After reading through the links provided and some other info I looked up on my own, I am CONVINCED he has cushing's disease. He checks off every one of the symptoms listed. I am going to contact the vet in the morning to figure out our next steps. Unfortunately since him and his sister (RIP Shady) both got sick this year, money has gotten very tight with all the vet trips and medications. I'm not sure what I'll be able to swing financially.
A couple more questions, if I may? 1)You say you suspect cancer took him down. Are you talking about the tumor that caused the Cushing's in the first place, or something else? 2) Did your cat get the sores like mine keeps getting? If so, how did you deal with those?
Thank you so much for all the info you provided so far. I may be in touch with more Q's once I speak with the vet to see what our options are, if that's ok.
It certainly would not hurt to get the UCCR test done. It is non invasive and not overly expensive. That way you can know for sure whether Cushing's is a possibility. Usually the tumour on the pituitary with PDH is benign and not cancerous. The problem arises with the location on the gland and the effects that has on the endocrine system. The normal body feedback for regular cortisol production becomes "flawed" and cortisol is being produced and released on a constant basis. Cortisol is necessary for the body to function but over-production of cortisol stresses the body. However over time the tumour can increase in size and cause neurological problem because of the pressure.
A basic over all of PDH Cushing's, which is the most common type:
Another approach is to have an ultrasound done. A board certified U/S vet will be able to visualize both the adrenal glands, the liver, the pancreas, the kidneys etc. With Cushing's there is organomegaly ( enlargement of the organs). If the adrenals are both symmetrical with no irregularities, such as tumours, showing that helps rule out ADH. I originally had the U/S done and was given a tentative diagnosis of PDH by the U/S vet. My own vet did not believe that it could be Cushing's since she was taught that it is very rare in kitties. I pushed for further testing and the tests came back as borderline/positive indicating early stage PDH Cushing's. My U/S cost around $250 Cdn when I had it done. You can also do an MRI which is VERY expensive and can only be done at certain locations. I would have had to travel 8 hours to get to an accredited facility, so between the travel ( Tuxie HATED leaving the house with a passion and would become extremely stressed) and the expense I never pursued that approach.
I did not get a firm diagnosis of cancer with my boy. I had planned to do some more testing the week after I let him go, but it became VERY obvious that he was just too worn out and too sick and his quality of life was rapidly declining. We had the "talk" and he let me know that he was ready to go. If he had wanted to keep fighting I would have continued but he had reached the point where he was barely existing and had no quality of life.
Tuxie developed small sores, but had not reached the point where the skin was tearing and splitting seriously. He really loved his combing and brushing, but because his skin was thin and more fragile I had to be very careful about that. I bought a very soft brush and would carefully brush him with that.
The one thing I will comment on is that Bumpsy is responding much better to the insulin than Tuxie did. He ran in very high numbers, especially at the beginning and eventually reached 6 units BID over time. Then it became a problem of highs and lows. Since the tumour in PDH can cause waxing and waning with the cortisol production the glucose numbers can be very difficult to control. Although Bumpsy is not regulated he is showing a positive response to the insulin and is still in the early days of insulin treatment. This is the spreadsheet from Tuxie's early days...I did my S/S in sections, since I did not start it right in the beginning. Unfortunately I was not testing properly at the beginning so some data is missing.
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1zjLCy1Y3LgvEsa3TU22TfmUUru9Ekr55QBrfBUpRO1Q/edit#gid=5
Cushing's kitties are almost always diabetic because of the excess cortisol. If the tumour on the pituitary were removed the Cushing's and the diabetes would most likely have "cleared up" However there is also a chance that the tumour can reappear. With people surgery for PDH is the go to. However with kitties the surgery is very risky and expensive and there are few places that are trained to do it. With ADH Cushing's removal of the adrenal gland can "cure" the problem since the tumour is on one or both of the adrenal glands.
Bumpsy may very well not have Cushing's but ruling it out would certainly give you peace of mind. Hopefully some of the information I have given will be useful to you and if you need any more please do ask.
I'm glad letting it warm works good for him!
