Coming back to get advice

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Danielle and George

Member Since 2009
Hello all!

I came to your fabulous forum three and a half years ago when my cat George was diagnosed with diabetes. At first we were doing insulin, but I researched food options and have now been successfully food regulating him ever since. However, I am thinking now that the time has arrived that food alone might not be doing it. I have noticed that he has been drinking a lot of water for the past six months and but when I check his sugars, he is in an acceptable range. The last two mornings before feeding, he was 122 and 132. I feed him on a 12 hour cycle, but he only seems perky when it's food time. Granted, he is 17 years old now. The super drinking worries me and he has started to drool when you pet him. Any advice?
 
When was his last vet visit? It might be time for a senior blood panel to check for Hyperthyroidism and kidney issues. Many seniors to become Hypert which mimics FD in that there is excessive drinking/peeing.

Drooling could also indicate a bad tooth, but sometimes it simply means you remind him of his mommy. As kittens they produce saliva when suckling, I think it helps get the milk out faster. Some cats still drool when they feel very lovey dovey :)
 
Just wanted to add about the drooling. My civvie kitty, Mia, wasn't always a drooler. I saved her from a home with 5 kids and a pair of shears, bald spots and all, so she's always been skittish. After a couple of years with me she started to drool whenever I loved on her...and it's almost instant. She does not drool at other times, just when I'm loving on her.

The vet visit should answer about the water intake increase, and possible dental issues. :smile:
 
I would also have the vet check his kidney values and do a urine specific gravity. Kidney disease often doesn't show up in bloodwork until the later stages, but diluted urine will still show up in stage 1. If the other possible conditions like Hyper-T have been eliminated, then you know it's the kidneys. Kidney disease is very, very common in senior cats, and it causes increased drinking, as well as acid reflux which could cause the drooling. If you catch it early enough, further deterioration of the kidneys can be slowed with a kidney friendly diet (and there are foods that are both kidney friendly and low carb).
 
Hi Danielle, can you give some details (you could email me or on this thread) about what you did in the way of regulating through diet? My cat was diagnosed last Saturday w/ FD, and I changed her to canned food pretty quickly. She took it at first and ate ravenously, and now she's avoiding the canned , high quality food. She also isn't pooping - could be constipation from the reduction of fiber or just that cats poop less often when they eat only meat. Anything along these lines that you observed with your cat (mine is also older , about 15), would be most helpful. Thanks, Karen
 
Karen, usually when you switch from dry to canned only the kitties are very hungry, sometimes it can take a couple of months for their bodies to get used to feeling full without all those carbs. If your kitty isn't eating you may want to have her checked out by a vet.

I transition all of my adopted diabetics to canned only, I have four right now that are diet controlled.
 
I feed my cat Wellness, grain free canned with a small bit of their dry Core. Initially I did only canned but it got kind of pricey, so we added the dry in to help ease cost. What also helped was that the nearby pet store sells the super large, dog food size cans. I always checked his blood sugar before feeding, on a 12 hour schedule and did some curves to make sure he was ok transitioning off the insulin. I decided to try it because even small doses of insulin was making him kind of hypo.

Hope this helps!

Danielle
 
Thanks all for the advice. I have a feeling it is his kidneys starting to go bad. I am in a tough financial situation and the blood tests will run me over $300. It is hard to know how how long my cat will live to somewhat validate the expense. What is the usual age for a diabetic cat?
 
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