Please read...our story may help your baby sooner than later!

First off, I want to express my sincere thanks to this site and all of you that take the time to post. I have used this as a reference guide, a learning tool, and most importantly, a "friend" when I was up late at night racking my brain trying to figure out how to help my cat, when everyone was tired of hearing about my struggles...I didn't feel alone here....

Peek-a-Boo is my special boy that is unlike any other cat. He had wandered into my yard as a 5 month kitten from a neighbor that hoarded animals. Although I don't know what his story is...he was missing both eyes and had a silly notch in his tongue that hangs out. From that day forward, I promised that I would keep this cat safe.

Fast forward to June 2014, just shy of Peek-a-Boo's 9th birthday, he was diagnosed with diabetes. For a period of nine months, until March of 2015... we could not get him regulated. We started with Prozinc, then Vetsulin, and Lantus. Prescription wet food only....then Friskies and Fancy Feast. He even had a "high tech" device implanted for 2 weeks to monitor his blood sugar...it was all over the board. I took readings myself and nothing was ever below 400...there was no pattern either. He had some bad teeth, so most were removed in the hopes that the dental infection was causing it. He now has only 7 teeth. Because of this site, I learned about the disease acromegaly. From time to time I would suggest it to my vet, and although I really liked him, he didn't feel that Peek-a-Boo had the tell-tale large facial features and big paws that often accompany it. I finally asked if he could humor me and do an IGF-1 test...a key factor in diagnosing acromegaly. I don't remember the normal range for a cat...but Peek-a-Boo had 521...off the charts in the US.

As time went on, Peek-a-Boo has developed hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, another symptom of acromegaly. I had a CT scan done to confirm that there was indeed a tumor on his pituitary gland, but we discovered he also has severe hydrocephalus...fluid around his brain that doesnt drain properly...this may be a congenital defect that was simply stumbled upon...it is not part of acromegaly. Needless to say, they could not locate a tumor as they had trouble "seeing" through the fluid. An MRI has not been done yet....

Peek-a-Boo's diabetes is now regulated on Lantus at 4 units BID and he eats Friskies classic varieties and Fancy Feast pate only as well. His options for the acromegaly are risky surgery and radiation therapy which will not buy him much more time I've been told. Although he is only a fraction of the spitfire he used to be, he seems happy and is comfortable these days. The long term prognosis for acromegaly is not good, and my vet said his biggest enemy is the heart diesease...he currently takes Plavix daily to prevent blood clots.

Thank you all for reading our story...I strongly encourage those who are having trouble regulating their cat"s diabetes to push for the IGF-1 test for acromegaly....I could have saved myself a great deal of time, money, and anguish if I would have been more assertive, instead of being afraid to insult the veterinarian's expertise.

We are on here because we love our cats...and I hope that I can help someone else as much as you all have helped me not give up.

 

I will tag some people who have or have had cats with acromegaly and can advise you. I am not sure who is around due to the festive season but some of these ladies will hopefully be online at some point.
@Wendy&Neko @julie & punkin (ga) @Anne & Hyde @suki & crystal @pollydoodle
Also check out this page on the forum where cats with the condition can post. It also has information.
http://www.felinediabetes.com/FDMB/forums/acromegaly-iaa-cushings-cats.12/

Welcome to FDMB

 

Hello Dawn and sweet Peek a Boo. First, thank you for rescuing Peek-a-Boo from his original situation.

My Neko has both acromegaly and insulin auto antibodies (IAA), another high dose condition. We started on Caninsulin (Vetsulin is the new name), switched to Lantus, then Levemir. Her diabetes diagnosis was 4 years ago. I too had ask my vet to humour me to get the IGF-1 and IAA tests done. She also had no visible signs. Normal IGF-1 number is 92 and under, Neko's was 440. Now that I've read what some of the early signs of acromegaly can be, I figure she has had it for at least 4.5 years. The latest research shows that one in four diabetic cats has acromegaly, although until recently, most vets were taught that it is rare. Here we suggest that anyone whose cat is on low carb wet food, and has no other secondary conditions like requiring a dental, get tests done for acromegaly when they reach a dose of 6 usits of insulin. You are lucky that Peek-a-Boo is only on a dose of 4 units, some of the kitties here with acromegaly are on much higher doses.

