Cats that aren't getting better - my story

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nettiemaria

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Today has been four years - and I made a promise.

My promise is to share part of my story - hoping that it helps someone who may be having similar problems - problems that won't go away.

For all the newbies - so many times it works out - and even a diet change without insulin is the answer. Some give insulin only for a short period of time - and then they get well - some have to only give small amounts - and other large amounts - and the cats are thriving with many hours of normal glucose levels, and occasional spikes.

Really - the message is for people like me - and cats like mine, Felix. He was more like a dog - 12 years old (maybe 13), leash trained, could walk him on it by the highway - sat in the front seat of the car - very well socialized. 14 pounds of muscle and claw when one got on his nerves. 14 pounds of warm fuzzy purr on my pillow in the night in the middle of January.

His blood sugar levels were about 700 or more when he was first diagnosed. I suspected Cushing's - because of a skin injury - but the vet said no. We started on the insulin therapy - and different food - and luckily ended up at this wonderful website.

During this time - No matter what I did - no matter how many times I home tested him - no matter how many notebooks, posts, different types of insulin, horrible trips to the vet (he didn't take the vet well - and vice versa) - it didn't help. I thought it was a puzzle - and if I just figured it out - he would get better and I wouldn't have to poke and prick him all the time. All this time - he was running from about 320 to 560. We got some normals after finally switching yet again to another insulin - but it went back on the rise shortly after starting. It's almost like his body rejected all of them.

I knew something was wrong. I knew he was "dumping" glucose, not getting food spikes. Yet - I kept at it.

Fi had cushings. Yes, the vet admitted it after he injured Felix at Felix's day before his last on earth - Horrible horrible wound - couldn't be fixed. Fi suffered greatly the day before his death - not so much the day of - we had fun that day.

Why the long story??? No matter if it is Cushing's or Diabetes - if your cat is feeling more like a science project rather than a loved pet - it might be time to reassess the regimen. Please take alook at the Whole Picture. What if it is his/her last day?

I am not looking for sympathy - just passing along what I learned.

Thank you very much for your time! Great luck to all of you - and most of you will make it.
For those who are having problems and have lost a dear old soul like I did - my heart goes out to you.
God bless!
 

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Thank you for sharing your story, my heart goes out to you .... and makes me think of my poor,
beautiful dog, who died of cancer in March. I also felt if I could just fix it, just figure it out. I put her
through such pain and yet her big brown eyes were always full of such trust, such love ..... I can still feel it.

But now I am dealing, like a newbie, with a feisty, determined, sweet, newly diabetic feline and at times
feel as if I'm losing. We were not sure Payne could survive outside of the hospital, but now we are going
on three weeks out and have survived two emergencies from home. We all do everything we can because
our love, their love is so great, to do less is dishonest to the love.

I sense not so much your feeling of failure but the HUGE love you shared with this vivacious animal. The
pain you feel will diminish some as the love snuggles forever in your heart. Thank you for sharing.

Nancy and Payne (curled up in my favorite chair while I am using the old one)
 
Thank you for that part of the story, and the message.

I think we are getting better here at FDMB at looking at the whole cat. I know we are getting better at dealing with cats with Cushings (although that really is not condition for which one can hold much hope), IIA, and Acromegaly. There is now a group here of "Acro Moms" who watch carefully for cats who might appear to have one of those conditions.

But we do, still, I think, tend to treat some of the treatment regimens as chiseled in stone, and some cats do appear to be participating in a science experiment. I've done the science experiment part myself recently with a foster diabetic, Bastian. Thankfully, the experiment didn't last too long and Bastian is now well adjusted on insulin.

Thank you for sharing your story, your feelings, and your message. May you always hold Felix's love in your heart.
 
Very sorry about your loss, Nancy. Sounds like you and I probably did the same thing. It's terrible to get in that state of mind for a prolonged period. The "scientific project" for a while is okay - as it really helps and how else will you know?


But if it's been going on for too long with no real progress, and if your cat consistently runs very high numbers and the insulin isn't helping, different ones aren't helping, anything you've done isn't helping - then chances are - something's not right.

Thanks for the kind words. I love this board and what it does for people - it's really a wonderful place and many people would be lost without it.
 
It is a sad story, I think the big lesson is to listen to your gut. You know your cat better than anyone else.

What a cute cat Felix was!
 
We all want to "fix" it. Whatever the problem, when you love, you want to fix. Sadly it isnt always possible. My heart just goes out to you and I commend you for coming back to tell your story. It must really hurt but you are honoring your dear Felix doing so.

Best wishes
jeanne
 
Thank you for your story. My Boo has acromegaly; I'm positive it never would have been diagnosed without this board. I think out of all the High-Dose conditions, Cushings is the saddest. Please do keep sharing.

The High Dose group created a calendar this year. While most of the kitties have acromegaly, we have a few with IAA and one with Cushings. It's full of good tips for vets. If Patti does another one, it would be great to have Felix in it.
 
nettiemaria said:
For all the newbies - so many times it works out - and even a diet change without insulin is the answer. Some give insulin only for a short period of time - and then they get well - some have to only give small amounts - and other large amounts - and the cats are thriving with many hours of normal glucose levels, and occasional spikes.

Really - the message is for people like me - and cats like mine, Felix.

During this time - No matter what I did - no matter how many times I home tested him - no matter how many notebooks, posts, different types of insulin, horrible trips to the vet (he didn't take the vet well - and vice versa) - it didn't help. I thought it was a puzzle - and if I just figured it out - he would get better and I wouldn't have to poke and prick him all the time. All this time - he was running from about 320 to 560. We got some normals after finally switching yet again to another insulin - but it went back on the rise shortly after starting. It's almost like his body rejected all of them.

I knew something was wrong. "


Thank you sooo much for writing. My heart aches for you. And so much of what you wrote could have been written by so many of us with hi dose cats. fi so felt for everything you said.

For now tho - my hope is that you have many HAPPY memories of your Felix - he sounds like a real character and one that you had much fun with. Please please stay in touch. We hope to do a hi dose calendar every year and we would love for you to share your Cushing's experiences with us. There is still so much we need to learn. Please PM me if you are interested. THANK YOU for sharing your story!
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