Newly diagnosed—misdiagnosis?

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HeidiH

Member Since 2019
Hi!
I’ve been scouring the internet for answers but all I keep getting is more results for diabetes.

My cat was diagnosed two weeks ago with diabetes. They did a Fructosamine test to confirm and a urinalises. I cant remember the results of the urinalises but the vet seemed sure she had diabetes. We did a glucose curve, and the highest she got all day was 300. I know that’s high, but it could’ve been stress. I gave her her first shot that night. Next day her numbers were 124 am (1/2 dose given because she didn’t eat that much), 84 pm (no insulin given per the vets advice because her numbers were low), 136 am (no insulin), 122 pm (no insulin). She’s been on a low carb can only diet since I found out. These numbers seem consistent and normal. Is it possible she was misdiagnosed? Could it have just been her dry food or are there other illnesses that can raise Fructosamine levels? If you so much as type Fructosamine into google all you get are diabetes results. She also doesn’t have the typical diabetes symptoms like weight change, extreme thirst or frequent urination. Love thoughts on this!
 
You're right, the numbers you've got at home don't indicate full-on diabetes, but a fructo test isn't usually wrong - it is a measurement of blood glucose over a period of two or three weeks, so if the result is high, a diabetes dx would normally be accurate.

However, yes, if a kitty has been on a dry food diet and is then switched to wet, that might very well bring bg down. Other factors other than diabetes can cause high bg - you mention stress, which is definitely true, but also things like pain, illness or infection - so if a kitty has had any kind of untreated issue at the time of the fructo test, bg may well have been raised and that would affect the result.

You may need to monitor a little more to be sure the numbers you've been getting are not shootable numbers - if that's the case, you may be one of the lucky ones whose kitty is "diet-controlled". The diabetes dx may not be a misdiagnosis as such - but it may be a borderline situation in which the dx has been based on kitty eating a dry food diet and/or other issues as suggested above.
 
Thanks for the reply! I plan to continue monitoring—her poor little ears :-/ I’m not the greatest so far at getting enough blood for the glucose tests :-/ . let’s hope it’s diet controlled like you said. Before, she was free feeding on dry kibble with some wet food once a day and now she’s only eating wet food, 2x a day. Fingers crossed.

As far as illness, infection or pain as a reason for higher blood glucose, I haven’t noticed anything along those lines (though cats hide it so well). I’ll watch her extra close to see if I missed anything. Thanks again for the reply—It’s reassuring to hear that what I’m seeing may actually be true and not just my wishful thinking.

Diana&Tom said:
You're right, the numbers you've got at home don't indicate full-on diabetes, but a fructo test isn't usually wrong - it is a measurement of blood glucose over a period of two or three weeks, so if the result is high, a diabetes dx would normally be accurate.

However, yes, if a kitty has been on a dry food diet and is then switched to wet, that might very well bring bg down. Other factors other than diabetes can cause high bg - you mention stress, which is definitely true, but also things like pain, illness or infection - so if a kitty has had any kind of untreated issue at the time of the fructo test, bg may well have been raised and that would affect the result.

You may need to monitor a little more to be sure the numbers you've been getting are not shootable numbers - if that's the case, you may be one of the lucky ones whose kitty is "diet-controlled". The diabetes dx may not be a misdiagnosis as such - but it may be a borderline situation in which the dx has been based on kitty eating a dry food diet and/or other issues as suggested above.
Click to expand...
 
Hi,

Diana has already given you some great advice.
While misdiagnosis does sometimes happen, it may be that diet was the key factor in your kitty's case.
HeidiH said:
Before, she was free feeding on dry kibble with some wet food once a day and now she’s only eating wet food, 2x a day. Fingers crossed.
Click to expand...
Removing dry food can make a huge difference to some kitties.
...Just a thought, but dry food can have a very long lasting effect in terms of raising blood glucose. I read an article recently somewhere saying that it can still be raising cats' blood glucose 24 hours later. So, if a cat eats dry food all the time, it seems entirely possible to me that the effects of this may show up in a fructosamine test, especially if the pancreas is struggling to cope with the carbohydrate load (but this is just my personal theory!)...
It 'may' be that your kitty is really diabetic, or that she is at strong risk of diabetes (borderline)...
Whatever the situation, it could well be that your kitty is one of the very lucky ones who only needs a change in diet to keep blood glucose under control.

If she can hold normal numbers for 14 days we'd consider she was in remission...

Do be aware though that 'once diabetic, always diabetic'. So, to be safe, do stick to a low carb wet diet.
Cats can come out of remission too, so we would advise continuing to test blood glucose ongoingly, maybe once a week at first, and then once a month. The sooner you catch rising blood glucose numbers, the better your chance of nipping things in the bud...

Re feeding, it is OK to feed more than twice a day. Many of us free-feed our cats, or give multiple small meals instead of two large ones. This can help to even out blood glucose levels, and can also stimulate a recovering pancreas to work without giving it too much to do at any one time.

Keeping fingers and paws crossed for your kitty! :cat:

Eliz
 
Your story is similar to ours. Pinot was losing weight and his litter box was a mess. We took him in for a vet visit in early June and he was diagnosed with diabetes on 6 June. His blood glucose was 607. We started giving him insulin. We only gave him 4 shots: 1 on Friday, 2 on Saturday and 1 Sunday morning. At the same time we discovered this website, changed him to a total wet food diet and purchased the ReliOn Prime Test meter and started testing. All his test were in the normal range. Based on the advice from folks here we did two weeks of testing about twice a day with no insulin. All the readings were pretty normal as you can see from his SS. After the two weeks we started once a week testing. This morning was our second weekly test. Last week 114, this morning 115 with the AT2 and about an hour after eating. He isn’t cooperating with the test right now so I have to feed him and wait for him to go to sleep on my lap. Hopefully you will find your cat can be diet controlled at least for some time. Just continue to follow the advice of the great folks here. I feel very fortunate to have found this site. I think it’s one of life’s little miracles. I like to say take it one test/shot at a time.
 
If you catch it early and change diet and give a couple hits of insulin to get the blood sugar down, this isn't an unusual story. My Tux had a similar story but I brought him down off the insulin slower. He's still diet-controlled 18 months later as confirmed by both my testing and fructosamine, so...
 
if humans can be diet controlled but still diagnosed as diabetic (or prediabetic if the A1C falls in that category) -- WHY NOT CATS ?????? -- and either can later need either oral meds or insulin
 
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