What Could it Be?

[CathyCat]

This is a long one so I apologize in advance.

On Christmas Day that just went by, my (diabetic) cat began to behave very strangely. She started staggering and walking very oddly so my daughter picked her up and then put her back down to see if she was OK. She still wasn't right so she went to sit down on the couch with her and suddenly the cat urinated all over her lap. My daughter put the cat on the floor, who just lay there yowling in a very loud voice. I put her up on the couch and started to stroke and reassure her, and then my daughter came back downstairs after changing and I looked up the number for the emergency vet. I called them and was talking to the assistant about what had happened. She said that I should come in as early as possible because there was already a bunch of people there. By the time I got off the phone, the cat was sitting up on the couch, seemingly normal. She jumped down and went to eat and had a drink and was completely back to normal. She had another episode the next day so I called the closest vet and that's when he took a blood sample that would tell us that she had diabetes. The vet xrayed her, took blood and listened to her heart and lungs and said it was all normal. She had one more episode a few days later, and then they stopped. We figured that it must have had something to do with high blood sugar because she wasn't having them anymore.

Fast forward to last night and she had another one. I thought that maybe she was low so I took her bg and it was 7.2, she yowled for a bit but I held her on the floor and patted her and she eventually came out of it. It took her a while to recover from it though, she was breathing quickly for a couple of minutes afterward, and as soon as I was off the phone with the vets office she was walking off towards her bowl to have a drink of water. So, off to the vet again. He listened to her heart and lungs and took her temperature, they were all normal. He took her to the back and took her bg and it was 16.2! This was only 1/2 hour later, I was surprised at the difference between his glucometer and mine. He basically told me off for changing the insulin dose and said that I could take her home and feed her but I should bring her back today for an all day glucose curve (which I couldn't do). He doesn't think that these episodes have anything to do with her blood sugar. This isn't my regular vet's office so I'm not super confident with any of the advice that I've gotten there. Has anyone here experienced anything like this with their cat?

 

[Lillie]

It sounds like it may possibly be seizures. A speciality hospital would probably be a good place to go if it happens again. They can do a muscle test within a certain amount of time that can show if there is has been any changes in enzymes etc. It's hard to diagnose after a certain amount of time has gone by and the cat is back to normal but if you can video the episode while it is happening it can be helpful. My cat had several of these episodes after I treated him with a topical flea med. If by chance it was a seizure it's not advisable to hold them down but just to make sure they are out of harms way and don't fall off something and to get anything sharp away from them. It's very common for urination and defecation to occur during an attack and also drooling.

 

[Veronica & Babu-chiri]

Did the vet did and urine analisis, was she tested for urinary tract infection (UTI)?

Peeing out of place and sometimes howling or crying when peeing are signs of UTI

 

[Juliet]

Well the staggering and walking oddly is probably diabetic neuropathy and very common. Silver had it so bad he couldn’t even stand up to eat his food. Propped it up for him as he lay down.

B12 (the methylcobalamin kind) works wonders. Called Zobaline in the US but here in Canada I just bought b12 tabs from Pharmacy.

Silver also used to urinate inappropriately until his numbers started to come down.

 

[Juliet]

It sounds like it may possibly be seizures. A speciality hospital would probably be a good place to go if it happens again. They can do a muscle test within a certain amount of time that can show if there is has been any changes in enzymes etc. It's hard to diagnose after a certain amount of time has gone by and the cat is back to normal but if you can video the episode while it is happening it can be helpful. My cat had several of these episodes after I treated him with a topical flea med. If by chance it was a seizure it's not advisable to hold them down but just to make sure they are out of harms way and don't fall off something and to get anything sharp away from them. It's very common for urination and defecation to occur during an attack and also drooling.

More likely diabetic neuropathy

 

[JL and Chip]

my (diabetic) cat began to behave very strangely. She started staggering and walking very oddly so my daughter picked her up and then put her back down to see if she was OK. She still wasn't right so she went to sit down on the couch with her and suddenly the cat urinated all over her lap.

When I hear those symptoms in a diabetic cat, my first thought is hypoglycemia, BUT if I read your timeline correctly, she hadn't been diagnosed yet and so wasn't yet on exogenous insulin, making hypo unlikely.

My second thought would be a seizure, as has already been mentioned. A member @lynda and scruffy (GA) has much experience with seizures in her cat Milkshake, although I haven't seen her around in awhile. Maybe you can search some of her posts.

Diabetic neuropathy is common in diabetic cats but it doesn't "come and go" in a matter of minutes. If I understand correctly, you're saying that the cat suddenly went wobbly, vocalized, lost bladder control, then went back to normal mobility and activity quite quickly, as if nothing had happened. Again, sounds episodic to me, like a seizure. And it's worth investigating, as seizures can become more frequent over time if untreated. Sometimes they have triggers -- crinkly paper, food, etc. Can you think of anything that was common to all of the events?

Now that the cat is on insulin, there are other things that can cause similar symptoms so don't assume that it's always going to be the same cause.

 

[Lillie]

These episodes can come and go within seconds sometimes and if mild can be missed entirely. When my cat had a similar episode I thought he was having a stroke or sudden loss of oxygen as his first episode was identical as to what you described. Unfortunately his later episodes became worse with grand mal seizures. I had an echocardiogram and chest x-rays done to make sure it wasn't cardiac related. Come to find out it was from the topical flea med I had administered 24 hours before the episode. It would be a good idea to have it checked by a specialist if possible. It's scary to see these things happen to your cat.

 

[CathyCat]

Sorry for being away for so long. She only lost bladder control the first time she had one, before she was diagnosed with diabetes and it does seem seizure like, except there's not much moving. If I don't hold her she tries to walk and crashes all over the place. On her initial diagnosis the vet did a urinalysis and she was clear for a UTI, she was also xrayed. We had been noticing that she was having hind end weakness before she was diagnosed but it went away fairly quickly after she was put on insulin.

The only common thread that I can find is that she was drinking a lot of water and hyper(glycemia) hungry, desperately hungry. The vet did suggest that I increase her insulin up to 2 units which I have done and her thirst has decreased.

I wish I could afford to go to a specialist vet's office but I've already spent a fortune (that I don't have) and the costs have just gone up with all the wet food that I feed her.

 

[Lillie]

I know how expensive all this can be. I had to put off getting a new couch, computer, and TV due to my cat's expenses. They do have something called care credit I think that all specialists are aware of. Just a thought if needed. I hope your kitty improves but I would definitely watch for any worsening of episodes. That sounds like a good sign that her thirst has decreased.