Juls and Billy OTJ trial Prozinc day 1 (Remission and weight loss update!)

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Juls and Billy

Juls and Billy

Member Since 2019
I know it's been quick, and if this is true, we are so very lucky, but it's beginning to look a lot like remission. Billy and me are ready to start the OTJ countdown. Wish us luck and bless you all. Billy would have a very different story if it wasn't for the awesome information we got here, and the wonderful members who have helped us.

I'm going to post these pictures again, because I think it's living proof how valuable this group is and how you all are very much saving kitty's lives.

Billy at day zero, the day he was diagnosed. Hadn't eaten for two days and a BGL over 500. So very sick. He wasn't closing his eyes in this picture, he looked like that for 2 days. He had signs of nephropathy in his hind legs. No talking, no purring, no eating. We thought we were losing him.


Billy on day 11. He'd been on low carb wet food for a while. He's alert, active, and back to doing things we realized we hadn't seen him do in months. Like jumping up to sit by the window. Running through the house after a trip to the litter box. No more litter caked in his hind feet. Back to talking and purring up a storm.


I know we're not out of the woods. I know we have to keep an eye on this the rest of his life. I also know how very grateful I am for this group. If he's going into remission, it's because of you all, and I can't thank you enough.
 
"Kick it to the curb" Billy!

OTJ Trial instructions (These are the criteria we use when following an OTJ Trial.)

Here are the instructions for an OTJ trial: If on Lantus or Levimir, depot has to drain first before trial starts, about 3 days or 6 cycles. No depot with in-and-out type insulins (NPH, Vetsulin/Caninsulin, Prozinc) so trial can get started sooner. If you are posting in the Lantus/Levimir forum, please start a new thread each day which says ‘[Cat name] OTJ trial Day 1 BG xx’ (where xx is the BG reading for that cycle), then day2,3 etc. If you are posting in the Main Forum, we don’t require you or need you to do that separate post for each day. In fact, if you have never posted before over in the Lantus/Levimir forum, you are fine staying in the Feline Health (Welcome & Main Forum). We’ll cheer you on!
  1. Test at your normal AMPS and PMPS times. Feed multiple small meals throughout the day as much as possible (small meals are less likely to overwhelm a newly functioning pancreas). The morning test is now called the AMBG. The evening test is now called the PMBG.
  2. If your cat is green (0-99 mg/L human meter, 0-130 mg/L pet meter, 0-5.5 mmoL) at your normal test times, no need to test further until the next "PS" (pre-shot test) time, just feed small meals and go about your day. If the numbers are blue or higher (100-199 human meter, 130-230 pet meter, 5.5-11 mmoL), feed a small meal and test again after about 3 hours. Food raises BG's. So if the number is lower 3-4 hours after a meal, then the pancreas is working!
  3. After 2 weeks, if everything is looking good, we have a party! And boy, do we party hearty.
    C:\Users\Deb\AppData\Local\Temp\msohtmlclip1\01\clip_image001.png
Sometimes, the trial doesn't work the first time and we have to give a little more support by starting the cat with a tiny dose of insulin again. I had to do that with Wink. We simply start the cat back on a tiny dose of insulin to support the pancreas with healing for a bit longer. Our goal is a strong remission and it's better to be safe now then sorry later that you rushed it. With just a little more time we will probably get that strong remission we are looking for.

p.s. Please change the title on your post to something like Juls and Billy OTJ trial Prozinc day 1
 
Thanks Deb!

I know we aren't out of the woods yet, and I'm prepared to go back to a tiny dose of ProZinc if we have to, but it's looking very hopeful. We have fed small meals throughout the day from day one, so we got that covered. I think the small meals throughout the day is one of the things that helped Billy recover.

I'll probably do a single test mid-cycle. I get that it isn't necessary, but we go back to the vet on the 30th for a fructosimine test. Our vet was a little stubborn. I want to have documented evidence that the advice we got on this board worked beautifully.

Thank you for everything Deb. You've been rooting for Billy from day one.

Oh, and AMBG was in the green today! 90!
 
