8/15 Talley AMPS 186

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Brigitte & Talley

Member Since 2010
Yesterday's Condo

Ah a new thread. Lovely! I thought it'd be a good idea to make a new thread for the rest of my updates.

Pat+Raja+Shadow said:
Hi Brigette and Talley! Great job with you SS and linking yesterday's condo to today's! Very nice job! :mrgreen:
Pretty nice AMPS for Talley too. I was wondering if Talley has any issues or if on any meds for anything.
Glad you two are here!
Here in Lantus Land, we know that our kitties are more than just their BG numbers....so we have a short way to do our Whole Cat Report each day... (WCR) We use the 5 Ps....to tell a little of how our kitty is feeling...
P-Peeing
P-Preening
P-Pooping
P-Purring
P-Playing
If all Ps are present, the kitty is doing pretty well. You might see written "3Ps in place so far today" or something like that...when you are reading other kitty's condos. I encourage you to visit too...just stop in and say hello ...we are like a big happy family here, all living in the same building... :lol: Much can be learned by reading what is going on in other kitties' lives. You will see that we like to laugh a little too while dealing with FD...but we are most serious about how all the sugar babies are doing each day.
We watch for their bodily functions like hawks... :lol: Might seem weird to people but we are constantly making sure that they are doing well in all departments.
So, welcome again to you and Talley! Hope you are having a good day...any questions you have, please post in your vondo and if you have any updates during the day, we wold love to see them! :razz:
Click to expand...

Peeing: Like a racehorse. Talley will NEVER use the litterbox unless I'm present for some reason but he does regularly pee while showing no signs of distress. For a few years before his diabetes. he was on vet brand C/D for urinary problems where he wouldn't pee despite trying to. About once a week I give him C/D in place of his kibble to keep him healthy and regular.

Preening: This one gives me an idea. Talley's been throwing up hairballs as the 100 F degree weather here in Texas is causing him to shed. His lack of appetite might just be due to an upset stomach. I'm going to pick up some hairball thinner to put in his water. I'm also brushing him daily to get rid of most of the shedding fur before he gets a chance to lick it.

Pooping: Ugh.... UGH. He's icky. He has this one spot by my front door instead of his litterbox where.... well you can guess what he does :shock: It's solid and normal. He's also fairly regular as he poops between 10 PM and midnight every day.

Purring: Over the years I've come to recognize his different purrs. He doesn't seem to be purring in discomfort lately unless I'm stabbing his ear for blood. He purrs when I brush him, pet him and when I'm getting his food ready, even though he doesn't want to eat it...

Playing: Talley hasn't played much for years. He's 12-13 years old and likes sleeping and sunbathing more than chasing a toy. When I first started treating his diabetes and changed his diet, he acted like a kitten again. He has more energy than he did before the diabetes diagnosis. He likes to catch my finger with his front paws and then love-bite it. He's not very active, but he does get around. For what he lacks in playfulness, he makes up for by beating me up the stairs every day.

So aside from the C/D for his urinary problems, he has no other issues. I really am starting to think the hairballs have something to do with his lack of eating.

I can't thank you guys enough for being so nice and helpful, lol. No one besides me in my household knows anything about feline diabetes so I can't get advice from any of them. I've been reading the other threads on here. It's nice when I get to see that I'm not the only one in the world with kitty issues. I'd rather none of us have kitty issues, but at least the company is good.
 
Good morning!

that is a good report! You will start to see even better changes as his numbers get better too.

Will you have a chance to collect some data today? It would be a good opportunity if you're home.

Have a look at the New to the Group stickie up top, it has a guideline for curves.
Regular curve is about every 2 hours and a mini curve is about every 3 hours.
Do what you can ok?

Have a great day!
 
Have to go out today and get supplies for school but I'll do a 2 hour curve as I can. Also trying to learn how to test on his paw so his ears can heal. The only thing I'm currently out of stock on is cat treats because my other cat, Binx, decided to eat through the packaging and devour them all. I'm giving him deli turkey as a replacement treat until I can buy a new bag.
 
My two don't "play" too much nowadays either....13yrs old.
I was also going to mention a before-bed time check at night. That is an important test to remember each night, ok? Guess no one mentioned it yet. We are such pests! :mrgreen:
When you say he had urinary problems can you explain what happened?
I usually add Omega 3 oils to their food to help with the hairballs. Or tuna oil from the can. Some people spread vaseline on their paws so they lick it off and it does the trick too.
 
He wouldn't pee. He would go to the litter box and sit in the position as if he was trying to pee but wouldn't. He'd stay there for 4 minutes and then leave the litter box dry. This went on for 2 days so we took him to the vet and he recommended C/D. I can't remember word-for-word the conversation but the vet said that it was common in male cats to have urinary problems. As long as I give him C/D once a week he's fine. It had to do with his urine crystallizing and therefore unable to pass through when he tried to pee. The C/D prevents the urine from crystallizing so Talley can actually urinate.

