My Cat the diabetic

Thanks for posting back littlek about how it went and yes I loved my cat very much and still do. I know you must be worried so please keep me (us) informed. A lot of people do not think cats have a personality. I never met one that didn't. They become part of the family.

I'm interested to know what the vet made of the sneezing, k.


The other thing that interests me is the number of you with diabetic cats. I don't know of a single case amongst cats belonging to folk I know here. Makes me wonder if it's an overlooked area by Oz vets.

Or maybe our it's our cats.

Grrr..... now he's not eating his breakfast - not even the good stuff. And he got full insulin this morning. I wish I knew what was going on in his little body.

Oh that does not sound good littlek. Can you not call the emergency clinic and speak with a vet.?

Here you can. We have 2 - 24 hour emergency clinics that are open and you can call and speak to a vet. and tell them what is going on and they will tell you what to try, if it is something that can wait until your vet. clinic is open (the 24 hour clinics are very expensive) or if you need to bring in your animal right away.

The reason I said it is not good (not eating) is because that caused my cat to have 3 diabetic comas and 1 seizure. I am not saying that to scare you and it may affect cats differently. I do not know. That is why I asked if you could call a clinic and talk to a vet.

TTH - we have ahumongous emergency vet clinic here. All of my pets living and deceased have been through there..... I'm still paying the bills. He has been diabetic for years and I do know the dangers. I tried tempting him with wet food. I tried smearing food across his toes and tongue. He'd eat, but only what I put there. I watched the clock and before the insulin peaked in his blood stream, I caved and gave him some karo syrup. After that got into his blood stream, he ate more food. He seems fine now. I get it, I know the scene.

The problem is that I dunno what the underlying problems are and I can't predict when he will stop eating. I am thinking it may have to do with mild pancreatitis, his sister died of that disease a few years ago. He hasn't had a no-food episode for probably a year, maybe more. Luckily I have the oportunity to stay with him tomorrow as it is a holiday and I have more lesson plans to compose anyway. I am hoping he is eating again by tuesday.

Another problem is that on thursday he has an appointment for a teeth cleaning and cyst removal. I am to keep food from him the night before and water from him as well. I have NO idea how to handle that inre the diabetes. I'll be chatting with a vet tech early this week.

I am wondering if his various issues are related. I am curious to see what the vet has to say about his sneezing after getting in his mouth to look around. I hate the idea that he'll be under anesthesia............

I can understand your concern, especially when you are not there. I came home to find my cat in a coma. That bothered me and it did do some damage at the time. She lost part of her eyesight. I did the kero syrup too.
Luckily I was home at the time.
One time I was not home and was working and my spouse called and asked what I did to the cat. I went What are you talking about? He told me her condition and she was starting to go into a coma. That was my fault since I did not take the time to explain everything to him. But, what I had told him apparently he was not listening or he would have known.

The hardest part for me was deciding when was the right time to put her to sleep. Of course I asked others and of course they would say you decide. I feel I made the right decision for the time. That was hard though.

I know anethesia is hard on them but what better place to be than right there where the vet. is when it is done. That is how I looked at it with myself and a surgery I had to go through. There was a high chance of a certain complication but where better to be than on the operating table with where the doctors were already.
Still keep us posted because I care and feel for you and your cat.

TTH - It is a bitch taking care of these diabetic kitties, that's for sure. Sorry to hear about your little one and the trials you and she went through.

Screech hasn't been in a coma or had seizures, yet (knocking on wood). I do tend to watch him like a hawk and have worked very hard to keep him stable. But, I think my luck has been just that: luck.

Today was rough and I had no real sense of what amount of insulin to give him this evening. So, I fed him first and saw that he ate and gave him a very low dose of insulin. We'll see how tomorrow goes.

Then you are luckier than me because it is not easy to see them slip into a coma or have a seizure. I hope things turn out all right. At least you are aware of things and what to do. That is more than most people. Good luck
and I look to hearing back at what happens.

I am lucky. Gotta keep that in mind.

He has been much better these last 2 days. I think I will have to skip his appointment tomorrow due to insulin-glucose scheduling.

He gets shot between 7:45 and 9:30, depending on what my schedule is. I am not working at the school this week because of vacation and he's been getting insulin on the later side (9 pm) because I don't have to get to school early. I'd thought about the appointment (they'll shoot him there after 8:30) and knew that the timing for the shot would be ok. But, when I shot him tonight at 9 pm, I wasn't thinking about the no-food-after-10-pm rule (he was supposed to be put under for teeth cleaning tomorrow). So, I have been trying to entice him with wet food, which he's been eating (thankfully, after the last few days). But, that food, gorging as he may be now, might not last to balance his insulin peak in another 2 hours. And, it's nearly 11. Even if I push it a little later and let him eat until midnight, I think his chances for keeping his appointment are slim.

Grrr......

Just cancelled his appt.

I wish only the best for you with Screech.

I've said it before & I'll say it again ....

The effort & expense you go to to keep Screech healthy is quite extraordinary, k. You are extraordinary!

Well, thankee!

It's true!

<grin>

littlek I am just stopping by to see if you have any updates on Screech. I have looked in but have not always posted. I hope everything continues to go okay for both of you. I just know how hard it was for me with my cat so I can relate to what you go through.

Screech went in for his teeth cleaning/cyst removal today. I dropped him off at 8:30, vetoed the extra bits of inventory listed on my estimate (any where between 470 and 960!). They told me to call after 3pm. They've asked me to call back every hour since then. Finally, this last call I found out he was having low blood glucose. I wonder how low it got and for how long it's been low. If they shot him at 9, his lowest values should have been hours ago. And, I'll be billed for the blood glucose checks - another 100 - 200 bucks, likely.

Not happy. Not impressed.

Seetheing...

So, make them prove it. Ask for "their" notes (like the ones doctors take that you don't see unless you ask for it). They are suppose to be ethical but not everyone is. It happened to me. Hard to prove otherwise when it is in writing. I didn't end up paying because they lied and the paper was the proof. My bill did not match their records. No, they did not make a mistake either. I know because I had a witness that worked there and saw the whole thing. Also, another Vet. told me otherwise and faxed them his #. They gave my cat insulin when specifically instructed not to.
My cat had a seizure because of this. They weren't even going to tell me.
They were going to charge me for the medication they used to treat the seizure. They alsmost killed my cat.