A bit hokey, but I do this for people on OTJ trials, to cheer them on. All paws crossed for Billy.
Your cheering post from me today is
OTJ day 1 motif number 1.png
Famous landmark in MA, Motif #1

p.s. Wanted other people to know that OTJ is possible with other insulins like Prozinc. So thanks for changing your title. Gives others hope
 

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Today is Billy's 6th day with no insulin. I wish we had more green numbers and less blue numbers, but even the blue ones are too low for insulin. He's happy and active and being awesome.
 
Oh my! 6 days already.

There are ways to give smaller doses, even with Prozinc, than the 0.25U dose he last got.

In case he needs a bit more insulin for a while.
 
Deb & Wink said:
There are ways to give smaller doses, even with Prozinc, than the 0.25U dose he last got.

In case he needs a bit more insulin for a while.
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I'll keep an eye on him and I can do a tiny dose if needed. His green numbers are sliding down, so I'm hoping he won't need it. At what number should I consider a dose? I'm wary of giving an injection for anything under 150.
 
Yes, Shoot limit of 150 or above sounds reasonable to me. I wouldn't do any more insulin quite yet. OTJ trial is still in progress and numbers are ok. Could be a bit better, but ok.

You'll need to get U100 syringes and use the conversion chart to dose the U40 Prozinc insulin with a U100 syringe. This is the conversion chart for doing that.

If you decide that tiny dose is needed. look for U100, 3/10cc capacity, with 1/2 unit markings on the barrel. Needle length is optional. If you can't easily find the 1/2 unit marked syringes at a drugstore, you can try Wal-mart. I'm thinking you may not need a whole box. But, on the other hand with Billy on Zyrtec and the steroid shots a couple of times a year, you may use them later.

Is the Zyrtec inhaler every day? Or only certain times of year or when he has symptoms of allergies?
How is his weight? (Your signature still says "He is fat".)
When does he usually need those 2-3 steroid shots a year? Under what circumstances?
 
Deb & Wink said:
Is the Zyrtec inhaler every day? Or only certain times of year or when he has symptoms of allergies?
How is his weight? (Your signature still says "He is fat".)
When does he usually need those 2-3 steroid shots a year? Under what circumstances?
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The Zyrtec is an allergy pill (same as humans, but he gets 1/2 a pill once a day, when he's having trouble.) His inhaler is albuterol, a non-steroid rescue inhaler, once a day when he's having trouble. The steroid shots usually happen in spring and fall, when his allergies are worse. Honestly, it's usually the same time of year that I have more trouble with allergies and asthma too.

Billy was over 16 pounds, we think he may have lost nearly a pound so far, but we'll find out for sure at his vet appointment on the 30th. I think he'll look good somewhere around 12-13 lbs. He's a big cat, but not giant. I used to have a big boy who looked good at 18 lbs.
And of course I'll post more pics of Billy, who is getting tired of me taking his picture all the time! :D


This one is from 2016, but I love this pic.


This is when he started to feel better.


Up in his window box, something we haven't seen him jump up to in months.
 
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Ten days ago, Billy took his last tiny dose of insulin. Today, we hit all green numbers for the first time! Go Billy! His numbers have been slowly dropping the entire time, but I was waiting for an all green day.
 
Juls, All day green is exciting.

Not to rain on your parade, but to see how well Billy is doing without insulin, it's important to test at the normal pre-shot times.
And then again at about +3 hours later if you see the blue colors. You've been testing at +4 or +5 or +6 on some of those blue pre-shot tests. But not at the +3 times.

Go back up to reply #6, where I included the OTJ trial instructions.

Food usually impacts a cat's system and the BG's rise around +3. You are trying to see the impact of food on Billy's system with those +3 test times. If his body is producing enough insulin on it's own, than you should be seeing green as the food impacts his system.

Maybe keep testing but try for those +3 on the blue numbers, since Billy is not on insulin.

It just means you may want to test a bit longer than the standard 14 days. Decision is up to you.
 
