Possibly Pre-Diabetic?

[Desi Mom]

Hello. I apologize up front for the super long post. My 10-year old girl injured her paw and had to have two surgeries to repair it. They ran bloodwork before each. Two months ago, her glucose came back at 299. However there was no glucose in her urine, so that doctor did a fructosamine test which came in at 264, which was right in the middle of the normal range. She said the high glucose was probably due to stress.

A few days ago, she had her 2nd surgery. They ran bloodwork again and her glucose had risen to 320. It was a different doctor, so he requested another fructosamine test which also came back higher. So he thinks she might be diabetic or at least pre-diabetic although he agreed that it is odd.

The confusing part is that she does not fit the profile of a diabetic cat.
-Never been overweight and is not losing or gaining weight but holding steady at a healthy weight
-Never cared much about food. Just grazes as she gets hungry. No food issues. I can fill her dish and it will last for days before getting low enough to put more in
-Can't judge her energy level since she has been recovering from two surgeries

The only things she has going on is that she is drinking more water (and therefore peeing more) and that her fur isn't as fluffy as it used to be.

Even one of the vet techs commented that they have never seen a diabetic cat before that never had a weight problem.

The current doctor wants to try just changing her diet for starters. Especially since she is recovering from the 2nd surgery right now. I am giving her the Fancy Feast Classic Pates for wet and am in the process of switching her Purina Pro Plan DM for dry. I will feed mostly the Fancy Feast with just a little of the dry to supplement for when I am gone all day at work or sleeping at night.

I wonder if this could all be do to the really stressful 1 1/2 years she has had. Could long-term non-ending stress cause this? She always has been a jumpy cat. She hates loud noise. I live in a small townhome that doesn't have much soundproofing between the units. February 2020 my wonderful neighbors sold their unit and moved. The man that bought the unit rented it out to three young adults who yelled and screamed, threw things up against the wall, slammed doors and smashed things, blasted loud music, had drunken parties, etc. There were times they would scare her so bad that she would bolt from the room and go hide. This went on for 14 months. Just when they were finally moving out at the end of April, she had the first surgery, and now the second, so she really hasn't had a break yet.

Has anyone else run into a cat that was diabetic that never had food issues or a weight problem in their entire lives? Thoughts on the possibility of it being caused by non-stop anxiety for a year and half?

Thank you to all who actually read this really long first post of mine.

 

[Diane Tyler's Mom GA]

Poor baby, I'm so sorry she's having such a rough time with the 2 surgeries and all the noise from your neighbors
I'm going to tag a few members for you

@Wendy&Neko

@Sienne and Gabby (GA)

Thank you ladies

 

[Chris & China (GA)]

I am giving her the Fancy Feast Classic Pates for wet and am in the process of switching her Purina Pro Plan DM for dry. I will feed mostly the Fancy Feast with just a little of the dry to supplement for when I am gone all day at work or sleeping at night.

The D/M kibble is too high in carbs too (and all kibble is really not good for any cat). It would be better for her if she was just eating the Fancy Feast Classics. Some people add extra water to it for a couple of reasons...1 is that it gets extra water into the cat which is always a good thing to help keep the urinary tract flushed out and 2. it keeps canned food from getting "crusty" if you leave it out.

Another couple of options would be to get an auto feeder like the CatMate 5 which would let you program it to open when you want to offer her a fresh meal. It comes with an ice pack too which will help keep the food fresher (although just being covered usually helps it to not dry out) or you could make "food-sicles" by mixing water with canned food and freezing it in an ice cube tray. Most cats won't eat what they can't smell (and frozen doesn't smell) but a few hours later after it melts, it's like a fresh meal (with that extra water already mixed in!)

