C.W. Gortner
Member Since 2016
Hi, I'm new to the board. I have two former feral rescue cats, Mommy and Boy, whom I fed for years in a local park where I used to walk with my late corgi. After several years, I brought them home and they've lived with us for six years now. Recently, Mommy appeared to be losing weight; she was getting that "bony" look some older cats can get. I'm not sure of her age - her son, Boy, who also lives with us is at least 7 so she must be close to 11 or maybe 12. Anyway, they're very sweet, affectionate cats whom we adore and they did adapt extraordinary well to being indoors only. However, as formal ferals, they are very stranger adverse; whenever we travel, we hire an in-home cat sitter, a good trusted friend of mine, who says they eat, poo and pee while we're away, but she rarely actually sees them and she can never touch them. Mommy, especially, is very wary and only comes out of her room at nightfall, though we can always spend time with her in her Princess Suite. Boy is more gregarious. I'm an author who works at home, so he comes down a lot to be with me when I write.
I decided to take Mommy to my regular vet a week ago, as it had been six years since she'd seen one, their last visit being to the SPCA feral cat vet who gave both cats a cursory check-up before I brought them home - and I was advised not to bring them home, as "they'd never adapt"). Well they did adapt, but getting her to the vet this time was a major ordeal. Took three tries - and two cancelled appointments - before we managed to get her into the carrier. She was, as you can imagine, very freaked out once we got there. So freaked out, she was panting, in danger of hyper-ventilating, so they kept her for a few hours to calm her down before they could sedate her and do her blood-work, check her weight, etc. She's 9 lbs, which the vet felt was okay for her size; she's always been a lean, small cat. All of her tests came back normal, except her blood glucose level, which was 325. There was also glucose in her urine. They told me that cats can get very elevated glucose levels from stress, so they suggested a fructosamine test. That result came in at the cut-off high end of normal: 400. So, they think she might be diabetic, but are unsure and want another urine sample, which I'll try to obtain with the black litter they gave me yesterday. My vet says, if there's glucose in her urine, she's diabetic. Of course, now I'm the one who's freaked out.
She has no obvious clinical signs of diabetes besides this one borderline fructosamine test result, but she clearly suffers from stress-induced hyperglycemia at the vet. She's always been a nervous cat, with keen survival instincts from years of surviving in a public park. She does pee about 4 to 5 times a day, in the box, which is pretty standard for her. Some days, it's less. Some days, more. Never outside the box. Their diet, as I've discovered since reading up on all this, isn't ideal. They ate Meow Mix and Purina One dry in the park for years , but when we brought them home, we switched them gradually over to Dr Fosters and Smith Dry Adult Cat Food (which has higher carbs than I'd prefer but far less than Meow Mix) and Whiskas Seafood Medley wet food in pouches. They loved this diet and have been on it for 4 years. I recently started introducing them to Hound & Gatos canned - trout and lamb+chicken - to phase out the Whiskas, as it's all fish and not good for them. Live and learn. Some days, the new food is a hit. Other days, they turn their noses up at it. Mommy tends to like it more than Boy, especially if I hand-feed it to her. Finicky cats, but aren't they all? Her water intake isn't exorbitant. Her water dish upstairs holds three measuring cups of water and it's never dry after 24 hours. I'd say she drinks about a cup at most in a 24-hour period. Her appetite is good, not ravenous. She never overeats. As she is a senior, she tends to nap a lot, but that's always been her style. She's more active at night, when she and Boy go downstairs to party while we're asleep.
Does any of this sound like diabetes? I will do my best to get another urine sample. and of course, do whatever I can to care for her. Being a writer, I'm home so I can do it. My main concern is our travel schedule - we go away twice a year for about 10-14 days - as my cat sitter couldn't give her insulin and boarding her would freak them both out. Not to mention, the expense to board a semi-feral cat who needs insulin and goes into a state of shock at any change in her routine. I think I can do the in-home blood glucose testing if need be, once I get the hang of it, as she's okay with applying Advantage - Boy is not and getting topical flea treatment on him is a test of endurance - but she can't be taken to the vet consistently without sedation, which seems to me a rather cruel situation for her. Likewise, this last vet visit cost me $628. I'll spend what I must, but really? San Francisco has become so expensive, it astounds me.
Any advice is very appreciated and I apologize for this long post.
I decided to take Mommy to my regular vet a week ago, as it had been six years since she'd seen one, their last visit being to the SPCA feral cat vet who gave both cats a cursory check-up before I brought them home - and I was advised not to bring them home, as "they'd never adapt"). Well they did adapt, but getting her to the vet this time was a major ordeal. Took three tries - and two cancelled appointments - before we managed to get her into the carrier. She was, as you can imagine, very freaked out once we got there. So freaked out, she was panting, in danger of hyper-ventilating, so they kept her for a few hours to calm her down before they could sedate her and do her blood-work, check her weight, etc. She's 9 lbs, which the vet felt was okay for her size; she's always been a lean, small cat. All of her tests came back normal, except her blood glucose level, which was 325. There was also glucose in her urine. They told me that cats can get very elevated glucose levels from stress, so they suggested a fructosamine test. That result came in at the cut-off high end of normal: 400. So, they think she might be diabetic, but are unsure and want another urine sample, which I'll try to obtain with the black litter they gave me yesterday. My vet says, if there's glucose in her urine, she's diabetic. Of course, now I'm the one who's freaked out.
She has no obvious clinical signs of diabetes besides this one borderline fructosamine test result, but she clearly suffers from stress-induced hyperglycemia at the vet. She's always been a nervous cat, with keen survival instincts from years of surviving in a public park. She does pee about 4 to 5 times a day, in the box, which is pretty standard for her. Some days, it's less. Some days, more. Never outside the box. Their diet, as I've discovered since reading up on all this, isn't ideal. They ate Meow Mix and Purina One dry in the park for years , but when we brought them home, we switched them gradually over to Dr Fosters and Smith Dry Adult Cat Food (which has higher carbs than I'd prefer but far less than Meow Mix) and Whiskas Seafood Medley wet food in pouches. They loved this diet and have been on it for 4 years. I recently started introducing them to Hound & Gatos canned - trout and lamb+chicken - to phase out the Whiskas, as it's all fish and not good for them. Live and learn. Some days, the new food is a hit. Other days, they turn their noses up at it. Mommy tends to like it more than Boy, especially if I hand-feed it to her. Finicky cats, but aren't they all? Her water intake isn't exorbitant. Her water dish upstairs holds three measuring cups of water and it's never dry after 24 hours. I'd say she drinks about a cup at most in a 24-hour period. Her appetite is good, not ravenous. She never overeats. As she is a senior, she tends to nap a lot, but that's always been her style. She's more active at night, when she and Boy go downstairs to party while we're asleep.
Does any of this sound like diabetes? I will do my best to get another urine sample. and of course, do whatever I can to care for her. Being a writer, I'm home so I can do it. My main concern is our travel schedule - we go away twice a year for about 10-14 days - as my cat sitter couldn't give her insulin and boarding her would freak them both out. Not to mention, the expense to board a semi-feral cat who needs insulin and goes into a state of shock at any change in her routine. I think I can do the in-home blood glucose testing if need be, once I get the hang of it, as she's okay with applying Advantage - Boy is not and getting topical flea treatment on him is a test of endurance - but she can't be taken to the vet consistently without sedation, which seems to me a rather cruel situation for her. Likewise, this last vet visit cost me $628. I'll spend what I must, but really? San Francisco has become so expensive, it astounds me.
Any advice is very appreciated and I apologize for this long post.
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Some one has to pay for that sq. footage after all.
