Is it diabetes or stress?

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SiameseNY

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I am interested in a cat that was surrendered a few weeks ago by an owner that has been diagnosed with a terminal illness. She is a 10yr old Siamese mix. She developed a URI and was not eating very well.. Her blood sugar was in the low to mid 300's. She was treated for the URI and has been eating Purina DM wet and dry food for the last two weeks. The vet cleared her for adoption, her blood sugar is now in the low 200's and got over the URI flare up. She has gone from 5lbs to 7lbs. If I continue her current diet should I be concerned for her well being? Thank you in advance.
 
SiameseNY said:
I am interested in a cat that was surrendered a few weeks ago by an owner that has been diagnosed with a terminal illness. She is a 10yr old Siamese mix. She developed a URI and was not eating very well.. Her blood sugar was in the low to mid 300's. She was treated for the URI and has been eating Purina DM wet and dry food for the last two weeks. The vet cleared her for adoption, her blood sugar is now in the low 200's and got over the URI flare up. She has gone from 5lbs to 7lbs. If I continue her current diet should I be concerned for her well being? Thank you in advance.
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I would suggest switching her over to an all-wet diet (ditch the dry, way too high in carbs!), doesn't have to be anything real expensive, lots of us feed Fancy Feast, Friskies, or the like. You want to feed canned foods that are under 10% carbs; here is a link to a wonderful chart that lists the breakdowns of most of the commonly fed foods, look it over to help you decide. Is she currently on insulin? If she is, you will have to be careful transitioning her from hi-carb to low-carb food because her blood glucose will probably drop and she could become hypoglycemic; best bet is to test at home and monitor very closely for a few days, in case you need to adjust her dose. If she is not yet on insulin, no worries! Do the switch before you start insulin, you may find she doesn't need it! :):cat::)
 
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SiameseNY said:
I am interested in a cat that was surrendered a few weeks ago by an owner that has been diagnosed with a terminal illness. She is a 10yr old Siamese mix. She developed a URI and was not eating very well.. Her blood sugar was in the low to mid 300's. She was treated for the URI and has been eating Purina DM wet and dry food for the last two weeks. The vet cleared her for adoption, her blood sugar is now in the low 200's and got over the URI flare up. She has gone from 5lbs to 7lbs. If I continue her current diet should I be concerned for her well being? Thank you in advance.
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Oh I Love Siamese mix!!! Maji is Siamese mix! I’ve never had a puppy-cat before. She fetches and has a lot of puppy traits... I’ve never had a cat like this before / very interactive has to be around us all the time at “arms length” of course! She’s a wonderful breed would definitely get a Siamese mix again :)

Just wanted to weigh in with my two cents here :)

For the UTI which we also had the key was water. I just put 2 teaspoons of filtered water (like if u have a fridge with a filter that dispenses water) I put just a very small amt in a bowl then I open up her wet food and put a big dollop right in the middle of it (we’re talking really small amount of water 1 or 2 teaspoons max only). She loves eating the food and lapping up the water around it. Works for us no more UTI
 
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Magic Johnson said:
Oh I Love Siamese mix!!! Maji is Siamese mix! I’ve never had a puppy-cat before. She fetches and has a lot of puppy traits... I’ve never had a cat like this before / very interactive has to be around us all the time at “arms length” of course! She’s a wonderful breed would definitely get a Siamese mix again :)

Just wanted to weigh in with my two cents here :)

For the UTI which we also had the key was water. I just put 2 teaspoons of filtered water (like if u have a fridge with a filter that dispenses water) I put just a very small amt in a bowl then I open up her wet food and put a big dollop right in the middle of it (we’re talking really small amount of water 1 or 2 teaspoons max only). She loves eating the food and lapping up the water around it. Works for us no more UTI
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You can never go wrong when adding water! Cats have a very low thirst drive, and are almost always mildly dehydrated. I mix 2 tablespoons of water in with each 3 oz meal to keep my cats well-hydrated. They seem to like the smoother texture of the food/water mix. You can also try giving a tiny bit of d-mannose for problems with chronic, idiopathic UTIs. Squallie had them all the time - I started him on d-mannose and he hasn't had one since! It's been over a year now and still UTI-free. :)
 
SiameseNY said:
I am interested in a cat that was surrendered a few weeks ago by an owner that has been diagnosed with a terminal illness. She is a 10yr old Siamese mix. She developed a URI and was not eating very well.. Her blood sugar was in the low to mid 300's. She was treated for the URI and has been eating Purina DM wet and dry food for the last two weeks. The vet cleared her for adoption, her blood sugar is now in the low 200's and got over the URI flare up. She has gone from 5lbs to 7lbs. If I continue her current diet should I be concerned for her well being? Thank you in advance.
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what terminal illness? You mentioned her having a URI and possibly diabetes. Is there something else? Terminal means it will lead to death... Both of those conditions are treatable.