Learn to home test. By testing her at home, you'll get more accurate results. Now that the noisy neighbors are gone, maybe she'll relax more too. If you live in the US, you can go to WalMart and get a Relion Prime meter ($9) and 50 test strips ($9), a box of lancets (25-28 gauge are best for new ears---from about $2-$12 depending on brand) and a lancet device (if you think you need one...a lot of us just freehand the lancet). Relion makes a lancet device too that's about $6 which comes with 10 free lancets, but they are 30 gauge so it's better to buy a box of their "thin" lancets (not ultra-thin or micro-thin).

A pack of cotton cosmetic remover pads are nice to have too (to apply pressure after the poke to stop the bleeding and help prevent bruising)

There are lots of video's on YouTube on "how to test a cat's blood glucose".

A non-diabetic cat should be between 40-120 on a human meter.

Has anyone else run into a cat that was diabetic that never had food issues or a weight problem in their entire lives?

There's a genetic component to diabetes but most of us don't know the genetic history of our cats so have no way of knowing if mom, dad, grandma/grandpa or any other members of "the family" were diabetic.

 

[Wendy&Neko]

Has anyone else run into a cat that was diabetic that never had food issues or a weight problem in their entire lives?

My girl did not lose weight when she became diabetic, but she had a secondary condition that caused the diabetes.

t was a different doctor, so he requested another fructosamine test which also came back higher.

Can you tell us what that higher value was? The reference range for fructosamine goes up to 365 for a non diabetic: Reference Ranges for Fructosamine Test

 

[Katsallday]

Very interesting, commenting to follow your journey!

 

[Desi Mom]

The 2nd fructosamine came back at 320something. I think 324, but can't remember for sure and am waiting for the paperwork copies to come through on their online system. It was still within the normal range, but the fact that both the glucose and the fructosamine got higher was concerning. That is why the doctor was thinking pre-diabetic.

I love the idea of an automatic feeder for wet food. I have one for hard food from my pervious cat that would gorge himself and then throw up. The automatic feeder worked awesome for him and kept him on a regular schedule whether I was there or not.

The vet wants to see her back in two months to do a recheck. Until then I am going to feed her as low as carbs as I possibly can and pick up some anti-anxiety items. She gets her stitches out on Monday, so I am planning on working more exercise into her routine then as well. For the last two months, she has basically just been eating and sleeping because I had to keep her movement limited while healing. A front paw injury is such a pain (no pun intended) to get healed up again.

Question: if she doesn't have a habit of overeating, can I let her eat as much of the Fancy Feast as she wants? Or should I limit the amount? I am not sure if there is a limit on how many carbs she should have a day (like calories when doing weight loss).

 

[Chris & China (GA)]

Question: if she doesn't have a habit of overeating, can I let her eat as much of the Fancy Feast as she wants? Or should I limit the amount? I am not sure if there is a limit on how many carbs she should have a day (like calories when doing weight loss

She can eat what she wants as long as she doesn't start to gain unwanted weight. A good general start is 20 calories per pound and then weigh once a week and adjust the calories as needed. If she starts to get more exercise, she'll also be burning more calories so I wouldn't be concerned how much she eats as long as she doesn't start gaining a bunch

 

[Diane Tyler's Mom GA]

VIDEO: How to test your cat's blood sugar
Here is a video one of our members did
She used the pet meter ,like suggested buy the Relion Prime from Walmart human meter
17.88 for 100 test strips
I hope her paw has healed and is ok

 

[Desi Mom]

Thank you so much for your input. I really appreciate it and will probably have more questions.

 

[Desi Mom]

What about Cat-Sip milk? My cat loves milk, so I buy her Cat-Sip. I only give her about a tablespoon of it either once or twice a day.

 

[Desi Mom]

I have given her two different kinds of fresh water (one from faucet and one from fridge). She has yet to take a drink . She also has hard food, some salmon treats, and canned food. She has yet to take a bite. It isn't that she is sick or not feeling well, she is feeling just fine and eats and drinks when she wants. She has been plenty active today and interested/alert in anything going on. The point I am making is that this is not the behavior, as I understand it, of a supposedly diabetic cat. My understanding is that diabetic cats scarf down all the food given to them right away and are always hungry. Also, they dive into fresh water and drink a lot of it right away. Am I wrong about that? Or is that just diabetic cats that aren't regulated?

