Not sure about the vet's advice?

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kemny

Member Since 2018
Hi! I'm new here and a bit overwhelmed, but so grateful for this forum since I've been reading everything for the past week and feeling much better about my cat, Oliver.

Last week I brought Oliver to a new vet because he was straining to pee and had blood in his urine. I was afraid he had a blockage. The vet (who was really good with him while I was there, a notoriously Bad Cat at vets) informed me he had a urinary issue (I need the name of this written down... it wasn't bacterial, I'm not sure what it's called) and put him on medication which has relieved those symptoms. He also said he had a blood glucose reading of 309 and was diabetic, and perscribed the purina OM food. Since they didn't have it in stock, he sent me home with some cans of DM for the weekend.

When I got home I did some research and found this forum. I saw that DM is equivalent to a lot of other foods, and put him on Holistic Select, Wellness Core, Go, and TikiCat foods from the charts you guys have generously maintained. I'm worried he's eating too little for his weight, about 200cals a day.

Today the vet called and asked why I didn't order the OM. I told him my cat wasn't eating the DM, and also raised my concerns that the OM carb content is too high if my cat is diabetic (pretty sure I read it was over 20%)

The vet responded that OM is the only thing I should feed my cat. He also said it's possible that the diabetes was a false alarm caused by stress, though there was "some" glucose in his urine, and he would have to be at least pre-diabetic. I asked about testing BG at home and buying a glucometer, and he said I should loan out their equipment for 1 day for $20.

Is this vet upselling me? I'm worried about my cat going on OM. He needs to lose weight for sure, he's 16.8 lbs.
 
Welcome! The food you are feeding is fine, no need for OM. It would be a good idea to check his glucose at home. All you need is a human meter from any pharmacy, lancets and test strips. Many of us use Relion Confirm or Micro (uses 0.3 microliters) from Walmart, but any meter using the smallest amount of blood will do. Be sure to get a box of test strips and 26 gauge lancets. Here’s some info on testing. Check it out and come back with any questions, we’ll be glad to help you figure out if Oliver is diabetic.
http://www.felinediabetes.com/FDMB/threads/hometesting-links-and-tips.287/
 
Welcome!!

Take a big breath, all of this is not as terrible or as complicated as it seems at the beginning,

As Sharon said the food you are giving is just Ok and try not to worry too much at least at the beginning about his weight with the change of food he will probably lose some and if he's still overwheight later on you can start controlling it.

To really know what's going on with his glucose reading the best you can do is test at home, and getting the human metter is not very expensive (test strips are the real expense and the human ones are cheaper) , if he is diabetic you will need one anyway so is kind of an investment, depending on the results you get you can see what comes next, and if he needs treatment for his diabetes or not
 
Welcome I'm glad you decided to become a member of the community. It's a wonderful resource for helping Oliver.
 
With a long weekend coming up I'm also worried about the blood in his urine. What meds is he on and has the blood stopped? You need to be really vigilant about keeping an eye on that.
 
Thanks to all of you so much! The vet really stresses me out, I feel way better with this group

The blood stopped pretty much immediately after he went on the meds, they said I caught it relatively early. He was on 5 days Metacam oral suspension and 10 days Prazosin Hydrochloride. Over the phone today the vet said he wanted to put him on something else next week, but I didn't catch the name. (Oliver hasn't actually been back to the vet) I'll check it out here and online before I start giving it to him.
I don't see him drinking as much water, but he's getting a lot from the wet food. He seems to feel way better, he's in a good mood with plenty of energy. (Oliver's only 5 years old, by the way) He always scarfed down his dry food immediately, he seems more satiated with less food since I switched his diet. He stopped throwing up, which happened sometimes from eating dry food so fast.

I'm going to get him the meter you suggested, it sounds like a good idea.
 
You should feel better here. You won't get judged or made to feel guilty and there's no such thing as a stupid question.
I have a few cats that I never see over the water bowls because they get it from wet food depending on the food of course. That "alert" thing on the top right when you log in? Everyone who replied here will get an alert that someone has posted something in this thread. There is an "un-watch" button if the thread goes in another direction or people feel they can't help. And every time someone posts this thread will go back to the top. Basically you and Oliver are off to a good start.
 
Meh!
The food and diet you have chosen sounds just right. If you are concerned for how much water he drinks , then you can add a little to his food.
You can manage his weight with help from the good people here.

Get yourself a meter and strips and start taking his BGs so you can see for yourself.

You're in the right place.
 
If your in the USA, just got to Walmart and buy a $9 meter, some $5 strips and a buck worth of lancets. Then you've got all the supplies for like 50 tests. And if it turns out Oliver doesn't have diabetes, your out less than the vet wanted and you can donate it.

Cats usually have higher blood glucose numbers at the vets due to stress. Testing at home can be an adventure but it's usually more accurate.
 
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