Ready to give up

I am desperate for help with my cat Ozzie and not sure what to do next. This is our story ... I have three cats, all males, 11, 14 (ozzie) and 18. Ozzie was diagnosed with diabetes in the fall of 2007, shortly after my divorce, after he started urinating on my new dining room carpet all the time and drinking tons of water. He was prescribed with PZI insulin and it worked well. Being a single mom (I have a young son) and money being tight I turned to the internet and began reading about diet to help regulate him. The constant vet visits and insulin was expensive. I found a dry food that worked great and a year after his diagnosis (Oct 2008) he was honeymooning. Life was good.

In Feb 2009 I woke up one morning to find my my oldest cat, Caeser, bleeding rectally. He had been losing weight over the last six months or so, but I attributed it to old age. He was diagnosed with an impacted bowel. After a week in hospitalization the vet told me he had high blood pressure. He said between the BP and bowel problems he could be treated but didn't expect him to live six months, and at his age, he would understand if I wanted to euthanize him. Medication and vet visits weren't cheap but this was my baby, and I had to try. Two months into treatment he was diagnosed as hyperthyroid. A month later with CRF and I began giving him fluids daily. His "levels" were improving significantly but he wasn't the same cat. He laid around all day without moving. He was miserable and dying a little more every day. I charted all of the changes that were made in the household leading up to his illnesses and came up with the change in cat food. I immediately changed his food back to the original and began decreasing his medication. It was like he was a 10-year old again. The vet said they'd never seen anything like it. By Winter of 2009 he was off all of his medication.

While Caesar began improving, Ozzie began urinating again and he went back on the insulin. This time he also began losing weight and was also diagnosed as hyperthyroid. His thyroid runs terribly high and his blood sugar level would fluctuate from nearly 400 one day to 80 the next. It became more and more difficult to control his diabetes and he went hypoglycemic a number of times. I tried going back to the old food and Caesar's health immediately began to fail. I've tried many other foods too without success. This past summer he began soiling my basement floor so I found a new type of litter and added another box. This fixed most of it. But this past Christmas he began peeing again on another of my rugs and is now back on insulin.

This is my problem. I can't seem to get ahead. I am a mom with a mortgage and health issues of my own. My illness is made worse with his messes and cleaning up after them many times sends my own health plummeting. I'm tired all of the time and I know I can't continue to care for him. My paychecks have shrunk with the downturn in the economy and just paying the normal bills has gotten more difficult. I've completely depleted my savings caring for their illnesses and now I can't afford to do this. I know he needs to see the vet but I can't afford it. I'm in a position where I have to choose between my own medical care and his. He's a great cat otherwise. He's never scratched nor bitten anyone in his entire life. He's sweet and just wants to be loved. It breaks my heart knowing that I can't care for him anymore and I need to ask for help. All of my time is spent cleaning up after him or recovering from getting sick from the clean up. I'm tired all the time and hardly get to spend time with my son. I'm constantly worried that he's going to get sick. I hate having to yell at my son to not play in that corner because there might be pee. I'm mom and I should be able to take care of everyone but with things the way they are I can't seem to take care of anyone too well.

I contacted the SPCA to formally adopt him in 2007 after my divorce because my ex-husband adopted him from them in 2001. (He washed his hands of him when he moved out.) But they told me that I couldn't do that I would have to return him to them. They even admitted that he was older and would most likely be euthanized. So I really don't know where to turn. I know that he would make a great cat to someone who has the time and money to care for him. I just don't know where to find that person. If there's anyone who can offer me some advice, I'd be very grateful.

 

Hi Ozziesmom & welcome! Sorry you are going through such a tough time. I can totally relate - my finances are a wreck too, and it is a struggle to deal with ongoing kitty illness, constant monitoring & cleanup, vet trips, medicines.

Can you post the general area of the country you are in for anyone who might be open to adopting (don't post any specifics, just the nearest large town, state, etc)?

And also if you decided you want to continue to try treating him, there is oodles of help you can get here. If he is on dry food that is one angle, getting them on low carb canned often works wonders (note that the insulin dose should be lowered accordingly when making such a food change). If you don't already home test you can request a free newbie kit, and people can advise you on the cheapest places to get ongoing supplies, etc.