Purina wet food is ok the dry too high in carbs. There is nothing in the expensive wet food that is better then grocery store fancy feast classic or Friskies pate.

It looks like there's a possibility she may be diet controlled at some point but may need a little insulin support to get there. Not as scary as it sounds and we can help. If you decide to give this kitty a chance we can help you. Diabetes is not a death sentence. Cats can live a decade or more with it as long as it's managed properly, just like people can.
 
JanetNJ said:
what terminal illness? You mentioned her having a URI and possibly diabetes. Is there something else? Terminal means it will lead to death... Both of those conditions are treatable.

Purina wet food is ok the dry too high in carbs. There is nothing in the expensive wet food that is better then grocery store fancy feast classic or Friskies pate.

It looks like there's a possibility she may be diet controlled at some point but may need a little insulin support to get there. Not as scary as it sounds and we can help. If you decide to give this kitty a chance we can help you. Diabetes is not a death sentence. Cats can live a decade or more with it as long as it's managed properly, just like people can.
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I apologize I should have been a little more specific... The cat was surrendered because the owner is battling cancer.. After the cat was surrendered she came down with an Upper Respiratory Infection and stopped eating. After a week with the foster she was taken to the vet for a checkup. Her blood sugar was in the low/mid 300's. The vet put her on antibiotics and Purina DM diet. Now two weeks later her blood sugar is around 200 and the vet is confident she will not need insulin as long as she stays on this diet. My question is based on your experience does she have diabetes? Will she need to be put on an insulin regimen in the future?
 
SiameseNY said:
I apologize I should have been a little more specific... The cat was surrendered because the owner is battling cancer.. After the cat was surrendered she came down with an Upper Respiratory Infection and stopped eating. After a week with the foster she was taken to the vet for a checkup. Her blood sugar was in the low/mid 300's. The vet put her on antibiotics and Purina DM diet. Now two weeks later her blood sugar is around 200 and the vet is confident she will not need insulin as long as she stays on this diet. My question is based on your experience does she have diabetes? Will she need to be put on an insulin regimen in the future?
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The best way to figure this out is to test her blood glucose at home if/when she comes home with you. You can track it for a while as you change her diet, she recovers from her URI and gets accustomed to a new environment. If her BG stays within normal limits on a low carb wet food diet she might well be a diet controlled diabetic. If the BG numbers are higher than normal or rise then you'll know she needs some insulin support. We can help you with that if/when the time comes.
 
As the others have said, the Purina wet food is low carb, but the dry is a bit higher than we like. It’s possible that cutting that out will also help lower her numbers.
 
SiameseNY said:
I apologize I should have been a little more specific... The cat was surrendered because the owner is battling cancer.. After the cat was surrendered she came down with an Upper Respiratory Infection and stopped eating. After a week with the foster she was taken to the vet for a checkup. Her blood sugar was in the low/mid 300's. The vet put her on antibiotics and Purina DM diet. Now two weeks later her blood sugar is around 200 and the vet is confident she will not need insulin as long as she stays on this diet. My question is based on your experience does she have diabetes? Will she need to be put on an insulin regimen in the future?
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My apologies I misread URI for UTI - I’m sorry

Definitely low carb wet food sounds like an easy way to keep BG down! I wish mine could get to that point!! :) it sounds like yours was caught before it got there and reversed with low carb!!! So lucky!!!
 
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SiameseNY said:
I apologize I should have been a little more specific... The cat was surrendered because the owner is battling cancer.. After the cat was surrendered she came down with an Upper Respiratory Infection and stopped eating. After a week with the foster she was taken to the vet for a checkup. Her blood sugar was in the low/mid 300's. The vet put her on antibiotics and Purina DM diet. Now two weeks later her blood sugar is around 200 and the vet is confident she will not need insulin as long as she stays on this diet. My question is based on your experience does she have diabetes? Will she need to be put on an insulin regimen in the future?
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AHHH ok. That makes sense. I misunderstood and thought YOU thought diabetes was terminal.

It could be hes diabetic but diet controlled which would be great. I'd start testing in case those numbers creap up over time.... It could be elevated from the stress of the surrender and being sick.
 
SiameseNY said:
OK great I appreciate the advice. I am going to move forward with the adoption and update this thread after she is settled in her new home. Thank you.
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So excited for you and your Siamese mix!!!

They are a world of fun!

Oh one more thing do not be surprised when you bring your kitty home if your Siamese mix hides out for 2 days sneaking out for food and kitty box when you don’t see it. Maji did this with her buddy Timba for two days they remained under a cabinet in the closet upstairs ... then one morning they were both walking around downstairs like...What? What’s all the fuss about.. ?

Kitty may have to get used to the normal common noises of the house and goings on - Maji was afraid of the ice dispenser for months and months - now it’s like nothing to her :)
 
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