Not Diagnosed yet...

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BobasMum

BobasMum

Member Since 2015
But showing the classic symptoms. Hi, I'm Heather, and my 12 year old cat is a sweet orange tabby named Boba. I'm here to find out information about treatments, and if anyone knows of any resources to assist low-income people with getting their pets to the vet.

Thank you all for reading!
 
Welcome to FDMB!
3 things help with diabetes
1) low carb, over the counter, canned food, like Friskies pates. Making that change may even get the glucose to normal levels.
2) home testing to know what is going on in real time, without the vet expense and with more safety
3) possibly insulin
Frequent, copious urination can be renal disease or hyperthyroidism, too.
 
Welcome, Heather and Boba!

What you might want to do first is buy yourself a human glucometer and start testing Boba. Depending on where you live, these are relatively inexpensive. For cats that are not diabetic, their numbers should read from around 40 to 120. We can also give you tips on home-testing. This might be a cheaper option than an initial vet visit for diagnosis. If Boba's numbers are higher than normal, then you can bring him (her?) into the vet and tell them you have already tested him and his numbers seem high. If they're in normal range, then you're looking at something else possibly occuring. Hyperthyroidism is another condition that has a lot of the same symptoms as diabetes.

What are you currently feeding Boba? Nutrition plays an important role in managing many feline illnesses and a simple diet change might work wonders.
 
Thank you for replying, BJM!!!
He refuses to eat Friskies, LOL! I have him on Fancy Feast pate right now, he loves that. He's lost a lot of weight from not eating the Friskies, so I'm trying to get him SOMETHING he will actually eat. He was on 97% high protein wet food (Natural Balance, Nature's Variety Instinct, Merrick's) until shortly after I lost my job last year. 97% because he still gets crunchies on top. He had a partial UT blockage 4 years ago, and has been on wet food since.
I have added water to his wet food since then, because he wouldn't drink water on his own. The past 2 months or so, he's started drinking water anywhere he can find it. He has a bowl next to his food, and a plastic cup in the living room so he doesn't drink out of mine. More water - more urinating. But it was the suddenly drinking water often that made me think diabetes.
If he has food he likes, he eats like a pig. If he doesn't like it, he'll just drink the juice. He's eating great since I switched to the Fancy Feast. Like a pig, LOL!

I'll look around more for ways to test him. Insulin, I have to go to the vet for, and I have no income right now. Which is why I was wondering about the veterinary assistance. I have a GoFundMe for him, but not getting much. And I want to be sure if it's diabetes, and not other things like you have mentioned.

Lovely orange tabby! Love the orange kittehs!!!
 
The crunchies gotta go. Most kibble is very high carbohydrate, with the exception of Evo Cat and Kitten (about 8% calories from carbohydrates), Young Again 0 Carb (5% calories from carbs; internet only), and some of the Stella and Chewey freeze dried (which isn't crunchy).
Cats would never go out to a corn field, a bean field a rice paddy ...
For safe weight loss, go to Cat Info and read over the section on obesity. You aim for 1-2% a week reduction.
 
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He's not overweight, he's underweight right now. Vet likes him at about 12-13 lbs, he's at about 11, 11.5 right now. He was up to about 14 when I had to switch his food to less expensive last May.
 
In that case, Evo Cat and Kitten Canned and Fancy Feast Kitten Turkey and Giblet Canned are 2 options. A few more calories to help add weight. Also, it helps to either let graze or to feed multiple mini-meals to help him eat without vomiting.
 
I agree with the others if you test his blood glucose at home you might be able to get some idea as to whether thee is a problem with blood glucose. But either way the increased drinking needs to be investigated. Kidney disease may be another possible source of the problem.
 
Itf you test him at home with an inexpensive glucometer (ex WalMart ReliOn Confirm) and his numbers are between 40-120 mg/dL, it may not be diabetes. If, however, the number is over 240 mg/dL, you likely have a diabetic cat.
Excessive thirst and weight loss are consistent with chronic renal disease, although that usually manifests slowly, not abruptly. If it were that, you would look at the phosphorus content of the food you were feeding to keep it as low as possible.
 
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