Kam & Mowgli
Member Since 2024
Hello! First time posting here but have been reading countless threads since my boy was diagnosed in April. My name is Kam (she/her), and my 7 year old, male black cat Mowgli was diagnosed with diabetes after dropping a noticeable amount of weight very suddenly. I spent about a week complaining to my partner that I could feel his spine, then finally scheduled an emergency vet appointment after noticing his urine smelled sweet. Within 24 hours, we were back at the vet learning how to give him insulin shots.
Around the same time, we noticed a strong smell of urine in the house, bought a nanny cam, and discovered that he had been peeing around the baseboards of our front room. Our vet insisted that he was spraying, because it was along an outside wall. I considered this, but explained that he has never sprayed before. He was neutered before I rescued him, and we have 2 female cats at home that do not have any territorial conflict with him. We moved into this home last August, and he never sprayed or urinated out of the box until now. I also told her that the part of our wall he is peeing against is 3 feet off the ground on the exterior of our house (our basement comes above ground level), and I investigated with blacklights but saw no signs of other animals’ urine out there. After some hefty cleaning and starting insulin, he stopped doing this for about 2 weeks, then kicked back up again. We have since placed 2 litter boxes in that room, which he frequently uses. They are cleaned at least once daily. There are 2 additional litter boxes upstairs, so 4 total for our 3 cats.
Since his diagnosis, we have gone back to the vet monthly to check his fructosamine and glucose levels. Mowgli drinks a LOT of water, and I’ve counted him urinating up to 8 times per day. Some days are more than others, some are less. He has been tested for a UTI and kidney issues multiple times but has come back fine. Every time, his levels for fructosamine and glucose are very high. At our vet’s recommendation, we have increased him up to 3 units, twice per day. He receives his insulin on time, with treats or Fancy Feast pates since I read here that those are good for diabetics. Most of his diet consists of Purina Cat Chow Naturals dry food in either the Indoor or Classic formulas. I would like him to eat mostly wet food, but switching 3 cats to a fully wet food diet is very difficult and I wouldn’t be able to keep him from the dry food. Plus, with dry food we are able to keep an automatic feeder running to ensure he always has access to food, as our vet recommended. He is maintaining weight, last we checked he was about 10.5 pounds. This is low for him since he was once a 16 pound boy, but considered a healthy weight for his size.
It feels like nothing we are doing is stopping him from urinating outside the box. Moreover, there is not a clear triggering event that causes him to do it. He was on a streak of not going at all, but since went last night and today. He always picks a spot along the same wall, and will even be standing directly next to the litter box to do it. We have tried puppy pads, painter’s plastic on the carpet and walls, blocking the area with objects, pheromone diffusers, a calming collar, different types of litter boxes and litter box placement, No More Spraying spray by Nature’s Miracle, and currently we have a large rubber boot tray along much of the wall he likes to go on. We use enzymatic cleaners and a Little Green Machine to clean the carpet. I have scrubbed the baseboards so much that the sealant has come off. I don’t know how to help him. I am feeling so defeated because I want him to feel better and I don’t know what will do that for him. The increased insulin has clearly improved his mood, but the urination continues.
We plan to call a different vet and schedule to get a second opinion and some testing done. I am more than happy to elaborate if you need more information—I am writing this exhausted in the dead of night after just running down to stop him from peeing on the wall again (thank you nanny cam motion alerts), so it may be sort of disorganized.
He has not shown signs of diabetic neuropathy, but I know cats can hide pain. He currently prefers to use an open top, stainless steel litter box with clay Dr. Elsey’s litter. I have tried to switch him to softer corn litters in the past, but he refuses to use the box entirely when I do that, so we have stuck with clay.
What advice can you give me? Have any of you experienced this? What helped? I just want my boy to feel better. I’m willing to try anything.
Around the same time, we noticed a strong smell of urine in the house, bought a nanny cam, and discovered that he had been peeing around the baseboards of our front room. Our vet insisted that he was spraying, because it was along an outside wall. I considered this, but explained that he has never sprayed before. He was neutered before I rescued him, and we have 2 female cats at home that do not have any territorial conflict with him. We moved into this home last August, and he never sprayed or urinated out of the box until now. I also told her that the part of our wall he is peeing against is 3 feet off the ground on the exterior of our house (our basement comes above ground level), and I investigated with blacklights but saw no signs of other animals’ urine out there. After some hefty cleaning and starting insulin, he stopped doing this for about 2 weeks, then kicked back up again. We have since placed 2 litter boxes in that room, which he frequently uses. They are cleaned at least once daily. There are 2 additional litter boxes upstairs, so 4 total for our 3 cats.
Since his diagnosis, we have gone back to the vet monthly to check his fructosamine and glucose levels. Mowgli drinks a LOT of water, and I’ve counted him urinating up to 8 times per day. Some days are more than others, some are less. He has been tested for a UTI and kidney issues multiple times but has come back fine. Every time, his levels for fructosamine and glucose are very high. At our vet’s recommendation, we have increased him up to 3 units, twice per day. He receives his insulin on time, with treats or Fancy Feast pates since I read here that those are good for diabetics. Most of his diet consists of Purina Cat Chow Naturals dry food in either the Indoor or Classic formulas. I would like him to eat mostly wet food, but switching 3 cats to a fully wet food diet is very difficult and I wouldn’t be able to keep him from the dry food. Plus, with dry food we are able to keep an automatic feeder running to ensure he always has access to food, as our vet recommended. He is maintaining weight, last we checked he was about 10.5 pounds. This is low for him since he was once a 16 pound boy, but considered a healthy weight for his size.
It feels like nothing we are doing is stopping him from urinating outside the box. Moreover, there is not a clear triggering event that causes him to do it. He was on a streak of not going at all, but since went last night and today. He always picks a spot along the same wall, and will even be standing directly next to the litter box to do it. We have tried puppy pads, painter’s plastic on the carpet and walls, blocking the area with objects, pheromone diffusers, a calming collar, different types of litter boxes and litter box placement, No More Spraying spray by Nature’s Miracle, and currently we have a large rubber boot tray along much of the wall he likes to go on. We use enzymatic cleaners and a Little Green Machine to clean the carpet. I have scrubbed the baseboards so much that the sealant has come off. I don’t know how to help him. I am feeling so defeated because I want him to feel better and I don’t know what will do that for him. The increased insulin has clearly improved his mood, but the urination continues.
We plan to call a different vet and schedule to get a second opinion and some testing done. I am more than happy to elaborate if you need more information—I am writing this exhausted in the dead of night after just running down to stop him from peeing on the wall again (thank you nanny cam motion alerts), so it may be sort of disorganized.
He has not shown signs of diabetic neuropathy, but I know cats can hide pain. He currently prefers to use an open top, stainless steel litter box with clay Dr. Elsey’s litter. I have tried to switch him to softer corn litters in the past, but he refuses to use the box entirely when I do that, so we have stuck with clay.
What advice can you give me? Have any of you experienced this? What helped? I just want my boy to feel better. I’m willing to try anything.
