Question to cat owners

[FramingDragon]

I took my cat to the vet after weeks of her strategically peeing on the exact same spots in the carpet almost daily even though she used her litter as well.

My vet wanted to rule out physical problems so he ordered a urine test to check for crystals (which was about $80). The results came back today and while there were no crystals, there was glucose in her pee. Now I've been told to do her blood work (~$200) to confirm if she does or doesn't have diabetes.

It's very worrisome obviously, and I've been told by him that stress can induce glucose in urine with cats (which I want to believe is the case as the pee was collected hours after her trip to the clinic) or she peed right after eating a big meal. In those cases, it'd be just a false alarm.

I guess my question here is if anyone is familiar with other cats that displayed her strange behavior or had sugar in their pee. The vet costs are ridiculous too.. in the Mainland, does anyone know places that'd do blood work for cheaper?

[KingAlex]

I'm afraid to tell this to you, but the Diabetus monster might have attacked your cat.

If it's left untreated, eventually diabetes can lead to life-threatening complications. Although the exact cause of feline diabetes isn't known, it's more likely to affect overweight cats, because obesity makes the cat'sbody less sensitive to the effects of insulin.

Anyway what i'm trying to say is that your cat has diabetes. Diabetes within cats are not uncommon, but not common either.

Edit: Spacing problems.

[ManUtd]

That's pretty pricey but it's probably better to know. One of my cats was ridiculously fat a couple years ago. The vet gave a really long lecture about how he needed to lose weight because he might get diabetes. She spent a long time explaining all the things we'd have to do if he ended up diabetic. I wouldn't be surprised if she was trying to make it sound a lot worse than it really is just to scare us into acting but it worked. It sounded like a pretty serious problem that's a lot of work to deal with.

[FramingDragon]

Yeah...I scared myself shitless reading WebMD myself but she's actually a slender cat. 7lbs with a small frame.

[Gross-Misconduct]

It's a little hard for me to talk about cats right now. After 14 yrs, we had to put down the best cat in the whole world just this past Tuesday. He had cat dementia ( even though that wasn't diagnosed by a vet, we all could tell he was losing it) and he had cancer (that was vet diagnosed) It was so hard for us to make that decision but he was suffering. The day he was scheduled to go to the vet to be put down, I bent down to give him some love and for the first time in weeks he had the energy to jump onto my lap. It's like he knew and it was so hard for me. I couldn't go to the vet because I didn't think I could handle it. We decided to bury him in the back yard. When he came home from the vet in a box that my sister had lovingly painted his picture and name on, I didn't want to see him dead. But I had to and it made me cry. But I'm glad I did, he was still warm and it was my last goodbye.

Now he's in our yard and I'm glad about that too. It's comforting to look outside my window and know where he is.

Didn't mean to hijack your thread, I just had to get it out

[FramingDragon]

It's a little hard for me to talk about cats right now. After 14 yrs, we had to put down the best cat in the whole world just this past Tuesday. He had cat dementia ( even though that wasn't diagnosed by a vet, we all could tell he was losing it) and he had cancer (that was vet diagnosed) It was so hard for us to make that decision but he was suffering. The day he was scheduled to go to the vet to be put down, I bent down to give him some love and for the first time in weeks he had the energy to jump onto my lap. It's like he knew and it was so hard for me. I couldn't go to the vet because I didn't think I could handle it. We decided to bury him in the back yard. When he came home from the vet in a box that my sister had lovingly painted his picture and name on, I didn't want to see him dead. But I had to and it made me cry. But I'm glad I did, he was still warm and it was my last goodbye.

Now he's in our yard and I'm glad about that too. It's comforting to look outside my window and know where he is.

Didn't mean to hijack your thread, I just had to get it out

Don't feel bad, it's a thread of all things. That's really tough to hear though...

I wish I could say something positive but the truth is between my cat getting injured and what you described, those are two of my worst nightmares. It's great you managed to find some comfort with his presence in the yard though. Baby steps to getting out of mourning

[Mr. Ambien]

Just get it the help it needs, don't try and diagnose your cat online.. the internet is only good for freaking people out, especially if they're already hypochondriacs.

I hope your cat gets better.

