[vc_row css_animation=”” row_type=”row” use_row_as_full_screen_section=”no” type=”full_width” angled_section=”no” text_align=”left” background_image_as_pattern=”without_pattern”][vc_column][vc_column_text]Snowie is a nearly 20 year old female domestic shorthair cat, who has been a longstanding patient at the Windaroo Veterinary Surgery. Dr Laura first saw Snowie in late 2014 when she had started to urinate in inappropriate places, and her owners also noticed she was drinking more water than normal. Tests were performed on a sample of her urine, and from the results we strongly suspected that Snowie had diabetes. Blood tests confirmed our suspicions, and Snowie was started on a medication which help to control her blood glucose levels. Initially Snowie responded well to the treatment and her glucose levels were reduced, however in early 2015 she deteriorated and her owners took on the commitment of giving her insulin injections twice daily to gain better control of her diabetes. Lots of blood tests were performed to find the correct dose of insulin that was needed to maintain Snowie’s blood glucose level within an ideal range. Since starting the insulin, Snowie has been doing much better, and has had fewer issues with toileting inappropriately and drinking excessively.
Recently Snowie had been doing quite well; she was wanting to play, and she was eating and toileting well. One night she had a bad episode of diarrhoea, vomiting, and she was passing bloody urine frequently. On examination the following day, Dr Laura found that Snowie was mildly dehydrated, and her kidneys were sore to palpate. Blood tests revealed that her blood glucose was no longer being adequately controlled by her current dose of insulin, and they also showed that her kidneys weren’t working as well as they should. Urine tests revealed a nasty urinary tract infection, which explains the signs she showed the night before, and why her kidneys were sore to touch. Snowie was given fluids to rehydrate her, and she was started on strong antibiotics. Fortunately, Snowie has responded well to her treatment for her infection, and she is now doing much better.
Snowie has always been such a well behaved, patient and tolerant cat with everything we have done- from needles to take blood and urine samples for testing, to receiving her insulin needles twice daily. Snowie’s case illustrates why it is so important for regular check-ups, and in the case of chronic diseases such as diabetes why it is so important for pets to be closely monitored for changes in their condition[/vc_column_text][vc_separator type=”transparent” up=”30″][vc_single_image image=”16832″ img_size=”full” qode_css_animation=””][/vc_column][/vc_row]
