5/5 Chispa, 131 AMPS, 109 PMPS, 61 +3.5, 64 +4.5

[Karen and Chispa (GA)]

https://www.felinediabetes.com/FDMB/threads/5-3-chispa-163-amps-137-3-125-pmps-104-2-80-3.277154/

Happy Friday, everyone!

We had an eventful day yesterday. Chispa, whose vision is poor due to two past retinal detachments, bumped into a chair leg on her way from breakfast to her crinkly paper. I'd been noticing that she seemed a bit more visually confused than normal over the last few days, and that confirmed it -- so off we went to the vet. Her BP was found to be 160, same as at her checkup a couple of weeks ago, only this time I had given her a dose of gabapentin to make sure the reading wasn't skewed by anxiety. They upped her blood pressure meds by a smidge, which they were reluctant to do because the dose is already much higher than usual for a cat of her size, but I emphasized that we'll be moving soon and it's likely to go even higher without intervention. They'll recheck it next week, and in the meantime they said to watch for signs of low blood pressure, like wobbliness. I said, "She's already wobbly." They laughed and said they were pretty sure I would notice if she got even more wobbly.

Today she is motoring around just fine and hasn't even come close to running into anything. She even got up on the back of the sofa to nap in the sun, which she hasn't done in a while.

I thought you all might like to see a picture of her bravely riding public transportation. She is my little fighter pilot.
Wishing everyone a wonderful day!

 

[Diane Tyler's Mom GA]

Hi Karen, It breaks my heart that Chispa's vision is poor, I never knew about the the
retinal detachments, but I'm glad that they upped her blood pressure meds a little.
I'm so happy that she's motoring around and is enjoying her sun bath.
Love the pic of her , she is a fighter!
I would love to send her some tons of crinkly paper
I hope you both have a good day and she surfs safely today
Give her a big kiss for me

 

[Karen and Chispa (GA)]

Hi Karen, It breaks my heart that Chispa's vision is poor, I never knew about the the
retinal detachments, but I'm glad that they upped her blood pressure meds a little.
I'm so happy that she's motoring around and is enjoying her sun bath.
Love the pic of her , she is a fighter!
I would love to send her some tons of crinkly paper
I hope you both have a good day and she surfs safely today
Give her a big kiss for me

Thanks so much, Diane. It breaks my heart too, but at the same time, I'm also grateful that she has some vision left and normally steers clear of obstacles. I am not the best about not leaving stuff lying around, so she would be tripping all over the place if she really couldn't see.

I told the vet how worried I am about the effect on her of moving and wondered out loud if I should just scrap my plans and stay here, which I could still do. She said no way. She told me that even pets that go blind in their own home have to learn their way around because they haven't had to draw a mental map until they lose their vision. She said Chispa will figure it all out whether she can see or not, and will adapt just fine. She recommended Feliway, which I already knew about, and a supplement called Calming Care. I'm still worried, of course, but it makes me feel better that they've adjusted her meds to keep her safer.

Chispa liked your kisses and sends you her most enthusiastic purring!

 

[Mikanmama (Mikan GA)]

Oh my gosh, Karen! I too didn't know about Chispa's vision.
So wonderful that you were so observant and able to address it in time. Such a big heart you have, Karen
Hope you and Chispa have a wonderful Cinco de Mayo and weekend

 

[Karen and Chispa (GA)]

Oh my gosh, Karen! I too didn't know about Chispa's vision.
So wonderful that you were so observant and able to address it in time. Such a big heart you have, Karen
Hope you and Chispa have a wonderful Cinco de Mayo and weekend

Thanks so much, Kit
It looks like Chispa's been reading over my shoulder again and saw the messages of concern from you and @Diane Tyler's Mom . As if to reassure us all that she is a-ok, she picked her way through this maze of papers (getting ready for a shredding truck in the neighborhood tomorrow) on her way from the couch to her food dish, walking between the stacks without a misstep. She also climbed up onto a shelf under my desk earlier today to investigate -- I haven't seen her do anything like that in a long time. I hope that means the extra 1/4 tablet of Amlodipine is already working its magic!

 

[Mikanmama (Mikan GA)]

walking between the stacks without a misstep. She also climbed up onto a shelf under my desk earlier today to investigate -- I haven't seen her do anything like that in a long time.

So good to hear that! Makes me feel warm all over just to see her moving through the pile (and inspecting? )

I hope you and Chispa have a great weekend

 

[Diane Tyler's Mom GA]

on her way from the couch to her food dish, walking between the stacks without a misstep. She also climbed up onto a shelf under my desk earlier today to investigate -- I haven't seen her do anything like that in a long time. I hope that means the extra 1/4 tablet of Amlodipine is already working its magic!

This makes me so very happy to hear

 

[Karen and Chispa (GA)]

So good to hear that! Makes me feel warm all over just to see her moving through the pile (and inspecting? )

I hope you and Chispa have a great weekend

This makes me so very happy to hear

Kit and Diane, thank you both so much from Chispa and me. Chispa says that yes, she was inspecting the piles to make sure that no bags of chicken treats had gotten mixed in with the papers by mistake. Hoomans must be supervised when handling precious commodities!

 

[Mikanmama (Mikan GA)]

 

[Diane Tyler's Mom GA]

Kit and Diane, thank you both so much from Chispa and me. Chispa says that yes, she was inspecting the piles to make sure that no bags of chicken treats had gotten mixed in with the papers by mistake. Hoomans must be supervised when handling precious commodities!

Ha Ha