Anyone on here a vet?

[AdamsFamily]

My 10yo cat spent a week at the vet for what turned out to be diabetes.  We initially took him in when he became severely dehydrated and lethargic.  His blood sugar was over 700.  After a week, we brought him home.  I bought a monitor (human) and now check his blood twice a day.  We give him insulin (human) when he needs it.  We changed his diet to a low-carb cat food.  Blessedly his blood sugar has been down for the last eight blood checks.  I have not given him any insulin since Monday morning.  My question is  why does his blood sugar keep decreasing.  It was 61 this morning which is too low.  He has access to his old dry cat food, and he eats it a little.  I didn't remove it when I saw that his numbers were normal, and we have another cat that still eats it.

 

Also, he keeps urinating on our carpet and dog beds.  When he got sick, he urinated on both my girls's beds and carpets.  When he came home, he urinated on a bathroom mat and both dog beds.  Then he urinated behind our couch. 

 

Before this episode, we went out of town and were gone for three weeks.  He has anxiety when we are gone.  He usually marks places and often vomits frequently while we are away.  We had a lady come over every day to clean their box and check their food and water.

 

Our cats do not like each other.  We had them sharing a box, but I just bought a second one.  I locked the cat in the bathroom for two days with the new litter box.  The bathroom is large, so his food and water were away from the box.  I let him out yesterday, and that is when he urinated behind the couch again.  We have steam cleaned most of the spots, although I found a few more marking spots in the girls' rooms last night.  We had to order more steam cleaner (for pet stains), so we will re-clean the carpets this weekend. 

 

I don't know what to do with this cat!  I don't want to take him back to the vet, because that will mean more money spent on him.  I don't know why his glucose levels seem to be continuing to decrease to where he is below normal.  His urinating is most likely behavioral, but what can I do about that?  I do use Feliway Comfort Zone, but I just replaced it yesterday.  I don't know if I changed it before or after he urinated behind the couch.  We have purchased multiple pet stain cleaners.  He has already ruined two couches and four dog beds in the last few years.  I would like to rip up all of my carpet and put down some type of smooth flooring - party because of the dogs, too. 

 

He is also not acting like himself lately.  He has trouble jumping up on our bed.  He does not want to spend much time outside (although I live where it is well over 100 and sunny all summer), and when he does he does not leave the yard like he used to. 

 

I hope someone has some advice for me!  Thanks!

[Pawz4me]

I'm not a vet, and I don't know a ton about diabetes in cats.  So take this FWIW.

 

How has his appetite been -- Is he eating his normal amount of food?  You say he's eating a little of his old, dry food, but no mention of whether he's eating his diabetic food normally or whether or not his total food intake is in the normal range for him.  If he's not eating enough that would probably account for the low blood sugar numbers.

 

I really think a vet visit is in order.  The low blood sugar reading combined with not seeming like his normal self is worrisome.  Cats are so stoic and try so hard to "hide" sickness that by the time an owner notices something's off, the cat is often already *very* sick.

 

The urination problems could be behavioral or could be related to whatever is going on that's making him not feel well.  If it's behavioral there are medications that can sometimes help.  Keeping him in the bathroom to re-train to the litter box is a frequently used strategy.  But the confinement usually has to be for at least a couple of weeks.  Make sure that whatever stain/odor product you're using is enzyme-based.  The soiled areas need to be thoroughly wetted and allowed to air dry for the enzymes to work.  You may have to treat each area more than once.  Be wary of using vinegar or other stain/odor products that aren't enzyme-based.  Although they may fix the odor problem as far as our pitiful human noses are concerned, they don't work well enough so that cats and dogs can't still detect the odor (and so want to continue to mark the area).

[TrixieB]

I am not a vet.  But I did have a geriatric diabetic cat who had other health issues (kidney, thyroid) as well.

 

Is he eating significant portions of his low-carb food, or just a little of his dry food?  He may not be getting enough food, which can cause a cat's health to decline very quickly.  In that case you might try a different low-carb food.  Some of the grain-free mostly-meat canned food really appealed to my cat, who had previously been a finicky eater for his whole life.  He actually came hustling (well, as much as an elderly cat could hustle) into the kitchen when I opened the can.

 

If he's chowing down on the low-carb food plus eating a little of his old food and his blood sugar is still dropping after no insulin injections for a few days, then that would at least warrant a call to the vet.

 

Add to that his having trouble jumping and seeming generally weak, then something's definitely not right.  My cat was like this at the end. 

 

So... I vote call the vet to tell them what's going on, and see what they say.

[StephanieZ]

You just return to the vet, or get a different vet if this one didnt tell you to come back or if you aren't confident in him.

 

It takes a good number of rechecks and insulin tweaks to get newly diagnosed cats regulated.

[AdamsFamily]

His canned food comes in 5.5 ounces.  He has not eaten even half of one in a 24 hour period.  He weighs 16 pounds, is a little overweight, but he is a Manx.  I don't think he is eating much of the dry food, but he has taken a few bites.  He gets treats after each time I check his glucose.  I fed him salmon today, which was one of his favorites, but he isn't eating it.  I am beginning to think something is wrong, but I can't get him to the vet until Monday.  Unfortunately due to a battery issue, I am currently stranded.  :(

 

Also, when I say that he is 10, I am making an assumption.  He was a rescue cat.  His brother died suddenly two years ago.  Our cat may be much older.

[TrixieB]

His canned food comes in 5.5 ounces.  He has not eaten even half of one in a 24 hour period.  He weighs 16 pounds, is a little overweight, but he is a Manx.  I don't think he is eating much of the dry food, but he has taken a few bites.  He gets treats after each time I check his glucose.  I fed him salmon today, which was one of his favorites, but he isn't eating it.  I am beginning to think something is wrong, but I can't get him to the vet until Monday.  Unfortunately due to a battery issue, I am currently stranded.  :(

 

Also, when I say that he is 10, I am making an assumption.  He was a rescue cat.  His brother died suddenly two years ago.  Our cat may be much older.

 

If the vet's office is still open, can you call them and ask what to do.  Is there anyone who can give you a ride to the vet?