6/4 Kasha AMPS 515 PMPS 214

[kryskat]

Well, regardless, I would pretty much bet my life that it was a fur shot last night. I pretty much had trouble doing anything right yesterday, so that's not a big surprise. Although it doesn't make me feel better.

She was hungry this AM. I heard her throw up earlier (5am? earlier?) but it must have been liquid because I never found it. Least not yet. When she gets too hungry, she vomits liquid - and since all the food was completely gone this AM, I'm assuming that's what happened (or at least part of it). She was hungry this morning - actually deigned to come into the kitchen to eat for a little bit. I got her to finish her full 2 Tbsp with a little chicken dust and then I gave her another Tbsp or so to nibble at (she ate approx 1/2 of that). So, not a bad breakfast. They have food out to nibble on and I put some more canned in a timed feeder so they'd have it for the morning. I have no idea which cat eats from there, but I have it in the middle of the living room, near the couch so it's right where everyone hangs out. Blue's been sleeping next to the feeder - not sure if he smells the food and is waiting for it, or if he just wants to sleep there.

Kasha's fur still smelled like Lantus from last night, so there wasn't much of a way I could check for a fur shot this AM... I honestly have no idea how it could have happened last night, unless I put the needle in and it somehow went all the way thru the skin - like I had it at an angle and didn't realize it. I really can't see her skin in most places - her fur is so much thicker than my other kitty's. And her skin usually matches the fur, so I'm grabbing a pinch of skin and trying to part the hair while inserting the syringe and shooting - I need another hand. Or to learn how to use my toes or something. Today, I shot right into a patch of shorter hair (I'd cut it awhile back). Hopefully that will work. And it looked like she was heading back down a bit at +1 (477) - not sure if that's a normal variation, but I think she usually has slightly higher numbers after eating, not lower... I don't normally check the +1.

I'm just going to be in a bad mood until I see some lower numbers. I had such high hopes with her preshot numbers last night.

One bit of good news: the dog crate for Blue arrived yesterday morning. Yes - I ordered it online around 3:30 pm on Wednesday and it was on my front porch by 11 am on Thursday. Pretty good service - it was supposed to arrive on Saturday. Thank you Amazon and FedEx. I haven't set it up yet - it's a HUGE box and Kasha's been playing on it (her furry feet slip on it and she was sliding around or lying on it and thumping her tail down on it over and over like a drum).

Yesterday

 

[Pat+Raja+Shadow (GA)]

Re: 6/4 Kasha AMPS 515

Have you been doing ketone tests when the numbers get this high? I hope she will bring this down soon today...
we have all done silly things so try to not beat yourself up too much. It's all a learning thing, right? Some do fur shots, some just totally forget to shoot...it happens and we move on. Usually, we get more focused so that's a good thing....
that was speedy delivery on the crate...wow!
Hope you have a happy Friday!!! :razz:

 

[kryskat]

Re: 6/4 Kasha AMPS 515

I test ketones when I can, especially when numbers are high (which they haven't been the last few days except for last night/this am). Didn't catch her in the the lb last night or this am, so couldn't test.

 

[Ann & Maggie11 (GA)]

Re: 6/4 Kasha AMPS 515

Hi Krys,
Sorry about the fur shot. I have a thought about your cat's thick fur. I remember Michelle's kitty, Scrabble also had thick fur. As I remember, she had the Vet shave a spot of hair so she could see the needle going in when shooting. Does anyone remember?

 

[paige]

Re: 6/4 Kasha AMPS 515

I had to trim some hair on Webber too. He is black and has rather long hair and man was it hard to shoot sometimes. I did go stright through my "tent" one morning because I felt the Lantus on my fingers. Darn ohmygod_smile Hate those days.....hope Kasha comes down for you and it sounds like she already is. Have a good Friday (if you can ;-) ) Hang in there :YMHUG:

 

[carolynandlatte]

Re: 6/4 Kasha AMPS 515

Hi Krys,
I know how hard those high numbers are to look at. :cry: Low numbers are easier because you can DO something about them, ya know? High numbers..not so much. You just sit it out. And it gets scary. Especially if you dont see them feeling well from it. When Latte was diagnosed we dealt with MUCH lower numbers. Even up until the last month or so, never had we seen things in the 400+. So really, I can relate. I wish I could wave a magic wand and make it better. :YMSIGH: You really are doing all you can. You are very dedicated to Kasha. She knows this...and she is doing the best SHE can, too. cat_pet_icon

You know best if you gave a fur shot or not (they happen to us all, usually at the worst time). One of the reasons I suspected a bounce is because it came on so quickly. Typically after a fur shot, the shed will get used on that cycle and things dont get soooo bad. Its the NEXT cycle, once the shed has been somewhat depleted that you will see the higher numbers. It seems she clears the bounces pretty well, despite how high they go. So, I think if you see her go DOWN today you might consider last night being a bounce from the low blues (or even lower after that check), rather than a fur shot. Either way, no use beating yourself up about it. I know, Im not a good example of that one. But I figured it was worth a shot to say so. ;-)

:YMHUG: :YMHUG: :YMHUG: :YMHUG:
Many hugs to you!