 

[Chris & China (GA)]

My understanding is that diabetic cats scarf down all the food given to them right away and are always hungry. Also, they dive into fresh water and drink a lot of it right away. Am I wrong about that? Or is that just diabetic cats that aren't regulated?

Once you start feeding a canned food instead of a kibble, the amount of water almost always goes down significantly. As the blood glucose gets better controlled, the amount of food and water both will decrease.

Without knowing what your cat's glucose is at home, we're very limited on how much we can help you. Have you started home testing yet?

 

[Desi Mom]

I bought the items and am just about to start. I wanted to wait until she was back on her feet after her partial toe amputation. I just finally took the e-collar off yesterday (after 2 1/2 months of her having to wear it non-stop). Now I am working on getting her back on a normal sleeping, eating, and activity routine again. I also received my automatic feeder today, so I am going to get that set up to give her lunch and a midnight snack of canned food every day, so she will be entirely off the kibble. I can tell her anxiety level has dropped significantly. She is actually deep sleeping again (she's a snorer) and seems much more confident holding her tail fully upright. It is exciting to watch her get back to more normal behavior. I'm sure the first few times I home test her are going to be tough, but I am actually excited to start doing it and see what her everyday numbers are.

 

[A Fae]

Ben went to the kitty dentist who found his BG to be 463. I had to wait on dentals 'til $ came in, about 3-4 weeks. In that time he had lost weight since the mouth pain had him not eating sometimes. At those times I could coax him to eat Meat Baby food from a spoon in front of his mouth and an eyedropper with water. Finally at the dentist BUT with BG at 463 they could not put him under.

I am sure his high BG level came on because of pain, infection, and stress. He had never been over weight either. At home his BG was in the 200 range.
I immediately joined this group, started testing, got prescription for insulin, & Clavamox which cleared infection.
We switched to LC food and have been doing the TR dosing since 07 June. Just one month later we are OTJ. I think his pancreas was injured with all that was going on and now is healing.
Positive thought for your injured kitties recovery.

 

[Katsallday]

I think his pancreas was injured with all that was going on and now is healing.

I think something similar happened to my tuna! Let's hope this is another case of transient diabetes!

 

[Desi Mom]

Question. I have been trying to get a blood test for a few days now without success. I finally figured out what the issue is. I insert the test strip into the ReliOn Prime meter and the meter turns on. I set the meter down, grab the ear, put a cotton round behind the ear, wipe a little petroleum jelly on the spot I am going to poke her (because she isn't a bleeder and clots really fast), poke her, and then rub the ear to get enough blood to come out. By the time I do all of that, the meter has turned itself off. I turn it on again, hold the strip to the blood and the strip wicks up the blood and it is enough to fill the rectangle on the strip. Only the meter doesn't start going. I discovered that when I turn the meter back on, it no longer registers the strip. The only thing I can do is let go of the ear, put the cotton round down, grab the meter with one hand, pull the strip out with the other, and reinsert it. By that time, the ear and the blood sample will be long gone. How do I keep the meter from turning itself off so I have enough time to get the blood sample?

 

[Katsallday]

Question. I have been trying to get a blood test for a few days now without success. I finally figured out what the issue is. I insert the test strip into the ReliOn Prime meter and the meter turns on. I set the meter down, grab the ear, put a cotton round behind the ear, wipe a little petroleum jelly on the spot I am going to poke her (because she isn't a bleeder and clots really fast), poke her, and then rub the ear to get enough blood to come out. By the time I do all of that, the meter has turned itself off. I turn it on again, hold the strip to the blood and the strip wicks up the blood and it is enough to fill the rectangle on the strip. Only the meter doesn't start going. I discovered that when I turn the meter back on, it no longer registers the strip. The only thing I can do is let go of the ear, put the cotton round down, grab the meter with one hand, pull the strip out with the other, and reinsert it. By that time, the ear and the blood sample will be long gone. How do I keep the meter from turning itself off so I have enough time to get the blood sample?