Neko had SRT or radiation therapy first time August 2012. Her insulin needs dropped from a high of 8.75U twice a day to just under 1 unit at the low point. This year in August, her insulin needs increased sharply and I suspected her tumor had returned. I was faced again with the decision about what to do. In addition to the surgery (risky in North America, but more experience/less risky in London England), and radiation therapy (stereostatic radiation therapy or cyber knife recommended types), there is also a medicine called pasireotide that can help control the tumour - but it's very new and expensive as a result. At the time of Neko's first SRT, there were no other options. After reviewing the current options, I once again felt radiation therapy was the best choice in North America, for us, so she had SRT again last month at Colorado State University Veterinary Medical School.

Hypertrophic cardiomyopathy is a common side effect of acromegaly, one of the reasons we encourage IGF-1 testing. For more than you ever wanted to read about acromegaly, check out this post.

 

My MurrFee's IGF-2 was also greater than 521. He is go OK on 50 units of insulin twice daily

 

Hello Dawn, I am very sorry to read that Peek-a-Boo has been diagnosed with acromegaly. Unfortunately it is an all too common disease, despite what the vets say. I too have a 10 year old female cat, Crystal, with acromegaly and also probable IAA (although the test is not available here in France), as well as acute cardiomyopathy, which has just recently been diagnosed following a seizure that she had. Like you I also learned about acromegaly by chance from this site and when Crystal had been on Caninsulin for 8 months with an ever increasing dose and no improvement, I too asked for the IGF-1 test although my vet thought it was unlikely as it was very "rare". Well it came back positive and off the scale and so started our complicated journey. Unfortunately Crystal is the first case my vet has seen so she hasn't been able to offer any advice, everything I have learned has been from the wonderful people here, with a bit of help from the RVC in London as well (who, incidentally, run an acromegaly clinic so have the most up to date information, which they are very happy to share by email). I only use my vet for routine blood tests and although she is horrified at the huge dose of insulin Crystal is receiving, she reluctantly admits that it works for her. I have taken the route of palliative care only as the SRT option isn't available here.

I also changed first to Lantus and then Levemir and it has taken just over a year now for Crystal's diabetes to be regulated by some very aggressive dosing. Crystal is on a very high dose of Lev (60u BID) and I also use an R insulin in conjunction with the Lev to help bring her numbers down. Without the R I'm afraid she would need even more Levemir. Unfortunately, the symptoms of acromegaly have become more pronounced over the last few months and her head and neck are both much larger, with a pronounced jaw and enlargement around the muzzle. Also her eyes are permanently dilated and look huge. I think she may well suffer from headaches. She also has the acro "pot belly" and her paws have also been affected and are much larger now. She has the acro stridor breathing problems and the soft tissue in her mouth has also grown, so much so that her small teeth have all but been covered by her gums. I feed her a raw chicken diet with a powdered mix of essential vitamins added in and I make it a very soupy consistency so that she doesn't have to chew it much. I am concerned that her throat may be constricted by the acro as well.

As you rightly say, without surgery/radiation, the prognosis for cats with acomegaly is far from good. From being a very active outdoors cat always hunting she has now become practically a housebound cat (by her own choice) who sleeps most of the day. All I can do now is make sure she is painfree and comfortable until her quality of life tells me its time to make that awful decision.

I wish you the best of luck with Peek-a-Boo and hope you will visit the Lantus/Levemir forum where you will be able to call on the wealth of experience and advice from members that have cats with acromegaly.

 

Hi Dawn, my punkin also had acromegaly. As Wendy said, the latest research is that one in four diabetic cats are diabetic because of acromegaly, a benign tumor in the pituitary gland. It's not rare, in fact, we're seeing a lot of it. You are not alone.

Most of the people with high dose kitties now post on the Lantus/Levemir Insulin Support Group. The high dose group is mostly inactive. There are many of us with experience that would be happy to help you if you need anything, even just support. This thread (located in the Lantus/Lev ISG, on the "New to the Group?" sticky) has a lot of the most recent research on high dose conditions in it. Perhaps something in there will be helpful to you.

Please let us know how we can be of help.

 

Hi Crystal,

Thank you for your well wishes to Peek-a-Boo. My boy also has the acro "pot belly" and stridor breathing that Suki has. It never occured to me until reading your post that his little top teeth are getting covered by gum tissue...I noticed this recently, and although it makes complete sense, I just assumed maybe a couple had fallen out...thanks for opening my eyes to that.

I realize how lucky I am since many of you on here require large doses of insulin for their acros...like really large!! Peeks has held steady at 4U BID for just about a year now. I use my vet for 2-3 month fructosamine testing which shows he is well regulated. Purdue keeps tabs on his cardiomyopathy. I was home testing for quite some time in the beginning, and it had really put a strain on my relationship with him, so I test when he appears a bit off.

