A DIABETIC CAT?

I adopted a kitten found in a friend’s garden here in the village early July. It took a while for me to adjust to the loss of my last cat whom I had transported from the US in my move early in 2019. It was hard and very sad to lose her and I had to grieve. But time worked its magic and when my friend said this cat showed up, I had to see it. I guess it was meant to be. The Universe was speaking to me and so I agreed to take her.

Her official name is Lilou, an affectionate French name for females of any species. But like all of my other cats (of which there have only been been two), she gets called “Kitty.”

Several weeks ago, at barely seven months of age, Lilou was sterilized. 

I was shocked at how beautifully she tolerated the procedure. I brought her home a mere five hours after surgery and she was bouncing around chasing her toys and wanting to play. Mind you, the surgical incision was less than a centimeter and the abdomen of a cat, unlike that of a human, is not very muscular. So to her, it was probably not much more than a skin prick. Regardless, she did well. Until two weeks post-op.

The first sign I observed was her lack of appetite. We switched from the normal kitten food to food for “sterilized kittens less than 1 year.” She stopped eating for several days. I went to the pet shop and bought different brands of food to see what might work. They were somewhat enticing, but not entirely. But then, all of a sudden, she began to eat voraciously with an appetite like that of a horse. What I would normally feed her in two days just wasn’t enough. New food, old food: it didn’t matter. She was HUNGRY!  

I also noticed that she was very thirsty as her water bowl was nearly empty in the morning. This is rare for a cat because they tend not to take in a lot of fluids which long-term has serious implications for the functioning of the kidneys. But she was obviously thirsty. And hungry. 

In medicine there are “The 3 Ps”: Polyphagia (excessive appetite) Polydipsia (excessive thirst) and Polyuria (excessive urination). If all three are present, you are likely dealing with diabetes. 

She definitely had the first two (polyphagia and polydipsia). I didn’t know about the third because she is now an indoor/outside cat and has the liberty to go outside. So I can’t monitor her urinary habits. 

Given the presence of the first two signs, I looked at her pre-operative blood levels. Sure enough, her fasting glucose level was elevated. So I began to think diabetes. 

I called the vet and asked for an appointment to assess another fasting blood glucose. This was last Friday, but I had an appointment for first thing Monday morning. 

She wasn’t happy to have her food taken away Sunday evening, but we had no choice. Worse was Monday morning when we went to the vet. She was hungry and wanted to be fed and she definitely let me know it. But the good news is that her fasting glucose was normal. She is not diabetic. 

The vet said that first of all, the pre-operative elevated fasting blood glucose was probably due to stress. Secondly, her lack of hunger and then sudden voracious appetite are likely due to a changing metabolism. Her uterus and ovaries have been removed. There are significant endocrinal adjustments. So we’ll just have to ride it out.

The good news is that she is now eating well. I can now feed her 2-3 times her normal amount without concern. Despite this incredible oral intake, she only gained 100 grams. If only.