New Here. Kitty diagnosed Diabetes due to Depo Injections

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Sis

Sis

Member Since 2023
My 11-year-old female cat was diagnosed with diabetes yesterday. Supposedly a side effect of the Depo shot she got 11 days ago. Vet gave a bag of Purina DM, which I just read here is not a good food for her. She won't eat it anyway. So, I got her Fancy Feast Cassic Turkey/Giblets which is not new to her. But she mostly was eating dry food Purina ONE. So, I am stopping that and hope she just eats the FF Classic. My QUESTION is...when recent Depo shot wears off, will her glucose go back down to normal? It was 350 yesterday. On her annual visit bloodwork just 2 months ago, on July 17th, it was normal at 118. I have read online that it could go back to normal when the depo wears off. Thanks for any info.
 
Sis said:
when recent Depo shot wears off, will her glucose go back down to normal?
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Maybe. Some cats need a little insulin help to give their pancreas a break, and then will be able to go off of insulin when the shot wears off. Some don't. I wouldn't withhold insulin waiting for her numbers to get better. Though a good percent of cats who have had steroid shots do come off of insulin. Do change to 100% low carb food if you can. That will help.

What was the reason for the steroid shot and will she need it again?
 
Wendy&Neko said:
Maybe. Some cats need a little insulin help to give their pancreas a break, and then will be able to go off of insulin when the shot wears off. Some don't. I wouldn't withhold insulin waiting for her numbers to get better. Though a good percent of cats who have had steroid shots do come off of insulin. Do change to 100% low carb food if you can. That will help.

What was the reason for the steroid shot and will she need it again?
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Thanks for the info. She got steroid shots periodically for the past couple years because of a growth in her ear...to reduce inflammation. But the vet yesterday said she saw nothing in her ear! A different doctor had diagnosed the ear problem...so???? Anyway, no more depo shots for her. Vet only gave me a bag of Purina HM, which Tinker would not eat. She wants her usual dry Purina One food, but of course I'm not letting her have it anymore. Today she ate Fancy Feast classic pate Turkey/Giblets. No more dry catfood for either of my cats. FF classic is very low in carbs. Vet did not say she wanted her on Insulin. At least she didn't say that yet...
 
What is the next step according to your vet? Is she to go in for blood sugar monitoring? By the way, that is something you can do yourself, and we can teach you how to do so at home. Sometimes stress can cause high numbers at the vet hospital.
 
Wendy&Neko said:
What is the next step according to your vet? Is she to go in for blood sugar monitoring? By the way, that is something you can do yourself, and we can teach you how to do so at home. Sometimes stress can cause high numbers at the vet hospital.
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Yes, I am supposed to take her back to the vet for monitoring. I did read about stress causing high glucose in cats. And I'm wondering about that along with the depo shot, which is only 11 days old, if maybe the combo elevated her glucose. I may take her back tomorrow because getting urine sample has not gone well today. She took one look at the litter box with the black crystals and peed on the mat alongside of the litter box. So, vet can try to extract sample again. She tried at our visit yesterday but what little she was able to get unfortunately got loose onto the blanket they had on the exam table. May be my imagination, but I see a bit of improvement in her today, having only the FF classic wet food. She did not constantly drink water as she had been doing and she looked more alert or bright-eyed. I will go to the nearby pet supply store and look into wet food that has no carbs. I saw a glucose monitor kit for cats on Amazon. Is that what I should get to monitor her myself? Thanks so much for your input!
 
You don't need to buy zero % carbs, anything under 10% will do. Most of us feed in the 3-6% range. Any of the FF classic pates are fine if she likes them. Good luck at the vet tomorrow.
 
Wendy&Neko said:
You don't need to buy zero % carbs, anything under 10% will do. Most of us feed in the 3-6% range. Any of the FF classic pates are fine if she likes them. Good luck at the vet tomorrow.
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That's good to hear, because that's what I always get is ff classic pates. She just has to get over not having the dry cat food anymore, which she had become addicted to and preferred.
 
Hi and welcome to the forum.
Did the vet do a fructosamine test to confirm the diagnosis?
If you are going to buy a glucose meter, I would buy a human one not a pet one as they are too expensive to run.
A good one is the ReliOn premier meter from Walmart. You will also need a box of 100 test strips and a box of lancets size 26 o 28. And some cotton rounds to hold behind the eat when you test.
Also if the vet is not starting insulin, I would buy a bottle of Ketostix to test the urine for ketones. Hopefully you will be able to get a sample from her.
 
Just wanted to let you know that it's been a month since Tinker's Depo shot and her glucose was retested at the vets yesterday and is 106. So maybe and hopefully she does not have diabetes and the Depo wearing off has brought her back to normal glucose. Now I'm just waiting for results of UTI test she had yesterday...because off and on the past few weeks she has acted like she had UTI..but then the past few days she seemed fine. So hopefully that was from the Depo Shot too. The one thing I am super PO'd about is that now I am being told she has not had any growth in her ear, which she has been getting Depo shots for for the past 3 years!! So no more Depo shots for Tinker. Just ear wax that I have to give ear drops for. Ok. that's all. Just wanted to let you know what's been happening since I first asked for diabetes advice.
 
Talk to your vet to make sure that you have the appropriate ear drops. There are some that contain steroids although they are typically for ear infections. Glad to hear things are getting back to normal!!
 
Ugh...it's always something, isn't it? So, I looked up the medication (Animax Ointment) and it says it has some cortisone, but that it's not harmful. It's for Tinker's ears. 2 drops twice a day for 10 days, repeat in 5 day intervals as necessary. I'm sure it would not be anywhere as harmful as Depo shots she was getting for her non=existent growth. Vets contradict each other, too, which makes me wonder how can believe what's right and what's wrong. So frustrating.
 
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