New Rescue - is she really diabetic

I am posting a potentially dumb question...hehe but here goes.

I am fostering a 5 yo diabetic (?) cat. She was given up for euthanasia and was rescued. Found her way to me. Has pancretitis and UTI. I knew about the pancretits and was giving fluids and pain meds. Had no idea about the UTI. She is not eating. Started on Vestulin at clinic but when she came to me I changed her over to lantus. She is given anything she wants to eat or is syringe fed AD. Numbers go high, given .5U lantus (was started on this), then crashes and the cycle repeats.

Made a mad dash to ER when test showed she was only 26 and not rising with karo – 2 nights ago. Sunday night she was 412 and I gave 0.5u lantus. Fell to 58 in 3 hours at which point I gave over 3 Tb karo and still her highest number was only 156. She is now in a clinic to see what is going on.

Any possibility she is not diabetic. Does a non-diabetic cat respond the same way as a diabetic cat given too much insulin. She drops low, the liver pours glucose into system and she bounces high.

Any insight is greatly appreciated.

Pattie

Oh just a quick side note - Harley is now down to only 0.5u. for those that remember him, he was up to 10.5u. go Harley

 

You've obviously been doing a great job with Harley!

Pattie contacted me back channel. What I suggested was that there are any number of cats whose BG rises when their system is stressed by an infection or inflammation. It's entirely possible that this is the case with this new kitty. The infection and pain from the UTI and pancreatitis, respectively, may be playing havoc with BG numbers. As the antibiotics start to work and the symptoms of pancreatitis resolve, numbers may be back in a nondiabetic range. I would give considerable thought to lowering the dose of insulin and monitoring carefully. The AD may also be providing some buffer due to it's being HC.

You could also withhold insulin. My concern is that you should discuss discontinuing insulin with your vet. I don't know what the labs look like and if your foster kitty is at risk for DKA.

 

Since Harley has had 2-3 bouts of DKA, I am terrified of it. So that is my concern with the new kitty. When the clinic calls, I will suggest only LC foods to see how she reacts. I would hate to lose her. She had a great life up til the dx of diabetes and then her pet parents just gave up.

Pattie

 

I hope her former parents understand the meaning of karma.

 

You are so wonderful to take on another FD kitteh. If you can get some Iams Maximum Calorie Plus it's only 9% carbs, easy to syringe and nearly twice the calories of the A/D. (so you don't need to syringe as much!) Plus Tess will actually eat it! If you you can't give Lantus on a consistent schedule I wonder if a bolus insulin would be better to bring her down from the highs, at least until the infections are taken care of.