Push the strip in most of the way without making it register in the meter. Then go through everything you do, then when you have your drop of blood push the strip in the rest of the way with one hand. That's what I did for about 2 weeks until I moved fast enough

 

[A Fae]

Push the strip in most of the way without making it register in the meter.

I also did the same. I had to fill a small pill bottle with warm water and place it in Ben's ear wrapping his ear around it for about 15-20 seconds first. That warmed it so the blood would flow easier. Ben is also not a bleeder. Makes getting a BG reading more difficult. Sometimes I still have to stick him up to 4 times. His sweet spot seems to keep moving. Luckily he has been being a champ.

 

[Desi Mom]

Thank you for the suggestion! I managed to get my first BG reading! Woohoo! It was 188. So what does that mean? It isn't within "normal" range, but she has only been on the all wet low-carb diet for a week and a half. The cone came off and normal activity and regular daily routines resumed almost 2 weeks ago. Should I just keep doing what I am doing and keep testing her every day and see if it keeps going down? She has been peeing less as well. A year ago she was peeing 3 - 4 times a day. Then it went up to 7 - 8 times a day at the peak, and now she is down to 5.

 

[Katsallday]

Thank you for the suggestion! I managed to get my first BG reading! Woohoo! It was 188. So what does that mean? It isn't within "normal" range, but she has only been on the all wet low-carb diet for a week and a half. The cone came off and normal activity and regular daily routines resumed almost 2 weeks ago. Should I just keep doing what I am doing and keep testing her every day and see if it keeps going down? She has been peeing less as well. A year ago she was peeing 3 - 4 times a day. Then it went up to 7 - 8 times a day at the peak, and now she is down to 5.

I'll tag in someone that can help you! Maybe @Bandit's Mom is available?

 

[Desi Mom]

I probably should mention that I have to pin Destiny between my side and my elbow to hold her on the counter because she always tries to squirm away, so she will always be a little stressed when I test her. There isn't much I can do about that. She will never be calm and just lay there while I test her. She has never been food motivated at all so giving treats doesn't work. The only treats she ever partly liked were Temptations, which are loaded with carbs, and even those she could take them or leave them depending on her whim at the time. I can't imagine blood testing ever being a calm time.

 

[Bree & Misty]

Hello. I apologize up front for the super long post. My 10-year old girl injured her paw and had to have two surgeries to repair it. They ran bloodwork before each. Two months ago, her glucose came back at 299. However there was no glucose in her urine, so that doctor did a fructosamine test which came in at 264, which was right in the middle of the normal range. She said the high glucose was probably due to stress.

A few days ago, she had her 2nd surgery. They ran bloodwork again and her glucose had risen to 320. It was a different doctor, so he requested another fructosamine test which also came back higher. So he thinks she might be diabetic or at least pre-diabetic although he agreed that it is odd.

The confusing part is that she does not fit the profile of a diabetic cat.
-Never been overweight and is not losing or gaining weight but holding steady at a healthy weight
-Never cared much about food. Just grazes as she gets hungry. No food issues. I can fill her dish and it will last for days before getting low enough to put more in
-Can't judge her energy level since she has been recovering from two surgeries

The only things she has going on is that she is drinking more water (and therefore peeing more) and that her fur isn't as fluffy as it used to be.

Even one of the vet techs commented that they have never seen a diabetic cat before that never had a weight problem.

The current doctor wants to try just changing her diet for starters. Especially since she is recovering from the 2nd surgery right now. I am giving her the Fancy Feast Classic Pates for wet and am in the process of switching her Purina Pro Plan DM for dry. I will feed mostly the Fancy Feast with just a little of the dry to supplement for when I am gone all day at work or sleeping at night.