I've been doing pre-bed tests but I always forget to write them down. As long as he's above 180 or so, I go to sleep just fine. My brother wakes up for work at 4 AM and he always checks on Talley for me at that time just to make sure he's alert. I'll try to remember to add them to his chart.

I think we have some vaseline... I'll give it a try! Thanks! :mrgreen: He has medium length fur so I worry about his hairball intake. ...I guess it would be easier to assume that I just worry about Talley.

It's been two hours since feeding and preshot test so I guess I'll go find my little sugar for a spot test. Side note: If I say "Mr. Stabby" Talley runs away from me.
 
So, there was no treatment really back then, just a switch of foods? Ok, I was just wondering if he got really sick and had some meds or something...
 
No, no meds. The vet told me it was a very common problem in male cats and an ingredient in C/D prescription diet dissolves the crystallized urine so that's the only treatment he's needed. Sometimes he can go months without C/D and have no issue but I like to be on the safe side and just treat it before the symptom returns.

Just tested Talley again. He read 130 mg/dL. I'm liking the results today on full dose.
 
I see Tally like's the 130's :mrgreen: Nice shooting tonight's PMPS!

If you're up for it a +1 would be very good!
 
Part of me thinks he's trying to test the limits of my sanity. The other half of me believes that the innocent look on his face is to distract me from the horns on his head. :twisted:

His poor eeeeeears. Oh the eaaaaars! I'm trying to convince myself that I won't have to prick him five times a day forever and one day the wounds can heal. Just have to get him regular. I can easily give a +1 in 30 and then a +3 before I go to bed. My mom stays up til 2 AM everyday so she said she wants to brush him tonight and watch him until then. She's trying her best to learn how to test him so she can spot check in emergencies when I'm at school or sleeping, but I know she's afraid of blood and needles. It took her 9 months to learn how to inject the insulin :lol: It would help if Talley wasn't so picky. If I test or shoot, he doesn't care. If anyone else does, he glares at them and fidgets. I guess only his hooman can poke him wif da stabby things.

I'm trying to learn paw testing off the video and guide linked to me earlier but so far Talley has tried to murder me. When I finally got blood, he squirmed and then left these not-so-adorable blood dots all over my bed. A neverending story, I tell you, about the adventures of diabetic cat care. Everytime I finally feel like I have some control, Talley or his body does something that reminds me that I'm never going to stop learning. He's keeping me on my guard, he is.

Talley's enjoying the extra attention from the hour-long groom session this morning and the massage I gave him an hour ago. He's also finally decided that the treats after tests are worth it. He's learned that he gets 1 treat if I finish the test, but two little treats if he doesn't go out of his way to sabotage my efforts. Now he just sits in my lap and purrs and headbutts my shoulder until it's over. I'm thrilled. The bribes! They're working!
 
Treats definitely work!

I don't know if anyone provided you with this link to Dr. Lisa Pierson's site on feline nutrition. There is an excellent section on feline health and nutrition and she specifically discusses concerns with urinary tract issues, including crystals. She's a huge proponent of a canned food diet since it provides more water than dry.
 
Double post!

The +1 reading is up. High carb food but I think I could have dosed 1.5u just fine. Still, I'm considering keeping him on 1u until he's regulated so I can maybe keep the same dose for more than 2 feedings finally. It allows for a little more flexibility for now and if I can finally see a full 3 days on the same dose, I can make a clear estimate of how to adjust him appropriately. You guys were right. The first few times dosing at low numbers... terrifying. It's like stepping into the void. Took a deep breath, hummed my mantra of "stop being a whiney, sissy-pants and shoot him," and did the deed. I looked at a lot of spreadsheets others have on here. Shooting at 75? 90?! I felt myself blacking out reading that. The ones who dose low definitely have tons of data to make educated decisions with. Talley and I will get there someday, I hope.

Ah, and the hairballs. I found some Omega 3 (was it 3? I think I read 3...) in the house but it was in pill form. I found some vaseline but I can't tell how ancient that bottle is so I'm going to pick up a new one tomorrow if Pets' Mart doesn't have hairball solution for his drinking water. I prefer the water drops because Talley is going to somehow find a way to get vaseline all over my furniture and face.

Indeed, Sienne + Gabby. Talley can go off C/D for months as long as he drinks a lot of water. I just ran out of a bag because my other cats decided it was theirs now so I probably won't be buying another for awhile. He's been finicky with his water lately so I've been keeping it around. It has to do with the limestone in the aquifer here. Somebody (with fur and tail) doesn't like the taste.

Did I mention lately that I love you guys? We should have a party. I'll bring the fresh chicken hearts and cupcakes. Thank you for being so patient with my frantic ramblings and insanity.
 
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