Please help! Diabetic cat now staggering on hind legs

Hi, I'm new here and am desperately hoping someone can help.

My 9 year old cat was diagnosed with diabetes 5 months ago. He's been on 3-1/2 mgs of insulin 2X day and has seemed fine up until
3 days ago when he began walking on his hocks (?) rather than his toes. Also, he seems to sway when he walks (back end) and his legs
don't look straight when he walks anymore.

Any ideas/help would be appreciated! Could this problem be too little insulin? too much insulin?

Thanks!

 

is this worsening a sudden onset -- just this morning? Or has the problem been increasing over a period of days?

If sudden, please immediately give your cat something sugary: maple syrup, karo syrup, etc.

Are you able to test your cat's blood sugar? Do you have meter?

laur

 

HI Nic and welcome!

This could be a sign of too much insulin. Are there other symptoms? Just walking on the hocks is usually neuropathy: http://www.felinediabetes.com/weak-back-rear-legs.htm As the article indicates, it can be helped by Methyl B12. But getting your cat regulated is the only final solution. So to that - are you hometesting? We advocate insulin monitored by daily hometesting (just like human diabetics do) and wet lo carb food.

Hometesting will tell you how the insulin is working in your cat and whether he is getting too much or too little. Here is a good beginning site: http://www.sugarcats.net/sites/harry/bgtest.htm and here is a video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_zE12-4fVn8

Wet lo carb food is best for any cat, but particularly diabetics. Check out this vet's website: http://www.catinfo.org

Hope you will do some research. Come back with questions and concerns. We love to help!

 

Hi laur and sue!

He started staggering on his hind legs 3 days ago. Does this mean he's not getting enough insulin?

I'm not testing him at home - the vet tells me the difficulty in doing so results in inaccurate readings (????) so I've no way
of seeing what his levels are right now

Should I give him something sugary or what? The vet isn't open until tomorrow, and I'll take him in then for another check.

(thanks so much for the welcome and the help)

 

Hi there and welcome.

Since you are new, a couple of questions.. are you hometesting your kitties blood glucose levels at home?
This is very important to do, but many vets do not mention it or reject it. We can not know if its too much insulin or too little if you are not.
http://www.felinediabetes.com/hypogly.htm
this will tell you more about hypoglycemia and if these are hypo (too much insulin) episodes.

however, it sounds like Neuropathy
http://www.felinediabetes.com/weak-back-rear-legs.htm

do check out the FAQs here:
http://www.felinediabetes.com/fdmb-faq.htm

Sending many cyber hugs to you. It will be ok. really.

 

Unfortunately your vet is completely wrong. The canadian vet assoc recommends it, vet journal articles recommend it and the vast majority of people here do it. A. It makes treatment safer and B. It makes treatment better. Humans do it, so can we!

What insulin do you give? And fyi dose is in units...

Jen

 

Hi Lisa, thanks for posting those links! That's a lot of information you've provided, very helpful..

Hi Jen, thanks as well. I'm very worried about my cat now and wonder as well why the vet said no testing at home - that doesn't make sense since my friend is diabetic and does her own testing ?? I'll speak to the vet about this for sure, but in the meantime I've just given him a little
bit of honey off my fingertip and hopefully that will bring his levels back up. Tomorrow he's definitely going to see the vet and I want answers!

Thanks so much to all of you for your help and the information you've provided. I'll keep you posted, this is very frightening.

 

I would not give him anything sugary. If his levels are not low, you will create more problems. This could be a hypo, but more likely is neuropathy. Hypos do not last 3 days. But either way, you can find out immediately by getting his blood glucose levels. (I am sorry but it seems very condescending of your vet to imply that you can't understand what your cat's bg levels are at home. Can you imagine a human doctor saying that to their patient?) You do not need your vet's permission to hometest. You are not doing anything that will harm him. You may be saving his life!

If I were you, I would go out this morning and get a meter, strips and lancets. If money is a problem, Walmart has the cheapest prices (ReliOn is a good inexpensive meter and the strips are also the cheapest available) You need a meter that sips and takes a tiny amount of blood.

We can walk you through the process. (Imagine the peace of mind knowing what is happening with your kitty!)

 

I would not give him anything sugary. If his levels are not low, you will create more problems. This could be a hypo, but more likely is neuropathy. Hypos do not last 3 days. But either way, you can find out immediately by getting his blood glucose levels. (I am sorry but it seems very condescending of your vet to imply that you can't understand what your cat's bg levels are at home. Can you imagine a human doctor saying that to their patient?) You do not need your vet's permission to hometest. You are not doing anything that will harm him. You may be saving his life!

If I were you, I would go out this morning and get a meter, strips and lancets. If money is a problem, Walmart has the cheapest prices (ReliOn is a good inexpensive meter and the strips are also the cheapest available) You need a meter that sips and takes a tiny amount of blood.

We can walk you through the process. (Imagine the peace of mind knowing what is happening with your kitty!)
-------------------------------------
Oh no, I just gave him a bit of honey off the tip of my finger.

I'll be back in a little while, I'm going to go out and get a meter, strips and lancets. I've no idea how to do this so walking me through it
will be an enormous help. BB in a bit and THANKSS!!