 

[Melanie and Smokey]

Re: 6/4 Kasha AMPS 515

Come on down Kasha, give your mommabean some prettier numbers.

Are you using short or long needles? With Smokey's thick underfur we used the longer needles first. They do feel them a bit more than the short, but when I accidentally got the short at the end of our using insulin I really had a hard time knowing if I got the needle actually into her. It might be worth a shot to try a long to see if it makes a difference. I only found them in full unit markings. I have about 8 left if you wanted to try them out before investing in them. Quarter unit would be difficult on them, but half units weren't too hard to guess.

 

[Ann & Maggie11 (GA)]

Re: 6/4 Kasha AMPS 515

Hi,
I use the 1/2" needle, too. Just recently I was able to get the 1/2" needle syringes with half unit markings at Walgreens if you have one nearby.

 

[CD and BigMac]

Re: 6/4 Kasha AMPS 515

My kitty also has long hair and when I was shooting (with the short needles) it was hard to see if the needle was going in. And like you it seems as if I needed 4 hands to separate the fur, find skin, tent, shoot....

So someone suggested that I try grabbing the fur close to the skin and pulling a handful upwards and then I might be able to see the skin at the base of the fur I was holding. It worked for me. I grabbed enough fur that it wasn't uncomfortable for the kitty. Holding the fur made a 'tent' and I shot that. Did this make sense?

You could try and see if it might help.

Good luck today, I hope Kasha's numbers come down for you soon.

 

[kryskat]

Re: 6/4 Kasha AMPS 515

Hi Krys,
Sorry about the fur shot. I have a thought about your cat's thick fur. I remember Michelle's kitty, Scrabble also had thick fur. As I remember, she had the Vet shave a spot of hair so she could see the needle going in when shooting. Does anyone remember?

Yeah - initially they clipped all of Kasha's fur pretty short (except for her mane). But it's grown in a lot. I want to go get her clipped again, but she's been through so much lately I just wanted to give her a break to stabilize a little before putting her through another stressful situation. And, while it helped to have her fur much shorter, the mid-length when it starts to grow in is actually worse than the long hair because you really can't so anything with it! At least the long hair you can try to part...

I switched to the long needles (1/2") this past weekend. So, I've got no excuse...

 

[kryskat]

Re: 6/4 Kasha AMPS 515

My kitty also has long hair and when I was shooting (with the short needles) it was hard to see if the needle was going in. And like you it seems as if I needed 4 hands to separate the fur, find skin, tent, shoot....

So someone suggested that I try grabbing the fur close to the skin and pulling a handful upwards and then I might be able to see the skin at the base of the fur I was holding. It worked for me. I grabbed enough fur that it wasn't uncomfortable for the kitty. Holding the fur made a 'tent' and I shot that. Did this make sense?

So, are you saying you grab the fur vs. grabbing skin? I'm trying to understand - are you shooting straight down into the skin you see when you pull the fur? Or into the "side" of the tent? Can you actually see the needle go into the skin when you shoot?

 

[kryskat]

Re: 6/4 Kasha AMPS 515

Are you using short or long needles? With Smokey's thick underfur we used the longer needles first. They do feel them a bit more than the short, but when I accidentally got the short at the end of our using insulin I really had a hard time knowing if I got the needle actually into her. It might be worth a shot to try a long to see if it makes a difference. I only found them in full unit markings. I have about 8 left if you wanted to try them out before investing in them. Quarter unit would be difficult on them, but half units weren't too hard to guess.

I have the longer needles - got them at Walmart this weekend and they have the 1/2 unit markings. It's the thick underfur - just what you mentioned - that makes it difficult. It's so crazy thick - the vet even commented when they were using the clippers on her. And it's mostly this beige-greyish shade that blends in with the skin at the base. Now every time I go to shoot, I'm second-guessing myself.

Funny, my remaining civvie, Blue, has white fur that doesn't have much of an undercoat and bright pink skin. It would be sooo easy to shoot into that, I'm thinking (not that I wish this on him). Kasha had to go and be all color-coordinated and everything.

 

[CD and BigMac]

Re: 6/4 Kasha AMPS 515

So, are you saying you grab the fur vs. grabbing skin? I'm trying to understand - are you shooting straight down into the skin you see when you pull the fur? Or into the "side" of the tent? Can you actually see the needle go into the skin when you shoot?

