Chuck and Susan
Active Member
It's been crazy around here, we're getting ready to take a trip back to Iowa -- a very short trip! Chuck will have to go with us as our cat sitter is not comfortable making all the decisions that have to be made each time Chuck is tested and before giving any insulin.
I took him (and Dallas, civie, whole 'nother story) to the vet on Tuesday. Chuck has been drinking from the toilet, glasses, bowls, licking the shower stall -- anywhere and everywhere he could find water. I figured we were starting kidney failure -- he is 18, after all. BUN was a little high (probably due to uncontrolled BG) and creatinine was normal. All others were normal -- his BG on the meter was 178, but only 158 on the big machine. This was after a 15 minute ride in the car, with Dallas loudly complaining all the way, and being at the vet.
We did do a fructosamine and the vet called with the results today -- 434. He says that's still in the normal/regulated range. After looking at Chuck's charts for last month and so far this month, we briefly discussed adding a fast-acting insulin between PZ shots. I prefer not to add another insulin to the mix at this time. We discussed splitting his dose into 3 or 4 shots each day -- 3 would be difficult because I'd have to get up around midnight or 1 a.m. to give him one of the shots. 4 times might work, but I wouldn't be able to spread it equally throughout the day -- something like 5 a.m., noon, 5 p.m., and 9 or 10 p.m. He's also going to consult (again) with the diabetic specialists at Texas A&M, although we know they're going to say, he's an 18 year old diabetic cat, what do you want???
Dallas, the civie -- I thought he might have gotten tagged by a scorpion, although I haven't seen any in the house recently. He stopped eating and drinking on Saturday night/Sunday morning. 2 #1's in the litter box by Tuesday morning, but no #2. Hiding, not social (this is a very cuddle cat, he'd much rather cuddle around your neck than anything, except eat). Temp OK, heart and lungs OK, no indication of urine or stool "backed up", lymph nodes slightly swollen, but grade 3 dental disease. And he's got some kind of sores inside his mouth where his jaws meet that's causing pain - stoma? Cysts? Scale? (I don't remember what it's called). He got a steroid shot and a convenia shot and he's back to normal; I need to get him in for a dental early next week.
I took him (and Dallas, civie, whole 'nother story) to the vet on Tuesday. Chuck has been drinking from the toilet, glasses, bowls, licking the shower stall -- anywhere and everywhere he could find water. I figured we were starting kidney failure -- he is 18, after all. BUN was a little high (probably due to uncontrolled BG) and creatinine was normal. All others were normal -- his BG on the meter was 178, but only 158 on the big machine. This was after a 15 minute ride in the car, with Dallas loudly complaining all the way, and being at the vet.
We did do a fructosamine and the vet called with the results today -- 434. He says that's still in the normal/regulated range. After looking at Chuck's charts for last month and so far this month, we briefly discussed adding a fast-acting insulin between PZ shots. I prefer not to add another insulin to the mix at this time. We discussed splitting his dose into 3 or 4 shots each day -- 3 would be difficult because I'd have to get up around midnight or 1 a.m. to give him one of the shots. 4 times might work, but I wouldn't be able to spread it equally throughout the day -- something like 5 a.m., noon, 5 p.m., and 9 or 10 p.m. He's also going to consult (again) with the diabetic specialists at Texas A&M, although we know they're going to say, he's an 18 year old diabetic cat, what do you want???
Dallas, the civie -- I thought he might have gotten tagged by a scorpion, although I haven't seen any in the house recently. He stopped eating and drinking on Saturday night/Sunday morning. 2 #1's in the litter box by Tuesday morning, but no #2. Hiding, not social (this is a very cuddle cat, he'd much rather cuddle around your neck than anything, except eat). Temp OK, heart and lungs OK, no indication of urine or stool "backed up", lymph nodes slightly swollen, but grade 3 dental disease. And he's got some kind of sores inside his mouth where his jaws meet that's causing pain - stoma? Cysts? Scale? (I don't remember what it's called). He got a steroid shot and a convenia shot and he's back to normal; I need to get him in for a dental early next week.
