We took our cat Rovie to the vet's office because he had many of the signs of diabetes - ravenous appetite, excessive drinking and urination and he had dropped 4 pds. seemingly overnite. Having had a cat, Kelly, who also was a full-blown diabetic and after a long struggle died of heart failure, we were devestated to find Rovie was diabetic as well. At the vet's they said his blood glucose level was 540 and ordered 3ccs twice a day. However, after the one shot of 3ccs of insulin his bi-daily readings have all been in the 170s and 180s and it has been 3 days now. With Kelly she was always way above the 200 mark and to have a cat with seemingly normal levels I wonder if he might have been misdiagnosed or something else is a at work here. Has anyone come across such a situation before or know if there are any other illnesses that might present themselves as diabetes but really are something else? I love this cat very dearly so if anyone has any ideas of any kind, please say something.
Diabetic cat MISDIAGNOSED?
- Thread starter Rover
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Sue and Oliver (GA)
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Did your vet do a fructosamine test? That is the definitive test for diabetes, as it gives you information about the average blood glucose levels over the past 2 weeks.
The symptoms do sound right. 170-180 are still diabetic numbers, but we recommend that new diabetics don't give insulin under 200, so no insulin sounds right.
What do you feed? We recommend wet lo carb under 10%carbs. If you are feeding dry, changing might make a big enough difference to get down to normal numbers. Oliver came down 100 overnight when we switched. Here is a great website that explains why wet lo carb is so good: http://www.catinfo.org
The symptoms do sound right. 170-180 are still diabetic numbers, but we recommend that new diabetics don't give insulin under 200, so no insulin sounds right.
What do you feed? We recommend wet lo carb under 10%carbs. If you are feeding dry, changing might make a big enough difference to get down to normal numbers. Oliver came down 100 overnight when we switched. Here is a great website that explains why wet lo carb is so good: http://www.catinfo.org
Karen & Smokey(GA)
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Was the diagnosis confirmed with a fructosamine test ?
540 is probably too high to be just from 'vet stress'.
I take it you are home-testing ? (sure hope so).
Are those pre-shot numbers, then ?
What are you feeding...Brands/flavors and dry or canned ?
What is the insulin ?
The dose of 3 units is rather high as a starting dose. Insulin is
measured in units, not ccs.
170-180 is still a diabetic number. Normal numbers are about 60-120.
540 is probably too high to be just from 'vet stress'.
I take it you are home-testing ? (sure hope so).
Are those pre-shot numbers, then ?
What are you feeding...Brands/flavors and dry or canned ?
What is the insulin ?
The dose of 3 units is rather high as a starting dose. Insulin is
measured in units, not ccs.
170-180 is still a diabetic number. Normal numbers are about 60-120.
Phoebe_TiggyGA_NortonGA
Very Active Member
there are other illnesses that cause "ravenous appetite, excessive drinking and urination and" weight loss.
The 540 blood sugar does point to diabetes though.
High blood sugar can be caused by infection, stress and bad teeth/gums.
Hyperthyroid is one such illness that my cat Buster has causing the non-blood sugar symptoms. He is now on Tapazole and fairly well controlled. (peeing, eating and drinking normally)
The 540 blood sugar does point to diabetes though.
High blood sugar can be caused by infection, stress and bad teeth/gums.
Hyperthyroid is one such illness that my cat Buster has causing the non-blood sugar symptoms. He is now on Tapazole and fairly well controlled. (peeing, eating and drinking normally)
Thank you for all your comments. We are not sure Rove had a fructosamine test but we will ask first thing tomorrow.
These are all pre-shot numbers. And the insulin he is taking is ProZinc (PZI). The food he is taking is Purina Vet Diet DM (Dietetic Management). We feed him three times a day, one third of a cup, after we take his glucose levels. He is such a good kitty. Maybe he has the throid problem. They took lots of tests and sent them to Texas and it will take probably another week to get the results.
These are all pre-shot numbers. And the insulin he is taking is ProZinc (PZI). The food he is taking is Purina Vet Diet DM (Dietetic Management). We feed him three times a day, one third of a cup, after we take his glucose levels. He is such a good kitty. Maybe he has the throid problem. They took lots of tests and sent them to Texas and it will take probably another week to get the results.
JL and Chip
Very Active Member
So no insulin since that initial 3u dose three days ago, correct?
What meter are you using, and have you checked it using control solution?
Sue and Oliver (GA)
Very Active Member
DM wet or dry? The dry is 13% carbs and it is dry. (Read that link to find out why dry food is not an appropriate diet for any cat.) Wet is 7& carbs which is okay. But it is liver based and few cats are interested in it over the long haul. Besides it is very expensive, and the non prescription foods are of better quality and affordable.
You could try a low carb wet - in the 3 - 5 % range to see if it would make the difference in bg levels. Check out this food chart to see the carb value of different foods: Janet and Binky’s chart Just limit fish to once or twice a week because of the mercury levels.
You could try a low carb wet - in the 3 - 5 % range to see if it would make the difference in bg levels. Check out this food chart to see the carb value of different foods: Janet and Binky’s chart Just limit fish to once or twice a week because of the mercury levels.
Karen & Smokey(GA)
Very Active Member
Rover said:
Dry food ? Oh no.
We recommend a low-carb CANNED food diet. There are grocery store
brands that are actually better than Vet prescription foods.
If you switch to a low-carb canned food diet, you will very likely need
to reduce the insulin dose. Good thing you are home-testing.
Read here:
http://catinfo.org/
It certainly sounds like diabetes ... and if the BGs are still in the 180-170 range after 3u of PZI, then it is probably a correct diagnosis (3u of insulin would knock a non-diabetic cat's glucose into serious, life threatening low range!)
It's time now to start doing home based curves and see what the dose should be. Starting at 3u is pretty darn high, and you need to monitor very, very carefully for signs of hypoglycemia. Mind you, the fact that he is eating dry food may be helping keep those numbers up. And please check the glucose before shots, not before eating.
Chances are that you picked this up faster with Rover than you did with your other cat, now that you have had experience with it, and that is why the BGs are responding so well. Good catch!
It's time now to start doing home based curves and see what the dose should be. Starting at 3u is pretty darn high, and you need to monitor very, very carefully for signs of hypoglycemia. Mind you, the fact that he is eating dry food may be helping keep those numbers up. And please check the glucose before shots, not before eating.
Chances are that you picked this up faster with Rover than you did with your other cat, now that you have had experience with it, and that is why the BGs are responding so well. Good catch!
Thank you all for your replies. We are doing the curve tomorrow and since I called the vet and she told me she had not performed a fructosamine test because of his initial reading of 540 was so high, we are doing that test this Saturday. It also turns out he has a small UTI infection (he is now on antibiotics) and a low end positive result for and Inflammatory Bowel Disease IBD. Plus, he looks thinner than he did yesterday. All these things going on makes me think of those episodes on House where all these things are really the symptoms of something else. Maybe I'm reaching here and I will talk to the vet Saturday as I said, but does anyone have any thoughts on what's wrong with my little baby boy?
Sue and Oliver (GA)
Very Active Member
Have you changed the food and seen any improvement? A UTI can raise bg levels. You can find great info on IBD diets on the food website: http://www.catinfo.org
Those symptoms are also signs of Hyperthyroidism, so a thyroid check might not be a bad idea.
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