Yemala at 16

My sugar kitty, Yemala, was diagnosed in 2006 and given 2 years to live. Her bgs on the day of her diagnosis were above 500. With a lot of work and support from this community, she went into remission in one month and has only had one recurrence when a vet put her on steroids for an ear infection. She beat that one, too, and was off the Lantus in 3 weeks.

We had a scare in December. Little kitty woke me at 5 AM and her head was - for lack of a better word - bobbling. She couldn't hold it still. She was staggering, unable to control her hind legs well. I assumed it was a low sugar incident (although she hasn't been on insulin since 2011) and fed her some honey, followed by a lot of higher carb food than she normally gets. By noon, she was her usual self with no sign of trauma. A followup vet visit found no signs of a stroke or epilepsy, she was responsive and energetic, and completely herself.

Lately, though, we've seen some gradual signs of problems. Mala will be 16 in June, and she's showing signs of possible incontinence. Every morning, to make sure she has privacy and time to eat all her food (we have younger cats who crowd her out otherwise), and to keep her from eating the higher carb food they get, we lock her into a bedroom. Except we discovered that she was pooping and pissing all over the wood floors there. Not a good scene. We tried feeding her in the bathroom, but she refuses to eat in there. This morning, she received her meal in my son's bedroom, and she soaked some of the cushions under his bed when she finished.

Her urinary output is normal - correct amount, right color and consistency. No signs of blood or pus. We've found no lakes of urine in the cat boxes that would point toward renal failure. She drinks an appropriate amount of water, but gets most of her liquid from her food.

Her poop is comparatively small and compact, dark brown, sticky but not watery. It doesn't smell odd for poop, and is remarkably easy to clean up (the benefits of the food she eats).

She has also recently taken to demanding an extra snack mid-day, around noon to 1 PM. I checked her bgs today at 1 and she was down to 73. If she is having drops in her glucose levels, this would be a sign of it. She's becoming hypoglycemic, I think. She was given some white meat chicken, and is currently trapping my left arm as I attempt to type this.

Throughout everything, she doesn't show signs of pain or discomfort. She's highly interactive, demands attention, even plays when we are exercising the younger cats. Her character hasn't shifted at all.

Has anyone ever seen a hypoglycemic cat who is NOT on insulin who pees and poops inappropriately with no signs of medical conditions? Is there anything I can do about this?

Thanks again, all.

 

I recommend taking her to the vet to see if she has a UTI. Usually if a cat pees and poops inappropriately is trying to tell you they do not feel good.

 

I BG of 73 is not abnormal for a non-diabetic cat. I have measure 69 on my OTJ Dulce.
For the other problems a vet visit is in order.

 

That episode you mentioned might have been due to a small blood clot, ie a stroke. The vet can do a neurological exam on her, as it is possible that blood clots have impaired some of her ability to be continent.

 

I'll get her to a vet on Monday and see what they think, but it's likely going to be the same as before. No signs of illness, highly interactive, reflexes normal... She was checked for a possible stroke or blood clot in December and all signs are negative. As soon as the kitty ate, she was utterly normal again and all symptoms abated.

We do have her living in a house with 7 other cats - LONG story, but the newest three were foster care former ferals that turned into permanent residents - and some of this may be territorial.

It may also be that she doesn't use the bathroom before her meals and, once locked into a room, she finishes eating and has to GO right NOW!

As I mentioned, we have checked the urine we find for blood, pus, color, smell, and consistency and everything is normal. She shows no signs of discomfort, and whenever she has been uncomfortable, she has not been shy about expressing that.

We can only keep trying.

 

I would check for a UTI/bladder stones to make sure those aren't problems. My 16 year old cat Jane was pooping/peeing on throw rugs for a while and we tried everything (no medical issues found). My vet suggested that older cats can lose their sense of smell and get confused by smells and that can lead to litter box issues. She gave us this stuff "cat attract additive" to put in the cat litter. We blocked her out of the areas she was having accidents in. I was skeptical at first, but in 2 weeks she stopped the behavior completely.

Also, make sure there isn't a problem with the litter box. We use to have the litterbox in the basement, and I suspect the accidents started because she has arthritis, and didn't want to do the stairs and it became a habit after a few times, even after we moved the box.

FYI - Both my cats usually use the box immediately after eating in the AM.

 

Meya14 - that's a great set of ideas. I know Mala's eyesight is starting to go (cataracts), but hadn't been thinking about sense of smell. The cat box she uses is in the basement (we currently have 6 boxes), but if she's having trouble, maybe we can make a habit of bringing one up for her in the room where she eats, then returning it downstairs. Perhaps that will help.

And again, we'll be visiting the vet this week.

 

The other thing I did for a temporary box in places she was peeing: I took a clean and empty litter box, and instead of litter, I put a puppy pad in there, and sprinkled a tiny bit of litter and the "cat attract". This worked well, and I didn't end up with a ton of litter kicked all over my house.

 

Just a thought I only have 1 cat but I have 2 dogs. I recently invested in a pet gate so my cat does not have to be behind closed doors at all. I had a problem with the cat continuously peeing on the pet bed I leave out on the living room. Within 1 week of investing in the gate my cat is out laying on the very same bed. Since my cat was my first animal I believe he was jealous he was not allowed to roam free like the other animals. It might be worth a try if all tests turn show no other problems.

 

Really great ideas. I'll start experimenting to see if I can find some way to curb her behavior.

Until the recent adoptions in the household, Mala was given a predominant place to eat in the kitchen. Since the younger animals challenge her for the remainder of her food, we've been locking her up to eat with the results of pee and poop in hidden places. Maybe this is about her nose being out of joint. I can try locking up the younger cats to eat and let her have food in the kitchen again, see if that helps.