[GLASSJAW]

can't help you at all, but you have my sympathies completely

however, i will say this: if you can afford it and have the time: GET-A-SECOND-OPINION

i know it's not fashionable to assume the worst in doctors and vets and stuff, but when my previous cat was around and quite sick, my vet told me that he needed a handful of extremely expensive procedures done, otherwise he likely wouldn't have lived through the rest of the year. he was quite young at the time.

i took him to another vet, and he gave me some $15 pills, and my cat was fine within a week and lived for another 17 years.

i've been cautious ever since

[ManUtd]

Yeah...I scared myself crapless reading WebMD myself but she's actually a slender cat. 7lbs with a small frame.

Try not to freak yourself out. It sounds like there is a pretty good chance that she isn't diabetic. However, I wouldn't recommend just forgetting the test and hoping it's nothing particularly given how worried you seem to be. I know it would suck to spend that kind of money for it to turn out to be nothing but at least you'll have the peace of mind that your cat is okay and if she is diabetic you'll be able to get her the care she needs.

[GLASSJAW]

I spent about $150 on my current cat's eye infection because they wanted to make sure it wasn't this-or-that. Agree with ManUtd--it sucks spending the money, but having all the tests come back negative was worth it.

Of course, if they come back positive, it will suck.. but at least you'll know.

[c00kies]

A cat that we had (passed away 6-7 years ago) had diabetes. He was an older cat (17-18) when he died, but there were other issues as well. I'm not sure what we did after the diagnosis as he didn't live much longer afterwards, but I'm assuming some sort of medication.

I also have a cat that had crystal problems. He had the issues 10 or so years ago and has been fine ever since we got him new, specialized food.

I hope it's something less severe than diabetes.

Hope it all works out

[That's What She Said]

I've worked in animal care pretty much my whole career, including at a few vet clinics. Unfortunately vet care is quite expensive. There are places that are cheaper but you get what you pay for, cheaper places tend to use outdated equipment/medications, and aren't as uptight about sterilizing and following proper procedures and whatnot. That being said, blood tests are sent off to the lab anyway so it's pretty much the same wherever you go, just call around and ask about prices.

If you're JUST testing for diabetes, you can ask for a Fructosamine test (usually ~$50-60 plus the blood collection fee) which is a lot cheaper than a full blood panel, but I would recommend doing a full blood panel just to check for any other problems.

[peaches5]

I took my cat to the vet after weeks of her strategically peeing on the exact same spots in the carpet almost daily even though she used her litter as well.

My vet wanted to rule out physical problems so he ordered a urine test to check for crystals (which was about $80). The results came back today and while there were no crystals, there was glucose in her pee. Now I've been told to do her blood work (~$200) to confirm if she does or doesn't have diabetes.

It's very worrisome obviously, and I've been told by him that stress can induce glucose in urine with cats (which I want to believe is the case as the pee was collected hours after her trip to the clinic) or she peed right after eating a big meal. In those cases, it'd be just a false alarm.

I guess my question here is if anyone is familiar with other cats that displayed her strange behavior or had sugar in their pee. The vet costs are ridiculous too.. in the Mainland, does anyone know places that'd do blood work for cheaper?

If the cat is young and doing this is could be a case of it being taken away to young from its mother and the only thing you can do is put it down unless you want to deal with it peeing inside if its an older cat and it just started doing this you're going to need to pay to do the testing. The reason why it costs so much is because the vets and insurance companies scratch each other backs you ever walk into a clinic that doesn't advertise pet insurance? no. They make their prices extremely unaffordable so you are enticed to buy pet insurance where they then can get paid full price from the insurance company.

[elvis15]

I've worked in animal care pretty much my whole career, including at a few vet clinics. Unfortunately vet care is quite expensive. There are places that are cheaper but you get what you pay for, cheaper places tend to use outdated equipment/medications, and aren't as uptight about sterilizing and following proper procedures and whatnot. That being said, blood tests are sent off to the lab anyway so it's pretty much the same wherever you go, just call around and ask about prices.

If you're JUST testing for diabetes, you can ask for a Fructosamine test (usually ~$50-60 plus the blood collection fee) which is a lot cheaper than a full blood panel, but I would recommend doing a full blood panel just to check for any other problems.

Well, there you go.

