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filigree - 03 Aug 2005 04:58 GMT

I had blood tests run on my cat for his upcoming teeth cleaning. It came
back with extremely high blood glucose (336, when the normal range is
70-150). During his cleaning the vet will be monitoring his blood glucose
levels. She said the other option is that this could be due to stress.

For those knowledgable on this subject, can you tell which seems likely? He
isn't eating/drinking/peeing excessively as she said he would be if it were
diabetes. He was dehydrated, she found from his tests. What could cause this
level of stress (I'm guessing maybe a combo of fleas and house
remodeling--the former is being taken care of and the latter doesn't affect
his living area, except for the occasional noise). Is there any other
problem or disease this might seem like? He also got tested for
leukemia/FIV/FIP of which the results I will get tonight (I'm guessing
negative, and will follow up here when I know for certain). Also, his red
count and lymphocytes (sp? going off my notes) were low.

Thanks in advance for any suggestions or ideas.

Kirsten

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Rhonda - 03 Aug 2005 05:06 GMT

Kirsten, that is really high. Normal is about 100, and our vet gets
suspicious if the level is over 200 in her office.

You could try testing at home, using human blood glucose meters. They
aren't all that expensive any more, and will give more accurate results
because the cat is not stressed. It's a little flick on the edge of
their ear.

We had a diabetic cat -- his first blood glucose test was 250 in the
vet's office, but came back over 400 from the lab.

Also ask your questions on the message board at www.felinediabetes.com.
They are VERY knowledgable about almost every aspect of the disease.
They can help every step of the way with the meter.

Good luck,

Rhonda

> I had blood tests run on my cat for his upcoming teeth cleaning. It came
> back with extremely high blood glucose (336, when the normal range is
[quoted text clipped - 15 lines]
>
> Kirsten

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Trish - 03 Aug 2005 05:44 GMT

> Kirsten, that is really high. Normal is about 100, and our vet gets
> suspicious if the level is over 200 in her office.
[quoted text clipped - 34 lines]
> >
> > Kirsten

I sometimes take care of a diabetic cat (Jojo), ensuring he gets his insulin
shots daily, plus other meds not related to diabetes (chemo pills and
predisone). I'm not sure if I can help you much other than to ask if they
did an historic blood sampling for him. One blood sample reading high
numbers could just be a one-off. Unfortunately Jojo wasn't
eating/drinking/peeing excessively either, it was picked up in a routine
exam. However, he's doing great and could care less about the insulin shot,
now the pills are a whole other story. I'm diabetic, and every three months
I get an historic reading done, its most accurate for diagnosing and
maintaining diabetes.

Does he require dental work, other than the cleaning, when one of mine
needed dental work, his numbers were off as well, once the dental work was
done they returned to normal (he even showed signs of dehydration prior to
the dental work). I hope someone here can offer you more than what I've
just written.

Was it a fasting blood sugar? If not, what kind of food did he eat prior to
the test?

I hope all the other tests come back within range.

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filigree - 03 Aug 2005 14:39 GMT

He also got tested for

> > > leukemia/FIV/FIP of which the results I will get tonight (I'm guessing
> > > negative, and will follow up here when I know for certain).

His tests came back negative, thankfully.

> I sometimes take care of a diabetic cat (Jojo), ensuring he gets his insulin
> shots daily, plus other meds not related to diabetes (chemo pills and
[quoted text clipped - 6 lines]
> I get an historic reading done, its most accurate for diagnosing and
> maintaining diabetes.

I'm not sure what a historic blood sampling is, but I'm checking out that
diabetes site now.

> Does he require dental work, other than the cleaning, when one of mine
> needed dental work, his numbers were off as well, once the dental work was
> done they returned to normal (he even showed signs of dehydration prior to
> the dental work). I hope someone here can offer you more than what I've
> just written.

He does require dental work. I hope it would just be that, but I'm guessing
the vet would be surprised to see it happen.

> Was it a fasting blood sugar? If not, what kind of food did he eat prior to
> the test?

It wasn't a fasting blood sugar. He'd eaten dry Friskies some time before
then. Sunday a.m. she's going to do a fasting blood sugar and monitor him
through his cleaning, so I'll get more info then.

Kirsten

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filigree - 03 Aug 2005 14:41 GMT

> Kirsten, that is really high. Normal is about 100, and our vet gets
> suspicious if the level is over 200 in her office.
[quoted text clipped - 3 lines]
> because the cat is not stressed. It's a little flick on the edge of
> their ear.

That's a good idea, I'll look into it.

> We had a diabetic cat -- his first blood glucose test was 250 in the
> vet's office, but came back over 400 from the lab.

Hmm, I don't think she asked for that test from the lab at all, just done in
her office.

> Also ask your questions on the message board at www.felinediabetes.com.
> They are VERY knowledgable about almost every aspect of the disease.
> They can help every step of the way with the meter.

Thank you for the link! I'll check into it.

Kirsten

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Phil P. - 03 Aug 2005 14:45 GMT

> I had blood tests run on my cat for his upcoming teeth cleaning. It came
> back with extremely high blood glucose (336, when the normal range is
> 70-150). During his cleaning the vet will be monitoring his blood glucose
> levels. She said the other option is that this could be due to stress.

A blood glucose concentration of 300-400 mg/dl *without* glucosuria or
excessive drinking (polydipsia) or urinating (polyuria) could certainly be
caused by stress. Ask your vet to have your cat's serum fructosamine
concentration checked. This test distinguishes stress hyperglycemia from
diabetes because serum fructosamine isn't affected by stress.

Good luck.

Phil

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filigree - 14 Aug 2005 19:45 GMT

> > I had blood tests run on my cat for his upcoming teeth cleaning. It came
> > back with extremely high blood glucose (336, when the normal range is
[quoted text clipped - 6 lines]
> concentration checked. This test distinguishes stress hyperglycemia from
> diabetes because serum fructosamine isn't affected by stress.

Thanks for this information. I'll definitely ask my vet about it. What I'm
wondering, though, is--what does it mean if a cat is stressed? And how does
one alleviate the stress?

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Phil P. - 15 Aug 2005 20:14 GMT

> > > I had blood tests run on my cat for his upcoming teeth cleaning. It came
> > > back with extremely high blood glucose (336, when the normal range is
[quoted text clipped - 11 lines]
> wondering, though, is--what does it mean if a cat is stressed? And how does
> one alleviate the stress?

The trip to the vet alone is enough to cause physiologic (stress)
hyperglycemia in a lot of cats. Have you made any changes in your household
(new pets, people, rearranged furniture, schedule, stress in the household
[fights, arguments]? How about cats or other animals outside that your cat
can see from a window?

Phil

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filigree - 16 Aug 2005 05:33 GMT

> The trip to the vet alone is enough to cause physiologic (stress)
> hyperglycemia in a lot of cats. Have you made any changes in your household
> (new pets, people, rearranged furniture, schedule, stress in the household
> [fights, arguments]? How about cats or other animals outside that your cat
> can see from a window?

I did some reading about cat stress in the interim, and found several things
that could contribute. He has serious teeth problems, which the vet will be
taking care of this weekend. There is construction going on in the house 3-4
days/week, although not in the back part where he is (but the noise could
contribute).

I left a message with my vet re: the serum fructosamine so I'll look into
that as well. I also read about Feliway Comfort Zone and Rescue Remedy as
several things that can help make a cat feel less stressed. If it's a good
idea, I may try the Rescue Remedy (then I can use it as well) until he heals
from his teeth problems and the construction is done. We should be moving
within a few months to our own space, which I think will make both my cats
very happy, as well as myself.

Kirsten

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