Thoughts on subcutaneous hydration

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TanyaG

TanyaG

Member Since 2016
Hi all, have just been reading a great book it's called The Natural Cat by Anitra Frazier which is endorsed by veterinarian Dr Richard Pitcairn. She refers to feline diabetes numerous times in the book and one of the things she recommends for diabetic cats is subcutaneous hydration. Was wondering what others think of this and if anyone has used this with success? Did it help reduce the amount of insulin needed?

Here is a clip from the book-

"Diabetes: Given on a regular schedule, subcutaneous hydration helps the body wash excess sugar out of the blood and reduces the amount of insulin needed. Prevents dehydration."
 
A lot of diabetic cats require subq fluids but that is due to other issues going on with them. I noticed that when i gave fluids to my sugar cats because of kidney disease I often had to skip the next shot because their BG levels were too low. But I am not sure that I would recommend subq fluids as a treatment for diabetes.
 
I noticed no change in bg levels when giving subq fluids for kidney disease to Rover. While it is necessary with kidney disease to help the kidneys flush out toxins with subq fluids, functioning kidneys do not need the help. I would be very concerned about depleting the body of potassium, calcium, et al.
 
Lisa and Witn (GA) said:
A lot of diabetic cats require subq fluids but that is due to other issues going on with them. I noticed that when i gave fluids to my sugar cats because of kidney disease I often had to skip the next shot because their BG levels were too low. But I am not sure that I would recommend subq fluids as a treatment for diabetes.
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Very interesting to hear that you experienced that. I agree though I think its probably not necessary as a treatment measure, I think it has the risk of complications. Thanks for sharing though!
 
Thanks everyone for sharing, I'm in agreement as I don't know enough about it currently and as it doesn't seem a common treatment measure for diabetes unless it calls for it ie dehyration I think its best to avoid trying it in case there are complications. How does one know if a cat is dyhyrated though? My cat use to drink a lot water from her bowl, the bath, cups etc when she was on a homecooked diet, but then when she became really ill she stopped drinking much. She was then diagnosed with diabetes, this was in December. My vet said she is an unusual diabetic case in that as she barely drinks much liquid at all now as diabetic cats apparently ususeally drink a lot. I noticed on canned she literally drank no water only if I added it to food. Now on raw I have seen her drink only twice briefly in the past 4-5 days. How do I know if she's getting enough water/fluids? Thanks!
 
The two things my vet looked at to determine dehydration were lab results and stool. Hard, small stools can be an indication of dehydration.
My kitties have kidney disease, though, so they are getting sub-q fluids for reasons other than diabetes.
 
I would not give fluids unless your cat is dehydrated. It's also important to make sure that aren't any heart issues. How about adding water to the wet food? Oral hydration works just as well and even better unless not able to keep a cat hydrated.
 
tiffmaxee said:
I would not give fluids unless your cat is dehydrated. It's also important to make sure that aren't any heart issues. How about adding water to the wet food? Oral hydration works just as well and even better unless not able to keep a cat hydrated.
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Thank you. I have just switched from canned to raw, adding a little warm water to each feed. Not sure if its enough or not. How do you know when a cat is dehydrated?
 
Shenandoah said:
The two things my vet looked at to determine dehydration were lab results and stool. Hard, small stools can be an indication of dehydration.
My kitties have kidney disease, though, so they are getting sub-q fluids for reasons other than diabetes.
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Thank you for this info. My cat has round brown balls of stool. She doesn't strain to pass them though. So I'm assuming that is normal. On my lab results when she was first diagnosed her electrolytes were pretty out but vet didn't make a mention outside of the diabetes diagnosis. Hopefully she's getting enough fluids, I'll keep trying to add some to her food and leave lots of bowls of fresh water around and keep an eye on stools. Will skip the sub-q fluids if they not needed. Thanks everyone!
 
If you're concerned, bring it up with your vet at your next appointment. Your vet can look for signs of dehydration. But if it wasn't mentioned, then she is probably fine. Just make sure she always has water available.
 
Dre has early kidney issues so he gets fluids 1x daily and when his sugar is high I do give him fluids 2x a day to help flush out the sugar and he just feels better.
 
It is not uncommon for a cat on a full wet food diet to not drink much water directly ( if their diabetes is pretty well regulated).

The "tent test" is just pulling up their scruff between your index finger and thumb, and then letting it go. If it snaps back, probably not dehydrated. But if it v e r y s l o w l y sloughs back in to place, they might be dehydrated.
 
Sandi & Whisper said:
Yeah I agree completely. You kind of have to know what is a "normal" skin response for your kitty too, and the tent test is still only a rough indicator.
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Thanks Sandi and @jayla-n-Drevon :) I use to use the skin response test for our horses. Yeah a little harder to know as I've not done this to her prior. She's on raw food diet now but still not drinking much at all so I'm just trying to add a little water to her food without putting her off it. But I will def try a skin response anyways so I can have another indicator. @tiffmaxee thank you for that info what does slick or tacky gums mean is that like sticky? Thanks everyone!
 
I want to second that you shouldn't start subq fluids without consultation with your vet. I found out the hard way that Neko had a heart condition when we started fluids for her kidneys. Neko used to drink plenty on her own when I fed raw, but my civie doesn't. I add about a tablespoon of warm water to each of his raw meals.
 
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