loss of appetite & weight, stiffness in hind legs, extremely thirsty

[tropikitten]

My cat has been on steroids and aminophilline for asthma for about a year and doing well. He's also been drinking great amounts of water since I started him on the steroids, but his blood was tested and came back at non-diabetic levels.
Lately, he has lost a lot of weight and has stopped eating. He lays at his water bowl constantly and drinks and drinks and drinks, yet today when I brought him to the vet we found that he was dehydrated! His ketones were normal, his liver and kidneys were fine, but his blood sugar was high (though not tremendously high). His potassium levels were low. I also noticed yesterday that he seems a little stiff in his hind legs when he walks, and he's slow. I'm worried sick. Any ideas???

[TeriM]

What did your vet think?

[SableCollie]

Did your vet have any thoughts at all on what it could be? Could it be side effects from the medications? I know steroids can have quite a few negative side effects.

I hope you figure this out.

[sugarcatmom]

Well, steroids can result in diabetes in some cats, and that high blood glucose reading might be pointing in that direction. Do you know what the number was? Since the stress of going to the vet can temporarily elevate bg's, a good test to have done is called a fructosamine (it's an average of the bg levels over the past couple of weeks). If your vet hasn't done that, I'd recommend it at this point.

In the meantime, you might want to do some research on asthma inhalers for cats, starting with this site: http://www.fritzthebrave.com/meds/inhaled.html There is a device called an AeroKat that makes it possible to use Flovent, and eliminates the possibility of developing diabetes.

Also, what are you feeding your cat? High carb dry foods will exacerbate any diabetes tendencies, and since your guy is dehydrated, feeding canned food with some water mixed in would be much better for him right now. If he's really stopped eating, you absolutely must deal with that! Try tempting him with something like plain meat baby food (Heinz chicken and broth is a good one).

Let us know how it goes. As the mom of a diabetic cat, I can give you lots more advice if that's what it turns out to be.

[LittleMissLevi]

Not sure what could be wrong with your little kitty, but some of the drugs that he is on are very common in the drugs he is taking. The prednisone causes excessive thirst, but maybe not to the point that you are describing. I would be more alarmed at the fact he is dehydrated and still drinking excessively. This seems to point to the kidneys to me. An elevated glucose level can easily be linked to the dehydration and a low potassium would also be from excess water input. How much is he peeing (quantity and time/day) and what colour is the pee? Hyperglycemia is also linked to excessive thirst but I would think you would see a marked increase in the BG levels if this was the case.

[tropikitten]

Hi everyone, Thankyou so much for your input.
My vet still has him today and now she thinks he may be diabetic, though he doesn't really fit into all the parameters. I think it may be side effects from the steroids. I'm going to look into a kitty inhaler.
His blood sugar reading was around 250 I think. My vet took more readings after the office closed when he was calm and she said they were even lower then. When he pees on a wee wee pad, it is completely clear.
I feed him Purina One natural blends Chicken and Oat formula.

[sugarcatmom]

250 isn't so screamin' high, although the normal range for a non-diabetic is more like 50-120. Stress, infection (maybe he has a UTI?), dehydration can all be factors in bg elevation, but it's worth keeping an eye on it, especially with steroid use. Whether it turns out to be diabetes or not, I'd still highly recommend a diet change. The ingredients of the Purina One dry have way too many grains and carbohydrates for an obligate carnivore to be eating:

Ingredients
Chicken, corn gluten meal, poultry by-product meal, oat meal, brown rice, whole grain wheat, animal fat preserved with mixed-tocopherols (form of Vitamin E), wheat gluten, whole grain corn, natural flavor, dried beet pulp, calcium phosphate, potassium chloride, phosphoric acid, calcium carbonate, canola oil, soybean oil, salt, choline chloride, malted barley flour, dried cranberries, L-Lysine monohydrochloride, taurine, zinc sulfate, Vitamin E supplement, ferrous sulfate, manganese sulfate, niacin, Vitamin A supplement, calcium pantothenate, thiamine mononitrate (Vitamin B-1), copper sulfate, riboflavin supplement (Vitamin B-2), Vitamin B-12 supplement, pyridoxine hydrochloride (Vitamin B-6), folic acid, Vitamin D-3 supplement, calcium iodate, biotin, menadione sodium bisulfite complex (source of Vitamin K activity), sodium selenite.

A low-carb canned food would be sooooo much better! Something like Wellness, Nature's Variety, Merrick, or, if cost is an issue, even one of the grain-free Fancy Feast flavours. To back me up, here is a long but excellent article written by a vet regarding feline nutrition: http://www.catinfo.org/

Hoping your kitty gets to come home soon and returns to good health. Keep me updated . . .