Diabetic cat losing weight but otherwise normal

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Pixxie037

Pixxie037

Member Since 2016
Our diabetic cat seems to be losing weight, he started off at 18 lbs, he is a larger cat, a Bengal, he is now down to 14 lbs and his bones are all prominent. We began treating him with insulin, prozinc and a wet food diet ( fancy feast mixed with Merrick pates) in May, so about 6 months ago. He is not drinking any excessive water, or really any water at all, and his urine output is normal. When he was diagnosed he was drinking and urinating excessively. That has completely normalized and he acts like his old playful self. We aren't sure whether the weight loss is normal or if we should be worried as he seems otherwise completely fine. 4 lbs in 6 months doesn't seem like much , but his bones are easily felt, which worries me as he has always been a bit plump.

Thank you!
 
His name is Paiyu. He's a 13 year old bengal. We have been adding more food, he doesn't seem to eat any more though. He still has the grazing habit, he will eat about a third of his wet food right away, but then leaves the rest. He goes back and munches throughout the day . Since he seems so skinny, we don't want to take away his food too quickly. We leave it out for him while we are at work and when we go to bed, then throw it away a few hours before he is due to eat again. His urine seems normal, his feces is a bit softer than it was when he ate dry food, and can have a horrendous smell, particularly with the duck pate for some reason.
 
Have you ever had a hyperthyroid test done. A Hyper T kitty can lose weight even when eating normally. The T4 testing is not usually included on regular vet bloodwork unless you ask for it and they are set up to do it at their office.
 
I don't think they have tested his thyroid. When we took him they just seemed to test for diabetes and checked his kidneys. I was going to call and make an appointment, I will have them check that. thank you!
 
I suggest also getting a B12/folate test done; if Paiyu has any food malabsorption problems his B12 may be low. Also monitor how much and how frequently he poops as well as monitoring the stool colour and consistency - and share your observations with Paiyu's vet. If the stools are any way pale and soft ask your vet about IBD and chronic pancreatitis (both can give rise to maldigestion problems).

For info, here's a body condition chart to help you monitor Paiyu's weight status:

Body condition chart


Mogs
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This is very helpful, thank you so much! I have a call in to his vet, but they haven't called back yet. To be honest he seems to be around the proper weight from the pictures, but I can feel his ribs and hipbones when I pet him and that worried me. He may have gained half a pound in the past couple of weeks actually , but I probably need to get a baby scale or pet scale to be more accurate. We will still be trying to get in touch with the vet and schedule a check up as its been about 3 or 4 months since he was seen and we are still rather new to the diabetes treatment.
 
The digital baby scales are a great help. Also keep a brief daily log of how much you feed; it will help you to adjust his food allowances based on the weight data from the scales.


Mogs
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I'm wondering if anyone can give me some advice. I have a 10 year old cat that was diagnosed with diabetes about 3 months ago. We are using the insulin called Prozinc. We started off by doing 2 units every 12 hours and started doing glucose test every 2 weeks. We have had 3 follow up appointments and he is now on 4 units every 12 hours. My cats is currently eating wet and dry food. The wet food is by Prescription Hill. The vet recommend to use Prescription Hill for wet and dry. I have started using a brand called Authority by PetSmart for dry food and it is the cheaper version of Prescription Hill. But with doing the Glucose test the vet cant seem to get him regulated. Has anyone had any experience with this food and if it had any side effects that might have affected glucose levels? thank you for any advice you have
 
Hi Stephanie, the Authority dry food is probably very high in carbs. The grain free version has potatoes and peas, and the regular version has rice and corn. All these are high carb. The best food is a low carb wet food and if you must feed dry, Young Again is the best. If you switch to an all low carb diet, please be sure you are testing your cats BG at home. This is extremely important as a switch to low carb foodcould lower his BG by 100 points and then you could risk a hypo. If you'd like some advice on ProZinc dosing, come over to the ProZinc forum, read the stickies and ask questions.
 
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