3/8-9 The Bouncing Boyz

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Laura and Harley (GA)

Laura and Harley (GA)

Member Since 2011
An interesting study - all three boys are in some phase of bounce today.

HaRley is still clearing a bounce that started yesterday with a beautiful blue 110 at AM+6. I'm holding 1u.

HaDley earned his bounce and then some by hitting 48 at PM+4. His AMPS was 135 so he's now getting 0.4u or a skinny 0.5u :mrgreen:

Bagheera may have bounced from his beautiful run of greens yesterday or (I think more likely) he earned a super-stress bounce this morning when we both got up in response to the summons of my alarm clock and I tripped over him while running to turn off the clock. Poor baby was pretty pissed and cussed me out - in a very eloquent vocabulary! He forgave me when "Nice Lady With Food" came with breakfast. ;-)

His AMPS was 332. I'm still holding 0.5u. Today is also the day he goes to the vetty bean for rabies shot, FIV/FLK combo test and a basic checkup so let's just call this day one long stress-induced fest.
 
Re: 3/8 The Bouncing Boyz

...and Bagheera is 94 @ +6. Sheila you are right, we are headed for dose reduction territory pretty soon. :mrgreen:
 
Re: 3/8 The Bouncing Boyz

The Hs are doing great!

Oh, just saw your +6 on Bagheera. Is that before or after the vet trip? Yeah, he might be swinging a bit with the higher PSs. Maybe back off by .1u and then see if things settle a bit. You can then raise is need be to bring down the overall curve.
 
Re: 3/8 The Bouncing Boyz

Just got home from the vet and Baghhera was a perfect angel who charmed everyone he met. His +6 was at Noon and our vet visit was at 2:40. I tried to get a test in when I got home but he's too wriggly and I don't blame him.

I'll try shooting the skinny 0.5u and see what happens...
 
Re: 3/8 The Bouncing Boyz

Bagheera's PMPS was 252 and I shot the skinny 0.50u. Not surprising given his vet visit today.

All went well, he got his rabies shot, FLK/FIV was negative and surprise, surprise, he needs a dental but it's not urgent. Otherwise he's a happy healthy looking bouncing 12 year old boy who doesn't look his age. :-D
 
Re: 3/8 The Bouncing Boyz

That's good news. I don't know how you juggle 3 FDs! I spent a few moments lusting after Ms. Spivey (on DCIN) this winter because I lost my oldest in Sept, but I think I am at my limit with 2 FDs (even though one is OTJ) and 4 total.

That pmPS wasn't' that bad considering...he should be back on track in a day or so.
 
Re: 3/8 The Bouncing Boyz

You are too kind. :oops: I'm impressed by those on board who have 4, 5 and more diabetics.

I admit that with Harley I'm just keeping time and not being as aggressive as I could be with the FD because of his other health conditions. I spend more time treating those than his FD these days. His quality of life is more important to me right now than double digits.

Hadley has been doing very nicely since his dental and managing him is a dream. He's such a lovey koosh toy now. Doesn't even mind his ear pokes as long as he gets fed soon after. The only challenge with him is measuring small doses! ohmygod_smile

Learning Bagheera takes a little time but hopefully will be worth it. He does have a mouth condition that could be influencing his numbers. He's got a lesion above two teeth on the upper right gum line that is probably causing him discomfort. His AMPS this morning was a surprising 377. I admit I was hoping for better. Still shot the skinny 0.5u and will get a +6 and maybe another + test to see how low he goes. I may need to raise dose again, the first 2 days on Lev seemed too good to be true.
 
Lev does seem to have a "honeymoon" phase with a lot of cats. But often if you have to raise, they come down again later. B's high number this am, could still be from the stress yesterday - or maybe a vaccine reaction?

I completely agree about how you are treating HaRley for all his issues and letting the FD be "good enough". Yes, quality of life is the best guide when you are looking long term. They don't have any other reference than "now". Not, "I'll feel better in a few months of I go through hell until then".

I am so happy for HaDley. He is one lucky dude to have landed in your lap! I'm sure you feel that you are the lucky one. It's a two-way street with these guys. Jeddie is such a nice kitty (now that you isn't peeing on my rugs :lol: and I am so lucky that he got along with my other four from the start and now is cuddle buddies with Beau, but I also know he is very lucky to have been saved from the needle and get a good home with someone who loves him, windows to look out of and pals to play and cuddle with.
 
Bagheera was 407 for PMPS :evil: which is not entirely surprising considering I'd lowered his dose last night to a skinny 0.5u, brushed him this morning, moved him from his foster room to my bedroom to give him different scenery and also get him acclimated to more cat smells AND he got his first quick look and sniff of Harley and Princess. Harley and he traded growls but that's all. Princess hissed at him and tried to swat him. She's a girl... BTW, he got a Benadryl shot along with his rabies vax yesterday so a vax reaction is less likely.

