4/15 Oliver amps 326 +2~452 +11~432 pmps 452 +8~306

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Yesterday’s Condo for Oliver

So far, a good start to the day for Oliver with amps lower than his +6 last nite.
Today starts with cycle 2 on new dose of 4.5uLev; will watch closely and see if he can get under 300 for a bit. As usual, will do curves over the weekend.

Oliver is a bit more lively this morn and ate a good breakfast of some friskies chicken and a big handful of fresh chicken cubes. I tried him on the salmon ff again, just to see his reaction, and nope. As hungry as he was, he gave a lick and walked away. Oddly, Shadoe does not much like it either, so I'll give away the cans of salmon food I have.

I don't think I have mentioned before but Oliver has an internal alarm clock set to 4am, yes, 4am. Like clockwork, I can expect him to come into the bedroom if not already there and proceed to paw and claw at the top of the bed and covers beside me to wake me up.
I try to pull him up onto the bed, just to sneak in a bit more sleep as shots are not for 2 hours, but he politely gets down and goes back to his pawing at the side of the bed. He does not hook his claws right through the covers, but rather drags them along the covers so that it makes a scratching noise similar to scratching on the inside of the LB. Weird but it leads me to believe that he was not allowed up on things because he sits only on the pillow by the windows, the climber tree, or the floor, never in a chair or on the sofa.

Speaking of the LB, his stool is less and more firm. Not sure why, but I welcome less of it along with the absence of smell.

OK that's it for now. Oliver's eaten and now asleep, stretched across the doorway; his favorite spot.
 

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Re: 4/15 Oliver +6~349 amps 326

He is such a handsome boy....and looks very content. I guess you are right about not being allowed up on the furniture in the past....
maybe his wake up time was 4 am too....geee....how can you break that habit? :shock: Hope you all have a nice day Gayle....
 
Re: 4/15 Oliver +6~349 amps 326 +2~452

Well, at least his +2 is known and will be valuable when we get his pmps later.
He's also acting OK, and now up in his climber tree, taking in a nice cool breeze.
His ears are on the warm side, but that's usual with his high numbers. The breeze he likes, so he should feel better soon when the insulin kicks in.
 
Re: 4/15 Oliver +6~349 amps 326 +2~452

What a good, good boy he is! And, you are doing a great job with him Gayle. Just keep on doing what you've been doing. Don't let other people's second-guessing get you down or upset you. You are working within a very successful protocol, you have experience with a high-dose cat, and you have experience doing rapid reductions on a cat that became overdosed (due to a sleeping tumor) - you've got it covered. Furthermore, you have jojo and Carolyn keeing an eye on things.
 
Re: 4/15 Oliver +6~349 amps 326 +2~452

He's a tough cookie. Hang in there, Gayle. Don't know where his nadir is yet, maybe he doesn't even know. : ) So it may not be unusual for him to go up after shot.

Glad he's feeling more and more at home.
 
Re: 4/15 Oliver +6~349 amps 326 +2~452

You are in good hands here, EVERYONE in LL is watching over you. Fight the good fight.
((((((((((((((((Oliver)))))))))))))))))))))))
 
Re: 4/15 Oliver +6~349 amps 326 +2~452

Oliver is such a handsome boy!

I bet with time and lots of encouragement you can teach him that it's ok to get on the bed and furniture, maybe try treating him on the bed sometimes combined with lots of "Gooood boy" talk while he's up there? That's what we're doing with Boomer, he's hesitant about going into hubby's office. In part because the floor is slippy under his paws but also because Armyson never let him in there. Hubby's put down a non-skid rug and cleared off the futon and whenever Boo goes in there we praise him like crazy. I'm going to give hubby a little canister of treats today so he can start treating Boo if he goes onto the futon on his own. This is how we had to teach him that it was ok to use the couch we gave him and his dog beds when he first came to live with us. He now knows "his" couch is always ok but mama's couch is off limits but mama's chair is ok *if* someone is in it and invites him into it with them. If they go to get up, he gets up too. Just a thought, if you want to encourage Oliver to feel free to use the furniture.
 
Re: 4/15 Oliver +6~349 amps 326 +2~452

I am thinking on the weekend, after a quick trip for groceries and another 1000 big cans of friskies for Oliver this week, plus a furminator to get his gunky coat slick and shiny, I'll test him all weekend and see if we can see what's up with at leas his weekend curves.
With me around more, maybe Shadoe's harassing will give him a chance to relax.

