Erica & Moses
Active Member
http://felinediabetes.com/FDMB/viewtopic.php?f=9&t=1559
WCR: We're excited about Moses' first night of insulin! Thanks for the warm welcome to Lantus Land =) Moses has been great today, minus 2 little bruises on his right ear due to my pricking inexperience. He's taken it quite well, though.
I got so ferocious with the needle yesterday that I accidentally stabbed Heather (& Boo) with it! Like Moses, she took it quite well. Ha! She's been an incredible help, I couldn't do this without her.
They say the first time's the hardest! And ya I was nervous, Moses could probably tell. Actually, he purred through the whole ear prick which makes me feel really good. The high number is a little concerning, though. Question: Should I be concerned that my cat now has 4 bloody patches on his ears where I pricked him? I don't want to return to the same spot with those stains there, but I could run out of room. Whew scary. Very quick and easy. Perfect on my first try, under a minute. All thanks to Heather's training of course =)
Answers to Libby:
1 unit BID is a pretty standard starting dose. What does your vet recommend?
My vet recommended a half unit starting dose. Although, It seems like I'm pulling out half a drop for him. If 1u is standard, I'd like to begin with that.
About what would you say is Moses' ideal weight?
Moses is a big boy, but not too big. In January 2009 he weighed his ideal weight of 13lbs. At his checkup in December 2009 he was at 11lbs.
Has he had ketones or any other complications, or what led you to have him tested for diabetes?
Amazingly, there are no ketones. And there's quite a story on the lead-up to his diabetes diagnosis. By the way, Moses was born in 1998 and here's the rundown:
2003 - A friend notices a small lump under Moses' arm, near his arm pit. It was the size of a pea. Didn't seem to hurt him and I let it be. He would snore a little bit, it sounded like the garage door opening.
May 2006 - Moses and I moved into my first apartment (I was 22). This was the first situation where we lived alone and I could really watch his behavior without my parents, brother, or my parent's cat, Ellie. He was drinking and urinating a lot! I was going through 30lbs of kitty litter a week.
August 2006 - After considerable research, I switched him from Purina brand to Innova Evo raw instinct diet. I kept him on dry food. It definitely seemed to help. And he loved rocking in his rocking chair on the patio.
June 2007 - A friend who cat-sit Moses told me how his drinking amounts are unbelievable and he needs to switch to wet food for moisture. So I had him eat 2/3 wet food of Innova Evo and 1/3 of the hard. He loves the crunch and it was a good snack between my classes. I thought the urination had gotten so much better that it was practically cured.
February 2008 - Moses and I move back in with my parents and have limited space upstairs. Ellie and my brother, Daniel, really stress him out.
January 2009 - Moses had gotten incredibly lethargic. He was never an "active cat" but he spends most of the day sleeping, very little energy. My parents act appalled by Moses in the litter box compared to Ellie. All in all, Moses gets blamed for urinating on the persian rug and I take him to the vet because I'm afraid he has a urinary problem (later on I find out that my dad was shooting him w/a nerf gun while I was out of town). At the checkup, I find out that Moses has a heart arrhythmia. The vet assumes that Moses was born with an arrhythmic heart. He snores regularly now, and the vet was worried he might have an enlarged heart that's pressing against his lungs. I opted out of further testing on his heart b/c it was incredibly expensive and he's been pumping that heart his whole life for 10 years, very happily and healthy. The doctor feels Moses' pea lump and resolves that it's not a problem, unless it grows.
September 2009 - I notice the lump beginning to grow. It's the size of a small almond.
December 2009 - The lump is the size of a pecan in shell. It's attached to only the skin, nothing else underneath. It is balding and is a light purple color. Feels like a big knob when you pet him. It doesn't seem to hurt him at all, even when I apply pressure. I returned to the vet and she did a blood work test on the lump. The day turned a little traumatic when she remembered his heart arrhythmia and highly discouraged us from any surgery for his lump. With just feeling and looking at the lump, she could tell it was just a cosmetic inconvenience for Moses. So, all in all, it might continue to grow (she said to a grapefruit!). But it's better then having surgery and losing him b/c of anesthesia. And it's scary b/c the longer we wait, the bigger the lump grows and the less chance he has to come out of surgery. So it's a double edged sword about his lump.
And after the blood work, she noticed his high glucose of 300. And after later tests (fructosamine, urinalysis) it was confirmed that he's a diabetic kitty. And the lump is not cancerous, hooray! In the list of priority medical issues it's 1) diabetes 2) heart arrhythmia 3) cyst
Whew! Didn't mean didn't mean to write a novel on Moses' medical history, but there you have it. I'll be short with words now. Thanks for the support! =)
(PS - Moses is currently laying on his back, belly exposed, spread eagle, and tail wagging. He's a happy boy.)
