New Member - Help w/ Keilla

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Jocelyn D

Jocelyn D

Member Since 2023
Hi Everyone,

I had a kitty with diabetes 15 years ago and am super familiar with having a diabetic cat as I was a part of either this forum or one like it way back when.

I am however stumped with an issue with my new (well 15 year old) kitty named Keilla. She has been drinking tons of water. I instantly thought it must be diabetes again as it had been with my previous kitty.
I took her to the vet in December and they did urine testing, blood work and feces testing and everything came back normal. To double check things, I ordered the Check Up kit from Chewy and retested her urine myself. The only thing that showed just very slightly in the positive was her protein level. That was about 6 weeks ago I did that test.

I called the vet again this past week to see if there was anything else we could test and they just want to run the SAME urine test they had already completed again.

We did just move from Phoenix to Colorado in December and so I don't know if the very dry air could be making her so thirsty and I'm worrying too much or if there is a potential thing the vet is missing.

In case it helps, I just cut out even her dry treats that had wheat in them and moved to Kindfull which has only rice flour. She otherwise eats grain free wet food or even the real fish Fancy Feast meals. She had the raw food diet the first 7 years of her life as I was trying to combat having another cat with health issues.

Has anyone ever run into this? Do those exams ever give false negatives?

Thanks so much,
Jocelyn
 
Hi Jocelyn and welcome to the forum,
The best way to find out if Keilla is a diabetic is to get the vet to do a fructosamine test. That will give you an average of the last few weeks BGs.
If you want, you could also start testing yourself to see what the BGs are.
Any dry food is not good for cats as the water content is so low, around 7% compared to wet food which is 78%.
The Kindfull dry food is no better just because it has rice instead of wheat. Still high carb.
The best food is wet low carb foods that are 10% carbs or lower.
Did the vet test for hyperthyroidism? And Kidney disease? Both of these have increased water consumption.
food chart look for foods that are 10% carbs or less
 
Ok, thank you. I will cut out those treats as well then. Her wet foods are all 0% or 3% according to the chart. Thanks for providing that to me.

They did check her thyroid and kidneys. All negative. That's why I am stumped. It's been so long that I can't recall what supplies to get to test the BG. What do you recommend? Are they all over the counter? And if I recall, it's best to get blood from a prick to the ear?
 
You can pick up a human blood glucose (BG) meter and test strips from the pharmacy. Since you are in the US, a lot of people pick up the Relion from Walmart, as it has the cheapest test strips. Those test strips will be what you go through. You'll also need some lancets (start with size 26-28). More details and some videos here: Hometesting Links and Tips
 
If you live in the US you can get a ReliOn premier glucose meter from Walmart for $9 and a box of 100 test strips for $17.88. You will also need a box of 100 lancets, get size 26 or 28 gauge and some cotton rounds to hold behind the ear. Let us know how you get on:)
 
I got her lab results, but it won't let me upload the file - it says I don't have permissions to do so?
I have supplies arriving Friday and will be testing her then.
 
Jocelyn D said:
I got her lab results, but it won't let me upload the file - it says I don't have permissions to do so?
I have supplies arriving Friday and will be testing her then.
Click to expand...
the upload feature has been broken for years and only displays a message that you don't have permissions

You have to drag and drop into the post reply box, or copy/paste into there.
 
Please see results attached. I'm still curious about their note on the urine protein. Especially since on my test her protein level had just slipped into the positive category. What could that mean? Thanks for everyone's help!! <3
 

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Jocelyn D said:
Please see results attached. I'm still curious about their note on the urine protein. Especially since on my test her protein level had just slipped into the positive category. What could that mean?
Click to expand...
What do do mean by "my test her protein level had just slipped into the positive category"?
My only observation is that the urine specific gravity is only 1.025. That is a little on the low side and might indicate some kidney degradation. However, the Creatinine, Bun, Phosphorous and SDMA are good.
 
@Larry and Kitties

I did the following test at home: https://www.chewy.com/checkup-at-home-wellness-test-urine/dp/212349

And if you look at the second picture on the website, it shows the chart for the results. For her protein level, it was the first light green in the positive results.

So based on what you said above and the fact that it looks like she may have increased proteins, should I ask the vet to do more testing with her kidneys? I'm trying not to pay them $100 just for another basic urine test that may not show anything.

Thanks <3
 
The results from the lab indicated there was no protein in the urine.
I would believe that result well above a commercially bought test.
All the results look great.
The USG of 1025 could well have been because she drinks a lot of fluids....and you do say 'she drinks a ton of water'
All the other kidney results are within normal limits.
The SDMA is normal and that is an early indicator of kidney problems.
 
Jocelyn D said:
And if you look at the second picture on the website, it shows the chart for the results. For her protein level, it was the first light green in the positive results.
Click to expand...
I would rely on the vet lab test vice your test especially if you had to collect the urine from the litter box vice mide stream while urinating. The vet collected the sample via sticking a needle in the bladder and drawing out a sample.
Jocelyn D said:
o based on what you said above and the fact that it looks like she may have increased proteins, should I ask the vet to do more testing with her kidneys?
Click to expand...
I see no reason for any further testing at this time. I would only get more tests in a year or so or if there are symptoms that say testing is required.
 
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