Diabetic cat problems.

Dr. Marie replied:

Sorry to hear that Miss Kitty may not be feeling well.

I am always concerned when a cat is not wanting to eat, especially if she is a diabetic cat. As you likely know, an glucose value of 377 or 372 is too high.

There are a few possible reasons for this. Yes, it is possible that she needs an increase in her insulin dose. Have you recently gotten a new bottle of insulin? Sometimes there can be errors in dosages. I once had a client who bought insulin from the pharmacy but the pharmacy gave them the wrong strength and the insulin was actually 10x stronger than expected. (In this case, the opposite happened and the cat got too much insulin and went into insulin shock.)

Has the insulin been stored properly? (i.e. in the fridge) Have you had this bottle for a really long time?

If there has been a problem in the way that insulin is stored then this can make it much less effective.

However, if there was simply an issue with the quality of the insulin or the handling of it, it shouldn't cause Miss Kitty to be off of her food unless she was getting this insulin for a long time. Given that she has only been affected for 3-4 days I am concerned that there is something else going on.

If a diabetic cat suddenly becomes unsteady in their glucose levels then I get worried that the body is fighting something else. Some cats can get pancreatitis, which is inflammation in the pancreas. This can make cats very sick and can really mess around with insulin and glucose levels.

Another possibility is a very serious condition called DKA (diabetic ketoacidosis). DKA can happen if a cat has had poorly regulated glucose levels for a while. The body starts to mobilize a product called ketones in order for the body to have an energy source. But, the liver can only handle so much of this and after a while a cat can get very sick. DKA is a life threatening emergency.

It is unlikely that this is something that can be fixed by just increasing the insulin dose. I know this is probably not what you want to hear but I would highly suggest an emergency visit today if that is at all possible.

I would stick with your regular dose of insulin until you are able to speak directly with a veterinarian who can look at Miss Kitty and review her case.

I really hope she is ok!

Dr. Marie.


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