Eating fine but very skinny!

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suzeo

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Winnie has been a diabetic for about 2 years now. She's always been a thin cat, but now she seems too skinny. She eats Fancy Feast classic and gets two cans a day mixed with some chicken. She usually eats it all. I've lowered her insulin (Humulin) down to .1 because her readings (I home test) are under 200. Before I got her to eat the right wet food, her readings were off the charts, even with .3 of insulin. Any ideas why she isn't gaining weight? She weighs just under 7 pounds.
 
this is the same issue i have had, except my cat has diarrhea, so you would probably have mentioned this.
is the weight loss recent? or has it been steady?
the only thing i can think of is that, if her BG was too high, she wouldn't be utilizing it all (it should go into cells and be used for energy), and if you aren't using your glucose, you slowly break down muscle.
that usually leads to DKA, but since the kitty is getting some insulin, there isn't enough muscle and fat break down to cause DKA.
i hope this makes sense.

i am a human doctor, but this is the best i could come up with if there aren't any other physical symptoms.
 
She is eating fine. Sometimes she won't even finish in one sitting. How often is it a thyroid issue AND diabetes?? She was tested for it before the diabetes diagnosis. I did forget to mention her age; she is 14.
 
Could be many things. I would try feeding more. Do you have a BG curve to post? Maybe more/different insulin is required. Excessive hunger is not always a symptom of hyperthyroidism.. Could be an intestinal problem like IBD.
 
She's not acting hungry at all. She'll eat plenty. Her bowel movements are regular and look fine. I could try for a curve this weekend. In the meantime, I might call the vet and have her checked out. Maybe bloodwork will tell me something!
 
Chronic wasting may occur from a variety of conditions, including hyperthyroidism, poorly conrtolled diabetes, IBD, and renal disease, among other things.

I think you really need to take her into the vet for an exam and bloodwork.
 
i'm just going to point this out, because i am going through my own hell with this....
but lymphosarcoma is the most common cause of cancer in that age group, and cancer causes weight loss.
 
when was the last time she saw the vet, had a complete CBC done including T4 and free T4 testing (for hyper thyroid).

It may be a good idea to take her in for a looksee and some tests. Just to start ruling things out.
 
Alexia- Sorry for your problems. I did read your previous posts. She doesnt have diarrhea or she doesn't vomit. I'll have to bring her to the vet for some tests. I hope everything works out for you.
 
GI disease is a very common cause of weight loss or - lack of weight gain if intake has been increased - in cats.

In addition to a standard chemistry panel and CBC with T4, I always run a GI panel on these patients which includes cobalamin, folate, TLI and PLI.

Out of all of those tests, I am the most interested in the cobalamin levels since low cobalamin is indicative of small intestine malabsorption.
 
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