our cat Domino - newly diagnosed and worried

[tommy_domino]

Quick background. My name's Dan. Domino (nickname Tommy) is our nearly 10 and half year old nearly 18 pound boy cat (we have 3 cats total). He started urinating more than usual and I noted more drinking as well. A visit in late Feb to the vet confirmed our suspicion. He really wasn't acting sick and he hadn't really lost any weight. Our vet confirmed the diagnosis with the fructosamine test. He also had some WBCs and bacteria in his urine so the vet also gave him an IM antibiotic. We were started on Prozinc with the rec of 1 U every 12 hours. Initially we were told to return in about 4-5 days for a spot glucose check but I worried about the stressed out numbers they'd likely get. That led me here and the purchase of a home tester. Initially it was a struggle to learn to test and get the number of tests in as we'd like. We're getting better at testing and Domino's been patient with us so that's good. Our cats were already eating FF Classic Pate and we have removed completely the dry food they had available in between meal times. Prior to diagnosis we fed the cats at 7am, around 3-4p, and again around 10p. Another of our cats gets a twitchy stomach if we miss these times by too much. Since his diagnosis we've continued this schedule. Domino gets 1 can in the AM, 3/4 can midday, and 1/2-3/4 can at night.

Things were going subjectively well as he was urinating less and drinking less. He was food crazy though which isn't like him. We've since decided to work on increasing his wet food volume with the removal of his dry food. The same goes for all the cats really. This is when things started going poorly. 2 days prior about 2 hours after his PM insulin he had what appeared to be a seizure. He went flat to the ground and his pupils were enlarged and he stared straight for about 10 seconds before "coming to". He was woozy for a bit after this - but within 20 minutes he did come back to the kitchen and finished his food. I checked a glucose and it was 268. Then yesterday he seemed to eat a little less and had another zoned out episode lasting 15-20 seconds. And since then he has been moving and acting much slower than usual. Prior to these past 2 days he was a fairly active cat who wrestled with our much younger 1 year old cat and played with his string.

We took him to the vet today. Prior we tested his glucose and it was 262. The vet got 310. After checking Domino out the vet spoke to me. He believes Domino was having hypoglycemic episodes and he mentioned the Somogyi effect. I had printed out Domino's glucose numbers and said that didn't really match what we were seeing. He advised we drop his dosage to 1/2 a unit twice a day.

Since being home this evening we still don't think Domino is acting himself. He purrs and reacts to being loved on - but he has no pep in his step and I'm worried he won't eat well this evening. I'm posting this now - as I have limited knowledge and unfortunately also limited data points for him - but am hoping for some feedback. Thanks.

 

[Wendy&Neko]

I hope @Suzanne & Darcy will be along shortly, as she knows Prozinc much better than I do.

Dropping from the 311 to 268 to hours later (night of first episode), doesn't seem likely he was going hypo. The episode yesterday, did you test him afterwards, and if so, what was the value? When was it? It's worth document odd episodes in the Remarks column of the spreadsheet, and when they happened, to see if you can spot any correlation between them and his numbers.

If you are feeding 2 1/4-2 1/2 cans per day for a 18 lb cat, that's too little food for a cat that size. Could explain him being food crazy, especially if in the evening. It's probably a good idea to feed equal amount of food in the AM and PM cycles. Many kitties naturally go lower at night, and food is what keeps them safe.

 

[tommy_domino]

If you are feeding 2 1/4-2 1/2 cans per day for a 18 lb cat, that's too little food for a cat that size.

I agree completely. Our goal was to be giving him more and we started that and then weird/worrisome stuff started happening (which I think is coincidental). Of note - he was more or less the same weight during his diagnosis visit on the 24th of Feb and today.

He sampled at his food this evening and then walked away. He has drank some water and now he's sleeping. He reacts to affection as usual. I didn't give him insulin this evening as he didn't eat. I just feel whatever is going on with him over the past 2 days is not directly DM related.

 

[tommy_domino]

A sad update. Domino saw a different vet yesterday who agreed his symptoms were likely outside of his recent DM diagnosis. Kidney tests were ok but a test called a proBNP indicated significant heart disease. A number >250 is worrisome and his was >1500. The vet had noted a new heart murmur not previously known for him on exam. That prompted the proBNP test along with history of the past 2 days. He had an echo done (results pending) and we brought him home. He decompensated through the rest of the day/evening. He was in significant respiratory distress by the early morning and we made the choice to have him euthanized.

In 3 weeks he went from starting on insulin that seemed to show promise for his symptoms and his recent glucose results were not terrible. And within 3 days he showed signs of significant illness and now is gone. We are gutted. I just want to say thanks for this board - and although I just recently came to read it - it offered some solace and hope early on on when we were flying blind. Thanks again.