Yes. Try it as an experiment. You should see that the fur pulls up the skin and kind of separates... or you can see a 'line' where the skin begins. If you grab skin you are also grabbing fur that smooshes flat and you can't really see the skin area. But if you grab just the fur and lift straight up, it slightly pulls away from the other fur so you can see better where the skin line is.

And because I pulled upward enough I could shoot slightly sideways as usual into this 'tent'. I don't think I had to aim straight down. I was using the fur around his shoulders/scruff area so there was plenty of slack. I did need to hold the fur rather close to the skin, so I'd lift enough to tent. I can't say if it works in other locations since I never tried that.

 

[Iorwen & Tray]

Re: 6/4 Kasha AMPS 515

I have the same problem trying to see Tray's skin. I switched to the longer needles and it's helped because I can usually feel it going in. My vet said if I'm having a hard time certain days not to lift it at all and just poke him. But Tray isn't a fan of this, must hurt more.

 

[kryskat]

Re: 6/4 Kasha AMPS 515

Ok, thanks - I'll try that. I think I've done that before, while experimenting, but I try to vary the locations I shoot and maybe it didn't work as well some places? Who knows. I don't remember. Kasha doesn't have much loose skin (barely a scruff), so I kind of pick the shot location based on what position she's in because it affects where I can grab skin. But I'm definitely going to give it a try.

Or maybe dye all of her hair purple so I can see the skin more easily - how's that? Actually, I could theoretically dye the skin purple with gentian violet but I don't know if that would make things worse!

 

[kryskat]

Re: 6/4 Kasha AMPS 515

I have the same problem trying to see Tray's skin. I switched to the longer needles and it's helped because I can usually feel it going in. My vet said if I'm having a hard time certain days not to lift it at all and just poke him. But Tray isn't a fan of this, must hurt more.

Oh - that sounds like it would hurt! I would think you could hit muscle more easily that way... I just have a gut feeling Kasha would let me have it if I tried that and I'd end up with the syringe in my own skin! She has really sensitive skin - this is the cat who hates water so much that if a droplet of mist touches her she flinches like she just got shot. My boys could walk through the shower and barely notice - I learned that squirting them with water was useless. But Kasha won't eat if I turn the water on in the sink on the off chance that a tiny bit of water might hit her.

And back in the days when she got vaccines - the rabies shot (muscle shot) made her scream so loud that people in the waiting room would ask about it... Yikes.

 

[Sienne and Gabby (GA)]

Re: 6/4 Kasha AMPS 515

Some long hair cats have a dense undercoat. Gizmo does -- it's typical of his breed (Norwegian Forest Cat).

You might try blowing air at the spot where you want to shoot. It may help to part the fur a little so you have a better visual. I also think CD's suggestion is a good one.

Nice to see that yellow today.

 

[kryskat]

Well, Kasha is Maine Coon or Norwegian Forest Cat or some mix of one or the other. Different people who see her have suggested that she's one or the other. We usually just go with Maine Coon, but some of my cat show acquaintances (they go to the shows, I don't) maintain she's got the Wegie look to her. Whichever way - she's got an incredibly thick undercoat. Right now, since she was clipped, she is all undercoat with no guard hairs. Kind of looks like a little lamb to me, at this stage of the growing in process...

Sooo... Kasha was very difficult today. The pill was a struggle - the pill pockets have outworn their welcome. I had to force it in her mouth and it took a few tries and some blood from my finger, but hopefully it went down. I never found it anywhere. She was very unhappy with me though. Then she didn't want to eat much for dinner. I'm trying to transition to testing/feeding just a little and then shooting and feeding some more (I was feeding/testing/shooting). She didn't like the change. She only ate about 1 1/2 Tbsp dinner. Ok fine. So I went out and had dinner and came back. Then she ate some more.

I couldn't figure out how to fold out the new dog cage so BF came over to help. He opened it up in about 2 seconds. I am not stupid! I am not! But I am not mechanically inclined in any way. So - now I have a HUGE dog cage in my dining room. Really - I went in it and it's fairly comfortable for me - so i think it will be pretty roomy for Blue. I did not expect that it would be so big. I could have ordered a smaller size but... oh well. I read the dimensions, but reading about them and seeing it are totally different. If I ever get a small pony or llama, I can just keep them in my dining room.

 

[Iorwen & Tray]

Nice PMPS Kasha!
And you are not stupid, tech & mechanical stuff dumbfounds me all the time, it why men were invented.

 

[joyce-tuscany(GA)]

"it's why men weere invented" lol :lol:

Krys - you did get my pm right? Good luck with blue. Pad up that dog crate nice, get that flat litter pan for him......

I like Kasha's pmps tonight - hope it went somewhere - blue or green