Worried new member

Hi, Im Jane and my 12month old cat is called Cali.
We live with 3 other cats and 4 dogs in rural Bulgaria. (I am British though)
Just a bit of background on Cali.
I've had her since she was about 8ks old. She was found wandering around another British couple's garden at about 6wks old starving and dehydrated. They were returning to the Uk and could not keep her, so I happily acquired her.
Everything was fine with her until a couple of months ago. I thought she seemed to be losing weight (though hubby disagreed!) but eating verociously. I tried worming her etc,made no difference.
I took her to the vets on Saturday and even though she had only eaten a small amount of biscuits her blood glucose was 10mmol/180mgdL. I was advised to bring her back today for a fasting blood test. Results were 8.27mmol/148mgdL. Vet said she was diabetic, didnt need insulin but a low carb diet etc. My question is,her blood glucose doesnt seem that high to warrant such a rapid weight loss. Though the vet assured me that it was. She doesnt seem to be drinking or urinating a lot either.
Is this diabetes or could it be something else?
I'm worried that something is being missed.
Any advice would be most welcome.

 

Welcome! Did the vet do anything other than those two blood glucose test to diagnose the diabetes? Was urine tested? Was a fructosamine test done? Also, was her thyroid test done? Hyperthyroidism can have similar symptoms to diabetes. (Updated to add... It is odd that you are not seeing any increased drinking or urination. I would normally expect those symptoms.)

 

Other blood tests were done, Anemia etc. Had a big print out. Can't see a test for Hyperthyroidism on it. A lot is lost in translation here,my Bulgarian is pants and the vets English is not too bad,but not brilliant. I did ask about thyroid but dont think I was understood. Is it possible for a just 1 year old, to have thyroid problems? I have scoured the internet and can't find a case. If you know of one please let me know.
Small animal vets are a new concept here, they were unheard of 5 or 6 years ago. So my vet is quite young and inexperienced. So no urine test was done.
I kept Cali inside overnight so she wouldnt kill prey and eat it! She is prolific!! But she didnt use her litter tray. The vet said she was a bit dehydrated.
I dont know what to think,is she diabetic or not?

 

T4 is the blood test for thyroid. I have no idea if a cat that young can have thyroid issues. Frankly, cats that young are not usually the ones with diabetes either.

A cat's blood glucose can be elevated due to stress from a vet visit (and those numbers were not horrible). Normally, there is a test to look for glucose in the urine and/or a blood fructosamine test to actually diagnose diabetes. Maybe you could get a glucose meter and test at home to see if the blood glucose is high over a period of time, in her home environment.

Was a 'poop' test done to rule out parasites?

 

I would like to suggest we bring this to the Main Health forum
http://www.felinediabetes.com/FDMB/forums/feline-health-the-main-forum.28/
so that other members can review and respond. Jane, if you will start a new thread there, copy and paste the text of your first post here , and this link http://www.felinediabetes.com/FDMB/threads/worried-new-member.215780/
so that the members can read further posts, then you are going to get more response. This forum is just the welcome mat and it would be good to get this issue out there for more eyes.

I would get a human glucose meter, some strips and test Cali.
http://www.felinediabetes.com/FDMB/threads/hometesting-links-and-tips.287/

That is going to tell you what her blood sugar levels are and give you indication of whether she is diabetic or not, then you can go from there. Since you do not have vets there with experience with feline diabetes or treatment, this board is going to be a very valuable resource for information and support. Plus members can make further suggestions and offer other input about what other issues and/or conditions there may be.

 

@Idjit's mom is right, this should move to the main health forum. Sorry, I was not even paying attention to this being the welcome forum!