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.

http://www.felinediabetes.com/FDMB/threads/worried-new-member.215780/

 

While I am in no means an expert my cat displayed alot of similar symptoms to yours about 8 months ago. She was super skinny although she was eating plenty (5 pounds compared to her healthy 9 pounds several years ago). After many many trips to the vet and an abdominal ultrasound they diagnosed her with suspected IBD or possibly small cell lymphoma (can only determine that through biopsy which I can't afford). She was prescribed steroids which initially helped her SO MUCH. She was back to jumping up on my desk, playing, using the litter box properly, and most importantly gaining weight. However, we believe the steroids may have caused her to become diabetic which I know is fairly common. You could ask the vets if IBD might be causing some of the symptoms. Although I know diabetes can cause weight loss in cats even though they are eating tons. Before I get Bella's glucose regulated she would try to get into the trash, the dog food, literally anything because she was so hungry.

 

a diabetic cat's body cannot process food properly and that is why it will lose weight even though it is eating a lot of food. Your vet is right about switching to a low carb diet. One of the best way to do this is to switch from feeding dry food to feeding a low carb canned food diet. I am not sure if these brands are sold where you live, but a lot of our members feed their cats either Fancy Feast or Friskies pate canned cat food. The pate or loaf style foods usually are less carbs then any canned foods that contain gravy. Almost all dry food is high in carbs and that is why we recommend not feeding them to your cats. Your glucose readings are not extremely high and I think by just changing the diet to low carb diet you will see significant improvement in your cat's health.

 

There are posts here on how to figure out carb content of canned food, too. Cats are obligate carnivores, so dry food & high carb canned foods are best avoided. Keep on reading on feline diabetes.com. This is where I learned 99.9% of what I know!

 

How are things going with your kitty Cali @Janeabeth.
Have you changed to a low carb diet? How much food are you feeding?
Cats blood sugar levels are often higher at the vet than at home. It might be worth your whole testing the blood sugars yourself with a human glucose meter.

 

I have changed her diet to tinned only. I'm feeding royal Canin Diabetic wet. It's far too expensive to continue to continue to use it though. She is a bit of a picky eater,but she loves Felix pouches in jelly,especially Felix Sensations or 'Cat Crack' as I call it. This is much more affordable.
I'm plucking up the courage to test her glucose levels at home. We do have a meter here.
I have watched the video,but I can't see Cali being quite so co-operative when I do it! She is a bit flighty!!xxx

 

Low carb treats can convince the most difficult cats to cooperate for home testing. Each time you test, even if you are not successful, reward your cat with a low carb treat. Soon your cat will associate getting tested means getting a reward. Freeze dried chicken is a great low carb treat to give to your cat.

 

Are you taking her to the spot you have chosen to test and just rubbed her ears and then given her a treat. Do this a few times to get her used to having her ears touched. Always give a treat every time you test even if you are unsuccessful.
You can do it!!!