Possible diabetes

[Kathmac]

MY 16 year old neutered female cat has always had excellent health and vets have difficulty believing her age - they say she is one of those cats who looks as if she will go on forever.

For the past 18 months or so, she has been quite vocal - howling for no apparent reason for several minutes at a time, several times a day. Around the middle of last year, her water intake increased to twice what it was before. I asked my vet to do a blood test in September but it was normal.

After a 2 week cattery stay in October, she had to have emergency treatment for cystitis which cleared up in a few days. Since then, water intake has increased again - about 2 cupfuls a day (as compared with about half a cup 18 months ago). Urination is probably about twice what it was a year ago but not excessive considering the amount she drinks. She is occasionally sick but no more than I have experienced with her and other cats. She can no longer tolerate cow's milk but the vet says this is just her age. She has had a diet of moist cat food mixed with a little dry food all her life (the dry which I use now is especially designed for older cats with a vegetable base). She is not as lively as she used to be but can still do a house tour at 100 miles per hour when the mood takes her - about as much as one could expect from an old feline pensioner!

I have looked at all the information on diabetes but she only seems to fit on her water intake and vocalisation. Does anyone have a view on whether diabetes is likely? Should I ask for another blood test despite the one done only 5 months ago? Or is this all just a symptom of her age?

[kk]

Absolutely get your cat checked right away. Your vet needs to run a complete geriatric panel to rule out, not only diabetes, but kidney disease and thyroid disease. Please let us know what the follow-up results are, and good luck. kk

[Traci]

She is occasionally sick but no more than I have experienced with her and other cats.

With what symptoms?

Should I ask for another blood test despite the one done only 5 months ago? Or is this all just a symptom of her age?

The key to diagnosing diabetes is not bloodwork alone, but to include urinalysis as well, getting both urine and blood glucose helps the vet to determine borderline vs true diabetes. Urinalysis can also help in the evaluation of kidney disease. For these reasons, yes, get another blood panel done, including urinalysis and thyroid function as KK mentions, kidney disease may be an underlying problem that is going overlooked. Since older cats tend to lose their kidney filtering ability, it is the organ most often to fail first. Since she had an emergency event with cystitis, you want to keep one step ahead of any progressing kidney impairment, and/or potential for urinary tract infection.,