Too Good to be True? DKA to OTJ in one month?!

[Marsha & Tibby]

Tibby has not had any insulin since August 12!! I take his blood sugar before meals, and it ranges from 49 to 97. That 49 scared me, but he was acting normally. I don't know how this can be - for Tibby to go from hospitalized with DKA to OTJ in one month! I am keeping a close eye on him because I've heard here that DKA cats must be given insulin & food, but he seems fine. He climbed up a ladder the other day! He parked on top and looked at me with a proud look. I wonder if he had some inflammation / pancreatitis that shut his insulin production down temporarily. At first I thought it might have something to do with how the "insulin depot" thing works (Lantus), but after 9 days, that doesn't seem likely.

This is not the first time something weird happened with his metabolism. Several years ago, he lost a LOT of weight for no reason the vet could find, but he finally settled on possible IBD or IBS. He was given prednisolone and also cobalamin injections for a couple of months. Then he was fine for at least 3 years. However, after he returned to normal weight, he continued to gain and kind of blimped out, even though he didn't eat a lot. Sometimes he would just watch the others eat, and then have a little bit after they were done. Or he would munch on some of the weight control kibble.

 

[Erica & Carter]

Some cats can go into remission fairly quick on diet change alone. Also don't let that 49 scare you, if he's not getting insulin, that's a normal number too - not hypo. One of my civies usually tests in the 40s when I spot check him from time to time.

Usually if they can remain off insulin for 14 days and stay within normal numbers, they can officially be declared OTJ. Looks like he is almost there!

 

[Meya14]

Make sure that you are doing a weekly ketone test while trying out OTJ. Some cats have normal blood sugars but still need insulin and additional food to prevent weight loss and ketone formation. It's not common, but not that uncommon either. I think my cat has flares of pancreatitis, as he'll go from OTJ to needing 7-9 units twice a day, to only needing like 0.5-1 unit all within a few weeks. Continue to test BS weekly, as your cat is probably always at risk for falling back into high BS, and it's best to get on top of that before complications happen.