10 yr old diabetic cat goes into sniffing fit

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William Kaukler - 05 Sep 2003 08:16 GMT

Several times in the last few weeks, my cat has spontaneously gone into a
sniffing fit going around the house constantly smelling everything;
constantly walking slowly and maybe going in circles. He smells the wall,
floor and any objects in his reach, moving slowly around and maybe getting
stuck in a corner. During this time, he is not responsive to vocal or
physical stimulus. This would last a half hour at a time. He is an indoor
cat.
It looks like some form of mental abnormality but I have never heard of such
a thing and have no success with a web search.
Can anyone identify the problem? A vet visit is coming up but I am worried
now.

Kitty's dad.

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Karen Chuplis - 05 Sep 2003 12:28 GMT

> Several times in the last few weeks, my cat has spontaneously gone into a
> sniffing fit going around the house constantly smelling everything;
[quoted text clipped - 9 lines]
>
> Kitty's dad.

I've never heard of this particular behavior, but I do wonder if it could be
related to the diabetes somehow. Please keep us posted on what the vet says!

Karen

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wdo - 05 Sep 2003 13:01 GMT

It sounds like this may be kidney failure. He is also lusting after water?
Males are more likely to do this. Me may be having trouble urinating, that
would be why he is circling in the corning, trying to go. This could life
threatenig if not treated immediately,

> Several times in the last few weeks, my cat has spontaneously gone into a
> sniffing fit going around the house constantly smelling everything;
[quoted text clipped - 9 lines]
>
> Kitty's dad.

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zuzu22@webtv.net - 05 Sep 2003 15:03 GMT

>Several times in the last few weeks, my
>cat has spontaneously gone into a sniffing
[quoted text clipped - 7 lines]
>physical stimulus. This would last a half
>hour at a time.

It sounds like your cat is getting too much insulin and is going into a
hypoglycemic episode. Don't wait to talk to your vet.
http://www.felinediabetes.com/hypogly.htm
If you don't know how to check your cats blood sugar at home you should
learn ASAP. Glucometers are something every owner of a diabetic cat
should have, and you should be checking your cat's blood sugar levels
regularly.
http://www.felinediabetes.com/glucose.htm
In the meantime, you should get the cat to the vet immediately so they
can do a glucose curve and see how the insulin is being processed.

Please look at this page for an excellent manual on how to deal with
diabetes in cats. http://www.felinediabetes.com/dummies.htm

Megan

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DerekR - 05 Sep 2003 19:24 GMT

>Several times in the last few weeks, my cat has spontaneously gone into a
>sniffing fit going around the house constantly smelling everything;
[quoted text clipped - 9 lines]
>
>Kitty's dad.

Sounds like your cat is going hypo (low glucose level caused by too much
insulin). The reason he is smelling everything and getting stuck in
corners is because he is having difficulty seeing. My cat did this once,
right around the time of an insulin bottle change and slight dosage
increase. It lasted for about a day and it totally freaked me out at
first. I managed to bring her out of it by feeding her dissolved sugar
in ice cream to get her glucose level back up. I then spoke to the vet
and decreased her insulin dosage back to what it was before. She was
fine the next day and has been since, almost 6 months.

Hope eveything goes OK.

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DerekR,
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