Probable acro kitty questions

[Howiesmom]

Howie went in today for a retest of IGF-1. His first one was done in Sept and came back normal at 83 (IAA came back positive at 63). But his incredible dosage of (now) 42u BID of Levemir that keeps going up along with using R isn’t cracking the antibodies. Many thanks to so many of you for answering so many of my earlier IAA questions!
After reading a bunch about acromegaly, I will be shocked if this retest doesn’t come back positive based on some physical signs. But I am questioning (probably as I don’t want to believe he really has it!) whether what I am seeing are acro signs. I appreciate anyone’s thoughts/experiences. I asked the vet to do a full physical exam today of these signs/signals and he thinks everything is normal. Howie would be his first diagnosed acro kitty though.

1. He has been putting on weight (13.1#s today and was 12.1#s on Dec. 14). His lowest was 8.5#s in Sept before the IAA diagnosis and switching to Levemir. However, I’ve been feeding him 150-200% of his calories to get weight on him and know I need to back him off. I honestly can’t tell if he is pot bellied or if he just looks healthy? How does one know what the cats ideal weight is? He has always been a good eater unless he’s had intestinal issues occasionally.

2. he has recently started snoring occasionally when sleeping and sneezing more. But could the weight gain just cause the snoring on top of sleeping in a ball? Anyone else have snoring kittie? I asked the vet to look at his tongue to see if it’s enlarged, but he can’t tell.

3. He’s always had big front paws and bow legs. I got him in March and checked out fine. His FD diagnosis wasn’t until June. Attached are a few photos. They haven’t gotten any bigger so couldn’t this just be his body structure?

4. He had all his teeth removed in the first couple weeks of getting him so I honestly don’t know what his mouth/jaw structure was like prior to his teeth removal.

Thanks!

 

[Larry and Kitties]

It is hard to tell by appearance especially at this early stage. To help determine ideal weight this helps by describing current condition.

above from: https://icatcare.org/advice/obesity-in-cats/

To me Howe does not look that big compared to my aero Snuffles and MurFee and likely my Grey Ghost Grey Ghost was my first diabetic and looking back he was likely an aero cat. He weighed 22 pounds and vet was afraid to raise insulin dose. 3 units of R did nothing.
I wouod wait for results of this IGF-1 test.

 

[Wendy&Neko]

First of all, I've seen research saying the the majority of cats with acromegaly have no clinical signs on diagnosis. Neko's only symptoms were crazy hunger, and one teary eye. I didn't know it was a symptom at the time, but later realized it was due to soft tissue growth in her eye duct. She never had jaw structure changes, though did have soft tissue growth in the gums and a bony growth on her jaw bone, but those were 3-4 years after diagnosis. She also only had the faintest of air sounds breathing, my non diabetic snored more than she ever did. All to say, it's ECID on symptoms. We've had small and large acros, Neko had some Maine Coon in her so was always larger. As Larry said, wait for the IGF-1 results and hopefully those will be clear.

 

[Howiesmom]

It is hard to tell by appearance especially at this early stage. To help determine ideal weight this helps by describing current condition.
View attachment 59327
above from: https://icatcare.org/advice/obesity-in-cats/

To me Howe does not look that big compared to my aero Snuffles and MurFee and likely my Grey Ghost Grey Ghost was my first diabetic and looking back he was likely an aero cat. He weighed 22 pounds and vet was afraid to raise insulin dose. 3 units of R did nothing.
I wouod wait for results of this IGF-1 test.

I knew that chart existed but couldn’t find it anywhere! Thanks for sending it! Looking at Howie’s top profile, he looks like the 5-7 category. I’m trying to cut back a quarter of his food so he would get 1.5 cans every 24 hrs (300 calories). At his current weight, he should get 260 calories. He’s already acting like I’m starving him. I wish I knew if the extra calories is the weight gain or acro. I suppose I should cut back no matter what? It has helped keep ketones at bay so I hope they don’t start creeping back in.

 

[Howiesmom]

First of all, I've seen research saying the the majority of cats with acromegaly have no clinical signs on diagnosis. Neko's only symptoms were crazy hunger, and one teary eye. I didn't know it was a symptom at the time, but later realized it was due to soft tissue growth in her eye duct. She never had jaw structure changes, though did have soft tissue growth in the gums and a bony growth on her jaw bone, but those were 3-4 years after diagnosis. She also only had the faintest of air sounds breathing, my non diabetic snored more than she ever did. All to say, it's ECID on symptoms. We've had small and large acros, Neko had some Maine Coon in her so was always larger. As Larry said, wait for the IGF-1 results and hopefully those will be clear.

Thanks, Wendy! I’m just trying to mentally prepare myself and what more this will present for us...especially with me returning back to the office on Feb 1. As I replied to Larry, I would say he’s 5-7 on the body scale. Should I cut down his calories no matter what? Any chance extra calories from LC food have negative effects on BG and diabetes overall? I certainly don’t need an obese cat. If the weight gain is from acro, is there evidence that cutting down calories will slow it? I don’t need his ketones returning! Thanks for your expertise!

 

[Wendy&Neko]

Do you know what Howie's ideal weight is? I tried to weigh every week or so, and added more/less food to get Neko to the weight she should be. A baby/pet scale was really helpful.

You are right that it does not help to have an overweight cat, that can be a problem. With some acros and my girl specifically, arthritis is an issue so keeping extra weight off helped with mobility too. Cutting down food will not slow the acromegaly. It's excess growth hormone from the pituitary, and resulting excess IGF-1, that causes the body growth and insulin resistance. Some of the growth is bony growth, I've heard some people say their cats get really long.

 

[Howiesmom]

Do you know what Howie's ideal weight is? I tried to weigh every week or so, and added more/less food to get Neko to the weight she should be. A baby/pet scale was really helpful.

You are right that it does not help to have an overweight cat, that can be a problem. With some acros and my girl specifically, arthritis is an issue so keeping extra weight off helped with mobility too. Cutting down food will not slow the acromegaly. It's excess growth hormone from the pituitary, and resulting excess IGF-1, that causes the body growth and insulin resistance. Some of the growth is bony growth, I've heard some people say their cats get really long.

I have no idea what his ideal weight is. How is that determined? When I got him in March, he was 10.7#, then got down to 8.5# in Sept, then started creeping up in Oct-Nov and it keeps going up now. I have been decreasing his food slowly since early Dec but he still put on a pound since then. If there is magic in determining his weight, I’m all ears!

 

[Wendy&Neko]

I just asked my vet what she thought would be ideal.