Fasting a Diabetic Cat For a Blood Test

[Casey Warner]

The vet wants to do a GI panel on Brownie because the ultrasound showed something going on with the small intestines and the pancreas. They can't tell what it is and the specialist recommended some fancy GI blood test. The test requires Brownie to be fasted for 12 hrs. Oddly, she was supposed to be fasted for 12 hrs for the ultrasound, but I was told by the specialist's office to never fast a diabetic cat.

So... is it safe to fast Brownie for this GI blood test? I believe the specific tests they want to do are Trypsin-Like Immunoreactivity (TLI) and vitamin B12 and Folate. I've already been giving Brownie Methyl B12 500 mcg per day for two weeks. I don't know if my vet (or any vet around here) knows what's going on. I've come to the conclusion from the many office visits I've made that for every 10-15 dogs they see, they see one cat.

The test costs around $275 and I'm not sure it's worth it, at least not right now. From what I read, the test isn't even definitive. I guess other things can affect the results. It can't tell if there's cancer. I'm wondering if I should've held off on the ultrasound until the diabetes was under control. It seems like it would've yielded more accurate results of what is really going on.

 

[Larry and Kitties]

For those blood tests fasting is really necessary. Also, I would alk to the vet about stopping the oral Methyl B12 for some time period since one of the tests in B12. The oral B12 will elevate the blood B12.
Regarding fasting for ultrasound, fasting is desired, especially for looking at the intestines since food in the intestines can interfere.

 

[Veronica & Babu-chiri]

I'm wondering if I should've held off on the ultrasound until the diabetes was under control.

The ultrasound results won't change even if she had her diabetes under control or with no diabetes, it can be a good method to at least discard some issues or send the vets in some direction even if is not a completely accurate method. My vet has done the ultrasound with 5 hours of fasting maybe you could ask about doing it with less fasting time given her special circumstances