challenge with timing shots

Panters-mom

Panters-mom

Member
Hi everyone on PZI tread! :-) Deb and Wink moved me and Panter over here. We changed from Insulatard to PZI for about two weeks ago. Going okay and better results I think.

BUT - springtime is here in Norway - and Panter doesn't show up on time for his shot anymore...so what to do? The alternative to turn him in to a indoor cat is not an option - he grew up semi wild and he loves the forest (we also live in the forest) - to take away the outdoor will take away his life quality. Until now, he has been waiting on the table right on time every morning for his shot (and food of course :) But it's getting warmer and nicer out there and he is not on time anymore. Two days ago he showed up 5 hours to late for his morning shot - while trying to catch up on this - this morning he is three hours too late....and I'm afraid that this could be a new trend... How do you deal with this? Hope everybody is okay out there in this surreal and hard times we all are facing at the moment.

Best regards, Gøril and Panter
 
I have a few kitties that, like Panther, would be miserable if kept inside 24/7. I do keep all mine in at night though due to predators. When it’s time to come in and I can’t find my kitties, I tap a spoon on the can of cat food. If they are within hearing distance, they come running. I taught them this by tapping on the can as I fed them. Over time they recognized the sound and come running when they hear it. I have also conditioned them to the sound of the treat bag, by crinkling it as I give them the treats. They come for that too. Maybe this can work for Panther
 
There are all those mice and voles and birds and other animals for Panter to catch and eat.
So he probably isn't very hungry for food, and does not need to come home at a certain time to eat.

Brainstorming ideas for you Goeril.
1. You can try training him to come with a particular sound, like Sharon suggested.
2. You could walk him on a leash, and not let him wander around on his own.
3. You could fence off an area of your property, so he could not go too far into the forest.
Molly Barr, of Mythicbells Persians, has fenced off part of her yard. She talks about that in her blog here. http://www.mythicbells.com/Tour.html

"I've installed a cat fence kit around the perimeter of my yard to keep my cats in and neighborhood cats out. (http://www.catfence.com/) Below are some photos of it."
Here is one of the pictures:
08%2009%2022%20catfence_backstretch.jpg


4. You could have a screened porch or patio area to let him have some outside time, without being able to wander too far off.
5. Keep him inside at night, so you can at least get the morning insulin shot done on time.

Not sure what you can do about the shot times. Prozinc does have about 1 hour of leeway in giving the shots. But 3 and 5 hours is so much longer, you would have to adjust your entire shot schedule. That is true with any insulin.
 
Thanks for the brainstorming! Many good ideas. Yes, I actually have started to train him with tapping a glass when its food :) kind of work, and he normally comes when I shot...but unfortunately, like you say Deb, these spring days he probably has a full belly... today for example, he came jumping down from the roof - three hours too late... with other words, he'd been sleeping few meters from my howling and glass tapping.... so he doesn't go so far, it just that he comes when he wants to... Well, hopefully we will be back on track... But how is it...when Im 3-5 hours too late should I skip this shot (as a fur shot, I red about) and continue at night, or should I give him when he comes and postpone the next (but that will be hard, consider the night), or give him less insulin when he comes, try to adjust the dose?
 
Panters-mom said:
when Im 3-5 hours too late should I skip this shot (as a fur shot, I red about) and continue at night, or should I give him when he comes and postpone the next (but that will be hard, consider the night), or give him less insulin when he comes, try to adjust the dose?
Click to expand...
If he comes 3-5 hours too late for the shot of insulin, you can give him his full dose then. But that does make the next time you give him his shot later, as you postpone the shot. 3 to 5 hours later, depending on when you can get him to come to you.

So you would need to constantly adjust his shot times, according to when you can get him to come close enough to you. You would be "chasing the dose" in a way, because Panter is not cooperative. There is no insulin that lasts 24 hours for a cat. He needs 2 doses of insulin a day.

Giving him less insulin when he does come has it's own problems. It may not be enough insulin to help him process his food, and he could lose weight. That weight loss, could lead to ketones which are dangerous.

Giving an insulin shot more than 1 hour early, acts like a dose increase, and he may drop low.
Giving an insulin shot late, more than 1 hour late, acts like a dose reduction, and he may not have enough insulin to prevent weight loss or ketones from developing. Ketones can be deadly. DKA (diabetic ketoacidosis) can develop.

He's not getting enough insulin now, you can see that in his blood glucose numbers on the spreadsheet. Talk to your vet about raising the dose, and other possibilities.

You have to decide if the risks of his not getting his shots on time, outweigh the curtailment of Panter's wandering ways.

I'm sure if you confined Panter, he would keep you up all night long, yowling to get out. Teaching a cat to learn to be an indoor cat can be done, but it's very difficult. One of my cats loved the screened in porch. He did not understand, when on the most frigid and windy winter days, I would not let him go outside. I had to set a timer, for 5 minutes and stand at the door and then go get him and pick him up, to get him back inside. Even then, his feet were very cold and possibly a bit frostbitten at times.
 
When I made the decision to keep my outdoor kitties in at night, It took several nights of yowling from them before they settled down to the new Normal. I let them out first thing in the AM, and in the beginning they often wouldn’t come home until later at night and I’d stay up until they did and bring them in. Now they are almost always home by dusk and even want to come inside off and on during the day. Once in awhile one of them thinks I should get up an hour or two earlier than normal, but I ignore them and eventually they quiet down.
 
Yes, I can imagine the yowling... I will try for a while - as long as it works - to just lock the cat door for outgoing in the early morning hours before injection time, as he usually comes home at least one time during these hours. He is in and out all the time. Actually except from the last two mentioned incidents, he waits for his shot on the table we use... so fingers crossed that the two late coming was exceptions.... :-)
 
Goeril, I'm starting to feel sick, have a fever. Not sure how long I'll be able to post here.

Please post in Feline Health for assistance, if no response here.
 
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