OTJ, but something's still wrong

My Levon was diagnosed in September, and in remission less than 2 months later. I feed him b.f.f. by Weruva, 8 oz (1 cup,more than a can) each day. His BG numbers are good, but he is still losing weight. He's also vomited about every other day for the past two weeks, twice with hairballs. Blood test show his thyroid is ok, kidney levels are high normal, but everything else was normal. He becomes aggressively hungry about 2 hours before feeding times (he bites and basically acts like a jerk.)
My vet now says that the next thing to look at is some problem in the digestive tract (thickening of the walls, or a tumor) with a $300 ultrasound.

My questions: Could there be some other problem that caused high glucose levels besides diabetes?
If he is OTJ on food alone, and he is hungry and losing weight, would feeding more be a good idea? Or could that cause the diabetes to come back?
Is an ultra sound at this point a case of excessive diagnostics?

Thanks for any input.

 

What your vet is looking for - GI cancer - will cause weight loss.

Feeding mini-meals may help keep him from getting too hungry.

 

Yes, that is one thing she's looking for. Or some kind of inflammatory disease of the bowels (?) My concern about the timing of his meals is that his diabetes seems to be controlled by diet alone. Would adding a third feeding upset that balance?

I also wonder if feeding him more makes the weight loss stop, would that mean I wouldn't need the ultrasound?

 

I wouldn't think mini-meals would upset anything. My understanding is that smaller meals are easier on the pancreas. You could add some total calories by feeding smaller amounts more frequently.

 

All bff varieties have fish. Maybe your cat has a sensitivity to fish. They are also low calorie. It looks like you are feeding about 165 cal/day. Maybe that isn't quite enough?

 

billysmom, I hadn't thought of that. I'm not sure how many calories he needs,but I'll try to find it. What kind of protein do other diabetic diets have?

 

Ooooooooooooh my! Levon needs more food! My vet had simply told me how many CANS, I have been measuring by CUPS, I never looked at CALORIES! Poor Levon. I'll start him on 11 oz (two 5.5 oz cans) in three feedings. My math says that is what a 12 lb. cat should have. He hasn't vomited in two weeks, so maybe it was hairball related??? Thanks for the heads-up, billysmom.

 

That's the problem with the Weruva (and Tiki Cat) foods. They have more moisture and are low fat. Therefore they are low calorie per volume. You need to feed more than many other foods. There's a formula floating around here that gives a starting estimate of calories to feed a cat based on ideal weight. It is a good place to start but the actual amount will vary depending on activity level, etc. I couldn't find the formula but you might try searching for it.

I'm glad Levon has stopped throwing up! Many avoid regularly feeding fish based diets for several reasons. High mercury levels, often high phosphorus content, cats can become addicted to it and refuse to eat anything else. Also it is a common allergen for cats. I mentioned it because of a possible allergy/sensitivity issue. I'm pretty sure my cat would get sniffles when he ate fish. You might want to take a look at catinfo.org. She has a lot of info about cat nutrition. There's a lot to take in though .

 

Hope Levon is doing well on more food. I found a thread with the equation I was talking about. http://www.felinediabetes.com/FDMB/threads/how-much-food.150154/

 

Weekly weigh-in: same as the last three weeks! No more vomiting, either. Perhaps he was just working hard on a hairball, though the jury is out on that one. Levon does seem to do a lot of grooming while cuddling on my lap. I hope that doesn't lead to overgrooming and more hairballs. (See, I can worry about anything. But if I didn't I wouldn't have caught his diabetes either, so I guess I'll just obsess on things.

 

I'm so glad Levon is feeling better and hasn't lost more weight! Mom's are supposed to worry .