CanisLupus
Member Since 2014
Greetings all,
My name is Brian, and I joined this forum last week when I got the diagnosis of diabetes on my cat Bonk. I was invited to join the tight regulation forum, and it sounded like a good idea to me. For those who haven't seen it, my original posting can be viewed here:
viewtopic.php?f=28&t=114627
I'll start off with a status update. I started Bonk on 2 units last night (he was on 1.5). His preshot was 402, but his +4 spiked to 517, then he dropped back to 424 by morning. I don't quite get those numbers, but I'm wondering if he got into Faolan's dry food during those 4 hours. I think I will switch Faolan to a similar diet, it will be better for him anyway, and will stop these potential issues.
Now, a quick little history on my furry family. Bonk has been suffering chronic constipation for many years. Sadly, this has led to the diagnosis of Megacolon at the beginning of January. He had to be sedated, and my vet did a full clean-out. At the time, he was given a series of medications to take to manage the megacolon. Shortly after, I noticed he was drinking and urinating much more, and figured it was a side effect of the medication. But as the problem continued to worsen, I decided a trip to the vets was in order. So in the end of February, I got the diagnosis of Diabetes. It's been an up and down battle since with him between lethargy, inappetence, and me trying to learn home blood testing. But we're getting there.
Here is his current list of medications:
5ml Cisapride 3x per day
3ml Lactulose 3x per day
1/4 tsp Miralax 3x per day
2 units Lancet 2x per day
He was also put on the Royal Canin Fiber Response dry food. But as his diabetes got worse, he decided he didn't like it. Which is fine by me, as I am now transitioning him to an all canned diet with low carbs and low fiber. I picked up a small bag of Evo to help him transition, and as a low carb treat.
So now, let me introduce everyone. This is Bonk taken just a week or so ago, doing one of his favorite activities:
He is a rescued stray cat, in fact I rescued him right out of my back yard. The first time I met him, I didn't know he was homeless. He was in my driveway, and I stepped out there for something unrelated. I thought he was one of the neighbors cats. He ran as soon as I approached, right into the fence, bonking his head. He proceeded to run down the driveway a few feet, and bonked his head on the fence again. he did this several times before running up the street. Every time I saw him after that, I called him Bonk, and the name stuck. It wasn't long after that I realized he was a stray. I started to put out food for him, and lure him into my back yard. It took about six months to fully earn his trust, but it was well worth it. By this point, he was spending most of his time in my yard. I wanted to get him in my house, but since I had another cat living there, I wanted to make sure he was vaccinated, checked out, and neutered.
At the time, I didn't have the money to cover these costs, so I called on a local organization called the Stoneham Cat Society, who helped me through these expenses. I would never have been able to do everything I did at the time without their help. Ever since then, every Christmas, I use my Christmas display to raise donations for them to thank them for their help. In August of 2005, he came indoors, and has never looked back. Here is one of my favorite shots of Bonk, taken many years ago:
And this is me, taking a photo of Bonk through my back door. This is also the photo used in my avatar here:
Now we jump to last year. I got a phone call from someone at the earlier mentioned Stoneham Cat Society. She told me about a cat they just rescued, who was a little on the wild side, as it seemed he hasn't been in a home for a few years. They currently didn't have the foster facilities to take care of him, so if they couldn't find a home quickly, they would have to treat him like one of the feral cats, where they trap, neuter, and release. They didn't want to do that, and wanted to know if I would be willing to take him in. So of course, the softy that I am, said yes.
Now I love Wolves (as you can probably tell by my user name here.) When I saw a picture of this cat, his fur coloring made him look like a little wolf. Before I even met him, just going on the photo I was emailed, I did some internet research on names, and I found the irish name Faolan, which means literally, Little Wolf. I thought it was a great name, and it worked out better than expected, because Faolan is more like a dog than a cat. He follows me around everywhere I go, Sits at the Kitchen table and begs, and will even play catch (though he hasn't quite masted bringing the toy back so I can throw it again). When he was rescued, his fur was badly matted, so he was shaved. This is what he looked like the day he came into my house:
And this is what he looks like today:
He too was a long road to earn his trust. He spent the first couple months hiding in my closet. Slowly though, he learned to trust me. Now he is an absolute lap cat. He is also a challenge with food. He is on that classic "See Food" diet. Any food he sees, he wants to eat. Which is tough, as Bonk is a picky eater and likes to nibble, so I have to protect his food to make sure Faolan doesn't eat it for him. Faolan loves to help his older brother!
There is one more cat I want to introduce everyone to. He was my first cat. I brought him home as a kitten when I was 14, so I spent a good part of my life growing up with him. His name was Putz (my father started calling him that, and the name stuck. He wasn't thrilled at the time to me bringing home a cat. I did over the years, however, turn him into a cat person :lol: ) Anyway, a little over six years ago, just two weeks shy of his 15th birthday, I lost him to renal failure. I got the diagnosis of late stage renal failure just days before Christmas. I did everything I could for him, but in the end, just got two more months with him. He did teach me a lot though on caring for a sick cat, and fighting through the emotions to do what needs to be done. And though they are very different illnesses, these experiences have helped me greatly on dealing with Bonk's issues. Here is one of my favorite photos of Putz:
And that's my furry family, and where I am today. Starting another journey in my life.
