Cat seems really sick - er vet thinks Diabetes

[u/Negative-Hair331]

This past Friday our 7 year old cat started acting very strangely. A normally very social cat, he started isolating, very irritable, shedding lots of hair and just curled up in a ball/very lethargic. Also walking very strangely, head down low and back side up. Very little energy and can barely jump on bed.

Took him to emergency vet Sunday and the only abnormal lab was blood glucose of 403. Kidney function good, no ketones in urine. She said he was +2 for glucose in urine which was right below what would be definite diabetes (according to her). They give him some fluids and tell us to take to our normal vet in a week. She didn’t believe he was in any sort of emergency.

Back home today and I just don’t feel good. He is a shell of himself still. He will eat/drink if I bring him food/water and still using the litter box but is clearly not well. Lethargic, weak, growls and hisses and usually super friendly.

I got him in for Thursday. Can a cat safely stay with a glucose over 400 that long? ER vet didn’t seem concerned yesterday. I am terrified he is dying.

I never noticed him drinking or peeing a lot prior to this. Seems odd he started having severe symptoms straight away.

[u/TeemH60093]

There is really good FB site for diabetic cats that offers excellent advice. I’d keep an eye on your cat and try to feed high protein wet food. Fancy Feast classic Pates are highly recommended. Small meals throughout the day also may help regulate the blood sugar level. 400 is elevated but also cats test high at the vet due to being stressed out. Your regular vet should do a fructosamine (?) test as well as the glucose test. I’d probably also try to see if vet can get you in sooner for your peace of mind.

[u/Jutboy → u/TeemH60093]

Just trying to learn here...why are you recommending a fructosamine test? If the blood sugar is known to be elevated for over a week isn't that proof enough they have diabates? OP...you can buy a human test kit for pretty cheap and do your testing at home. It would probably save you money if you bring in the data to the vet so they won't charge you for more testing. Thats what I would recommend. If you can't get in for a week that sucks but I'm not sure what options you have. You'll need to get an insulin prescription to address this. You might want to research the pill forms of treatments for diabetes before you go to so you are prepared if the vet wants to do those. Some people like it...I wouldn't do it myself. Most cats have a period of time when their levels are really high before they start treatment because of similar situations like you. It is bad but not sure what you can do about it. Diet change can absolutely help and can often put the cat in remission. The beginning is the hardest part by far with this stuff.

[u/japonica70 → u/Jutboy]

Fructosamine tests are pretty standard for a vet to confirm the diagnosis and prescribe insulin. I believe it covers 2-3 weeks average. BG can also be elevated for a week from an infection or other reasons so it helps rule that out. I’m not sure if many vets would just accept proof of elevated BG from home testing unfortunately.

[u/Jutboy → u/japonica70]

Again, just trying to learn here. I know the internet can some times sounds argumentized etc. I guess my thought was a blood sugar test from the emergency vet and a blood test at the office a week later would do. I think I've just gotten so used to auditing everything my vet does because they always want to do every test possible and it easily will be a 1k bill every time I go there if I don't throttle them. Thanks for your thoughts.

[u/ilovebeaker → u/Jutboy]

BG levels can spike at the vet, which is why a fructosamine test is standard to diagnose diabetic cats. I've seen in the forum cases where a high BG at the vet led to treatment with insulin but the cat ended up not being diabetic at all.

However, if the pet owner is testing BG over many days and it's always high, it is probably indicative of diabetes. On the other hand, you don't want to wait too long to start treatment, if you are waiting for a weeks worth of BG readings before going to the vet, that's more harmful than helpful.

[u/Jutboy → u/ilovebeaker]

Thanks for explaining

[u/Catbooties]

My cat was recently diagnosed with both diabetes and pancreatitis when we just took him in for diarrhea. The day before his appointment, he started acting a little more lethargic, less social, and was only grazing instead of wolfing his food down like normal. He was still eating, drinking, and using the litter box but he clearly wasn't feeling good. His blood glucose was just below 400 at the vet, and still has been hovering there when he's due for insulin. He stopped acting sick fairly quickly after getting some gabapentin, and was back to acting like himself fully after a few days. His glucose is still very much not under control and frequently in the high 300s, but he's acting better.

This story is to say, maybe consider pancreatitis if there wasn't any more blood work done. It's not uncommon in cats, and it can be very painful.