I so desperately need advice/help. My 14 year old cat Shock is diabetic. She gets 2.5 units of insulin twice per day. She has been sneaking our other cat's food for the last few weeks-so eating all of her own and then some. A few days ago she started acting uncomfortable-stretching out like she had belly issues. She was still eating and using the bathroom. No vomiting. Then yesterday she started just laying around with no interest in anything. I took her to the vet and they ran blood tests, UA, stool, and X-ray. Blood looked good except one test they did to check her sugar over time...I guess that was off a bit. The thyroid was off. In August thyroid was fine. CBC good, liver good, pancreas good. Glucose was 181. That concerned doctor because when they drew the blood it was 12 hours after her last insulin dose so it should have been higher. X-rays showed nothing wrong, except some gas and loose stool in the intestines. Lungs, heart, everything looked good. No tumors were seen, no fluid in the abdomen. Her breathing is a little fast but doc thinks it is from the gas pressing on the diaphragm. When we got home she went straight to the other cats food. I obviously took it away and gave her her own prescription food which she ate. She is now not eating so doc gave me some special food (Hills Prescription Urgent Care) and I was able to get half of a can down her via syringe (she was not happy about that,,,was growling). The doctor thinks this may be all related to the diabetes. She just lays there and sleeps. She also doesn't seem to be in any pain at all. I do not do well with these things and I feel devastated.
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Sick Cat and No Answers
- Thread starter besure77
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Can you get a referral to a veterinary internal medicine specialist? What insulin is your cat on? Do you check blood sugar at home?
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She is on ProZinc. I don’t check it at home. I take her to the doctor for checks but the ear prick measured 181 and blood draw measured 200 and that was 12 hours after her last dose. When I fed my other cat this morning she seemed interested so I offered her some of her cat food and she ate pretty quickly. She didn’t eat it all but still more than half of it. The doctor told me to continue to give her her insulin but reduce it to 1.5 so I did.
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Ok. There is a monitor that can be glued to you cat so you can check at home without having to stick her with a needle.
At the cat hospital and specialty hospital I worked at we got allot of cats into complete remission from diabetes using language, glargine insulin and having the owners test at home. We also had them feed canned pate food only and meal feed twice a day at the same time each day.
A blood glucose of 180 for a cat in a hospital setting is fine. Stress causes cats glucose to go up.
At the cat hospital and specialty hospital I worked at we got allot of cats into complete remission from diabetes using language, glargine insulin and having the owners test at home. We also had them feed canned pate food only and meal feed twice a day at the same time each day.
A blood glucose of 180 for a cat in a hospital setting is fine. Stress causes cats glucose to go up.
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Update:
Today she seemed interested when I fed our other cat so I brought her some food and she ate, and not slowly. Later, I offered her a treat, which she very happily ate. My friend who is a nurse suggested I offer her some food. So I went to where her food is to prepare her some and bring it to her but she jumped off the couch and came to where I normally feed her. She then went and used the litter box and got a drink of water. She then went back to the couch, jumped up on her own, and went back to sleep. She has also been periodically grooming herself. Her doctor called today to check on her and the rest of her bloodwork came back. Her kidney, liver, and pancreas values are all normal. The blood test that measures glucose over time was 511 (normal is 405-497). Her thyroid was .8, the doctor said she likes it between 2-4. Shock looks fine-it's like she is sedated. The doctor and I discussed getting a glucose monitor as you had mentioned.
Today she seemed interested when I fed our other cat so I brought her some food and she ate, and not slowly. Later, I offered her a treat, which she very happily ate. My friend who is a nurse suggested I offer her some food. So I went to where her food is to prepare her some and bring it to her but she jumped off the couch and came to where I normally feed her. She then went and used the litter box and got a drink of water. She then went back to the couch, jumped up on her own, and went back to sleep. She has also been periodically grooming herself. Her doctor called today to check on her and the rest of her bloodwork came back. Her kidney, liver, and pancreas values are all normal. The blood test that measures glucose over time was 511 (normal is 405-497). Her thyroid was .8, the doctor said she likes it between 2-4. Shock looks fine-it's like she is sedated. The doctor and I discussed getting a glucose monitor as you had mentioned.
My vet uses FreeStyle Libre and says it is very effective, but there are others available.
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Hi. Are they getting you some medication for the thyroid?