I don't want to use any R until we can see what his true numbers are.
Long as the foods keep on coming, Oliver's a happy boy!
 
Re: 4/15 Oliver +6~349 amps 326 +2~452

Morning Gayle,

I agree, I generally don't promote R use in cats that have proven they can move, and he has done that, albeit only when you first got him. I find it can lead to confusing results if the cat does not have any other diagnosed medical conditions such as IAA or acromegaly. That said, his previous lack of response to R shows that there *is* resistance, and one day you may actually need it for him, but for now I think your gut instinct is good in holding off on it. Since his basal dose is not where it needs to be, any help you will get from it will only be temporary.

It is my hope that the reason his insulin needs keep increasing has nothing to do with any other medical conditions and just a cat who was unregulated too long. If that is the case, he will surely be under control very quickly and you'll soon get him to pretty numbers and more reasonable dose. ;-) Perhaps he is just trying to keep up with his new friend Shadoe LOL

I know how frustrating it is to know you are doing the right thing and still get crappy results, this happened when I got Oscar. I thought it would be a walk in the park and I'd just reduce his dose, fix his food, give him love and he'd be fine.. but it didn't happen that way. ((((hugs)))) and love to you all, you're really doing an amazing job with both cats! :smile:

..C
 
Re: 4/15 Oliver +6~349 amps 326 +2~452

(((Gayle))) you are a great Momma-bean and you will find Oliver's dose :smile:

Now Oliver, get down from there. I hear there's a Caturday poke-fest in your very near future ;-)
 
Re: 4/15 Oliver +6~349 amps 326 +2~452

His dose is not as high as some others that have come down eventually, and Randi/Max is a good example of that accomplishment. Maybe Oliver is just not ready yet or at the point to send him down.
And that being said, it matters not to me if he just likes to run on a high dose or if we find he does have some medical condition we need to treat; he's still a good boy and part of the family, and we will treat him for whatever comes up.

I feel good that I have trained the vets office to listen to me and send out tests as needed.
After going through all the strangeness and struggles to coordinate testing and shipping off to msu, we now have a system. So bring it on, we are all ready.

Tonite, we need to prepare for a party that is coming up soon, and we don't want to miss out on this party. Maybe Max can give Oliver some tips on coming down in dose.
 
Re: 4/15 Oliver +6~349 amps 326 +2~452

Gayle and Shadoe said:
And that being said, it matters not to me if he just likes to run on a high dose or if we find he does have some medical condition we need to treat; he's still a good boy and part of the family, and we will treat him for whatever comes up.
Click to expand...

well said :) oliver's a very lucky boy, to have you in his corner. you're a good mom, gayle.
 
Re: 4/15 Oliver +6~349 amps 326 +2~452

You'll have to let me know what your reaction is to the furminator (or more accurately, the pile of fur you make next to you during the process haha) if Oliver tolerates it.. Nova doesn't like it as much as her other brushes because I can't brush her head with it really.. so I use it to get 90% of the way there and and then use her favourite brush to give her a nice massage and finish up the job..

With a big guy like Oliver.. I can't even imagine how many cats worth of fur you could get out of him :).
 
Re: 4/15 Oliver +6~349 amps 326 +2~452

We have a furminator too, got it for Tugger because he's such a huge shedder. It sure does make a mess, but it's pretty awesome to see all that stuff come off. It's about time for another session here, coats are blowing from those 90 degree days we had. I use it mostly on his "pants" and sides/belly and a bit on his cheeks and chest. The rest we use the regular brush for and we now have a soft bristled brush for heads and faces.
 
Re: 4/15 Oliver +6~349 amps 326 +2~452

I am fortunate that Oliver loves being brushed and combed and patted, but only for so long. I think he gets bored with it.
I have a regular hair comb and cat combs and rubber and bristle brushing implements, and there is not a one that he does not like.
I finish off all brushing with full body pats with wet hands a few times. It seems to pick up all the flyaway stuff lying on the surface or just under, and it gets him to do the final finishing touches by cleaning himself of the moisture.

It will be just for him because the girls seriously don't really shed much at all.
 
Re: 4/15 Oliver +6~349 amps 326 +2~452

You can brush Nova literally for 2 hours and she'll just love it the whole time.. I wet her down throughout the whole process (she loves being wet so it works out well) because the static is unbelievable.. it's REALLY dry in Edmonton all the time..

