Kitty Diabetes

[aligator79]

Hi All!  We thing Oliver has developed diabetes.  He is always hungry, drinks tons and pees tons.  When I took him in a couple weeks ago they did his senior bloodwork and the glucose came in a little high.  They thought it might be the trip and abcess yuckiness but wanted to recheck him.  I was curious as to what it would measure on a home meter- my father is diabetic- so I tried it.  I watched some videos on youtube and cat diabetes websites to see what to do.  With an ear poke- he didn't seem to mind it- the level was 123.  Does anyone know what the normal range should be?  I think that is high but am not sure.

[aligator79]

Hi All!  I forgot to reply after I got his results in.  They say his bloodwork is good.  He's not diabetic, his thyroid is good and all the other stuff for his organs are good.  

The next thing I will check on is for worms.  I just have to catch him in the litterbox.  He is very good at burying and moves faster than I can.  

[evewisewoman]

Hi aligator79,

I just finished reading your comments. I agree with Opus88's comments
and suggestions. Excessive drinking and excessive peeing are signs
of diabetes. Our cat , Sammie, who is also a senior cat ( 8 years old )
was diabetic , a year ago. His diabetes was discovered through a
blood test as well more than a year ago. We adopted Sammie from a
cat rescue society. My point is we didn't raise him from a kitten. We
didn't know anything about his medical history besides the information
we received from his former veteranarian. When my husband and I were
first told Sammie had diabetes, we were rather shocked. Our vet, though,
is very good. She assured us that she has many clients whose cats have diabetes. We were asked to take Sammie to the vet and leave him there
overnight. What they were doing is determining how many units of
insulin Sammie required while being carefully observed at the vets.
We were shown how to administer insulin through a needle and told how
many units he needed a day. Then a month later, they gave him a
fructosamine test and the test suggested that the amount we were giving
him was too much. My husband and I kept a record in a notebook of
each unit of insulin, how much food was given to him, time it was given.
Several fructosamine tests later, the vet said his fructosamine levels were
good and that he didn't have to have insulin anymore. So now, Sammie
is no longer diabetic. Doesn't need insulin needles, but the vet said to contine giving him diabetic cat food, but he is only allowed a certain
amount every day. We feed him a certain times during the day and we
keep track of the time of every feeding and the amount we feed him.
Our Sammie was 16 lbs when he was last weighed. Our vet is very pleased
with his progress and especially the fact that he is no longer diabetic.
Best of luck with your kitty. I hope my post is helpful to you. Eve :)

[opus88]

good for you for recognizing some troublesome signs....the gluc reading depends alot on in what calibration you are using...I assume its mg/dL (US) in this case appears 123 is within normal range.....I will send you some charts and a site with tons of info.
Given the symptoms Oliver is showing I would ask you to PLEASE take him to a Vet for further lab tests..excessive drinking/urination can also be a symptom of HyperThyroid...

http://www.catinfo.org/?link=felinediabetes#In-Home_Blood_Glucose_Monitoring

http://petdiabetes.wikia.com/wiki/Blood_sugar_guidelines