You're right, Deb, I completely forgot to do +3 readings on blue days. I can totally do that. I've just been spot checking. And I plan to keep testing him for a while anyway, just to be safe. So while I may celebrate his 14th day with no insulin, I can keep testing past that. Thanks for the reminder!
 
No worries.

Heck, I think I tested Wink every day for a month, then went to twice a week, then less frequently. I always tested if he seemed a bit 'not his usual self'. Kind of to reassure myself he was ok. I did catch his BG's spiking a few times, usually when he had a kitty cold or suspected UTI. If numbers were running a bit higher, I'd check for a few days in a row.

That way, if he was losing remission, I could get him into the vet quicker and back on insulin if needed.

As the years went on with him in remission, I think I went to once a month testing, or even less frequently.

Didn't keep the SS very up to date after a while. You're welcome to look at it. The 2012-2013 tab is where he went OTJ.
 
Thanks for advice re remission & testing. M'row is three days OTJ, testing once a day for a month yet, probably then twice a week. Dont want him to forget how to get tested, .LOL.
 
Deb & Wink said:
A bit hokey, but I do this for people on OTJ trials, to cheer them on. All paws crossed for Billy.
Your cheering post from me today is
View attachment 50736
Famous landmark in MA, Motif #1

p.s. Wanted other people to know that OTJ is possible with other insulins like Prozinc. So thanks for changing your title. Gives others hope
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I needed to see this. Our Kit is on Prozinc and we've been wondering if another insulin is better. I see from the # of messages on the Lantus board far exceeds that of Prozinc. We're trying to keep the faith.
 
Don't forget, those folks over on the Lantus ISG want members to post a new thread EVERY SINGLE DAY. So it looks like a lot more than in the Prozinc forum or the Caninsulin/Vetsulin/ NPH ISG forums.
 
Some of you folks may not have seen this before, so here it is. Some guidelines on keeping your kitty diet controlled. "Once a diabetic, always a diabetic."

Here are some tips to stay OTJ (off-the-juice, insulin being the juice)
1. Never feed dry - not even treats. If you change wet food types, be 100% sure the new food is also low carb and same low carb % as your current food. Some cats are very carb sensitive and an increase from 3-6% to 8-10% can spike the BG’s. Don’t feed if you aren’t sure!
2. Weigh every 2 weeks to 1 month to watch for weight changes. Too much of a weight gain can cause loss of remission. Too much of a weight loss alerts you to other issues, such as hyperthyroidism.
3. Measure blood once a week, indefinitely if possible. You want to catch a relapse quickly. Some people only do checks every 2 weeks to a month. BG checks can sometimes alert you to other issues.
4. No steroids or oral meds with sugar - remind your vet whenever giving you any medication. Always double check. (Steroids may be needed for other medical issues. But remind your vet your cat is a diabetic, diet controlled.)
5. Monitor food intake, peeing and drinking. If increasing, a sign of losing remission. Or another medical condition like Hyper-T or kidney disease.
6. Regular vet checks for infection such as dental , ear or UTI. And get them treated quickly!
7. Continue to ketone test even if your cat is OTJ. Ketones can develop if the cat's pancreas is not producing enough insulin, or burning off too much fat if your cat is not eating properly and other reasons.

If your cat does fall out of remission you need to be more aggressive and resolve issues/ back on insulin as soon as possible as the window for a second remission is tight if any. Pancreatitis, hyperthyroid, dental issues are the most common reasons cats fall out of remission.
 
Billy is on day 19 OTJ, and still doing great. He went to the vet yesterday for a fructosamine test, and we should get those results today. From what I've seen, Lantus is a great insulin for cats, and so is ProZinc. Every cat is different. Some may do better on one and some may do better on another. Not every cat will go into remission as fast as Bill, but that doesn't mean they won't go into remission. Patience pants are required. There are so many variables that effect our sugar cats, and that's why every cat is different.

