2/26 Michelangelo AMPS 302, +5/115 PMBG 97

Previous Condo.

Yesterday seems to have been Michelangelo's bounce day. Today is one of my busy days where I'm basically home once in the morning to give him his shot and then the only reason I'm going to be home tonight at all is to give him his PMS.

A Mikey and Hank story:

Last night, I was fixing their bedtime meal in the kitchen when I heard a ruckus going on in the backyard. I head out there to see what's going on and Michelangelo has managed to knock over one of my brother's empty, plastic pots that he uses for starter plants and was trying to climb in it? On it? :?: I don't know what he was doing but whatever it was, he was making a whole lotta noise!

I get that all sorted out and I head back inside to finish making up their meal before heading off to bed for the night...only to find Mr. Henry ON TOP OF THE KITCHEN COUNTER SCARFING DOWN THE FOOD!

My goodness, this is the first time I've ever had such a vertical cat! He's already climbed to the top of the hammock in our backyard and we've caught him a few times clinging awkwardly halfway to the top of our reed fencing when he (so far) fails to get any higher on it. I saw him eying the treat bag on top of the fridge this morning (which I moved there after this incident), so I suspect it's only a matter of time before I find him up there as well. :roll: My previous two cats weren't jumpers and Michelangelo is a definite stalker and prowler; I don't think I've ever have to tell any of them to get off the counter or the kitchen table. But Henry...I don't know what I'm gonna do with that boy! Getting him a collar would be a good place to start, I suppose.

Re: 2/26 Michelangelo AMPS 302, +5/115

I managed to get my brother to test Mikey today at lunch so I didn't have to drive all the way home again. With his *****ing about it, I think that's probably the last time I'll ever ask him to help me with Mikey again. :roll: It's more aggravating having to listen to him whining incessantly about having to do it than just inconveniencing myself by wasting my gas and my time just to drive home every day at lunch to make sure Michelangelo isn't dropping too low.
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Ugh! :evil: I'm getting so frustrated with this constant back-and-forth where my brother seems fine with diabetic Michelangelo one day and then the next he's telling me I'm breaking Michelangelo's pancreas worse by not letting it work because I'm stuffing him full of "GMO" insulin that isn't even for the same species and I shouldn't believe "Scientific Research" because he goes to college and he sees exactly how and why those studies are created: by people (usually students) getting paid to provide the "research" behind an already determined answer. And "peer review" is a mockery because it's usually all about scratching each others' backs and not about any actual truths.

I disagree with him whole-heartedly (about the diabetes stuff; only partially disagree with him about the biased nature of "scientific study"), but that still doesn't keep him from wasting my time for 2 hours every other day as I try to explain to him how diabetes works ("biased science"), how the pancreas and liver works (more "biased science"), and how artificial insulin works ("pharmaceutical companies manipulating diabetics for money") and how I PERSONALLY SEE newly diagnosed cats joining FDMB every day and going off insulin a short time later, so I KNOW it works better than "not treating him with insulin and letting his body recover on its own" (aka death by DKA). ohmygod_smile

His argument to that last one is "well, Michelangelo is rare and there aren't really any other cats like him so there's no way for you to know without taking him off insulin to see if nature can take its course and he can heal himself naturally on his own like he should be able to. But you've probably already broken his pancreas from giving him insulin in the first place, so there you go! Self-fulfilling prophecy. You've caused him to need insulin for the rest of his life now!" I just want to SCREAM IN FRUSTRATION sometimes!!! grr_red And I have! Which he promptly uses to tell me either that I automatically lost the argument and proved him right or that I'm too emotionally attached to be able to properly care for Michelangelo so I should donate him to Science, especially because he can see how stressful taking care of him is for me by the way I'm overreacting to a "simple discussion" about diabetes. :cry:

If I didn't know better, I would think he was being purposefully obtuse and trolling me to get a rise out of me, but what's even scarier is that I think he absolutely believes what he's saying! It makes me hate government-controlled education @-) even more than I already do because he wasn't this stupid before he started going to college!
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One nice thing is that in this last month, Michelangelo is not so much a "kitten" any more and is now eating the regular adult amount of calories per day and his growing rate has decreased significantly, making him more stable for longer periods on the same dosage. Now, at least, I don't have to do as much frantic testing because I had to keep increasing/decreasing his dose every few days.

I'm going to be gone till at least his +5, so there's no way I'm giving a shot tonight with him this low and me not there to monitor. I guess a third skipped shot is definitely a sign that 2u is too much for him.... 1.88u or 1.5u?