Suddenly aggressive diabetic cat

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grapey

grapey

Member Since 2012
For a while, our Boston terrier has been known to be a brat and semi-bully to my diabetic cat Lily. Not always, but occasionally--the dog will charge at Lily trying to eat a piece of food on the floor, charge into the recliner and chase Lily out of it, etc. Lily usually just ran away.

Well, about a month ago, Lily started getting aggressive--slapping the dog in the face, usually with claws (a few times without). She does this when provoked--which I can understand!--but she also claws the dog when *not* provoked. Usually about once a day. The dog doesn't fight back; she comes cowering to me, lol.

Why would this be happening? Lily's health is good; her BG numbers are normal. Is she just now feeling better and therefore more feisty? She's been on Lantus for six months.

Any thoughts?
 
Are you home testing? You said BGs are good, but when one of my diabetic kitties starts acting funky it sometimes means a BG change.

I used to say that Tucker put on his crankypants when his BGs were high. It was the only time he would ever fight with other cats.
 
Sudden behavior changes are a very good reason for a vet visit.

There are so many things that can complicate diabetes; checking with the vet may help identify treatable conditions before they become untreatable.
 
I do home test, but lately I haven't been testing as regularly as I once did. I do spot checks every few days, and they've seemed to be normal. Last night she was 136 two hours after her 8 pm shot, and this morning I slept through her 8 a.m. shot (bad human) and she's 235 now (it's 6 p.m. as I type this), so that number is with no insulin for 22 hours.
 
For posterity, updating this thread to say Lily's numbers are good. PMPS yesterday was 116. Today a spot check was 180 something.

I'm more worried about hypos making her hyper, to be honest!

The sneak attacks have decreased slightly :)
 
When Bandit's BG drops low, he gets very hyper. I am very concerned that you are shooting those low preshots on a regular basis without daily home testing.

With Lantus, you really need to get three tests a day--once before each shot, and one mid-cycle check about 6 hours after one of the shots to see how the Lantus is working. The reason why you need these tests is because you have no way to determine whether or not the dose needs to lowered without them.

I know it seems like a lot of work, but please trust me--it only seems that way now, in the short term. In the long run, getting your cat's BG under good control (which means getting the tests you need to do that) will pay off in huge amounts for both you and her.

Here's a link to the spreadsheet, if you don't already have it: http://www.felinediabetes.com/FDMB/viewtopic.php?f=6&t=18207
 
Thank you for telling me that. I didn't think a low number could cause this kind of behavior--I figured a hypo always led to sluggishness and etc. You're right; I do need to be better about testing pre-shot.
 
Yep, lower numbers can certainly cause a cat to become cranky. It happens with Bert. It makes him an absolute devil to test! And just at the times when I most need to test him! cat(2)_steam
 
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