I'm curious to know if you have any of these issues with Suki: Does she still pee large amounts of urine even though her diabetes is controlled? Does she have drainage from her mouth left behind where she lays that is brownish/red tinted? (both my vet locally and Purdue guessed it could be from the tumor..it comes and goes). Does Suki ever get ear yeast infections? I was able to find a great product on Amazon called Zymox (the no-steroid formula!) that works wonders. My vet thinks his compromised immune system is cause of ear issue.

The fact that my boy is blind makes things a bit tougher. He has serious trust issues with me due to all the care that goes into my best efforts to keep him comfortable. He used to let me hold him and he'd playfully attack my elbow. These days he squirms when I pick him up. Everyone at my vet's office knows him well...he doesn't make it easy for them

I love this cat with all of my heart and sometimes I get caught up in "anticipatory grief" and have to tell myself to enjoy him while he's here. His little face is the most adorable thing to me...I can't wrap my brain around the day when I won't see it anymore.

Good Luck to you both as well....and thanks again.

 

Hello Dawn I'm so glad you gave Peek-a-Boo a home. We used to have a Peekaboo, too..only ours was a little feral girl.

He's blind too? So many problems. Thank goodness he wandered into the right yard.

Thank you for telling us about him. You're a super Mom.

 

In the same boat here with Saoirse.

I have been so moved by yours and Boo's story. He's a real miracle kitty. I'm very, very glad he found you to love him.




Mogs
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Hi Jeanne,

The original owners of Peek-a-Boo went through animals like toilet paper (sorry, it's just what came to mind..lol). There were always new ones, most being poorly cared for and out in inclement weather. There were many times when I'd sneak a dog in out of the cold for a bit, or pick countless ticks off of a cat's face. I had expressed my feelings to these people at one point, so after that, we had nothing to do with each other. I remember seeing this little gray kitten chasing their children in the heat of summer and thinking it was odd, it was like something a puppy would do. When Peek was found in my backyard (it is rather large, surrounded by woods, so not right next door) about 4 months later, it all clicked...this was the same little guy I'd see running after the kids, and because he was missing his eyes, he was just trying to be near them from sound.

In all fairness, I waited to see if someone would call or come to my door to claim him. Word had spread that I was in possession of their cat....nobody ever came...he may have even been placed in my yard...I don't know if he wandered or what...I'm so glad he did. The fact that someone would keep a blind kitten outdoors in a rural area with coyotes or where he could be hit by a car is insane. That justified my reason for keeping him.

His eyes were infected holes basically. The doctor thought he might have been born without them because his eye sockets appeared tiny, but wasn't for sure. The vet cleaned them up and did a procedure where they sew the eyelids shut. It's so cute, even though they look closed, you can see the eyelids shut further when he gets sleepy .

Since his recent acromegaly diagnosis, the testing involved revealed some interesting stuff that I would have not otherwise known...he has severe hydrocephalus, where cerebral fluid collects in the brain and doesn't drain via spinal cord like normal. He doesn't seem to have any problems associated with this though (knock on wood). In addition, the "bridge" of his nose is not in a continuous line, there is a division. His lower jawbone is also split in half down the middle, the vet said it was an old injury and it now just "floats" as he described it. I'd love to know what happened to this poor boy....was it all congenital, or did he suffer trauma? Was he abused? I almost forgot to mention the little notch in his tongue...where'd that come from?! The fact that he now has acromegaly makes me wonder if it all is connected in some way, that he was dealt a bad hand in the genetics department and future problems were bound to arise.

Despite his rough beginnings, he seems to be a happy boy....he's thinks my rat terrier is a toy..swatting at her feet as she passes by him. His sister is an old Persian who gets tapped on the head when he wants the food to himself or when he doesn't like sharing his sleeping quarters...lol.

Thank you for the praise...I don't know about being a super mom, but I love him to pieces so I do what I can...don't we all, right?

 

Gosh Dawn, I love hearing about Peek-a-Boo. Please continue to tell us stories about Peek-a-Boo and all his wonderful antics. He has got to feel like he is in heaven now with your care. Bless you both and all your other fur kids.

 

Me, too. More stories, please.

I often catch myself thinking about your little fella.


Mogs
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... but boy! didn't he hit the jackpot with his Person.


Mogs
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I agree, he knew where to wander to be found. Lucky for both of you.

 

Sincere thanks to all...but as I always say, I'm the lucky one to have this silly, unique boy in my world!

 

Thank you for sharing this amazing story of love and information for all those who might be facing an acro dx for their beloved baby.

Many hugs and love to you for your compassion and prayers that your precious little Boo will be with you for many, many days to come. I would give anything to see my baby's beautiful face and hold her tight one more time.