Vet visit was interesting. Brian had told me that the vet himself recommended a wet food, high protein diet from the get go. It was the vet tech that sold him the horrible high carb dry food. Vet tech looked at our spreadsheet and thought Billy's numbers were great, looking at the readings. Said he had a good chance at remission. Then I pointed out that he's been off the juice for 18 days, and she was visibly shocked. Then we gave her back the unopened bag of dry food, and told her we'd been feeding wet low carb. I told her we were feeding Fancy Feast, and she said she'd heard of diabetic cats eating that, but she still seemed very skeptical. Who knows. Maybe she'll do a little research on her own and it will end up a teaching moment. Regardless, she should listen to her vet more.

Billy's doing great, we are still testing 2-3 times a day. I'll post again when I get the results from his fructosimine test.
 
Juls and Billy said:
Billy is on day 19 OTJ, and still doing great. He went to the vet yesterday for a fructosamine test, and we should get those results today. From what I've seen, Lantus is a great insulin for cats, and so is ProZinc. Every cat is different. Some may do better on one and some may do better on another. Not every cat will go into remission as fast as Bill, but that doesn't mean they won't go into remission. Patience pants are required. There are so many variables that effect our sugar cats, and that's why every cat is different.

Vet visit was interesting. Brian had told me that the vet himself recommended a wet food, high protein diet from the get go. It was the vet tech that sold him the horrible high carb dry food. Vet tech looked at our spreadsheet and thought Billy's numbers were great, looking at the readings. Said he had a good chance at remission. Then I pointed out that he's been off the juice for 18 days, and she was visibly shocked. Then we gave her back the unopened bag of dry food, and told her we'd been feeding wet low carb. I told her we were feeding Fancy Feast, and she said she'd heard of diabetic cats eating that, but she still seemed very skeptical. Who knows. Maybe she'll do a little research on her own and it will end up a teaching moment. Regardless, she should listen to her vet more.

Billy's doing great, we are still testing 2-3 times a day. I'll post again when I get the results from his fructosimine test.
Click to expand...
I told my vet I wanted to switch Kit to FF from Glycobalance canned because of the high carb. They seemed less than thrilled and instead suggested Purina DM canned, so I'm trying that for now to keep the peace. Unsure how quickly I should integrate, but mixing small part DM into Glyco to begin.
 
@JOJI and Kit Do you have your own thread going somewhere? Found it!

I replied in your thread over in the Prozinc forum. Trying not to confuse Juls and Billy too much with information for someone else.
 
Okay, so we got the results from the Fructosamine test today. I am very confused. It tested at @350. And they wanted us to put him back on two units of ProZinc, 2x a day. Which we absolutely cannot do. I mean, look at his numbers. I don't want to give him any insulin at all at that low of numbers.

Is my vet crazy? Brian is researching the numbers now, and it says that @350 is in the normal range. I also wondered if it was too soon to do the test. I don't know about cats, but when I was briefly diabetic, the doc made me wait 2 months for a new A1C, because she said it took time for the average to go down.

I would appreciate some guidance. Right now, I feel a little like my vet is trying to kill my cat, prescribing that much insulin at his numbers.

@Deb & Wink
 
Juls and Billy said:
Okay, so we got the results from the Fructosamine test today. I am very confused. It tested at @350, they said the "second to worse" category. And they wanted us to put him back on two units of ProZinc, 2x a day. Which we absolutely cannot do. I mean, look at his numbers. I don't want to give him any insulin at all at that low of numbers.

Is my vet crazy? Brian is researching the numbers now, and it says that @350 is in the normal range. I also wondered if it was too soon to do the test. I don't know about cats, but when I was briefly diabetic, the doc made me wait 2 months for a new A1C, because she said it took time for the average to go down.

I would appreciate some guidance. Right now, I feel a little like my vet is trying to kill my cat, prescribing that much insulin at his numbers.

@Deb & Wink
Click to expand...
I thought the test was to determine how stable or erratic BG is over time and not really how high it was? I am interested to know more about this as well. Following this with interest. By the way, our vet upped our dose after a "poor" fructosamine test result and later kind of agreed they shouldn't have.
 
I do believe it is an "over time" sort of test. Much like the human A1C. But I don't know if that's exactly correct. Regardless, if the vet thinks I'm giving a cat that had a 105 BGL this morning 2 units of insulin, he's crazy. Thanks goodness for this site and the good people here. My sweet Billy never would have survived without them.
 
