Transient Diabetes

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PSkinner

Member Since 2012
Hi, my name is Peggy and I have 4 cats. My oldest, Max who is almost 16, has transient diabetes. The first time he got it, it lasted just over a year and then abruptly disappeared and he no longer required insulin injections. He had a honeymoon for about a year when he developed pancreatitis and the diabetes swiftly returned. He was hospitalized for 9 days and on IV for 3 of them. He lost half his body weight and we almost lost him but our fantastic Vet saved his life once again. When he was able to come home, I had to feed him Gerber's baby food with a syringe and then by spoon for about 2 weeks until he was able to eat on his own again. Once he was stronger, he had to go back on insulin and he slowly regained his weight. He has been healthy mentally and physically for the past 4 years. I give him 1 unit of insulin after breakfast and 2 units after dinner. Suddenly, two weeks ago, after his morning insulin, he began to twitch violently, his breathing and heart rate were erratic. We rushed him to the Vet and he was in pretty bad shape when we got there. His blood sugar was 2.3. He was taken off the insulin and stayed overnight to be monitored. Our Vet got his blood sugar up to 7.3 which she considered a tad high. He has not had any insulin since that last shot. His appetite, thirst and urine output have all been normal and I am monitoring him like a mama bear. People may tease me about my constant concern and watchfulness over him but hey, if I had not been so vigilant I may have missed the twitching and erratic breathing before it was too late. So here is my question---I am supposed to be watching his appetite and thirst to see if it is above normal. If the diabetes has returned and he is not getting insulin, why would his appetite be high? Since his body may not be producing insulin again to lower his blood sugar after eating, wouldn't his blood sugar be high from over eating so why would he be asking for more food? I am a bit confused on this. His eating has been within normal range until this morning when he came back 3 times for food within 2 hours. Very unlike him. Btw, Max only gets canned wet food. If his blood sugar is high due to the increased appetite and not being lowered due to him not getting insulin or producing it, why would his appetite stay high?
 

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Hi Peggy! Welcome to FDMB! Are you home testing? that is the most important thing to do to keep your cat safe. You can get a regular human blood glucose meter and test w/ that. Where are you? What is available will depend on what country you are in. Always test before every shot to know that it is safe to give insulin. What insulin are you using? Different insulins are dosed upon different readings, some on the preshot number, some on the nadir, lowest point in the cycle. Humans will vary their own dose on a day to day basis based on the readings they get. You can do the same for Max.

Yes diabetic cats can have insatiable hunger because insulin is the link that allows glucose to enter the cells for energy. Thus the cat IS starving because the food he is eating can't fuel his body.
 
I am in Canada. Ontario to be exact. Max is not tested at home but controlling his diet and the time he spent at the Vet's to regulate his insulin appear to be working well, of course, until 2 weeks ago when the diabetes appears to have left him again. He was on 1 unit of caninsulin in the morning and 2 units in the evening. His appetite, thirst, urine output, energy were perfect for years until 2 weeks ago.Thank you for explaining the insatiable hunger. I am not worried just yet as this has only happened this morning but I will be monitoring closely and take him in to have his blood sugar tested.
 
PSkinner said:
His eating has been within normal range until this morning when he came back 3 times for food within 2 hours. Very unlike him.
Click to expand...

Was this after his shot this a.m. and before the twitching?
 
The twitching was 2 weeks ago. He has been off insulin since then. For the past two weeks everything has been normal without the insulin until this morning when his appetite seemed ravenous.
 
If you were able to pick up a human glucose meter and strips, we could teach you how to home test. THis would be a good way to monitor if he needed insulin again, or not. And, if he did need insulin then you could prevent the kind of situation that happened a few weeks ago when his blood sugar went too low.

There are other possibilities for excessive hunger in cats. If you rule out the diabetes returning, then you may want to bring him back to the vet for a full set of labs and see if there is anything else going on.
 
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