not sure if its diabetes or feline kidney disease

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Bootsie's Mom

Member Since 2013
Hello, I am a brand new subscriber. :-D I am trying to figure out if my cat's increased symptoms are from failing kidneys or diabetes or both!

My almost 15 year old female cat was always an incredibly picky eater. She's always been thin and rarely gains weight.
She also has had lifelong allergies.

She has been gradually drinking and urinating more for years but this fall both have greatly increased as has her normally very small appetite which has more than doubled and maybe tripled! :?
Part of this *may* be due to a change in her food flavor, not brand, and the change in weather - she never eats much in the summer and I used to have
to take to 'smearing' the food on her to get her to eat it!

I have used Wellness wet food for year as well as Iams Healthy Naturals for her dry food as its the only kind she will tolerate due to allergic itching.
The Vet noted that her kidneys are now very small and even though her blood tests show the kidneys are still
functioning we think its her kidneys that are getting worse. She's been on tumil-k for about 3 years and the dose has been increased recently
and she seems fine with it.
Until we increased the dose she had been vomiting about once every two days or so for about a month and howling a lot in the middle of the night but most of the vomiting has subsided and the howling is somewhat less.
She also has more energy now than I've seen in a long time and has perked up quite a bit.
FYI we did have her thyroid tested and she doesn't have hyperthyroid.
She is hard to test for glucose due to "extreme anxiety" which ups her glucose when going to the vet.

She has not lost any weight and in fact has gained (a little) since I am feeding her more but she seems to gain a slight amount of weight after the summer is over every year. I would think with the amount of food she's eating that she'd gain a lot more weight but its probably been maybe six ounces. She is a very small cat and weighs about 5 and a half pounds or so but looks good. I'm still stymied though in the changes in her behavior with the very increased appetite, using the litter box but not gaining much weight.

Sorry this is so long; hope someone has some imput! Thanks! :mrgreen:
 
So what does the vet conclude?
What blood and urine tests have been run? Those can tell if kidney and/or diabetes.
Typically with diabetes, the cat eats a lost by loses weight and coat looks poor.
With kidney, you typically lose weight and eat less.
 
Larry and Kitties said:
So what does the vet conclude?
What blood and urine tests have been run? Those can tell if kidney and/or diabetes.
Typically with diabetes, the cat eats a lost by loses weight and coat looks poor.
With kidney, you typically lose weight and eat less.
Click to expand...


The vet thinks its the kidneys even though the blood tests for kidney were "normal".
She told me that with kidneys it does not show in the blood tests until the kidneys are 80% gone.
What stymies me though is her huge appetite increase and less than a pound of weight gain.
Her coat, btw, looks beautiful now and she's much more playful while in the summer she looked sickly.
That's what is confusing b/c I know that doesn't fit either disease :-|
 
Wendy&Tiggy said:
Did the vet run blood tests to see? He should be able to tell from that..
Click to expand...

Yes, thyroid, kidneys and red and white cell count.

Didn't say anything about glucose... in the past we had a terrible time with doing blood glucose; it showed up high one time but the vet didnt trust it
b/c of her extreme anxieties about going to the vet - which is known for raising blood glucose...She pees, pukes and' loses it all' before I even back
out the driveway and then drools, hyperventilates and shakes uncontrollably as the vet tries to get her out of her cat carrier.... not much fun for either of us :o
 
Have you had your cat's blood pressure checked? If not, that might be a good idea.

My cat has diabetes (in remission), hyperthyroidism and CKD, and in my opinion the hyperthyroidism preceded it all, but was diagnosed last. When my cat had hypertension, the TT4 showed in normal range, even though I'm certain he was hyperthyroid at that time. After treatment for hypertension, his TT4 was elevated. Concurrent illness can keep the TT4 in normal range, even though the cat is hyperthyroid. Also, my cat had significant protein in the urine at diagnosis of diabetes. Nothing I did improved that, until he was treated for hyperthyroidism. However, if your cat's thyroid test was in the low normal range, it's probably not that.

Have you tried testing your cat's blood glucose at home?
 
You can tell kidney problem by measuring the urine specific gravity. The SG decreases before you see a noticeable increase in blood values (BUN and Creatinine).
 
JC & Balki said:
Have you had your cat's blood pressure checked? If not, that might be a good idea.

My cat has diabetes (in remission), hyperthyroidism and CKD, and in my opinion the hyperthyroidism preceded it all, but was diagnosed last. When my cat had hypertension, the TT4 showed in normal range, even though I'm certain he was hyperthyroid at that time. After treatment for hypertension, his TT4 was elevated. Concurrent illness can keep the TT4 in normal range, even though the cat is hyperthyroid. Also, my cat had significant protein in the urine at diagnosis of diabetes. Nothing I did improved that, until he was treated for hyperthyroidism. However, if your cat's thyroid test was in the low normal range, it's probably not that.

Have you tried testing your cat's blood glucose at home?
Click to expand...

Her thyroid bloodwork was low normal.
My boyfriend had a cat with hyperthyroid and you could tell something was very wrong, he had lost so much weight... he managed to keep him alive for quite a long time with pills, etc.

Do you mean "hypertension" or "hyperthyroid"?? If both I didn't know they could be related...

How can I check her blood glucose at home?
 
I meant both. Hyperthyroidism and kidney disease can both cause hypertension. Howling at night could be a possible sign of hypertension or hyperthyroidism. Also, my cat is overweight and did not have the classic hyperthyroid symptoms. Well, he did have some until we treated his hypertension. Then he had 'apathetic hyperthyroidism'.

Just buy a human blood glucose monitor. There are great videos on You Tube showing you how to test your cat's ear.
 
JC & Balki said:
I meant both. Hyperthyroidism and kidney disease can both cause hypertension. Howling at night could be a possible sign of hypertension or hyperthyroidism. Also, my cat is overweight and did not have the classic hyperthyroid symptoms. Well, he did have some until we treated his hypertension. Then he had 'apathetic hyperthyroidism'.

Just buy a human blood glucose monitor. There are great videos on You Tube showing you how to test your cat's ear.
Click to expand...

Hmm funny you should mention that... a friend was suggesting we use hers to test the cat's glucose just the other night!!
I thought she was kidding!
Thanks for the advice @-)
 
Home testing uses:
1) An inexpensive glucometer (ex Arkray Glucocard 01 from ADW, link at top of page, or ReliOn Confirm from WalMart, link at top of page - they're the same thing, made by Arkray and work well)
2) Test strips for the meter - always have a spare box of test strips on hand
3) Lancets to prick the ear of paw pad - 26-27 gauge work best at first, until the ear 'learns' to bleed and your technique refines.
 
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