What would make a kitty's BG go very low without insulin?

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dodgingwrenches

dodgingwrenches

Member Since 2010
Hi all,

An acquaintance of mine found a FIV positive feral kitty (approximately three years old) wandering in the middle of the road a few weeks ago. In addition to being FIV positive and having some road rash, he was found to have an infected tooth, and diabetes. So he got switched to a high protein diet and put on two units caninsulin twice a day by the vet (BGs at the vet ranged from 234 and higher) and given non-steroidal antibiotics for the tooth. After a week on insulin, she found him to be very lethargic, and she decided to try home testing yesterday since something didn't seem right and the vet wouldn't book her in earlier for a follow-up (she was scheduled to come in two weeks later, but was trying to get in sooner). Home test showed 32. Yikes. Later that night, he was around 57 (she had given him honey to bring up his BG) so she skipped the shot. He's been in the 40s or so since, and is now back in the 30s. He hasn't had insulin since Sunday morning. Any ideas what would be keeping his BG so low?

Thanks
 
Re: What would make a kitty's BG go very low without insulin

Infection may have raised glucose; antibiotic and insulin reduced glucose, treated infection, and rested pancreas.
Kitten should be considered diet-controlled diabetic and never given high carb food, steroids, or meds with sugars.
 
Re: What would make a kitty's BG go very low without insulin

I know, but this kitty is reading below normal range - BG is too low and he doesn't perk up until after eating.
 
Re: What would make a kitty's BG go very low without insulin

Lack of appetite reduces supply of glucose; something else could be wrong, too.

May need to assist feed.
 
Re: What would make a kitty's BG go very low without insulin

I think he needs a vet trip - low BG combined with lethargy worries me.

Wendy
 
Re: What would make a kitty's BG go very low without insulin

Some cats just have low BGs. Nikki came off insulin in late July and ran in the 30's for a few weeks. I've found that feeding her in the 5-10% carb range and splitting her meals into 7-8 mini-meals helps keep her in the 40's and 50's these days. However, I did have her checked out by the vet, just to rule out other issues. :smile:
 
Re: What would make a kitty's BG go very low without insulin

The vet is still off, and his replacement is the one that had him on 2 units of caninsulin twice a day, told her that home monitoring doesn't work, and refused to bring her back earlier when she was asking to come back sooner since he was so lethargic. Plus, when she told them she was picking up his records, he falsified them to cover his ass before she came and got them (adding notes of discussions that never took place in obviously different writing). So he's definitely not going back there. Regular vet isn't back until next week. She started giving him medium carb wet foods. So a few hours after some Friskies with gravy, he's reading a nice 86.
 
Re: What would make a kitty's BG go very low without insulin

Nikki's Mom said:
Some cats just have low BGs. Nikki came off insulin in late July and ran in the 30's for a few weeks. I've found that feeding her in the 5-10% carb range and splitting her meals into 7-8 mini-meals helps keep her in the 40's and 50's these days. However, I did have her checked out by the vet, just to rule out other issues. :smile:
Click to expand...

That's what I'm wondering! If he just runs naturally low. He has been to the vet almost every week for the past month due to all the issues and given that he was just found as an injured feral. So I'm hoping he's just naturally low
 
Re: What would make a kitty's BG go very low without insulin

dodgingwrenches said:
Nikki's Mom said:
Some cats just have low BGs. Nikki came off insulin in late July and ran in the 30's for a few weeks. I've found that feeding her in the 5-10% carb range and splitting her meals into 7-8 mini-meals helps keep her in the 40's and 50's these days. However, I did have her checked out by the vet, just to rule out other issues. :smile:
Click to expand...

That's what I'm wondering! If he just runs naturally low. He has been to the vet almost every week for the past month due to all the issues and given that he was just found as an injured feral. So I'm hoping he's just naturally low
Click to expand...

Due to Nikki's past health issues, my vet was concerned she had a tumor, so it's very possible that she is an unusual case. However, with a little management I've gotten her stable and it's been a few months now so...She's had issues for over 3 years now, so I'm hopeful that she doesn't have cancer, as it seems like she would have gotten sicker by now.

I think if he isn't on insulin and the vet is aware of the low numbers and has ruled out other illnesses, he's probably just a cat that runs low....
 
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