my cat has high blood sugar, need advice

[fuzzycat]

Hi,

There has already been some excellent advice given so I don't know that my 2 cents will help but here is what I have learned from having a cat become diabetic and having my first vet miss it. First off 300 is a high blood sugar level. The problem is that when cats stress, like when they are at the vets, their blood sugar levels can go up. So, vets will often see blood sugar levels that high in non diabetic cats.  Did they suggest doing a blood curve? Initially, I had a hard time getting my cat's blood sugar under control so it was something I had to do several times. At my vet it cost about $140.00. Basically, you leave your cat at the vets for the whole day and they test his blood sugar every hour. It gives you a better idea of what is going on.

Getting a second opinion is an excellent idea as well. As, I mentioned my cat was diabetic and my first vet completely missed it because she assumed it was due to stress.

Watch for increased thirst and frequent urination. Big signs of diabetes. But,  you also usually see weight loss. It could be your kitty is in the very early stages of diabetes.

The nutrition websites already recommended are a huge help. Tremendous. Go to them and read and research. At this point you need to feed only canned food. No matter what is going on, you will have a harder time figuring it out if your cat is on dry.

I was told to keep carbohydrates under 11gs with my diabetic cat. The problem you will run into is when manufacturers reduce the carbohydrates they usually increase the fat. The reverse is true, low fat foods generally have a higher protein count, and higher carbohydrate levels. In other words if you kitty is simply overweight you will need to reduce the fat, which usually means a higher carbohydrate count. If your kitty is diabetic you will want to watch carbs, which means a higher fat count. I guess what all this really means is an accurate diagnosis is important.

A raw food diet is probably the safest way to go for both problems if you can manage it . I was skeptical but with my cat I had nothing to lose. Even my vet is now a believer. It can make a huge difference. But it is more expensive and you have to manage the diet more closely.  One thing to pay attention to is if your cat does have diabetes, when you change her diet you will alter her blood sugar levels. You need to stay on top of it. You can get serious drops in blood sugar which can be fatal.

Good luck!

 

[hawaii bound]

Honestly I didn't think 11.5lbs was too much either, one of my other cats has had weight issues for a long time, he's a maine coon about 23lbs, but he's really lazy.

as far as getting her spayed, I don't mind waiting, she has yet to go into heat, she never goes outside, and my male cats are all neutered, so kittens aren't too much of a concern at the moment.

in answer to some of the other questions, yes Zoey drinks a lot of water, she loves to drink it out of the bathtub faucet, but she always has. Now whether she pees a lot I don't really know, when i'm home I don't see her in the catbox anymore often than my other cats.   

here's what she looked like when I got her

and her now

zoe.jpg

• hawaii bound
• Mar 16, 2014

IMG_20140313_182319_596.jpg

• hawaii bound
• Mar 16, 2014

 

[fuzzycat]

My hats go off to you for being so good with the photos- i am no good at uploading them.
She looks sweet.

I am the last one to say anything about a fat cat. I have one who is on the feral side of life. I looked at him the other day and realized he is huge. He is heavily muscled so he carries better than most. But he is fat. It just sort of crept up on me.

My vet has a chart that shows cat obesity based on shape. That chart helped me understand just how underweight my diabetic cat had become. You really couldn't see it unless you looked down at him from above.

One thing to think about is based on her age what should her shape be. Young animals, and humans, tend to be leaner.

It wouldn't hurt to try to get some weight off. Pro- plan has a weight management food that does help. It is not super expensive ( below science diet). It is high protein, low fat and highish in carbs.

If money is tight are there any discount vets who would help you with blood work?

 

[hawaii bound]

I have tried the pro plan weight management before I got zoey, but one of my cats has sensitive digestion, so the pro plan gave her horrible poop which happend to be all over the floor, so finding a food that works for all of them is a bit difficult. So far zoey likes the canned food, although I will be switching her to the fancy feast due to the cost.

As for a discount vet, I haven't found one yet. I had a friend staying with me who had a cat that someone had cut the sides of her ears off, and called the spca here for help with the cat and all they did was give me the name of a vet with a cheaper vet fee

 

[fuzzycat]

Completely understand. I have one that has Inflammatory Bowel Disease and any food with grains or seafood sets him off.

Fancy feast isn't horrible for a canned food. The Gravy lovers has a higher carbohydrate count as do their ones with cheese. Fancy Feast Classic is ok.

Do you have an Humane Society near you? Most offer spay and neuter clinics or they issue coupons for local vets. In other words you pay the humane society $35.00 and they give you a coupon good for several vets in town.

If their website isn't helpful, call and speak to someone. Know that they are run largely by volunteers and some volunteers are very knowledgeable and others are, well, new. If the info you get sounds off, just call back at a different time and speak to someone else to verify.

That might help with the spay part, but you still need help with the blood work part. Right?

There wouldn't happen to be a vet school near you? A reach but worth an ask. Some times you can get discounted treatments.

 

[hawaii bound]

Actually I did use a voucher from the spca, they only work with the one vet. Depending on how much the bloodwork is, will either need to make payments or figure something else out.

For now though I am just concentrating on her diet. I figure I'll give her a month and see where her weight is. If she hasn't lost any or gained some then I'll get her checked further, unless she has any problems between now and then.

 

[katma]

Switch your cat to an all-canned diet. She will feel fuller, thus eat less, and get much more protein.

Dry diets are loaded with carbs; these bind the meat with the starch so they can extrude the formula and chop it into kibble bites.

 

[katma]

Are you free-feeding her?

Don't feel bad, you're doing something lots of people do.

At any rate, if you are giving dry food [and I recommend canned food with a high protein content and little starch - Nine Lives Tuna is a good inexpensive one - but does contain some heat], measure it out to each of your cats daily and keep them separate if needed [say, if one cat helps himself to everyone else's food]. They will soon adapt to a once- or twice-a-day feeding. And your home won't attract insect pests after the cat's dry food.

I recommend measuring food and feeding once a day b/c it limits/eliminates a cat's tendency to overeat. Some cats are "grazers," and some are "I MUST EAT EVERYTHING RIGHT AWAY". And both types of cats, if they live in the same house, must be fed in such a way as to limit the "MUST-EAT" cats'  excessive consumption.

BTW this is my dear cat Percy, who passed away from diabetes last year. For about 10 years I fed him a "veterinary" dry diet. Big mistake. I switched him to canned high-protein food, but, sadly, too late. He was the smartest, wisest cat I've ever known. I miss him.

Percy, pasha..jpg

• katma
• Mar 18, 2014