u/Tangliness

Has anyone’s cat started out with a diagnosis of diabetes, but it ended up being something else entirely?

I’m extremely worried about my cat. He’s been hospitalized for 6 days now for uncontrolled blood sugar and he is very, very sick. At first they thought it was diabetes, but now they’re saying they don’t think diabetes is the main issue.

They did a glucose curve yesterday on Prozinc and his numbers actually responded well and came down. He had been improving for about 5 days, but today he suddenly declined again. Now they’re saying his electrolytes look bad, especially his potassium, which is very low.

I’m honestly so lost and scared. The bill keeps increasing, but he’s too sick to leave the hospital or even see an internist right now.

At one point they were considering Conn’s syndrome because of the low potassium, but his blood pressure has been running low, which apparently doesn’t fit. They also said hyperthyroidism seems unlikely because they don’t feel anything abnormal around his thyroid.

I guess I’m just wondering if anyone has gone through something similar or had a cat who looked diabetic at first but ended up having another underlying condition. I know nobody can diagnose him online, but I feel desperate for answers right now.

UPDATE: a couple hours after I left for work, my family found him unresponsive at home. They rushed him to an emergency vet, but the doctor there was in surgery and told us to go elsewhere immediately or he might not make it. He is now at another emergency vet. His temperature was very low (95°F), and they’ve placed him on a Bair Hugger for warming and have him on oxygen/ventilatory support while running more tests. The team said they’re concerned this may be more than just diabetes.

Original post: Hi everyone, I’m really worried about my cat and could use some advice or shared experiences.

My cat Toki is 10 years old (turning 11 in August) and was diagnosed with diabetes last November. It started with weight loss and excessive drinking. We initially tried Vetsulin for about two months, but unfortunately saw no improvement despite dose adjustments, his blood sugars stayed in the 400s.

We then switched to Lantus, starting at 2 units every 12 hours, later adjusting to 3 units in the morning and 2 at night. At first, things seemed slightly better (down to the 300s), but last week he stopped eating and became noticeably weaker. I brought him to the vet, and his blood sugar was in the 500s. They hospitalized him for two days, gave IV fluids, and did a glucose curve with checks every 2 hours. They were able to get him down into the 100s on Lantus, but the next morning he spiked back up to the 700s.

The vet did mention that he was eating while hospitalized, which makes it even more confusing why he’s now refusing food at home.

They discharged him once he stabilized into the 300s with instructions to increase Lantus to 4 units twice a day and to order ProZinc so we can try switching insulin types.

The problem now is that since coming home yesterday, he still isn’t eating much and is barely drinking. He just seems really off, and I’m scared we’re missing something or that his diabetes is out of control.

Has anyone experienced something similar with their diabetic cat? Especially with these kinds of swings or poor response to insulin? I’m also worried about him not eating, how urgent is that in this situation?

Any advice, insight, or even reassurance would mean a lot. Thank you so much.