I wonder if this could all be do to the really stressful 1 1/2 years she has had. Could long-term non-ending stress cause this? She always has been a jumpy cat. She hates loud noise. I live in a small townhome that doesn't have much soundproofing between the units. February 2020 my wonderful neighbors sold their unit and moved. The man that bought the unit rented it out to three young adults who yelled and screamed, threw things up against the wall, slammed doors and smashed things, blasted loud music, had drunken parties, etc. There were times they would scare her so bad that she would bolt from the room and go hide. This went on for 14 months. Just when they were finally moving out at the end of April, she had the first surgery, and now the second, so she really hasn't had a break yet.

Has anyone else run into a cat that was diabetic that never had food issues or a weight problem in their entire lives? Thoughts on the possibility of it being caused by non-stop anxiety for a year and half?

Thank you to all who actually read this really long first post of mine.

This is anecdotal, but my girl has never been overweight and always grazed on her food and a bowl would last her several days, same as your cat. She did lose a scary amount of weight and was peeing a lot just before her diagnosis, that's what prompted me to take her to the vet. And she is most definitely diabetic, her numbers are sky high right now So it is possible for cats with no prior weight issues to be diabetic.

 

[Desi Mom]

I got my 2nd successful test tonight. I changed the time I did it because it will be a long time before I can do a curve all day testing, if ever. This was 1 1/2 hours after she ate and it came up 229. I also had to work today, so I was gone all day and she would have just laid around and slept all day. Yesterday, I was actually home all day, which rarely happens, so I kept her moving around and exercising. I also did the test before she ate yesterday. (I have started my spreadsheet.) Now there is complication with her paw that she had surgery on healing. The large scab has pulled away from the edge tearing the skin open. I am devastated and very angry at life right now. Just when things were going better.

I cannot do insulin shots. I cannot stick to a strict schedule like that. I have an active life. I have never been married and do not have kids, so I volunteer for a number things. I have weeks where every single evening, I have something going on. I also have family and friends that plan things at the last minute. On a Friday afternoon, I could get a phone call saying "we decided to go to the lake for the weekend, do you want to come?" and I rush home after work, pack a bag, make sure Destiny has a clean litter box, food, and water and leave until Sunday afternoon/evening. Because of family, friends, or volunteer work, I could leave home at 6am and be gone all day, not getting back until midnight/1am. At the last minute I could get a call from one of the places I volunteer at and they need a last minute fill in because someone else can't make it. That is why I do that kind of stuff. Since I am not married and don't have kids, I can be more available than some other people. All of things would be too last minute to hire a cat sitter. I love my fur baby like crazy and spoil her rotten, but the point of having a cat is not being locked into a set schedule like you are with a dog. I cannot do a strict schedule like that.

And now her paw ripped open and I will probably have to take her back to the vet tomorrow. I will have to see if I have something I can wrap it up in for the night. This really really sucks.

 

[Katsallday]

I got my 2nd successful test tonight. I changed the time I did it because it will be a long time before I can do a curve all day testing, if ever. This was 1 1/2 hours after she ate and it came up 229. I also had to work today, so I was gone all day and she would have just laid around and slept all day. Yesterday, I was actually home all day, which rarely happens, so I kept her moving around and exercising. I also did the test before she ate yesterday. (I have started my spreadsheet.) Now there is complication with her paw that she had surgery on healing. The large scab has pulled away from the edge tearing the skin open. I am devastated and very angry at life right now. Just when things were going better.

