SusanandOwen
Member Since 2013
I just took Owen's brother Mac in for an annual check up on Saturday, and got the results of his bloodwork back today.
I have to admit I was really bummed to learn that Mac's BG was 270. All his other values were fine.
Like Owen, Mac was diagnosed with diabetes six years ago (when he was about 3) but he has been well controlled with diet since that time. Or at least up to now, I guess. He definitely had a hard time when Owen died, and was acting very depressed and - at the risk of being overly anthropomorphic (sp) - lonely. He and Owen were littermates and had never been separated. So we recently adopted another young cat, Jackson, in the hopes of providing Mac with some company. The introduction has gone very well; there hasn't been any hissing or fighting or anything along those lines. They touch noses and both sleep on the same bed, and they eat together in the morning without any fuss. I say all this because there has clearly been a bunch of change in Mac's life, and I assume that would cause some stress.
So now we are faced with what to do to care for Mac. The vet suggested we bring Mac back in to do a fructosamine test. I asked her if we could consider doing a curve at home (was that a reasonable request?) I definitely want to do the right thing for Mac but I'll be frank that after the $8000 we spent trying to save Owen and the $500 charge for the "wellness" exam on Saturday, I am broke.
I am truly petrified about what I will do if Mac ends up needing insulin. My job requires crazy hours and my husband travels extensively for work; I don't see how we could possibly manage the schedule he would require.
I do think that we could get stricter about Mac's diet; he eats canned food only but he's fairly fussy, so we've let him have some of the FF food that is not on the super low carb list in an effort to get him to eat. And recently, because we've been transitioning the new cat over to canned from dry food, Mac has been able to snatch a few bites of the dry food in the process. Do you suppose that could have been enough to tip him into the 270 range?
Sorry for the pity party. My heart is still broken after losing Owen and now to have Mac at risk is just overwhelming.
Susan
I have to admit I was really bummed to learn that Mac's BG was 270. All his other values were fine.
Like Owen, Mac was diagnosed with diabetes six years ago (when he was about 3) but he has been well controlled with diet since that time. Or at least up to now, I guess. He definitely had a hard time when Owen died, and was acting very depressed and - at the risk of being overly anthropomorphic (sp) - lonely. He and Owen were littermates and had never been separated. So we recently adopted another young cat, Jackson, in the hopes of providing Mac with some company. The introduction has gone very well; there hasn't been any hissing or fighting or anything along those lines. They touch noses and both sleep on the same bed, and they eat together in the morning without any fuss. I say all this because there has clearly been a bunch of change in Mac's life, and I assume that would cause some stress.
So now we are faced with what to do to care for Mac. The vet suggested we bring Mac back in to do a fructosamine test. I asked her if we could consider doing a curve at home (was that a reasonable request?) I definitely want to do the right thing for Mac but I'll be frank that after the $8000 we spent trying to save Owen and the $500 charge for the "wellness" exam on Saturday, I am broke.
I am truly petrified about what I will do if Mac ends up needing insulin. My job requires crazy hours and my husband travels extensively for work; I don't see how we could possibly manage the schedule he would require.
I do think that we could get stricter about Mac's diet; he eats canned food only but he's fairly fussy, so we've let him have some of the FF food that is not on the super low carb list in an effort to get him to eat. And recently, because we've been transitioning the new cat over to canned from dry food, Mac has been able to snatch a few bites of the dry food in the process. Do you suppose that could have been enough to tip him into the 270 range?
Sorry for the pity party. My heart is still broken after losing Owen and now to have Mac at risk is just overwhelming.
Susan
I have been pretty aggressive getting the new guy transitioned to canned food and so far he has been a star about it (good boy!) He ate the canned food by itself this morning with no problem, so I am hoping that we can just use that from now on... hopefully he won't get too picky!