bfkdiabetic1
New Member
I have been observing for a while but had a troubling visit with my vet on Friday that I could use some help with.
My 9 year old Siamese mix Cassanova was diagnosed as diabetic in May 2010. He also has an inflamed pancreas. He currently gets 5 units of prozinc and a metronidazole pill twice a day. He has been holding pretty steady with his blood tests; we home test periodically and his numbers do not seem to have changed much in the past couple of months.
We went in on Friday for a diabetes check up. We had noticed a scratch on Cassanova's head the night before and assumed it was from his brother. When my vet touched the wound, the skin practically flaked off. He mentioned Cushing's Syndrome and then looked it up in a book, stating that he had only ever seen one cat in his practice with Cushing's before, many years ago. He also consulted an IM who expressed the opinion that, with the good BG numbers, it was unlikely to be Cushing's. So we proceeded with the vet visit as usual, including drawing some blood from Cassanova's rear leg. Later that evening at home, I noticed another bald patch on his back where the skin/fur appears to be peeling away. Then, the wound where the blood had been drawn appeared to reopen; Cassanova came into the living room with blood all over his leg! We wrapped the leg with a bandage so Cassanova could not lick the wound and it appeared to be OK the next morning. He has visited the vet a lot since May and this is the first time that the wound has opened and bled after leaving the vet.
He is always hungry. He had two places on his body shaved in May and the fur has never grown back. His coat is dull and has changed color from a silver grey to a brownish grey over the past year.
I am concerned that it could be Cushing's. Does anyone have any insight into how this is diagnosed and what the prognosis is? The wonderful post on "what am I doing wrong" is right: I do not want to turn my cat into a science experiment based on a hunch! He's still a lap cat with a wonderful loud purr!
My 9 year old Siamese mix Cassanova was diagnosed as diabetic in May 2010. He also has an inflamed pancreas. He currently gets 5 units of prozinc and a metronidazole pill twice a day. He has been holding pretty steady with his blood tests; we home test periodically and his numbers do not seem to have changed much in the past couple of months.
We went in on Friday for a diabetes check up. We had noticed a scratch on Cassanova's head the night before and assumed it was from his brother. When my vet touched the wound, the skin practically flaked off. He mentioned Cushing's Syndrome and then looked it up in a book, stating that he had only ever seen one cat in his practice with Cushing's before, many years ago. He also consulted an IM who expressed the opinion that, with the good BG numbers, it was unlikely to be Cushing's. So we proceeded with the vet visit as usual, including drawing some blood from Cassanova's rear leg. Later that evening at home, I noticed another bald patch on his back where the skin/fur appears to be peeling away. Then, the wound where the blood had been drawn appeared to reopen; Cassanova came into the living room with blood all over his leg! We wrapped the leg with a bandage so Cassanova could not lick the wound and it appeared to be OK the next morning. He has visited the vet a lot since May and this is the first time that the wound has opened and bled after leaving the vet.
He is always hungry. He had two places on his body shaved in May and the fur has never grown back. His coat is dull and has changed color from a silver grey to a brownish grey over the past year.
I am concerned that it could be Cushing's. Does anyone have any insight into how this is diagnosed and what the prognosis is? The wonderful post on "what am I doing wrong" is right: I do not want to turn my cat into a science experiment based on a hunch! He's still a lap cat with a wonderful loud purr!
