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One of our rescues, age 10, has been drinking more (and of course peeing more) always hungry, losing weight. I had a urinalysis done today, and the report from the vet is as follows:
Urine had a lot of glucose (1000) which could be due to stress, or a sign of diabetes. Recheck glucose level when antibiotics are finished. Diabetics are more prone to UTIs.
He is on Clavamox 1.25 ml. every 12 hours, and a special food: DM by Purina Veterinary Diets. DM stands for Dietary Management. It does not say anything about diabetes on the label. I can't read the ingredients - the printing is small and blurry. I wanted to try a special diet during this next phase, before he is rechecked, just in case it helps his system a bit.
He's been eating Friskies and Fancy Feast (prefers the latter). I've tried Wellness and Innova and a couple others, and he doesn't like them so I went back to his old favorites. I know they're not that good but I'd rather have him eat something than not eat at all.
Question: How bad is the 1000 level glucose? How accurate is a urine test for this? Is there another test that should be done? How long do I wait before putting him on insulin? Is insulin absolutely the only option?
What about special diets? Do you know of something better than the Purina cans that the vet provided? I'm leery of Science Diet, but I've also read here in the forum that Science Diet is good therapy for special illnesses.
What more can I do for this sweet kitty that isn't being done?
I'm sorry to hear about your kitty. If your cat prefers Fancy Feast there is an approved list of FF for diabetic cats that is gluten free and less than 10% carbs. I had a diabetic kitty and I tried every grain free food and he only liked the FF. I posted the list on here recently so just do a search on here for Fancy Feast for diabetic cats and a list of threads will appear. Check out the thread "A few food questions" dated 6/14/10. Good luck to you and your kitty.
If it's anywhere close to accurate, that number is very high. My cat w/diabetes used to run 300 or so when he was high. I gave him insulin shots twice a day, easy to learn how and he didn't feel it (I am diabetic and know you don't feel the shot w/the smallest needle). Good luck!
I'm sorry to hear about your kitty. If your cat prefers Fancy Feast there is an approved list of FF for diabetic cats that is gluten free and less than 10% carbs. I had a diabetic kitty and I tried every grain free food and he only liked the FF. I posted the list on here recently so just do a search on here for Fancy Feast for diabetic cats and a list of threads will appear. Check out the thread "A few food questions" dated 6/14/10. Good luck to you and your kitty.
THANK YOU! I found the list!
Quote:
Originally Posted by SouthernBelleInUtah
If it's anywhere close to accurate, that number is very high. My cat w/diabetes used to run 300 or so when he was high. I gave him insulin shots twice a day, easy to learn how and he didn't feel it (I am diabetic and know you don't feel the shot w/the smallest needle). Good luck!
It may come to injections. We'll see when the UTI is taken care of and he's retested. The vet did acknowlege that 1000 is very high. I'm thinking maybe I should have them send the test out next time. They did this one right there in the office and I'm wondering just how accurate it is. Does that make a difference, do you think?
Thanks for the encouragement about the injections. I'm sure I can do it if shown the proper way. Hopefully, it won't be necessary. The vet did say there is an particular oral medication that sometimes cats do well on and that occasionally (though not often) the condition reverses itself back to normal. She told me the name of it, but I didn't write it down. I figured I'd cross that bridge when we come to it.
Most vets do send out to a lab for more in-depth testing. My kitty is currently being tested for diabetes too. She already has FLUTD. I won't get results until Friday.
What more can I do for this sweet kitty that isn't being done?
Avoid all cat foods that contain grains such as corn and rice. Avoid cat foods with fruits and veggies. These all turn to glucose/sugar once they hit the bloodstream. They are not a part of a cat's natural diet. They are useless cheap fillers.
I've got a diabetic fellow myself. When he went into the vet to find out if he was diabetic he had a HIGH blood glucose of 660 and he also had a bladder infection too. My vet did all the testing in his office. My cat had a blood test which told us if all his organs were in good shape and it also gave us a blood glucose reading.
But I'd get yours checked out ASAP! My old fellow was having the same issues yours is - wet litter box, always hungry, losing weight- and he basically spend three days in kitty ICU on a IV. He's also on insulin shots twice a day now.
But over all he fells fine and does well. If you have any questions don't hesitate to ask here or DM me.
chaseystarz, thank you. We'll have him retested after this round of antbiotics is done. Doctor said diabetic cats tend to have frequent urinary tract infections. In fact, she said he may never be totally free of the infection, but I didn't question her on the reasons for that. I should think if the disease is under control, then the UTI should be gone as well. I have some learning to do, so that I know what to expect and how to do the very best for this sweet kitty. He was 18 lbs at his best, and has gone down to 14and is always hungry. (Wish I could eat like that and not gain!) LOL
We have his litter brother also, having rescued both at the same time. He's healthy, so far, all 22 lbs of him.
Location: Mableton, GA USA (NW Atlanta suburb, 4 miles OTP)
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Insulin injections aren't so bad once you get in the habit of doing it.
We currently have two kittenators who are diabetic, and we had one before that who has since passed away.
The older female just turned 16 and was diagnosed as diabetic 6-7 years ago. We give her a shot in the morning and a shot in the evening (3 units of Lantus Glargine each time in the loose skin at the back of her neck).
The "younger" male is 12, and he gets one shot a day (8 units of the same insulin) in the top part of his rear leg. We found out that was easier for him (okay, easier for us ... he keeps on trying to head butt the needle otherwise).
Neither one really notices the shots anymore, not that they ever did. It's all part of the routine, and our friends are amazed when they see us give Suki her shots. She literally doesn't notice.
The main thing we had to do was change from a grazing situation (where we let them free-feed) to a scheduled feeding time twice a day (in our case 7am and 7pm). That way we KNOW that the kitties have eaten something before shooting them.
The only two things that are hard are (2) finding the right dosage in the first place, and (2) if for some reason the insulin you're using gets discontinued (like happened with us when Lilly stopped making Humulin L), you have to go through the process again with a new insulin.
This takes some trial and error ... if the kitty still drinks a lot, it's probably too low. If they start getting confused (hypoglycemic), it's probably too high, and you need to feed them something like corn syrup fairly quickly to get them out of it. A blood meter probably makes it easier ... you can get those for free when you buy the first box of strips.
It isn't that hard, tho. I hated the idea at first, too, but 8+ years of doing it sort of takes the fear and hesitation away.
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If your cat prefers Fancy Feast there is an approved list of FF for diabetic cats that is gluten free and less than 10% carbs. I had a diabetic kitty and I tried every grain free food and he only liked the FF.
I posted the list on here recently so just do a search on here for Fancy Feast for diabetic cats and a list of threads will appear. Check out the thread "A few food questions" dated 6/14/10. Good luck to you and your kitty.
Avoid food with grains (carbs)