Fructosamine measures an average over a couple of weeks. I've seen time periods ranging from 10 days to 3 weeks cited for that fructosamine test. Similar to the A1C test for human diabetics.

What lab does your vet use for testing? Idexx, Indexx in-house equipment, Antech, other? What are the reference ranges for that lab?

What are the other clinical symptoms that Billy is showing? P/U, P/D, voracious appetite, losing weight, signs of diabetic neuropathy? anything else? The Fructosamine results must be interpreted by your vet in context with the clinical symptoms. Doesn't appear to me like your vet did that.

He double hockey sticks NO at your vets suggestion for putting Billy back on insulin. Especially not 2 Units!!!
Go tell your vet politely "Go fly a kite."

Thread on the fructosamine test and what the ranges mean. Reference Ranges for Fructosamine Test
"Cats Fructosamine values (micromol/l)
Normal non-diabetic cat 190 - 365
Newly diagnosed diabetic cat 350 - 730

Treated diabetic cats:
Excellent control 350 - 400
Good control 400 - 450
Fair control 450 - 500
Poor control >500"

A different way of evaluating your cat.
Take 3 blood glucose readings for a different example.
100+ 40 + 510 = 650
650 divided by 3 = 216

So has your been too high or too low with those 3 readings? Yes.
Did you need to worry about hypo symptoms with that 40 reading? Absolutely.
Would you have given your cat insulin with a PS (pre-shot) test of 40? NO
Would you have given your cat insulin with a PS (pre-shot) test of 100? Maybe.
Would you have given your cat insulin with a PS (pre-shot) test of 510? Yes.

Numbers need to be put in context. Billy may be a bit in the high range with the Fructosamine test. Test may be much lower in a couple of weeks.

If you are in doubt Juls, you could test Billy in and around his nadir for a few more weeks. Won't really hurt to do that, except the tiny pin prick for the BG test.

Opinion of Deb, your handy dandy reference librarian here on the FDMB.
 
May be time to try for portion control with Billy. Cut back on the amounts of food a little bit. To help him lose that excess weight.
You want him to lose weight slowly over time. It took me a year to take 2 pounds off one of my overweight non-diabetic cats. Than another year to take off 2 more pounds.

It would have been much easier and quicker if I wasn't feeding him the Hill's W/d dry food. If I was trying to manage the weight loss with one of my cats now, I would have used canned food. Fewer calories.

Weigh Billy at least once a week. Take note of weight. Adjust portions. You do not want to have him lose too fast. 1-2% per week
Vet Dr. Lisa Pierson has a good article on weight loss in cats.
https://catinfo.org/feline-obesity-an-epidemic-of-fat-cats/
 
Thanks Deb! You know, we think we may have figured out what happened with not very coordinated vet office. I'm guessing the vet thinks Billy is still on 2U 2xday despite the fact that we told them flat out how long he had been off insulin, and gave them a copy of his spread sheet, specifically pointing out the dosage column. The vet probably thinks he's doing really great on that dosage he prescribed. I will call them and get it sorted tomorrow. Thanks so much for the detailed information. You know Brian and I love that stuff, and it keeps our kitty safe.

It's funny you should mention the weight. I did start limiting his food once he'd been off insulin for a while. And I just ordered a digital scale yesterday. We're definitely going the slow and steady route. It took time and a lot of steroid shots to get him fat, it's going to take time to take it off too. We're also encouraging him to be more active with play time, now that he's feeling good and the neuropathy is gone.

Oh, and I plan to keep testing. I'll grab a couple nadirs here and there too.

Thank you again. You rock!
 
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Hi Juls, did you get back in contact with Billy's vet, to straighten out the likely "misunderstanding" on dosing Billy?
 
Deb & Wink said:
Hi Juls, did you get back in contact with Billy's vet, to straighten out the likely "misunderstanding" on dosing Billy?
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I tried to call today, but they were too busy to answer the phone. Will try again tomorrow if I can. My mom is having minor surgery tomorrow. I'm sure they think he's still on 2 units, but I want them to fix his chart!
 
