Does my cat have Diabetes?

Hi all
i am new to this whole diabetes thing with my cat. My cat is only 4
years old and has been fine since we ever got him at 16 weeks old. We
feed him nutro and he loves it. This past week, though, he has been
peeing outside his litter box, drinking more than usual, and finally
started to urinate blood everywhere! we quickly took him to the vet
where they just phoned and told me they have to keep him another
night! apparently he has too much glucose in his system and he "might"
be diabetic. I asked if that is why he had blood in his urine but i
didn't get a definate answer except that too much glucose can cause
infection??
What i want to know is how come all of a sudden, my cat is diabetic at
age 4?? he seemed perfectly fine all these years. He is an indoor cat
and of average weight. Also, why was be bleeding urine all of a
sudden when the cat food we feed him is for urinary tract health?

i am new to this whole diabetes thing
with my cat. My cat is only 4 years old
and has been fine since we ever got him
at 16 weeks old. We feed him nutro and
he loves it. This past week, though, he
has been peeing outside his litter box,
drinking more than usual, and finally
started to urinate blood everywhere! we
quickly took him to the vet where they
just phoned and told me they have to
keep him another night! apparently he
has too much glucose in his system and
he "might" be diabetic. I asked if that
is why he had blood in his urine but i
didn't get a definate answer except that
too much glucose can cause infection??
Often a cat under stress will have an elevated blood sugar level and is
not necessarily diabetic. Do you happen to know what the number was?

What i want to know is how come all of a
sudden, my cat is diabetic at age 4?? he
seemed perfectly fine all these years.
He is an indoor cat and of average
weight. Also, why was be bleeding urine
all of a sudden when the cat food we
feed him is for urinary tract health?

"Urinary tract health" food is not necessarily healthy for your cat,
especially if it's dry food. Sometimes it will acidfy the urine too much
and cause calcium oxylate crystals and stones to form. The other problem
is that you are feeding a dry diet, which is not good for cats and can
result in several problems including urinary tract problems and
diabetes. A canned food only diet is healthiest, especially for a cat
that develops a urinary tract issue. Cats are evolved to get most of
their moisture from their food and feeding a dry diet means they have to
drink more water to make up for what they should be getting from the
food but aren't. Most cats don't drink enough water to make up for it.
To illustrate, dry is generally about 10% moisture and canned is around
75%. That's a huge difference.

If your cat's blood glucose isn't dangerously high, I would work on
resolving the urinary tract infection first and see if his numbers come
down before deciding he's diabetic. You should also get him on a
strictly canned diet not only to increase his water intake, but also
minimize the amount of carbohydrates he has to process, which is
especially important if he's diabetic.

You should also read the following article which will give you a good
overview about why a canned diet is better. HTH.
http://www.avma.org/convention/recap/news/tuesday16.asp

Megan



"The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do
nothing."

-Edmund Burke

Learn The TRUTH About Declawing
http://www.stopdeclaw.com

Zuzu's Cats Photo Album:
http://www.PictureTrail.com/zuzu22

"Concerning all acts of initiative (and creation), there is one
elementary truth the ignorance of which kills countless ideas and
splendid plans: that the moment one definitely commits oneself, then
providence moves too. A whole stream of events issues from the decision,
raising in one's favor all manner of unforeseen incidents, meetings and
material assistance, which no man could have dreamt would have come his
way."

- W.H. Murray

i am new to this whole diabetes thing
with my cat. My cat is only 4 years old
and has been fine since we ever got him
at 16 weeks old. We feed him nutro and
he loves it. This past week, though, he
has been peeing outside his litter box,
drinking more than usual, and finally
started to urinate blood everywhere! we
quickly took him to the vet where they
just phoned and told me they have to
keep him another night! apparently he
has too much glucose in his system and
he "might" be diabetic. I asked if that
is why he had blood in his urine but i
didn't get a definate answer except that
too much glucose can cause infection??
Often a cat under stress will have an elevated blood sugar level and is
not necessarily diabetic. Do you happen to know what the number was?