My name is Brian, and I joined this forum last week when I got the diagnosis of diabetes on my cat Bonk. I was invited to join the tight regulation forum, and it sounded like a good idea to me. For those who haven't seen it, my original posting can be viewed here:
viewtopic.php?f=28&t=114627
I'll start off with a status update. I started Bonk on 2 units last night (he was on 1.5). His preshot was 402, but his +4 spiked to 517, then he dropped back to 424 by morning. I don't quite get those numbers, but I'm wondering if he got into Faolan's dry food during those 4 hours. I think I will switch Faolan to a similar diet, it will be better for him anyway, and will stop these potential issues.
Now, a quick little history on my furry family. Bonk has been suffering chronic constipation for many years. Sadly, this has led to the diagnosis of Megacolon at the beginning of January. He had to be sedated, and my vet did a full clean-out. At the time, he was given a series of medications to take to manage the megacolon. Shortly after, I noticed he was drinking and urinating much more, and figured it was a side effect of the medication. But as the problem continued to worsen, I decided a trip to the vets was in order. So in the end of February, I got the diagnosis of Diabetes. It's been an up and down battle since with him between lethargy, inappetence, and me trying to learn home blood testing. But we're getting there.
Here is his current list of medications:
5ml Cisapride 3x per day
3ml Lactulose 3x per day
1/4 tsp Miralax 3x per day
2 units Lancet 2x per day
He was also put on the Royal Canin Fiber Response dry food. But as his diabetes got worse, he decided he didn't like it. Which is fine by me, as I am now transitioning him to an all canned diet with low carbs and low fiber. I picked up a small bag of Evo to help him transition, and as a low carb treat.
So now, let me introduce everyone. This is Bonk taken just a week or so ago, doing one of his favorite activities:
He is a rescued stray cat, in fact I rescued him right out of my back yard. The first time I met him, I didn't know he was homeless. He was in my driveway, and I stepped out there for something unrelated. I thought he was one of the neighbors cats. He ran as soon as I approached, right into the fence, bonking his head. He proceeded to run down the driveway a few feet, and bonked his head on the fence again. he did this several times before running up the street. Every time I saw him after that, I called him Bonk, and the name stuck. It wasn't long after that I realized he was a stray. I started to put out food for him, and lure him into my back yard. It took about six months to fully earn his trust, but it was well worth it. By this point, he was spending most of his time in my yard. I wanted to get him in my house, but since I had another cat living there, I wanted to make sure he was vaccinated, checked out, and neutered.
At the time, I didn't have the money to cover these costs, so I called on a local organization called the Stoneham Cat Society, who helped me through these expenses. I would never have been able to do everything I did at the time without their help. Ever since then, every Christmas, I use my Christmas display to raise donations for them to thank them for their help. In August of 2005, he came indoors, and has never looked back. Here is one of my favorite shots of Bonk, taken many years ago:
And this is me, taking a photo of Bonk through my back door. This is also the photo used in my avatar here:
Now we jump to last year. I got a phone call from someone at the earlier mentioned Stoneham Cat Society. She told me about a cat they just rescued, who was a little on the wild side, as it seemed he hasn't been in a home for a few years. They currently didn't have the foster facilities to take care of him, so if they couldn't find a home quickly, they would have to treat him like one of the feral cats, where they trap, neuter, and release. They didn't want to do that, and wanted to know if I would be willing to take him in. So of course, the softy that I am, said yes.
Now I love Wolves (as you can probably tell by my user name here.) When I saw a picture of this cat, his fur coloring made him look like a little wolf. Before I even met him, just going on the photo I was emailed, I did some internet research on names, and I found the irish name Faolan, which means literally, Little Wolf. I thought it was a great name, and it worked out better than expected, because Faolan is more like a dog than a cat. He follows me around everywhere I go, Sits at the Kitchen table and begs, and will even play catch (though he hasn't quite masted bringing the toy back so I can throw it again). When he was rescued, his fur was badly matted, so he was shaved. This is what he looked like the day he came into my house:
And this is what he looks like today:
He too was a long road to earn his trust. He spent the first couple months hiding in my closet. Slowly though, he learned to trust me. Now he is an absolute lap cat. He is also a challenge with food. He is on that classic "See Food" diet. Any food he sees, he wants to eat. Which is tough, as Bonk is a picky eater and likes to nibble, so I have to protect his food to make sure Faolan doesn't eat it for him. Faolan loves to help his older brother!
There is one more cat I want to introduce everyone to. He was my first cat. I brought him home as a kitten when I was 14, so I spent a good part of my life growing up with him. His name was Putz (my father started calling him that, and the name stuck. He wasn't thrilled at the time to me bringing home a cat. I did over the years, however, turn him into a cat person :lol: ) Anyway, a little over six years ago, just two weeks shy of his 15th birthday, I lost him to renal failure. I got the diagnosis of late stage renal failure just days before Christmas. I did everything I could for him, but in the end, just got two more months with him. He did teach me a lot though on caring for a sick cat, and fighting through the emotions to do what needs to be done. And though they are very different illnesses, these experiences have helped me greatly on dealing with Bonk's issues. Here is one of my favorite photos of Putz:
And that's my furry family, and where I am today. Starting another journey in my life.
), and guide you through this process. In the meantime, I'll do what I can - give you encouragement and support. 
Sorry to hear about your kitty, I wouldn't wish what happened to my Putz on anyone. Of course, dealing with a sick cat was a lot harder for me the first time around.