Definitely needs notes in his vet chart to let the staff know Billy is in diet controlled status. Doesn't need insulin right now. It doesn't happen often and your vet office may have never seen a diabetic cat that had achieved that goal. My old vet office had never seen an OTJ cat, in 30+ years.

As you would say "Being OTJ rocks!"

Sending healing vines to your mom for her surgery. Let us know how she is doing after. If that's not too personal to share.

(Vines was a misspelling of Vibes from a post many years ago. Some of us still use the misspelling, kind of a fun insider joke.)
 
Juls and Billy said:
Okay, so we got the results from the Fructosamine test today. I am very confused. It tested at @350. And they wanted us to put him back on two units of ProZinc, 2x a day. Which we absolutely cannot do. I mean, look at his numbers. I don't want to give him any insulin at all at that low of numbers.

Is my vet crazy? Brian is researching the numbers now, and it says that @350 is in the normal range. I also wondered if it was too soon to do the test. I don't know about cats, but when I was briefly diabetic, the doc made me wait 2 months for a new A1C, because she said it took time for the average to go down.

I would appreciate some guidance. Right now, I feel a little like my vet is trying to kill my cat, prescribing that much insulin at his numbers.

@Deb & Wink
Click to expand...

FWIW, my vet said he wants to do a fructosamine at some point past 30 days after my cat has been off the juice for a week (so 37 days OTJ at the earliest) because it is an average over time. (Our current treatment plan is 0.5 units 2/day the rest of this month, one full week OTJ with a curve at the end, and after one full month OTJ another curve and the fructosamine. If all looks good at that point, repeat the full curve and fructosamine in 3 months, then every 6 months (ASAP though if symptoms return at any point, obviously)).
 
@SullivansDad There are lower doses you can give with the Lantus insulin.
0.25 U
0.1U
drop of insulin
Most people work their way down the dosing scale gradually, to provide longer for their cats pancreas to heal. And get a stronger remission.
In fact, on your most recent thread over in the Lantus forum, someone suggested you lower the dose to 0.25U.

OTJ trial should be 2 full weeks, 14 days, 28 cycles. Counting days starts after giving the Lantus depot time to drain.
Impossible for any of us to tell what is right for Sullivan, since you never did set up a spreadsheet (SS) and link it to your signature.
 
This is so great! I am happy for you! My kitties numbers I feel currently look like the beginning of your spread sheet. He is also on Prozinc so you give me hope for remission!

I feed my cat several times a day, but can you tell me what counts as a "small" meal? He usually gets about a can (3.3oz) per meal for a total of 3 to 4 a day. He does graze on it here and there. Just curious what was the definition of a small meal haha
 
Breanna, I give my boy 1/2 a fancy feast can or 1/3 of a friskies can every few hours or so. Now, we are cutting back a bit because Billy is so fat.

Update on my mom, had a long horrible day at the doctor's office 45 min away. Got there at 8:30am, she was supposed to be done around noon, and she was there until the office closed at 4:30, and she has to go back! She has a spot of skin cancer, and they are doing multiple biopsies to pin point exactly where it extends. Slow going. And she's 81 and diabetic. They shouldn't have kept her so long in one day. At 3pm, I freaked out and drove home so I could feed Billy and let the dog pee. But there was a truck jack-knifed on my exit, so I had to take a slower path. Then hit rush hour on the way back to get mom, and she had to wait on me, poor tired mama! Did I mention it rained all day? And then we got to drive slowly home in a nice ice storm? It was a crappy day, and we get to go do it again, maybe tomorrow. But at least Brian will be home to take care of Billy. And it's to a purpose. The doc is a specialist and really knows what he's doing. But we could use some happy thoughts. The cancer's on the tip of mom's nose. We are wanting her to still have a nose when this is over.

But poor Billy went way too long without eating and didn't get a morning reading today. I'm doing his pm reading in a half hour, and hoping it's nothing crazy.
 
Dear Juls, Sending you so many supporting thoughts, prayers, calming vines, and blessings for yourself, Billy, and your mom. :bighug::bighug::bighug: You are part of our extended family here.