I cannot do insulin shots. I cannot stick to a strict schedule like that. I have an active life. I have never been married and do not have kids, so I volunteer for a number things. I have weeks where every single evening, I have something going on. I also have family and friends that plan things at the last minute. On a Friday afternoon, I could get a phone call saying "we decided to go to the lake for the weekend, do you want to come?" and I rush home after work, pack a bag, make sure Destiny has a clean litter box, food, and water and leave until Sunday afternoon/evening. Because of family, friends, or volunteer work, I could leave home at 6am and be gone all day, not getting back until midnight/1am. At the last minute I could get a call from one of the places I volunteer at and they need a last minute fill in because someone else can't make it. That is why I do that kind of stuff. Since I am not married and don't have kids, I can be more available than some other people. All of things would be too last minute to hire a cat sitter. I love my fur baby like crazy and spoil her rotten, but the point of having a cat is not being locked into a set schedule like you are with a dog. I cannot do a strict schedule like that.

And now her paw ripped open and I will probably have to take her back to the vet tomorrow. I will have to see if I have something I can wrap it up in for the night. This really really sucks.

It's only going to get worse if you don't try to step in and take care of the diabetes. No one wants to give up their schedule Believe me I was planning my wedding when I got my cat's diagnosis. He went into remission under a month from the diagnosis date. His blood glucose was 457 and every day now without insulin he's at 80 after food. You only have to do the shot every 12 hours, and diabetes can kill him. If you just plan to be home every 12 hours you can do this! I was so frighteningly overwhelmed when my cat was diagnosed that I even posted about getting a diabetic cat caretaker. It is manageable, this website proves it.

If you want to continue down the no insulin road and see where that takes you, you need to stop the dry food and only use wet. I believe one of the only truly low carb dry foods is Dr. Elseys chicken formula and they are completely out of stock in the US. I have my cat on fancy feast 1% carb pate, and use freeze dried chicken by Purebites for a treat. If you can get an automatic feeder for wet food so kitty eats every 6-8 hours that may help the pancreas too. I don't think anyone on this website is going to agree with never using insulin if your cat needs it. So I don't expect anyone to come here and tell you you're making the right decision but everyone's going to try to help your cat. Everyone is on this site to help humans manage feline diabetes, we all made sacrifices for our beloved pets, including our free time. I hope you can find a way to balance it. Where are you located?

 

[Desi Mom]

I have been feeding her a 99% wet food diet for 12 days now (she just gets about 15 pieces of kibble at night in a feeder toy that she loves to play with). She is getting the FF pates. I have been trying to use the Purebites for treats, but I don't think they smell strong enough, so they aren't appetizing to her. Her reading before eating was 188 and after eating was 229. Those numbers are definitely lower since switching her to the low-carb diet and she is peeing less and her fur feels better so there is definite improvement, although she isn't back to "normal". I asked above, "what does that mean?" and never got a response. So, I will reword my question. How long does it take being on a low-carb diet to see the full effects of it? My vet said two months, but that seems long to me. Does it really take that long to see the full effects of switching her to a low-carb diet? Is 12 days long enough and her glucose will more-than-likely not go down any further?

Also, no one ever answered my question about Cat-Sip milk. It is the only thing that she really loves and begs for, so I have still been giving her a tablespoon full twice a day.

When on insulin, if I am going out with friends for the evening, is it better to give a shot an hour or two early or a few hours late? Or just skip that one shot and make sure to give it to her the next morning on schedule?

I am in Shakopee, MN.

 

[Katsallday]

I have been feeding her a 99% wet food diet for 12 days now (she just gets about 15 pieces of kibble at night in a feeder toy that she loves to play with). She is getting the FF pates. I have been trying to use the Purebites for treats, but I don't think they smell strong enough, so they aren't appetizing to her. Her reading before eating was 188 and after eating was 229. Those numbers are definitely lower since switching her to the low-carb diet and she is peeing less and her fur feels better so there is definite improvement, although she isn't back to "normal". I asked above, "what does that mean?" and never got a response. So, I will reword my question. How long does it take being on a low-carb diet to see the full effects of it? My vet said two months, but that seems long to me. Does it really take that long to see the full effects of switching her to a low-carb diet? Is 12 days long enough and her glucose will more-than-likely not go down any further?

