Dexters Test Results

[Lis and Dexter]

I took Dexter in Friday to get him checked out bc we were getting good #s & then he started running high (a few days 500 consistently) He just so happened to be middle of a good cycle (hence the 128 glucose) when I took him in to vet but we haven’t had one since then.

She just called me w test results and said she sees beginning stages kidney disease but no answer for why he’s been running high (uti, pancreatitis, infection)

She suggested switching the to Purina kidney food. “It’s a different diet than the diabetic but it extends lives”. We are on fancy feast pates rn. What yall think?

I’m supposed to call her on Friday and let her know his #s and she said maybe we could discuss switching insulin (from pzi to Lantus) but also if he’s “too hard to regulate I suggest internal medicine”.

I am lucky to only live an hour from both Michigan State & U of M but I didn’t think it would come to that, & also I probably couldn’t afford it??

Attached is his labs (also in my spreadsheet) and the food she rx (I haven’t ordered it yet)

Our thread from Friday:

Thread 'Vet just tried to fire us as patients'
Vet just tried to fire us as patients

 

[Wendy&Neko]

Tagging @Suzanne & Darcy cause she's also following Dex and knows labs.

There is a Labs tab on the spreadsheet that you can enter the data in. It makes it much easier to read, and allows you to track trends over time. Even my non diabetic cats now have a Labs SS.

Did they do a complete urinalysis? I can't see the Urine Specific Gravity (USG) that tells you if he's concentrating his urine. SDMA is out of range, though in my experience with one cat an unreliable figure. Creatine is fairly high but still in range. Phosphorus is getting high enough you should do something about it.

I wouldn't switch to kidney foods, but ditch the FF which is high in phosphorus. This list CKD food Chart has a link to a diabetes CKD list that is good for both conditions. The NF is 27% carbs!

Another website about to become your best friend: Tanya's Comprehensive Guide to Feline Chronic Kidney Disease – Everything You Need to Know to Help Your Cat

 

[Sienne and Gabby (GA)]

I agree with everything Wendy said.

 

[Lis and Dexter]

Tagging @Suzanne & Darcy cause she's also following Dex and knows labs.

There is a Labs tab on the spreadsheet that you can enter the data in. It makes it much easier to read, and allows you to track trends over time. Even my non diabetic cats now have a Labs SS.

Did they do a complete urinalysis? I can't see the Urine Specific Gravity (USG) that tells you if he's concentrating his urine. SDMA is out of range, though in my experience with one cat an unreliable figure. Creatine is fairly high but still in range. Phosphorus is getting high enough you should do something about it.

I wouldn't switch to kidney foods, but ditch the FF which is high in phosphorus. This list CKD food Chart has a link to a diabetes CKD list that is good for both conditions. The NF is 27% carbs!

Another website about to become your best friend: Tanya's Comprehensive Guide to Feline Chronic Kidney Disease – Everything You Need to Know to Help Your Cat

The images I attached are entered in my labs section but I didn’t see a usg either. I was told I was getting a full annual that included urinalysis & bloodwork. She said the annual included more tests than just the urine but I didn’t know what to ask or look for. I was inquiring about infection, bad teeth, uti, pancreatitis, etc, anything to see why he’s been running high but not so much kidneys. I think she mentioned another test in 3 months.

Thank you! I will look into the food list.

 

[Lis and Dexter]

I found it. USG is 1.015, updated spreadsheet

 

[Wendy&Neko]

If there is an infection, sometimes you can see it in the WBC, which you also didn't get. Pancreatitis test is the Spec fPL test, also not on there. For bad teeth they start with a look into the mouth. With UTI, you would see clinical signs at home, such as more frequent smaller pees. Sometimes tinged with blood.

Was the urinalysis done first thing in the day? Later in the day it will be more dilute, but that does look quite dilute. If it's possible to get a first thing in the morning pee at home, and the vet has a refractometer, they can test USG without it going to the lab.

 

[Lis and Dexter]

If there is an infection, sometimes you can see it in the WBC, which you also didn't get. Pancreatitis test is the Spec fPL test, also not on there. For bad teeth they start with a look into the mouth. With UTI, you would see clinical signs at home, such as more frequent smaller pees. Sometimes tinged with blood.

Was the urinalysis done first thing in the day? Later in the day it will be more dilute, but that does look quite dilute. If it's possible to get a first thing in the morning pee at home, and the vet has a refractometer, they can test USG without it going to the lab.

Ahhh thank you! His pees are still somewhat long. No blood.

We had a 10:30a vet appt and they prob didn’t pull his blood/pee until 11:30

 

[Marje and Gracie]

Ahhh thank you! His pees are still somewhat long. No blood.

We had a 10:30a vet appt and they prob didn’t pull his blood/pee until 11:30

I really don’t have anything to add to Wendy’s post. His USG is on the lower side but it does depend a bit on when you got the sample. His P. Outdoor be higher this time if you had very recently fed him but you want to look for trends as you want to keep P down.

 

[Suzanne & Darcy]

I was looking for that USG. Thank you. I looked up the carbohydrates in the NF food and they’re 32.6 percent on a dry matter basis. You don’t need to spend all that money on a cat who has such early stage kidney disease. What you can do is to get some low carb lesser phosphorus foods to help make things easier on his kidneys. I would not restrict protein at this stage because you may see premature muscle wasting. Usually the kidney foods are reserved for later stage disease and because of his diabetes, many of them are not appropriate.

Here’s a list of lower phosphorus foods that are also low in carbs and suitable for diabetics.
https://www.bizave.com/foodlists/CKD Diabetes Food List.pdf

 

[Suzanne & Darcy]

That Urine Specific Gravity is a little low for sure. It can vary as noted by the others. What we need to do is get him on lower phosphorus foods. His phosphorus is not horrible, but it should be closer to 4-4.5.

I have found that the SDMA test can move around in my cats so I don’t completely trust it. If he has kidney disease, he could stay stable for a long time with the right nutrition and hydration and, in Dexter’s case, keeping his BG in a range that is below the kidney threshold (which can vary by cat, but I would like to see him in at least mostly blue and green numbers with only a few lower yellows if possible.)