Nova's favourite is one of those rubber brushes with the rubber pokies.. don't know what it's called but it's purple and on the back the rubber has a decoration that's a cat.. not all that effective for getting fur out.. but she loves the massage, especially on her cheeks.. That's the brush that goes with her to the vet.. easy for the techs to win her over during tests with that one.. any time I take Nova in "did you bring the purple brush????" hehehe.
 
Re: 4/15 Oliver +6~349 amps 326 +2~452

I got the furminator - and Maui et al loved it! The only problem was, I used it daily for a week and was so proud of all the fur I got off her, I didn't realize I gave her bald patches! :o

So, when using a furminator, be careful with how long and how often it's used or you'll end up with a naked cat! :lol: :lol: :lol:

Now, if we could talk some poop for moment - your comment interested me
Speaking of the LB, his stool is less and more firm. Not sure why, but I welcome less of it along with the absence of smell.
Click to expand...

Which leads to me ask, what do you feed him?
Are they hard or just firm? If they are hard, you may want to add more water to the food (of course that will cause major puddles in the LB).

Since adding raw food into Maui's diet, I've noticed harder stools and 0 smell in the LB. This is a good thing considering where she started - dry food and exploding diarrhea!

So, let's talk poop..... :oops:
 
Re: 4/15 Oliver +6~349 amps 326 +2~452

Big hugs Gayle for loving Oliver the way you do.
I just adore hearing about his personality.
I will tell Max to have a chat with him on getting his numbers to finally crack.

Carolyn always said to us that some cats just need more insulin and not to look
at what the number is. If he needs it, he needs it.

We used the furminator for Max and he loved it. But boy, you can make a whole new
cat once your done brushing. :lol: :lol:
Now that his coat is much more silky and manageable, we use a regular brush on him.
Today he got extra brushing from me so he could be all dapper for the party.
 
Re: 4/15 Oliver +6~349 amps 326 +2~452

Hilary,
Foods and poops. :lol: Now there is a fine pair to have in the same discussion.
Actually it makes sense - what goes in must come out!

I try very hard to give Shadoe and Oliver the same foods. While she is not too bad at eating normal amounts now, Oliver is how she was when first dx, as in, see it - eat it. Like Chinese food, he eats now and is hungry in an hour.

I feed them mostly ff, the LC ones from binky's list, as well as friskies and sophisticat(duck&wild rice and chicken&tuna). Mostly I have been feeding him the big cans of friskies (turkey&giblets and the whitefish flavor, plus some of the smaller cans for variety-chicken pate and another) to match his big appetite. She gets a couple oz from the can and he gets the rest in about 3 meals/servings. The only other thing they get is fresh steamed chicken breast meat diced into cubes to tide them over when they demand food in the 2hrs prior to shots.

So it can't be the foods; they both get the same.

I do mix in water with ALL of their foods because I can't know who is drinking how much water or from where. For months, Shadoe liked the tub faucet to be barely dripping and that is her main source aside from her 'soupy slop' meals. After her p-titis attack, I wanted to be sure that she was always getting enough water and she became addicted to that slop to the point that now I MUST put water or she looks at me like "well? you know what's missing, so fix my foods!" I have done the same for Oliver; mix in water and he seems to love it too!

He must be doing better as he is urinating less than before, and down to maybe 2 big cans of food a day. Just recently his stool has become more solid, not hard, with the odd runny one here and there. maybe I should start recording when and what on his ss; I am not great at the info aside from the numbers on the ss.

Outwardly, I think all the travelling and recent changes in Oliver's life took a big toll and he was most probably upset and traumatized, so it's expected that he'd be upset and loose-pooped. For the first week, he was inhaling food and then most of it was coming right back up. At times, I felt like he was a poor stray, but he settled down and no more vomit, and the poops are getting more consistent.

Funny though, they both have the same intake and the only difference was the insulin. Now they are both on Lev, so I'll watch for the stinkies.
Who knows? Maybe the Lantus contributed to the odor!
 
Re: 4/15 Oliver amps 326 +2~452 +11~432 pmps 452

Oliver is sure loving his foods. i think he's satisfied for a couple hours now.
The numbers are not great, but this shot's c3, so we'll see how he does tonite.
 
Well, that's a pretty nice +8 if you ask me.
I was sick in bed till that time, so no idea if he went lower around +6.
Here's hoping we can hit some yellow on the next shot.

When I got up and after the test, he inhaled 2 cans of ff!
 
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