New diabetes diagnosis for Reg

Hello. We are brand new to this. Our 12 year old cat was diagnosed with diabetes one Wednesday and needless to say we are overwhelmed and stressed out. Not only do we have to adjust to new routines with her, the new food/insulin/syringes and vet visits are quite expensive, not to mention major lifestyle changes we will have to be making (i.e. not traveling often). We are now giving her 1 unit of insulin twice a day, 7 and 7, and are reading into all her behaviors and nervous about everything in general. Since we began insulin Reg has been going to the bathroom A LOT. This morning she went into the litter box 5 times in about 30 minutes which is quite unusual for her. Is this normal? Is this something we should be concerned or call the vet about? Any advice is appreciated!

 

Hello and welcome!

No, not normal. If anything, insulin should be helping to bring blood glucose numbers down, which should decrease the amount of drinking/peeing Reg does. There are two possibilities:

1) Reg has developed a UTI. If the amounts being peed are small, but frequency of trips to the litter box have increased (which is what it sounds like), it's probably this. Call the vet, you'll probably have to bring her in to get checked out and on antibiotics to fix it.

2) Reg's BG numbers may have actually increased after starting insulin, so she's behaving more like an unregulated diabetic cat (extra drinking/peeing). This sounds totally unintuitive, but it does happen; basically, insulin brings numbers down below the level that the cat's body is used to, and there's a compensating reaction from the liver to release extra glucose into the blood to bring numbers back up. I think this is somewhat less likely based on your description, but it's possible.

A few questions for you: what kind of insulin is Reg on? Are you doing any home testing of blood glucose? We're big advocates of that here; we think it's the best way to keep your cat safe and do sensible dosing adjustments (without having to go to the vet for glucose curves or fructosamine tests!). And it can help give you peace of mind and more of a feeling that you are in control of the situation-- this is a pretty overwhelming diagnosis, especially at first!

 

A great percentage of cats present with UTIs & pancreatitis upon receiving the diabetic diagnosis. I do believe this is a uti which would call for an antibiotic- not convenia. I can’t think of the right antibiotic but the 2 week -month shot (convenia) is not the right choice. I had this & had to take my cat to another vet to be put on a second antibiotic & caused her more pain than needed! I believe baytril is a good one for this. If the spots of urine are small, then this is what it is more than likely. Good luck & hopefully you can begin to home test to help find a good insulin dose for your kit!

 

Thank you, Becky. We are heading to the vet today to hopefully get the UTI figured out. I will keep in mind what you shared about the medication.

 

Very glad you are going to the vet today!

While you are there, PLEASE request that they test for ketones. Reg is in the perfect situation to develop ketones-- not eating, skipped shot, and a possible infection underneath. Her lethargy is a possible sign that they may be developing, so I'm a bit worried.

If caught early (before diabetic ketoacidosis, or DKA), treatment can be very straightforward, but you absolutely want to catch things early, because the more severe the ketones/DKA, the more intensive (and expensive!) the treatment is.