Also, no one ever answered my question about Cat-Sip milk. It is the only thing that she really loves and begs for, so I have still been giving her a tablespoon full twice a day.

When on insulin, if I am going out with friends for the evening, is it better to give a shot an hour or two early or a few hours late? Or just skip that one shot and make sure to give it to her the next morning on schedule?

I am in Shakopee, MN.

I apologize for not answering your questions, I'm too new around here to actually give insulin advice. I can tag in some more people that will be able to help you more @FrostD @Bron and Sheba (GA) any input here?

 

[Chris & China (GA)]

Is 12 days long enough and her glucose will more-than-likely not go down any further?

Once she's been eating nothing but low carb canned, you should know how well she's responding to just the diet change within a week. Waiting any longer will reduce her chances of remission. The sooner a cat is treated after diagnosis, the better the odds. Although we know of cats that went into remission even after being on insulin for years, their best chance is in the first 6 months.

It is the only thing that she really loves and begs for, so I have still been giving her a tablespoon full twice a day.

I don't think we really know. The best way to find out how YOUR cat responds to anything is to try it and test again in about an hour and see if the BG goes up

When on insulin, if I am going out with friends for the evening, is it better to give a shot an hour or two early or a few hours late? Or just skip that one shot and make sure to give it to her the next morning on schedule?

To a certain extent, it depends on the type of insulin. Some have a little more "wiggle room" than others. If you do give a dose early, it can act like a dose increase so I wouldn't want to stay out too long. As you do more testing, you'll learn more about how she responds to both food and insulin and may be able to make adjustments in your schedules too. If you know you're planning on going out on Friday, you can make adjustments in your shot times over a few days before and/or after to try to keep it to as close as you can to every 12 hours.

If you give a late shot, it can sometimes act like a dose decrease, but you also have to remember that you'll need to move the next shot (or more). Like if you gave the insulin 2 hours late, the next shot still needs to be at least 11hr. 30 minutes afterwards. You can adjust your dosing by 15 minutes per cycle or 30 minutes per day until you get back on your chosen schedule.

 

[FrostD]

Hi!

As for the low carb diet, 2 weeks should be plenty. Consistency is more what's key - so if you give her the kibble, keep giving kibble. If you're going to take it away, take it away for good before starting insulin.

I don't know about the milk.

As for going out, it really depends on the insulin you end up going with. As long as you know a few days in advance, it's pretty easy to schedule around social life most of the time.

 

[Desi Mom]

Thank you. I am going to call the vet today and get a prescription for the insulin. I am thinking Lantus, .5 unit twice a day to start since her numbers are only around 200 to begin with. Right now, I am lucky if I can do a blood test once a day (I couldn't get one yesterday). To remind you all, I live alone. There is no one to help me hold her or help me with any of this. I am doing it all alone. So if I give her a shot at 6:30am and 6:30pm, what is the one time that I should make sure I test her (keep in mind that I work outside the home from 7:30am - 5:00pm). Hopefully, she will get more used to the blood testing and I will eventually be able to do more, but right now that is just not the case.

 

[Peanut's Dad]

Thank you. I am going to call the vet today and get a prescription for the insulin. I am thinking Lantus, .5 unit twice a day to start since her numbers are only around 200 to begin with. Right now, I am lucky if I can do a blood test once a day (I couldn't get one yesterday). To remind you all, I live alone. There is no one to help me hold her or help me with any of this. I am doing it all alone. So if I give her a shot at 6:30am and 6:30pm, what is the one time that I should make sure I test her (keep in mind that I work outside the home from 7:30am - 5:00pm). Hopefully, she will get more used to the blood testing and I will eventually be able to do more, but right now that is just not the case.