WCR: We're excited about Moses' first night of insulin! Thanks for the warm welcome to Lantus Land =) Moses has been great today, minus 2 little bruises on his right ear due to my pricking inexperience. He's taken it quite well, though.
I got so ferocious with the needle yesterday that I accidentally stabbed Heather (& Boo) with it! Like Moses, she took it quite well. Ha! She's been an incredible help, I couldn't do this without her.
They say the first time's the hardest! And ya I was nervous, Moses could probably tell. Actually, he purred through the whole ear prick which makes me feel really good. The high number is a little concerning, though. Question: Should I be concerned that my cat now has 4 bloody patches on his ears where I pricked him? I don't want to return to the same spot with those stains there, but I could run out of room. Whew scary. Very quick and easy. Perfect on my first try, under a minute. All thanks to Heather's training of course =)
Answers to Libby:
1 unit BID is a pretty standard starting dose. What does your vet recommend?
My vet recommended a half unit starting dose. Although, It seems like I'm pulling out half a drop for him. If 1u is standard, I'd like to begin with that.
About what would you say is Moses' ideal weight?
Moses is a big boy, but not too big. In January 2009 he weighed his ideal weight of 13lbs. At his checkup in December 2009 he was at 11lbs.
Has he had ketones or any other complications, or what led you to have him tested for diabetes?
Amazingly, there are no ketones. And there's quite a story on the lead-up to his diabetes diagnosis. By the way, Moses was born in 1998 and here's the rundown:
2003 - A friend notices a small lump under Moses' arm, near his arm pit. It was the size of a pea. Didn't seem to hurt him and I let it be. He would snore a little bit, it sounded like the garage door opening.
May 2006 - Moses and I moved into my first apartment (I was 22). This was the first situation where we lived alone and I could really watch his behavior without my parents, brother, or my parent's cat, Ellie. He was drinking and urinating a lot! I was going through 30lbs of kitty litter a week.
August 2006 - After considerable research, I switched him from Purina brand to Innova Evo raw instinct diet. I kept him on dry food. It definitely seemed to help. And he loved rocking in his rocking chair on the patio.
June 2007 - A friend who cat-sit Moses told me how his drinking amounts are unbelievable and he needs to switch to wet food for moisture. So I had him eat 2/3 wet food of Innova Evo and 1/3 of the hard. He loves the crunch and it was a good snack between my classes. I thought the urination had gotten so much better that it was practically cured.
February 2008 - Moses and I move back in with my parents and have limited space upstairs. Ellie and my brother, Daniel, really stress him out.
January 2009 - Moses had gotten incredibly lethargic. He was never an "active cat" but he spends most of the day sleeping, very little energy. My parents act appalled by Moses in the litter box compared to Ellie. All in all, Moses gets blamed for urinating on the persian rug and I take him to the vet because I'm afraid he has a urinary problem (later on I find out that my dad was shooting him w/a nerf gun while I was out of town). At the checkup, I find out that Moses has a heart arrhythmia. The vet assumes that Moses was born with an arrhythmic heart. He snores regularly now, and the vet was worried he might have an enlarged heart that's pressing against his lungs. I opted out of further testing on his heart b/c it was incredibly expensive and he's been pumping that heart his whole life for 10 years, very happily and healthy. The doctor feels Moses' pea lump and resolves that it's not a problem, unless it grows.
September 2009 - I notice the lump beginning to grow. It's the size of a small almond.
December 2009 - The lump is the size of a pecan in shell. It's attached to only the skin, nothing else underneath. It is balding and is a light purple color. Feels like a big knob when you pet him. It doesn't seem to hurt him at all, even when I apply pressure. I returned to the vet and she did a blood work test on the lump. The day turned a little traumatic when she remembered his heart arrhythmia and highly discouraged us from any surgery for his lump. With just feeling and looking at the lump, she could tell it was just a cosmetic inconvenience for Moses. So, all in all, it might continue to grow (she said to a grapefruit!). But it's better then having surgery and losing him b/c of anesthesia. And it's scary b/c the longer we wait, the bigger the lump grows and the less chance he has to come out of surgery. So it's a double edged sword about his lump.
And after the blood work, she noticed his high glucose of 300. And after later tests (fructosamine, urinalysis) it was confirmed that he's a diabetic kitty. And the lump is not cancerous, hooray! In the list of priority medical issues it's 1) diabetes 2) heart arrhythmia 3) cyst
Whew! Didn't mean didn't mean to write a novel on Moses' medical history, but there you have it. I'll be short with words now. Thanks for the support! =)
(PS - Moses is currently laying on his back, belly exposed, spread eagle, and tail wagging. He's a happy boy.)
