Blood Results help me to figure out

So my cat had his blood results come back yesterday. He has been on Predlisone (sp) for about 8 months for a mild asthma problem. Which, I feel like might be gone. I had rugs removed in April and I don't think I have heard a cough since that time.

For the last two months the amount of the drug has been extremely small. 1/2 the lowest dose. 2.5mgs. every other day.

But, his glucose came back high. 177 is the highest normal and he was 277. He is over weight -- 20 lbs.

I saw the results first and was of course distressed and upset. But then the vet came back and said my cat was fine and she wasn't worried about the high glucose.  She seems to think it is stress related. Personally I don't buy that. My cat is always stressed at the vet and his glucose is normal.  She also said the urine came back with no glucose so that is usually a sign that it isn't a serious issue.

Personally though, I want to take him off the Predlisone.  I am still waiting on my vet to respond to me about that.  Of course I worry that will cause coughing.   But I also feel like that is such a small dose.. maybe it is other things that is causing it.  His diet is mostly gran free wet food but he does get *some* kibble. KD dry.

Also, my cat had a trace of blood in his urine. The vet also felt that wasn't anything to worry about. She said it could have been due to contamination from the cathadar. Or, sometimes that just happens and they have no idea why.

Steroid use can cause some cats to have elevated blood glucose levels so they're like borderline diabetic. Some cats even become diabetic while on long term steroid use but slowly stopping the steroid use along with insulin and diet can often bring the diabetes into remission.

Can you use inhaled medicine to treat the asthma? Inhaled medicines do not affect the blood glucose level.

LTS3 said:

 
Steroid use can cause some cats to have elevated blood glucose levels so they're like borderline diabetic. Some cats even become diabetic while on long term steroid use but slowly stopping the steroid use along with insulin and diet can often bring the diabetes into remission.

Can you use inhaled medicine to treat the asthma? Inhaled medicines do not affect the blood glucose level.

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I doubt my cat would put up with that. But we will see. I am also pulling his high carb food. I had been giving him KD dry because I had a worry about kidney issues but I think he is fine on that.

Anyone have a clue why my vet seems so unconcerned?

I think pulling the high carb food is a super idea.  Especially if he is overweight.  IF he is leaning towards diabetes, then low carbs is the way to go, AND it should definitely help him lose weight as well.  AND there are plenty of  foods that are low in phosphorus and  also low in carbs....well, at least CANNED foods.  Does he like both kibble AND canned?  That would be helpful. 

May I ask why he was on KD before and now you think he is fine in that aspect?  Usually once the kidney's "go bad", there is no coming back from that.  (I have a kidney cat, so am pretty well read on kidney related issues) 

As to why your Vet seems unconcerned, that's a mystery to me.  Seems a little odd. 

May I ask why he was on KD before and now you think he is fine in that aspect?  Usually once the kidney's "go bad", there is no coming back from that.  (I have a kidney cat, so am pretty well read on kidney related issues)

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I believe he was misdiagnosed.  At a young age they told me he could have kidney issues but I believe it was due to him throwing up and being dehydrated.  Last year, new vet, tests came back showing he didn't have kidney disease. She told me to take him off the KD. I did and after a few months he got sick and, to hedge bets, the vet told me to give him a little and see what happened. He got better but we didn't know what was making him better. To be safe I gave him a little until his next blood labs. On those, once again, his kidney results were perfect.  I will note here my vet failed to tell me to take him off the KD after the blood sugar results but obviously I am doing that.

Last year I put him on a diet and, he lost pretty well. After 4 months he was down 3 lbs. But he got very ill stomach wise, throwing up, and I was concerned that I wasn't giving him enough food (and also maybe kidney problems)... so I added back the KD.  I was giving him 2 - 3 oz cans of earthborn. Now I am going to give him one 5 oz can in the morning and one three oz can at night. I just want to see a three lb loss by January.

Gotcha on the kidney issues

On the weight loss, don't let him lose too fast.  The rule of thumb is no more than 1 - 2 % of their body weight in any one week.  One month my pudgy guy lost an entire pound (he weighs 15 pounds) and I FREAKED out thinking he was going to get Hepatic Lipidosis from losing too quickly .  So I quickly added to the amount of food he was getting, and started weighing him more often to make sure that didn't happen again

I'm glad your guy likes canned food...makes sit SO much easier

Mommytobuck said:

 
I doubt my cat would put up with that. But we will see.

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Few cats will tolerate anything put on their faces so slowly getting them used to it and having lotsof patience (and treats) is key I used an empty cardboard toilet paper tube to get my previous cat used to a tube thing placed over his nose before trying the Aerokat inhaler device. There is info about various feline asthma treatment here: http://www.fritzthebrave.com/

Prednisone can definitely cause diabetes in cats. And the major predisposing factor is obesity....

Careful weightloss and continued monitoring makes sense.   And be careful with those steroids!!!!  Avoid if at all possible!!