Desi Mom. Wow, c'mon now. Your cat is SICK. Take care of her. Please. If doing the whole testing and injection thing is holding you up, then I live here in Edina. I too am a Newbie. I am in the very initial stages of diagnosing, treating, and changing his diet. But he has gotten to the point where his back legs are weak and he is losing weight so he is my nightlife until I can figure everything out and make sure I do all I can because my love for him and my guilt would be the end of me if I didn't.

 

[Peanut's Dad]

Hello. I apologize up front for the super long post. My 10-year old girl injured her paw and had to have two surgeries to repair it. They ran bloodwork before each. Two months ago, her glucose came back at 299. However there was no glucose in her urine, so that doctor did a fructosamine test which came in at 264, which was right in the middle of the normal range. She said the high glucose was probably due to stress.

A few days ago, she had her 2nd surgery. They ran bloodwork again and her glucose had risen to 320. It was a different doctor, so he requested another fructosamine test which also came back higher. So he thinks she might be diabetic or at least pre-diabetic although he agreed that it is odd.

The confusing part is that she does not fit the profile of a diabetic cat.
-Never been overweight and is not losing or gaining weight but holding steady at a healthy weight
-Never cared much about food. Just grazes as she gets hungry. No food issues. I can fill her dish and it will last for days before getting low enough to put more in
-Can't judge her energy level since she has been recovering from two surgeries

The only things she has going on is that she is drinking more water (and therefore peeing more) and that her fur isn't as fluffy as it used to be.

Even one of the vet techs commented that they have never seen a diabetic cat before that never had a weight problem.

The current doctor wants to try just changing her diet for starters. Especially since she is recovering from the 2nd surgery right now. I am giving her the Fancy Feast Classic Pates for wet and am in the process of switching her Purina Pro Plan DM for dry. I will feed mostly the Fancy Feast with just a little of the dry to supplement for when I am gone all day at work or sleeping at night.

I wonder if this could all be do to the really stressful 1 1/2 years she has had. Could long-term non-ending stress cause this? She always has been a jumpy cat. She hates loud noise. I live in a small townhome that doesn't have much soundproofing between the units. February 2020 my wonderful neighbors sold their unit and moved. The man that bought the unit rented it out to three young adults who yelled and screamed, threw things up against the wall, slammed doors and smashed things, blasted loud music, had drunken parties, etc. There were times they would scare her so bad that she would bolt from the room and go hide. This went on for 14 months. Just when they were finally moving out at the end of April, she had the first surgery, and now the second, so she really hasn't had a break yet.

Has anyone else run into a cat that was diabetic that never had food issues or a weight problem in their entire lives? Thoughts on the possibility of it being caused by non-stop anxiety for a year and half?

Thank you to all who actually read this really long first post of mine.

I'm going to say the un PC thing and say those "young adults" need a swift kick in the ass. If any of my kitties (3) Peanut, Bella, Zoey tore out of the room more than once, I'd be over there in a heartbeat, especially because Zoe Zoe is over 21 y.o.!

One thing I would add is that you had no control tests for her glucose aside from the surgical times, correct? That would cause me to wonder. Also, I don't know if felines are the same physiologically, however, in order to get a proper glucose reading, we (humans) do it after fasting. Just wondering...

 

[Katsallday]

Thank you. I am going to call the vet today and get a prescription for the insulin. I am thinking Lantus, .5 unit twice a day to start since her numbers are only around 200 to begin with. Right now, I am lucky if I can do a blood test once a day (I couldn't get one yesterday). To remind you all, I live alone. There is no one to help me hold her or help me with any of this. I am doing it all alone. So if I give her a shot at 6:30am and 6:30pm, what is the one time that I should make sure I test her (keep in mind that I work outside the home from 7:30am - 5:00pm). Hopefully, she will get more used to the blood testing and I will eventually be able to do more, but right now that is just not the case.

It is a necessity to test before insulin shot. It's called an am pre shot (amps) and a pm pre shot (pmps) and it must be done in order to ensure you won't send your cat into hypoglycemia. Never do a shot without getting your preshot blood glucose