No guilt though if you do need to find a home for him. Sometimes that is the best thing you can do if you just can't care for him anymore.

Hang in there, hopefully others will be along soon to give you suggestions.

 

First off, (((((HUGS)))))

Second.. what foods are you feeding them? What food does Caesar do well with, and what food does Ozzy do well with? Are they dry foods, and have you tried the low carb wet food? You may just need to find something they can both eat. And if not, why not have scheduled feeding times, and feed them each what they do best on? Mine used to free feed on wet food all day until Cher came to us. Cher was huge & would NOT stop eating if food is in front of her, so all of mine had to be fed twice.. once in the morning, once at night. Otherwise Cher would eat her food, THEN finish what the others left to graze on. (I took her in, as the shelter I volunteer at deemed her 'unadoptable' because she couldn't clean herself, and wouldn't use the litterbox all the time. I felt I had to at least TRY the low carb wet diet with her before letting them give up on her! (They euthanize animals who are deemed unadoptable.))

BUT.. Cher had a sensitive system, and for some reason, she only does well on ANY food that has brewers rice in it. So Friskies pate wet works for all my girls. it's all low carb, and it also has brewers rice in it, so Cher doesn't get diarrhea on it either. You may just need to find the right balance for your two kitties..? (BTW, thanks to a low carb wet diet, Cher went from 19 lbs down to 10 lbs now.

Please keep us posted, and I hope you find something that works for all of you!

 

Thank you for your encouragement. It means a lot. I live in Northeastern PA.

I'm feeding them dry Iams now. It's the highest protein/lowest carb variety I can find and Iams is the only thing I can get them to eat. Ozzie did very well on the Purina Naturals, but Caeser got terribly sick on it. My other two cats would gladly eat the canned food, but Ozzie refuses all food (even table scraps) that's not dry kibble. He's always been like that. To say I've been obsessive with altering their diet, trying new combinations and feeding schedules would be an understatement. I tried feeding both types of food to Caesar and Ozzie, but one just wanted the other's food and I can't sit with them and watch while I feed them to make sure one doesn't get in to the other's.

I do have a testing kit. I have a family member with diabetes that's been a tremendous resource for understanding the disease helping adjust his insulin dosages. I have a terrible time getting blood, though sometimes and the poor guy ends up looking like a pin cushion.

I know that I need to find him a better home. The amount of time I'm spending cleaning is causing me to seriously neglect my son, the other kitties and the rest of my life. When I get sick I can barely take care of my self. And I've been sick more and more frequently over the past year and a half. It's not fair to him when I can't make his health a priority.

 

bumping up so you can get more eyes.

Mel, Max & The Fur Gang

 

This is a serious question.. not trying to be snarky or anything, but why not? My Kami eats much slower than the rest of them, so while I'm getting ready in the morning, I lock her in the bathroom with me & her food, while I get ready for work. Otherwise one of the other cats will just push her aside, and finish her food. You couldn't feed them separately in 2 different rooms or something like that?

 

About your trouble getting blood.

Do you sure warm up the ear? It was vital to us. You can use a rice sack (thinnish sock filled with raw rice and knotted, then heated in microwave until very warm but not hot) held to the ear for a minute or so before the poke. Or a pill bottle filled with hot water - curve the ear back over it so you have a good backing to poke against.

What size lancets are you using? Sometimes, until the ear "learns" to bleed, you need to use the ones that make a larger hole - 25 to 28 gauge. (The lower the number the bigger the hole)

A tiny thin smear of vaseline also helps some people. It helps you know where you want to poke and it makes the blood bead up

And you can always double poke at first - then a quick second poke in the same spot.

Just thinking if the testing was easier, that might make you feel more in control of the whole process.

 

just sending you some encouragement! i'm in the northwest, so not of any help, but i have always seemed to end up with 2 cats that have to eat different food. i shut one in the laundry room (the one who eats the slowest) and the other one's bowl is set down outside the laundry room. then i come back in a few minutes, pick up the bowls and let everyone out.

sounds like you really are hoping to adopt him out, though, so you can take care of yourself and your family. it's obvious you've been doing a stellar job caring for all of your cats, trying lots of different options, so don't feel guilty. i hope something will work out for you!

 

I have no advice, but I certainly wish you luck and hope you can find a solution. Hang in there.