My cat was on prednisolone (lowest dose possible) for almost two years to combat pancreatitis and she did develop diabetes. My vet prescribed a different drug so we could get her off the steroid, but it made her quite sick, so we dealt with the diabetes instead - a lesser of two evils kind of choice. While diet helped, she did need insulin. She developed another condition however, that could not be successfully treated, so in the end, we didn't treat the diabetes for long, so I am definitely no expert. But I can tell you this much - stress is a factor. Her numbers were high at the clinic, but much, much higher at the hospital (taken when she got an ultrasound - she hated that place). This might explain your vet's attitude. Pred. gave my cat two more comfortable years than she would have had, so I have no regrets using it. Still, if  you can get him off the pred. - that would be ideal. Stress reduction and diet are certainly other avenues. Hope it goes well. Diabetes can be manageable, but it is not an easy road.

AbbyBaby said:

This might explain your vet's attitude. Pred. gave my cat two more comfortable years than she would have had, so I have no regrets using it. Still, if  you can get him off the pred. - that would be ideal. Stress reduction and diet are certainly other avenues. Hope it goes well. Diabetes can be manageable, but it is not an easy road.

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Yes I talked to her today and she cited to the fact that the blood sugar wasn't as high as she usually sees it much higher in diabetic cats; and the fact there was no blood in the urine -- which she seems to think there would have been if the blood sugar had been high for any length of time. She also said that dehydration can show up on a CBC and that was 100% normal so she thinks it is beyond unlikely. But she is fine with me pulling my cat off the steroid and said to let her know if he started having problems again.

Mommytobuck said:

 
Yes I talked to her today and she cited to the fact that the blood sugar wasn't as high as she usually sees it much higher in diabetic cats; and the fact there was no blood in the urine -- which she seems to think there would have been if the blood sugar had been high for any length of time. She also said that dehydration can show up on a CBC and that was 100% normal so she thinks it is beyond unlikely. But she is fine with me pulling my cat off the steroid and said to let her know if he started having problems again.

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Good Hope it goes well. Like I said, I have no regrets keeping Bailey on pred. for her condition but we did lower the dose as much as we could. If we could have got her off it we would have, but once we went below a certain amount, she would start throwing up, so we had to go back up a bit. But that was a different condition. Hopefully your cat will do fine off it completely.

The vet can do a blood test that shows his average glucose level for the past few weeks (fructosamine test). Stress definitely can increase blood sugar levels in cats, but with your cat being obese and high risk for diabetes, keep an eye on him. 

Mommytobuck said:

 
Yes I talked to her today and she cited to the fact that the blood sugar wasn't as high as she usually sees it much higher in diabetic cats; and the fact there was no blood in the urine -- which she seems to think there would have been if the blood sugar had been high for any length of time.

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Unregulated diabetic cats don't have blood in the urine. I'm not sure why your vet thinks there would be blood. Blood in the urine in any cat indicates something wrong internally.

You can keep an eye on your cat's blood glucose levels at home. You can do a urine test with KetoDiastix (any pharmacy has this) and a fresh urine sample (litter can negatively affect the test so a fresh urine is needed). A more accurate way to determine blood glucose level is to test the blood using a blood glucose meter. A test a few times a week would be plenty to get a general idea of blood glucose levels.

LTS3 said:

 
Unregulated diabetic cats don't have blood in the urine. I'm not sure why your vet thinks there would be blood. Blood in the urine in any cat indicates something wrong internally.

You can keep an eye on your cat's blood glucose levels at home. You can do a urine test with KetoDiastix (any pharmacy has this) and a fresh urine sample (litter can negatively affect the test so a fresh urine is needed). A more accurate way to determine blood glucose level is to test the blood using a blood glucose meter. A test a few times a week would be plenty to get a general idea of blood glucose levels.

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Sorry that was my error. It was GLUCOSE in the urine.

Thanks for that info. I found a way to get urine clean by putting a trash bag over the litter. My cat has no idea what to make of it and goes on the trashbag and you just scoop up the pee.

Mommytobuck said:

 
Sorry that was my error. It was GLUCOSE in the urine.

Thanks for that info. I found a way to get urine clean by putting a trash bag over the litter. My cat has no idea what to make of it and goes on the trashbag and you just scoop up the pee.

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I've never heard of that trick before. With some cats you can stick a long handled soup ladel or even just a container right under the cat's tail and get urine that way. Others put clean fish tank gravel or decorative pebbles in a clean brand new litter box and, after the cat uses the box, tip the box to pool up the urine in a corner and dip a urine test strip into that.

Mommytobuck said:

 
Sorry that was my error. It was GLUCOSE in the urine.

Thanks for that info. I found a way to get urine clean by putting a trash bag over the litter. My cat has no idea what to make of it and goes on the trashbag and you just scoop up the pee.

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Nice trick. My vet gave me special litter to use when we needed to test Bailey and she hated the change to her box so much she held out for 24 hours before peeing (I missed work that day, waiting to get a sample). I will have to remember this if I ever need to do that again, though I certainly hope there will never be a need.

AbbyBaby said:

 
Nice trick. My vet gave me special litter to use when we needed to test Bailey and she hated the change to her box so much she held out for 24 hours before peeing (I missed work that day, waiting to get a sample). I will have to remember this if I ever need to do that again, though I certainly hope there will never be a need.

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I think it is something about the trash bag being over the soft litter so he is happy to feel the feeling he has with the litter normally and will go. But he does give me that look like, are you sure mom?

Mommytobuck said:

 
I think it is something about the trash bag being over the soft litter so he is happy to feel the feeling he has with the litter normally and will go. But he does give me that look like, are you sure mom?

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I know that look. It is similar to the "what are you doing you strange human?" look.