What i want to know is how come all of a
sudden, my cat is diabetic at age 4?? he
seemed perfectly fine all these years.
He is an indoor cat and of average
weight. Also, why was be bleeding urine
all of a sudden when the cat food we
feed him is for urinary tract health?

"Urinary tract health" food is not necessarily healthy for your cat,
especially if it's dry food. Sometimes it will acidfy the urine too much
and cause calcium oxylate crystals and stones to form. The other problem
is that you are feeding a dry diet, which is not good for cats and can
result in several problems including urinary tract problems and
diabetes. A canned food only diet is healthiest, especially for a cat
that develops a urinary tract issue. Cats are evolved to get most of
their moisture from their food and feeding a dry diet means they have to
drink more water to make up for what they should be getting from the
food but aren't. Most cats don't drink enough water to make up for it.
To illustrate, dry is generally about 10% moisture and canned is around
75%. That's a huge difference.

If your cat's blood glucose isn't dangerously high, I would work on
resolving the urinary tract infection first and see if his numbers come
down before deciding he's diabetic. You should also get him on a
strictly canned diet not only to increase his water intake, but also
minimize the amount of carbohydrates he has to process, which is
especially important if he's diabetic.

You should also read the following article which will give you a good
overview about why a canned diet is better. HTH.
http://www.avma.org/convention/recap/news/tuesday16.asp

Megan



"The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do
nothing."

-Edmund Burke

Learn The TRUTH About Declawing
http://www.stopdeclaw.com

Zuzu's Cats Photo Album:
http://www.PictureTrail.com/zuzu22

"Concerning all acts of initiative (and creation), there is one
elementary truth the ignorance of which kills countless ideas and
splendid plans: that the moment one definitely commits oneself, then
providence moves too. A whole stream of events issues from the decision,
raising in one's favor all manner of unforeseen incidents, meetings and
material assistance, which no man could have dreamt would have come his
way."

- W.H. Murray

I am not qualified to answer all of your questions... But I can say this:
Why do we get sick sometimes all of a sudden. People develop diabetes at a
certain point in their life even if they have been fine always before. I
imagine it can happen for cats too.
Best of luck with your cat, I'm glad you took him to the vet!... I hope
he'll be ok.
Mia.

"Elna" wrote in message
om...
Hi all
i am new to this whole diabetes thing with my cat. My cat is only 4
years old and has been fine since we ever got him at 16 weeks old. We
feed him nutro and he loves it. This past week, though, he has been
peeing outside his litter box, drinking more than usual, and finally
started to urinate blood everywhere! we quickly took him to the vet
where they just phoned and told me they have to keep him another
night! apparently he has too much glucose in his system and he "might"
be diabetic. I asked if that is why he had blood in his urine but i
didn't get a definate answer except that too much glucose can cause
infection??
What i want to know is how come all of a sudden, my cat is diabetic at
age 4?? he seemed perfectly fine all these years. He is an indoor cat
and of average weight. Also, why was be bleeding urine all of a
sudden when the cat food we feed him is for urinary tract health?

I am not qualified to answer all of your questions... But I can say this:
Why do we get sick sometimes all of a sudden. People develop diabetes at a
certain point in their life even if they have been fine always before. I
imagine it can happen for cats too.
Best of luck with your cat, I'm glad you took him to the vet!... I hope
he'll be ok.
Mia.

"Elna" wrote in message
om...
Hi all
i am new to this whole diabetes thing with my cat. My cat is only 4
years old and has been fine since we ever got him at 16 weeks old. We
feed him nutro and he loves it. This past week, though, he has been
peeing outside his litter box, drinking more than usual, and finally
started to urinate blood everywhere! we quickly took him to the vet
where they just phoned and told me they have to keep him another
night! apparently he has too much glucose in his system and he "might"
be diabetic. I asked if that is why he had blood in his urine but i
didn't get a definate answer except that too much glucose can cause
infection??
What i want to know is how come all of a sudden, my cat is diabetic at
age 4?? he seemed perfectly fine all these years. He is an indoor cat
and of average weight. Also, why was be bleeding urine all of a
sudden when the cat food we feed him is for urinary tract health?