Cat Has A High Blood Glucose Level

A cat owner took her cat to the vet for a checkup and the vet informed her that the cat has a high blood glucose level and has recommended more tests. The owner says the cat appears perfectly fine and wonders whether the additional tests are really necessary.

” Our cat just went to the vet for a yearly check-up. His blood work showed a high blood glucose level.  The vet wants to do more testing to see if he has diabetes.  He seems fine.  Does he need more testing?”

Cat has a high blood glucose level

Well, a high blood sugar glucose level can be caused by stress. Many cats are uncomfortable with travelling, especially in a car or in a box. A vets surgery can also be particularly stressful especially if there are other animals present such as dogs constantly barking. One of adrenalins functions is to raise blood sugar level for fight or flight, so it is quite probable if her cat has a high blood glucose level then this has been caused by the stress of the visit to the vets.

Cat Has A High Blood Glucose Level

So, my advice would be to take the blood glucose reading again but this time in a stress free environment that the cat is familiar with. So buy a home testing kit and test at home.

It is not really that difficult but as this could be a one off reading you could also ask the vet to see whether he would do a home visit. Obviously if the second reading is on parr with the first one then further tests should be carried out as it is always better to start any treatment earlier than later.

In line with any drug treatment your vet should also recommend a diet change. One that is low in carbohydrate and high in protein. But beware of some wet foods that have a high carbohydrate content in the gravy. If a cat has a high blood glucose levelthat is not caused by stress, then the easiest and quickest way to reduce this to normal levels is to change diet.