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  1. Amanda & Shmee

    Amanda & Shmee Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    Feb 18, 2018
    Hello everyone, thank you so much for taking the time to help others with this diagnosis, we appreciate it immensely. I have a 10 year old black cat named Shmee. I have had him since he was a baby, and I am very attached to him. I am heartbroken, overwhelmed, and frustrated.

    Now I will tell my story and try not to write a novel!! Last Monday, 02/12, I took my cat into the vet after I noticed he was eating very little, and acting a little off. They did a blood test and gave him an appetite stimulant (Mirdazapine). I found out he has diabetes on Tuesday. When the vet called me with the results, he told me to wait until Friday to see if he was eating. On Friday the 16th I called my vet back to let him know the pill worked and he has been eating. He told me to keep having him take the pill, and to follow up on Monday. Both Tuesday and Friday I asked my vet about the diabetes, but he said I needed to take it one step at a time and just ensure he was eating, because he also said there could be a chance of liver disease. I was very frustrated that I didn't get more solutions on Friday, but I waited until Monday (this past Monday) like he asked. In the meantime over this past weekend, I learned about the Feline Diabetes Facebook group, and then this website. After learning the very basics about his blood sugar and that I could test him myself, I went out and bought the meter and the keytones test strips on Sunday, as well as new food (followed the low carb chart from catinfo.org and searching the facebook group and decided to switch him to Fancy Feast Classic chicken.

    A little background; he ate dry food for his first 8-9 years. I wish so bad I could turn back time and teach myself the importance of wet food, or I wish a vet would have told me. Anyway, about 1.5 years ago I learned the importance of the wet food so I tried to switch him over but he was very stubborn. I did not persist, and I wish I would have. I still didn't fully understand the importance. So, for the past year, he has been eating both about 1/2 cup of his dry food (Royal Canin Urinary SO, because he had a blockage when he was like 7 years old) and about 1-2 spoonful's of Science Diets c/d.

    Anyway, I tested his BG myself and got 349 for his BG and no keytones. When I called for the follow up on Monday and I told him he has been eating the new Fancy Feast food (and a tiny bit of dry food too so it wasn't cold turkey), he said that sounds good and he wanted to see me again in a month. I felt like something was wrong with that solution so I went to see a new vet yesterday, who I was told had a lot of experience in feline diabetes. I tested his BG for the third time right before I went to see her and it was 303. She was very helpful and I learned a lot more information. She shared with me last Mondays blood test results from the other vet, showing his BG level to be 407, and two of the three liver levels were very high. The ALT was 351 (normal 27-158) and the AST was 172 (normal 1-67). She said she thought the findings were a little odd though, because normally for liver disease, the third number is the one that is extremely high, the ALP number, and his was not. Actually just looking at the number now though, it seems it was a little high? But I guess not as high as she normally sees in liver disease? His was 73, normal being 12-59. She also mentioned that his Lipase level was also a little high, 262 (normal 11-242) which could possibly mean pancreatitis, but she said same thing for these numbers, usually its the Amylase level (the other level for the pancreas) that shows the possibility of pancreatitis, but his was normal, 849 (normal 623- 2,239). I appreciated her actually explaining the prior vet's results. Now, she explained that since this bloodwork was taken last Monday when he wasn't eating all that much, she wanted new bloodwork and a urinalysis since he has been eating more. I ended up asking if I can get the sample myself, and she agreed that was fine, so I took that in this morning for testing. As for the bloodwork though - we agreed that next week would be a good time to re-test his blood since I just switched his food on Sunday, and since his BG levels were fluctuating and going down. We didn't want to put him on insulin if his numbers were going to continue to fall on this new diet. And as for the liver and pancreas numbers, if I remember correctly (there was A LOT of stuff to remember) I think its the same story, so after he's eating and try to get a better idea of the problem is and go from there with the revised numbers. So I thought giving him one week was a good plan. So now I am going to see her again on Tuesday the 27th and will get his new bloodwork done. I work at home, and today I noticed he did drink, but not really all that much. He usually LOVES water. She asked if he has been peeing and pooing and yes he has. I also started to monitor his litterbox daily just to be sure and he has. Although admittedly I only used to clean his box once a week so I am not really sure what a normal amount consists of in one day, bit it seems ok. I also tested his BG again today, after I learned that we should be testing after two hours of no food (which I didn't know before, so the 349 and 303 numbers might be off), and he was at 321. Also I forgot to add -- he has lost some weight. He was 17 pounds in November, then 16 pounds last Monday, and 15.5 pounds yesterday. Hopefully since he is eating ok now, he will gain back a little weight, or stay the same and not decline on this new food.

    So yes, this is my story and I hope I didn't forget anything! I am most concerned about his liver and pancreas. I really hope he will be ok waiting until Tuesday to get the new bloodwork, but if he seems off I am taking him back tomorrow or Friday. Thank you all for any feedback you may have.

    03/14/18 update ** Please see my updated spreadsheet. Shmee is now on Lantus and as of right now he is on two units per the vets advice. He is also on Denamarin. An Xray showed a slightly enlarged liver, and my vet is hoping with the insulin and Denamarin his high liver levels will go down. I am hoping to start tight regulation next week. If you have any advice or comments after reading over my spreadsheet please let me know. I appreciate it!
     
    Last edited: Mar 14, 2018
    Reason for edit: Update
    Smokey and Jessica likes this.
  2. Kris & Teasel

    Kris & Teasel Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    Aug 17, 2016
    Welcome! Kudos to you for testing his BG at home and feeding him low carb wet food. Your new vet can help you unravel what’s going on with his liver and pancreas. The BG tests you have suggest that he will need insulin. Once you know more after the next vet visit please post on the main health forum. If you know then what insulin you’ll use let us know and we can help you set up a good testing routine, etc. :)
     
    Amanda & Shmee likes this.
  3. Sean & Rufus

    Sean & Rufus Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    Jan 10, 2018
    Welcome! Your kitty sounds like my kitty, lots of things going on. I hope they can fugue it all out. Looks like you are ahead in the game and are well prepared! Let us know what they find out!
     
    Amanda & Shmee likes this.
  4. FurBabiesMama

    FurBabiesMama Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    Jul 6, 2017
    Welcome!
     
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  5. Veronica & Babu-chiri

    Veronica & Babu-chiri Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    Aug 5, 2016
    Welcome!! and congratulations on home testing.

    Let us know how everything goes with your vet, and if he ends up needing insulin as it appears from her test results take a big breath and remember there are lots of people here that can help you
     
    Amanda & Shmee likes this.
  6. Amanda & Shmee

    Amanda & Shmee Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    Feb 18, 2018
    03/14/18 update ** Please see my updated spreadsheet. Shmee is now on Lantus and as of right now he is on two units 2x a day per the vets advice. He is also on Denamarin. An Xray showed a slightly enlarged liver, and my vet is hoping with the insulin and Denamarin his high liver levels will go down. I am hoping to start tight regulation next week. If you have any advice or comments after reading over my spreadsheet please let me know. I appreciate it!
     
  7. CassAndGordy(GA)

    CassAndGordy(GA) Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    Sep 23, 2016
    Amanda, I'd head over to the Lantus & Levemir insulin support forum and post your newer questions there. There are a lot of people who are good at looking at spreadsheets and helping you out. (Im not one of them sadly.)

    I'd suggestion pasting a link of this thread in your post there so you don't have to repeat yourself too much

    :bighug:
     
    Amanda & Shmee likes this.
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