 

Hi from me too :mrgreen:

If you haven't already gathered neuropathy onset is gradual.
I see some info already come your way. This is another link and talks about methyl b12 and the research that has been done on it in relation to FD.Need to make sure you get the right one.
http://www.laurieulrich.com/jasper/

Can you tell us what insulin you are using? and how you got to 3 1/2 units BID?
This is a lot of insulin but then doesn't necessarily figure with the neuropathy (high blood glucose).

Don't worry about the honey,just make sure you mention it to your vet.
Not all vets are supportive of hometesting, but you don't actually need their permission (good if their on side mind)and don't be fooled into the fact you have to get the alpha trak meter. This is the 'animal' one and is really expensive from what I have heard.(and the strips).Any human one will do.

I don't know if you said friend or relative tests-could you borrow theirs for a couple of tests today? Might set your mind at rest and won't hurt your friends meter.
You will need to take any bg numbers from the vet with a pinch of salt so to speak unless you have a cat that loves going to the vet!Lucky's bg's would rise by as much as 100 points at vet.

There's some really good insulins and there's some very poor ones, so one shouldn't just asume your cat needs more insulin. ONy hometesting is going to give you those answers.
Hope you can work it out with your vet. :mrgreen:

 

There is absolutely nothing difficult in testing at home, and how can the vet say the results would be inaccurate at home.

If you stop and think about it, when YOU go to the dr, are you kinda stressed? And what about your cat? The inaccurate numbers are gotten at the vet office, NOT at the cat's home! At the vet office, one of mine always tests higher and the other tests very low.

What is so difficult about poking the tip of the cat's ear and drawing up a spot of blood with a meter? No big deal; my two sleep through the tests so it's not bothering them at all.

Testing is LESS difficult than giving insulin shots! Inaccurate readings would come from a human meter that you can get from the pharmacy? Well, it's good enough for humans so what would make it inaccurate for your cat?

Home testing is pretty important to determine if your cat's BG is low or if some other kind of problem is happening.

Once you are able, you can get a meter, strips and lancets for testing. You can also pick up a box of ketostix to test the urine for ketones. If you cat is testing with high BG on your meter, you must be testing for ketones daily. Even a trace on the ketostix should be addressed.

If you have any questions at all about home testing or meters or anything at all, just ask.
But, please start to home test; it may save your cat's life one day.

 

There are other potential medical reasons for sudden onset of hind leg weakness (low potassium, blood clot, etc). Because the cat suddenly started having difficulty walking three days ago, I would suggest that you consult a vet for physical examination and bloodwork.

 

Hey there, Nic.

Know what? It's actually not difficult to test at home - both of my sugar babies hop to the testing spot and are willing to get poked. No big deal, really. It may take a bit of getting used to, but it's really rather simple in the end.

Here's a suggestion. Why don't you run out to the pharmacy this morning, and get a home meter. Any of them will do for now, but the less expensive the better - the strips are what will cost you, so take a moment or two to price out the strips. But get a meter, regardless.

Then come home, and do your first test. You will then know what's going on - is he high? Low? Just dandy? You will also know better how to treat him if you know his numbers...and you'll be able to better pinpoint just what is going on.

A lot of vets don't feel hometesting works. I disagree - I'd never send a human patient home without a test kit and a good knowledge of what numbers mean. And I'd never give insulin without knowing where my patient is already - either feline or human. One of the issues vets have is that we can go a tad nuts with the testing, but as I explained to my vet, if I didn't know where the sugar was, I'd've likely killed my cat(s) with the dose of insulin she prescribed, so I've saved her some grief that way. LOL.

Go on and get a meter...they're easy to find, easy to operate, and provide a ton of info which you really do need to get this disease under control, and prevent hypo/hper glycemic issues.

(And if it can't be done safely, how come we all are doing it - not just safely, but successfully and without trauma to either bean or fuzz butts? LOL...).

Best-
Michele

 

i'm glad you're getting a meter. you don't need your vet's permission to test at home, and it can save your life. when you get a chance also, please get some ketone diagnostic strips from the pharmacy. you dip these in your cat's urine while they are peeing or into the freshly wet litter before they have a chance to cover it up after peeing, to make sure they don't have a dangerous side effect of the diabetes: ketones.

hard to tell what is causing the staggering. it could be hypo, insufficient insulin, or something else wrong. is there no animal ER nearby you could take your cat to? it's a pretty serious symptom.

 

WHERE ARE YOU....city, state ( or are you in Canada ?).

Perhaps we have a nearby member who can help you with testing.

 

FWIW, I learned how to test my kitty by watching several YouTube videos. Some of us use the lancing device that typically comes with the meter. I freehand. I never felt comfortable with the device -- I wasn't able to see where I was poking as well as when I freehand. Be as confident as you can. Your cat will know if you're anxious. And have treats on hand. Most cats will work for treats! If you consistently reward your cat for putting up with the pokes it will go much easier. Even if you're unsuccessful in getting blood, give a treat.

I agree with Linda. Do get this checked out by your vet. If the vet thinks this is neuropathy, here's the link to the brand that I've used: methyl B-12.

 

i'm a newbie too, so i dont give advice...but these guys know their stuff...you found a great place for help.

and we've found hometesting a snap, like the more experienced folk here.

good luck...

celi & binks