I raised him back to the 0.5u with this shot and also after discussion with my vet, we started him on a 14 day round of Clindamycin for his mouth. I never thought I'd see the day when I'd be glad a kitty was declawed, but if he hadn't been my hands would be in ribbons by now after I gave him his first pill. Or rather, his first half of a pill because he spit it out 4 times. This is going to be a long 2 weeks. I spent the last half hour stuffing his remaining pills into #4 gelcaps and trimming them down to the right size. Hoping this will help. I just feel so awful that I have to do this to him. I'm not trying to replace his real mother, but trying to be Nice Lady With Food. Pilling him is not so nice, but is oh so necessary. :YMSIGH:

Thanks for your support on my treatment philosophy with HaRley, Sheila, I really appreciate it. While we survived the Great Pancreatitis Attack of 2011 which began 1 year ago today, I'm not convinced sometimes that I did him a favor by fighting to save him. He went through hell for 5 months last year and it took a huge physical and more importantly emotional and psychological toll on him. He's a much older, convalescent cat now - nothing like the hellraiser that he was only a year ago. I'd love to have my funny, ornery, bossy, demanding, lovable snuggle bug guy back again but I've slowly come to realize that the time we have together now is not for him to recover, but for me to learn to let him go. If he gets sick again I will have to do just that because he doesn't have it in him to fight another round.

And you nailed it - HaDley is such a blessing and a joy to have around even if he never goes off of insulin. I'm so glad I adopted him and I feel like he's giving me more than I've given him. He's starting to sit on my lap (all 15 pounds of him), present tummy for rubs, and actually curl up and rest his head on HaRley's back. :o In a way, I'm kind of glad his name is so similar to HaRley's because they have started to bond like brothers and when HaRley does cross over, he will hand the baton to his almost name-sake who will be the big bossy man of the house.
 
I'm so sorry this has been such a rough year for Harley. I was just re-reading his story (links from his profile). It's too bad that he hasn't bounced back after all that. I wish I had some piece of advice that would help you get him back to his old self. It is nice that Hadley cuddles with him a bit. Is he still close to Princess? Even when they are slowing down, they take a lot of comfort in their pals and routines. But at 14, he really shouldn't be slowing down yet. That makes me sad to hear about.

I wonder if he could have arthritis or something? That really slows them down because they are always stiff and sore. And were you ever able to have that fang taken care of?

You are doing an amazing job with them all. Sometimes they get dealt a bad hand. Just remember that you are the best person for him and he could not get better care, or more love, anywhere else.

Give him a pat from me. cat_pet_icon
 
Thanks Sheila and the love pat and some scritches were given. He purred, which is unusual for such a short attention session, so he must have known they were from you!

Yes, the fang and 2 other teeth were removed last August, the same day he had his biopsy. The pocket right behind the left upper canine was so abcessed the vet could stick a probe straight up into it. We were up to 3u BID with no sign of regulation and now he's down to 1u-ish territory and that's with the steriods.

I'd wondered about the arthritis myself and so I asked both Claudia (cjleo) and Dawn Allen to talk to all my cats and find out how they were feeling. Harley mentioned tummy troubles and pain/discomfort (at about a 5 out of 10) from not being able to poop properly so I'm working on the GI tract and constipation as his primary issues. He also mentioned difficulty breathing/pressure. He's had an echocardiogram to make sure nothing is wrong with his heart - it's just a little enlarged and he has a fast heart rate - but otherwise normal. Lung x-rays indicate he is clear except for donut rings which I understand are a sign of late stage asthma. (??? never knew he had that???) He does jump and move just fine when he does feel like moving. He mentioned no joint pains to either Claudia or Dawn. Through much trial and error of trying different medicaitons and dosing strenghths, my vet and I have finally come up with a maintenance routine that works only for him. Each medicine I give him is designed to do at least 2 things so I don't have to shove 50,000 meds. into him and ruin his QOL even further. Prednisolone helps stimulate appetite, keeps him eating and helps him process his food, controls the symptoms of IBD and pancreatitis and (if he has it) asthma, Zantac helps with controlling stomach acid from the pred. thus preventing ulcers and also enhances smooth muscle motility. Lactulose helps him poop and SubQ fluids keep him hydrated and provide enough fluids to make sure the lactulose can do its job. I've just added in cyproheptadie full timenow because he's no longer eating with just the pred alone and also it's an anti-histamine which should help with any airway issues. Knock on wood...

Add to all of the above, evening snuggles which due to his inability to regulate his body heat, he can no longer do all night long like he used to. Now he does 15 minutes and then moves away to sit next to me. I give the love as he will accept it and am grateful he still can. Simple pleasures just make my day. :-D
 
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