-induced diabetes is the case, we are looking at up to 7 more weeks of elevated steroid-induced glucose levels.
Tigger went to the vet's today for his first glucose curve - it was great, low number was 201, & high was 264. Yea! The vet would like to keep him on glipizide & do a glucose curve in 2 weeks. If at that point he's still doing well, we may be able to start reducing the glipizide. The vet doesn't want to reduce the glipizide yet, and says home glucose testing with human glucometers doesn't work very well. From other posts, I am going to try home testing anyway. I figure it can't hurt.
I have read that glipizide can actually contribute to permanent diabetes, due to the other protein secretions it causes the pancreas to produce as well as insulin. My vet says that Tigger's case is so mild she's had great results with glipizide and the insulin swings in his case would create more potential for problems at this point. She says the glipizide is mild compared to insulin, and feels strongly Tigger should remain with the glipizide, not switch to insulin, and not wean off the glipizide yet.
I would love to get feed back from Members with glipizide experience, and brands of glucose meters. I see there is a veterinary brand, AlphaTRACK 2, that gets good results on Amazon, but it's expensive at $113. But - if that's whaqt we need, we'll do it. I'll also read the forums about that. My main concern is the glipizide at this point, and creating a hypoglycemic situation if any steroid-induced high blood glucose were to reverse. I am also probably in denial, and really anxious for this to be transient. We have 8 rescue cats, and not alot of financing.
Thank you all so much for reading this, and for any suggestions you might have. I feel like I've found an oasis in the middle of the desert, and am so grateful!