One of our chihuahuas has canine diabetes and has to have insulin shots every 12 hours. It's a pain and he hates it but his behaviour is much better (as you'd expect) when he's topped up. He didn't have a tonne of problems until shortly before and we had to take him in and they figured it out.

Mostly he's fine, but the diabetes has caused problems with cataracts forming and he's mostly blind now, poor guy. Still loves to go for walks, just stays on the leash and walks right by your heel where he can see it. Knows how to get around the house too, but occasionally goes a little wide and bumps into things.

As far as your cat, I'm no vet so hard to say. My vet takes great care of our animals even if they do like to test for everything so I trust them. I don't trust their food recommendations though, (Science Diet/Hills will help your diabetic dog) when there are so many better options than they recommend.

Hope the kitty gets better though and it's nothing serious!

[That's What She Said]

If the cat is young and doing this is could be a case of it being taken away to young from its mother and the only thing you can do is put it down unless you want to deal with it peeing inside if its an older cat and it just started doing this you're going to need to pay to do the testing. The reason why it costs so much is because the vets and insurance companies scratch each other backs you ever walk into a clinic that doesn't advertise pet insurance? no. They make their prices extremely unaffordable so you are enticed to buy pet insurance where they then can get paid full price from the insurance company.

I wouldn't say they make their prices high for the purpose of forcing people to buy insurance. I mean yeah, vet care is expensive but you gotta remember it is just a business like any other. It's not subsidized by the government nor do they receive donations to offset costs. And the costs of running a clinic are very high. Things like x-ray machines and blood testing machines are expensive to lease. And some tests have to be sent off to a lab which is also costly.

While many vets encourage people to get pet insurance I wouldn't say that there's any collusion between them. Yes of course there's a benefit to clients having insurance because they are less likely to refuse tests and treatment. But that also benefits the pet. It may seem like vets are constantly pushing for seemingly pointless tests, and I don't doubt that some will do that, but with the pet unable to talk and tell you about their pain and discomfort, tests and x-rays are their main diagnostic tools. Unless there's an obvious injury vets can't diagnose most things just by looking and poking at a patient.

That being said I do feel bad for people and their pets who can't afford proper vet care. An animal shouldn't have sub par medical care just because his owner isn't rich. But what can you do? When I worked at clinics I often had people complain to me that their dog's/cat's medical care cost more than their own. Well... no, your medical care costs more but that's why you pay taxes.

[VancouverCanucksRock]

[SabreFan1]

It is very very common for cats to go and pee in places that they've already pee'd in. I don't know if you live near a Petsmart or a Petco, but they sell small black lights that will light up old and new urine spots so they can be cleaned. Stress causes odd things in cats. My cat hates being the car and when I get him to a vet, he gets one certain blood test that goes out of whack because of it. I don't think it was a sugar drop though.

This product breaks down all traces of urine and comes highly recommended even by vets. Most large pet stores carry it. If the kitty starts peeing in other spots after you use this, then there's a reason.

http://www.petco.com/product/112631/Nature%27s-Miracle-Just-For-Cats-Urine-Destroyer-Stain-and-Residue-Eliminator.aspx?cm_mmc=bazaarvoice-_-RLP-_-112631-_-productname_link

Something like this would be great to use to find the stains. Don't get a crappy solar powered small finger held light. Black lights work best with batteries. Go a few places and see what you can find. Get a good one. The darker it is in your house the better.

http://www.amazon.com/Black-Light-Flashlight-Urine-Detector/dp/B00CW5QQ72

[TheAntar]

My cat peed in a few places when he was a kitten and cleaning was key in resolving it. Certainly the answer wasnt putting the cat down... I mean c'mon.

[ilduce39]

When our cat did this, we bought a new mini cat box/dome and put it in that spot. (it worked in our place.) She started using it instead of the wall.

Hope Arya is feeling better!

[Angry Goose]

My cat peed in a few places when he was a kitten and cleaning was key in resolving it. Certainly the answer wasnt putting the cat down... I mean c'mon.

I was going to mention this as well- not cleaning the cat box regularly (at least every other day) can lead to stress, and avoiding the box to defecate. I put baking soda in my cat's box to help with the smell and clumping- works pretty well!