? drank water for 4 minutes with 328 glucose level

[dman777]

My cat drinks alot of water. I'm slowly getting his glucose level down with Lantus. Tonight, he drank water for about 4 minutes straight. I thought his blood sugar level might of been high, but when I took a reading right after he was done it only read 328(which is good for him and where he came from).

I don't think there is a urine infection because he is not using the litter box excessivley or licking himself. Other than a lot of drinking water, he is acting normal. I can't take him to the vet because I am without a job right now.

At 328, should he be drinking 4 minutes of water?

 

[Andy & Pimp]

Short answer, yes, those are drinking numbers.

328 is well above renal threshold, which will cause glucose to spill into the urine and thus polyuria/polydipsia.

 

[Vyktors Mum]

Any chance of you setting up a spreadsheet so we can see what's going on with your kitty? If you've been treating with lantus since December (I'm assuming that based on when you joined the board) I would expect him to have progressed further than 328 being a good number for him. If we can see his data we should be able to help you guys get to a better place.

The spreadsheet instructions are in the tech forum, there are people that can help you if you have any trouble setting it up just let us know.

 

[BJM]

As Andy notes, that glucose level is high enough to provoke increased water intake to help process the excess glucose out in the urine. If you pick up some KetoDiaStix and test a fresh urine sample, detecting glucose in the urine will show that the renal threshold for your cat has been exceeded. More importantly, detecting ketones will indicate that fat is being broken down for energy. If the level of ketones gets high enough, it will change the pH (the acid:base balance in the body) and trigger diabetic ketoacidosis. DKA is an expensive to treat, potentially fatal, complication of diabetes. We encourage those still working towards numbers in a more normal range to test urine for ketones on a regular basis.

Other conditions with increased drinking, which the vet may have ruled out at the initial diagnosis, include renal insufficiency aand hyperthyroidism.