Lylene & Barry
Member Since 2009
Hello to everyone in Lantus Land. I posted this on the main health forum and thought I'd post here, also, even though we're no longer residents. 
It's been a while since we've been around so I thought I'd give an update on Barry.
Barry was a shelter cat who was diagnosed with diabetes in June 2009. Some staff wanted to euthanize him due to the high cost of treatment. I immediately jumped online and found this site. I was amazed by the amount and quality of information provided. I printed out a lot of information for the shelter. Barry had such a great personality it seemed horrible to euthanize him. The manager decided to keep him and he was started on Lantus. Very shortly thereafter, she went on a two week vacation and I kept Barry. When she returned we decided it would be best for Barry if he remained with me.
I changed his diet to high protein, grain free canned food. Home testing was a struggle a first but we both got the hang of it. He had Lantus shots every 12 hours. His blood sugar finally stablized and he began to gain back the weight he had lost. On October 23, 2009 he surprised me with a BG of 18 and 16. I had not been testing regularly as I should have been. After getting advice here, we stopped the Lantus and monitored BG.
It's now Dec 2010 and he is still OTJ
Our hurdle at the moment is weight loss and a dental needs to be done. He eats a raw diet which is supplemented by Willow's excellent hunting skills. They get the occasional canned food when I've been too depressed to make up the raw. I've gotten strict on food intake. With winter here, Willow won't be out hunting as much and I weigh out his food allotment for the day. Having it weighed out ahead makes it easier for both me and my DH to stick to the amount and not give in to that "I'm a starving cat" look. Thanks to Dr. Lisa for her expertise on feline weight loss.
All in all, he is doing great. I'm so very glad that he was not PTS. He's a funny cat. He helps with chores. It took the chickens a bit to get used to him going into their coops. Sometimes he joins the dogs and I and whatever other cats when we go on a walk. One day it was me, two dogs and four cats out for a walk. Wonder what the neighbors think. He and Little Brother have started wrestling and trying to eviscerate each other. His latest joy has been having the circular track with the ball in it propped up a couple inches in the back. It makes the ball come back to him and he spends a lot of time laying half on his back batting the ball as it rolls by.
Thank you to everyone who has helped us with advice and support. Thank you to everyone who has provided financial support to keep this going. This website is very important and I would encourage people to donate when they can. I found that setting up Paypal to send a little every month worked well and I don't miss the money because I never see it. Strange how that works. Hmmm, can you tell I listen to public radio a lot? :lol:
Hope everyone has a good day. Purrs and head butts to the furballs.
Lylene & Barry (diagnosed 6/09, Lantus, OTJ since 10/23/09)
It's been a while since we've been around so I thought I'd give an update on Barry.
Barry was a shelter cat who was diagnosed with diabetes in June 2009. Some staff wanted to euthanize him due to the high cost of treatment. I immediately jumped online and found this site. I was amazed by the amount and quality of information provided. I printed out a lot of information for the shelter. Barry had such a great personality it seemed horrible to euthanize him. The manager decided to keep him and he was started on Lantus. Very shortly thereafter, she went on a two week vacation and I kept Barry. When she returned we decided it would be best for Barry if he remained with me.
I changed his diet to high protein, grain free canned food. Home testing was a struggle a first but we both got the hang of it. He had Lantus shots every 12 hours. His blood sugar finally stablized and he began to gain back the weight he had lost. On October 23, 2009 he surprised me with a BG of 18 and 16. I had not been testing regularly as I should have been. After getting advice here, we stopped the Lantus and monitored BG.
It's now Dec 2010 and he is still OTJ
Our hurdle at the moment is weight loss and a dental needs to be done. He eats a raw diet which is supplemented by Willow's excellent hunting skills. They get the occasional canned food when I've been too depressed to make up the raw. I've gotten strict on food intake. With winter here, Willow won't be out hunting as much and I weigh out his food allotment for the day. Having it weighed out ahead makes it easier for both me and my DH to stick to the amount and not give in to that "I'm a starving cat" look. Thanks to Dr. Lisa for her expertise on feline weight loss.
All in all, he is doing great. I'm so very glad that he was not PTS. He's a funny cat. He helps with chores. It took the chickens a bit to get used to him going into their coops. Sometimes he joins the dogs and I and whatever other cats when we go on a walk. One day it was me, two dogs and four cats out for a walk. Wonder what the neighbors think. He and Little Brother have started wrestling and trying to eviscerate each other. His latest joy has been having the circular track with the ball in it propped up a couple inches in the back. It makes the ball come back to him and he spends a lot of time laying half on his back batting the ball as it rolls by.
Thank you to everyone who has helped us with advice and support. Thank you to everyone who has provided financial support to keep this going. This website is very important and I would encourage people to donate when they can. I found that setting up Paypal to send a little every month worked well and I don't miss the money because I never see it. Strange how that works. Hmmm, can you tell I listen to public radio a lot? :lol:
Hope everyone has a good day. Purrs and head butts to the furballs.
Lylene & Barry (diagnosed 6/09, Lantus, OTJ since 10/23/09)
