Kitteh update: Crabby Clover and the Diabetes Adventure (interesting outcome!)

Hola Loungers--a few days ago I started a thread about feline diabetes, because our pisspot, Clover, had been living up to her nickname and started peeing gallons. Okay, not gallons, but more than usual for a 5 lb. runt.

We went to the vet today, which shaved about a year off the neurotic kitteh's life. (If there's such a thing as an agoraphobic cat, she is one.) She peed in the carrier, quite possibly before we left the driveway. Then she wailed all the way, and startled the receptionist with more wailing when we got there.

The lovely techs took her, crate and all, in the back, where they siphoned off the pee for testing, cleaned the carrier, and dried her off. She proceeded to huddle in a tiny ball and shiver on the exam table, mostly because what sounded like a very large goggie in the next room was quite upset about being there, too, and his woofs and yips freaked her out.

After waiting quite a long time because of an emergency that took precedence over Peeing Cat, the vet tested her urine. Everything was normal (no elevated levels of anything that would indicate diabetes, and her urine wasn't concentrated). Then the lovely techs took her away again to draw blood and clean her damp-with-pee paws, and I took her home.

The vet called a few minutes ago (what service!) with the blood test results. She does not have diabetes, nor does she have hyperthyroidism. She has some signs of kidney disease, which is to be expected in a 15-year-old feline.

Now get this--the vet recommended a medication that apparently slows down the process and lets pets live longer, and more comfortably, in their senior years. She said it's made up by a compounding pharmacy--making up the correct dose for the weight of the pet, and they even add their favorite flavor. Half a cc once a day. They send it by mail. The vet kept referring to the product by name (and oops I just forgot what it was--starts with a C) so while she was talking I did a little googling. This wonder drug--? Ya ready? Wait for it...

Vitamin D.

Is there ANYTHING this vitamin can't do? I'm on high doses for a severe deficiency, as is my mother and my son (absorption problems--runs in the family--no amount of dairy or sunlight will help--trust me on this one). Now it can help alleviate kidney disease? In cats?

I am astounded. And I am grateful that this is all Clover needs. I realize that she's getting up there in years and she will have more health problems as she gets even older, but if this is all she needs right now, I'll take it.

Anyway, thanks everyone for your support! Clover, of course, says "humph". :hi:

It really did. I was deficient (Seattle--go figure). It's the only thing I ever remember taking (I don't take any psychopharmacologicals) that very quickly made a difference in how well I felt and how disease resistant I am.

And I don't pee in my carrier any more either!

:P

And it's made a world of difference in MG Jr. He used to catch EVERY. SINGLE. PLAGUE. the elementary school dished out. Two years ago, he was sick for two solid months in late winter/early spring--strep, then a different virus, then strep again. Since taking 1,000 IUs of D (doctor's orders), he might or might NOT catch the Plague o' the Week, but if he does get it, he gets over it right away. Amazing.

The only thing I have to do is keep from thinking about all the illnesses I had myself that I could have avoided...like polycystic ovary syndrome that made me infertile for years and I never knew it... :grr: Heck, taking D could have alleviated my pre-diabetic symptoms and my hypothyroid symptoms as well. Must...not...dwell... :nuke:

Before the tests the doctor told her: "You will be found deficient for Vitamin D. Everyone here is. I've never had a patient test with sufficient Vitamin D levels."

your kitty is not as neurotic as mine. Me and the vet call him "homocidal cat". I am glad that your kitty is ok, and that the kidney problem is not bad enough to do more than Vitamin D supplements for now. Fingers crossed here that this helps.

Sigh, my kitty goes to the vet tomorrow for blood tests, again. I hate this almost as much as the cat does.

Clover just sits there and shakes like a leaf. Our dear departed Dilbert, however, used to allow himself to be subjected to whatever the vet dished out, WAIT however long it took, and then, when the vet was distracted...SLASH!!!! No lie. Caught her on the cheek. Bless her, the vet just laughed and showed him immense respect for having the intelligence to wait her out before attacking.

Hope your kitty does okay at the vet. :(

Sounded like two feral cats fighting. My vet does not "like" to sedate him because of a heart murmur, so always thinks that "this time" maybe we won't have to do it. She stuck her head in the exam room and said "we think we will have to sedate him". No shit. I heard him back there! Finally, she has agreed with me that we will just automatically sedate him every time he needs blood work. My suggestion all along, so I guess that I am not so dumb after all. Let me tell you, I would not want to do this if I did not think it was important----cost is $55 just for sedating him. Jeez. The sweetest, most laid back cat in the world---except at the vet.

Well, it is over for 2 more months.

thanks so much for sharing it. Glad she is going to do better.
Vitamin D has been a great help to me too.

strictly indoor cat? I wonder if all indoor cats should have Vit D.

:rofl:

Seriously--she's got that "permanently pissed off" expression (part Persian, I assume--she was a stray so I can't tell for sure), yells at you if you don't fork over the chicken (made just for her) fast enough, and does protest poops in the dining room (thank the gods for hardwood floors) if you do something to annoy her. She doesn't like to be picked up, but if she decides she wants to climb on you, she won't settle in--just stands there on your belly--and she doesn't know how to retract her claws, so all our shirts have pulls and/or holes in them.

But *sigh* she's part of the family.

Good question about all indoor cats needing D. I don't know the answer to that one; I'd assume they have different requirements from humans, but I couldn't say for sure. Clover is definitely an indoor cat only--she didn't spend too long outside as a stray (not long enough to get any parasites like mites, earworms, or fleas), but it was long enough for the neurotic missy to NEVER. WANT. TO. GO. OUT. AGAIN. Seriously--we've tried inviting her out to nom on some grass, like we do with our other cat, but she just sniffs the fresh air at the door and walks away with a serious "No thank you!" air about her.
:rofl:

Except that mine weighs three times what Clover weighs. She has that same expression, however. I'm glad to hear that her current issues can be easily dealt with. As her kidney disease advances, look into a product called "Azodyl". It's a probiotic, and your vet may very well carry it, although you don't need a prescription for it. (They sell it on Amazon.com.) It helps remove the kidney toxins via the intestines. It's not going to cure the kidney problems, but it certainly helps make them feel better for a longer period of time. It gave my old man an extra year, and his kidney disease was well advanced when I started him on it.

I will definitely ask the vet about it. And my aunt has a cat with kidney disease as well--I'll let her know. Thanks! :hi: