4/14: Sammy - AMPS 107; +2 84; +4 98; PMPS 78

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Tina & Sammy

Tina & Sammy

Member Since 2010
Yesterday's Condo

Sammy's numbers have improved so much in just two cycles. It still amazing me how much good such a tiny amount of insulin can do for some kitties. The vet even looked at me perplexed when I told her I was doing .10u. I showed her the picture on my phone and she still couldn't believe it. I think she learns something new each time we come in.

Since I now know trying to rush an OTJ Trial isn't going to work, my plan is to try to stick with the 3 under 50 or one under 40 rule for a long term diabetic. He is already responding really well at this point, which I am so much happier about than the numbers we were getting on the trial. I think now that I have come to the realization that he is definitely going with me to camp I can just relax and let him tell me when it is time to stop insulin. I might even consider a drop after this dose to see if that will continue to help him.

I barely got to sit down last night. I think it wasn't until 8:30 that I finally got a moment to sit down before heading to bed at 9:30. There still seems like a lot to do to get ready for camp. I have boxes and bins every where. It amazes me how much stuff I have to take to camp and wonder how in the world we ever did it before rending a cargo van to haul it all.

I should have time during the day today to check in on some condos, but once I get home we will be packing up the van and my car so that it is all ready to leave first thing in the morning. I am still a bit nervous about the car ride with Sammy on insulin, so I will probably give hime some 7% food before we leave just to help prevent a low during the drive. I know it is only about 90 minutes, but he tends to drop early in the cycle and depending on where he starts tomorrow he might not have far to drop to a low. I will make a determination on what type of food I give once I see his AMPS tomorrow, but if he continues to trend the way he is going he will likely have an AMPS under 100 tomorrow morning.

I am moving his shot time up 30 minutes tonight, and will continue to move it up 30 minutes each night until we get to 8:30. I just think at camp this will be a better time for shooting. Because I am sure the ladies that are sharing a room with me are not interested in waking up at 6:30 am when I have to give him his shot. Plus, I will be staying up longer and be around 24/7 to test as needed. I will worry about moving his shot time back to 5:30 or 6:30 once we get home, or I might start adjusting the last day or so of camp.

Hope everyone has a fantastic day!
 
Sammy is looking pretty good so far today. He had eating about 45 minutes prior to +4 so I hope that was the reason for the slight rise. Plus, I think the shot was a little shy of .10u this morning, but only by the smallest amount.
 
:D:D

those tiny amounts are indeed difficult.

have you done a test syringe to see if anything even comes out? when I did that amount, I had nothing because of my type of syringes.
 
Yes, I have done a test and it is literally about a drop. I think I would be able to shave this down a bit if necessary, but only by a smaller drop. LOL!
 
we used to talk about just waving the syringe over the cat....
smiley-laughing002.gif
 
@Marje and Gracie

Here is the list of the items on Sammy's blood work that I was unable to plug in to a slot on the spreadsheet

Alb/Glob Ratio
ALP
Est Osm

LYM
MONO
GRAN
LYM%
MONO%
GRAN%
RDWa
RDW%
PLT
MPV

Let me know if you need reference numbers.

Overall everything looked good.
 
Tina & Sammy said:
he is definitely going with me to camp I can just relax and let him tell me when it is time to stop insulin.
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The cats are always the ones in control - as hard as it is for us to admit it.

I'd be careful about feeding him too close to take off time. Some cats like to barf on route and an empty tummy may be better if his numbers are good enough.

I hope you have a fantastic time at camp and the Sammy is an excellent traveler. Before we went to Fort Collins for Neko's SRT, she would whine on the 5 minute trip to the vets office. Now she's a champion traveler. They are always surprising us.
 
Looking good back on that tiny dose. He'll be back on a trial soon I'm sure - it looks like he just needs a little extra support for now. I've had some cats that hate the car and a couple that loved it - one would even run to the car in the morning to try and get in with us. And when we did take her anywhere, she wanted to be allowed to stand with her back feet on the seat and her front paws up on the dashboard so she could look out! He might surprise you with how well he takes to travelling. :)
 
Wendy&Neko said:
The cats are always the ones in control - as hard as it is for us to admit it.

I'd be careful about feeding him too close to take off time. Some cats like to barf on route and an empty tummy may be better if his numbers are good enough.

I hope you have a fantastic time at camp and the Sammy is an excellent traveler. Before we went to Fort Collins for Neko's SRT, she would whine on the 5 minute trip to the vets office. Now she's a champion traveler. They are always surprising us.
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That is good to know. I wonder if it would be better to delay his shot and breakfast until we get there. That would make me feel a little more comfortable, both with the barf factor and insulin. Although, the last few times I have taken him to the vet or for our trial ride I had fed him just before we left, and he did fine, but you just never know what might happen. If we delay the shot it might put us a little off of our schedule, but is shouldn't be too much trouble to get back on schedule. I guess it will depend on how early we leave though. If I give his shot and breakfast at 7:00 am and we leave by 8 or 8:30 do you think that would be enough time for the stomach to settle?
 
manxcat419 said:
Looking good back on that tiny dose. He'll be back on a trial soon I'm sure - it looks like he just needs a little extra support for now. I've had some cats that hate the car and a couple that loved it - one would even run to the car in the morning to try and get in with us. And when we did take her anywhere, she wanted to be allowed to stand with her back feet on the seat and her front paws up on the dashboard so she could look out! He might surprise you with how well he takes to travelling. :)
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Yes, I hope he does surprise me. I would be so stressed about him if he isn't having a good trip, and 90 minutes of stress might send me off the cliff.
 
I have to admit I'm a little more relaxed about my 2 doing short trips now after they had 30 hours of travelling when I brought them here - 4 car rides between 30 and 60 minutes each, a ferry and two planes (so 2 trips through airport security too). I figure if they can handle that - and they were really very good and very quiet apart from on the very last car ride...Michael picked us up from the airport so they could hear him talking but couldn't get to him for snuggles so they created a bit on the way back to the house - they can handle any shorter trip I have to take them on. ;)

I'm sure he'll do just fine in the car - he'll be with you and that will help keep him calm. I've found with some cats having the stereo on quietly in the car helps too - maybe it just gives them something to think about apart from being in the car!
 
Well, I talked to DH and he wants to leave as early as possible, so I think we are going leave really early and I will delay Sammy's shoot a bit and not give it to him until we arrive at the cabin. I know this will be like a decrease, but Sammy's numbers have improved so much in just 3 cycles that I don't think it will effect him all that much. Plus, it will get us closer to the shot time that I want to have at camp.
 
I think he'll be just fine with a delayed shot - although you had to put him back on a small dose, he was doing pretty well without insulin. I can't imagine a few hours throwing him off that badly - he'll just get right back on track like he has done today. :)
 
Tina

Sorry....I crashed early last night and haven't been on today.

The number one priority I see right now is getting that phosphorus down more towards 4. Vets tend to overlook the calcium and if calcium x phosphorus is 70 or higher, it puts kitty at risk for tissue calcification. Sammy is at 66 and his P is way too high. It's super important that you get him on some of the lower P/LC foods that Ann/Tess has a great list for as does Jill/Alex. Ann's is probsbly the most up-to-date and she was able to really make some headway with getting Tess's P down. You want to find LC foods that are less than 1.00% P of lower than 200 mgP/100 kcal.

The other place where I think you need to take action now is in regard to anemia. A cat is considered to be anemic when HCT falls below 30% and his is 29%. It does not get critical until he falls below 20% at which time you have to give erythropoietin stimulating agents (ESAs). Those are a pain because they have to be monitored very closely...the cat can build up antibodies to them although the best one, Aranasp, has less of a chance of that occurring. You are probably wondering what can you do now? Easy. B vitamins. Here is everything you need to know about CKD and B Vitamins. I've used the Jarrows BRight and methylcobalamin and had great success in keeping the HCT up around 28% in our CKD cats so none of them ever needed an ESA.

Those two things...phosphorus and anemia control...can really increase his stability and QOL with CKD.

Let me know if you have questions and have fun at Knit Camp.
 
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