You made it through that crappy day. Billy's BG looks ok. Brian is there to give you moral support, hugs and a shoulder to cry on. You have a plan in place for helping your mom. One day at a time, one step at a time.

Mindfulness breathing to help you cope with all that is going on in your life.

Keep us updated on what is going on. When you can. When you feel you have the time. No rush. You've had to re-prioritize your life to help your mom more.

"You rock! You can do this!!!!"

p.s. That awful weather you had yesterday is hitting us here in New England this morning. Need to shovel some snow soon.
 
Juls:bighug::bighug::bighug: So sorry you had to go through all of that yesterday! Prayers that things go more smoothly today!!! Sending vines for your mom. Hope all goes well with her tests and they get her in and out promptly:bighug::bighug::bighug:
 
Mom's hanging in there and is in good spirits. We go back to the doc tomorrow, as the roads are still so dicey here that we cancelled for today. Billy is still doing awesome. I am very thankful he got off insulin before all of this started, though I totally would have taken him with me if I'd had to. Doggo Louis was awesome as well, and didn't even pee his pants before I got home to let him out. Mom's doc was talking about a skin graft yesterday, so there's big hope for her still having a nose after all this. She has depression, and losing her nose might be very very difficult for her. So please keep those happy thoughts and vines coming! You are all so awesome, and it really means a lot to me.
 
Hey, fun fact: The vet office totally knew Billy wasn't on insulin, and totally wanted us to return to 2 units twice a day, because his fructosimine test was one point too high, which means he isn't in remission yet. I said we are not going to do that, because I'm not giving a cat with BGLs under 120 2 units of insuilin, vet tech consulted with vet, and said, that's fine. We'll just re test his fructosamine in 2 months. They aren't happy with us and I don't care.

Yeah. Too many vets don't know feline diabetes. It's dangerous out there.
 
Keep yourself and Billy safe. Mom too. What is your mom's name? If you are willing to share that with us?
 
Me and Mom are back home. She did great. The got all the cancer, and today she got a skin graft. No reconstructive surgery was needed, just the graft, so things are looking good for her nose. Fingers crossed and happy thoughts for this being the end of it.

Billy has had his second morning in a row in the green. We've been much more careful of how much he is eating. One of our problems has been too many cats in the house. Brian and I moved in with Mom and her cats, and ended up with 6 all day. I joke that my current profession is cat juggler. So, I split everyone up at feeding time. Billy eats with his buddy Scooter. If Scoots eats most of his food, I don't mind Billy cleaning up crumbs. But if Scooter isn't hungry, I think Billy was getting closer to a whole can of FF instead of a half. The last two days I've been more proactive about picking up Scooter's food when he's done. Billy looked at me like "Hey! What are you doing?" but it seems to have helped.
 
Good news Juls! Surgery and skin graft successful (and your mom Annie still has a nose.) Hope that makes her feel more relieved now that the surgery is over. Hope the healing goes well since diabetics can be slower to heal.

Only 6 cats, mom, Brian, you? All in the same home. Plus all your stuff. You sure there isn't room for a dog? Wait, you have one if I remember correctly. Doggo Louis. Who was a very good boy the other day when you were away way too long. That blended family must have been a major adjustment.

Professional cat juggler. As long as you are not juggling chainsaws. Running chain saws. Yes, it's a real thing in the juggling world. Used to know a juggler. Rode unicycles while juggling too.

Billy is going to be so bummed out at not getting to eat Scooter's leftovers. :( But BG's all in the green is a bonus for you and him, even if Billy doesn't realize it.

When are you finding time for your writing?
p.s. Please stop sending your horrible weather to the east coast. Another horrible rainy, slippery, icy day here. Maybe it's Billy talking to the weather gods to get you to keep feeding him more fuds! Stay safe out there.
 
Lol. Sorry you are inheriting our horrible weather. Second day of all green for Billy and I hope this is the start of a new trend. Ugh, and my writing has been put on hold for now while I deal with all this. But my work in progress is waiting patiently for my return. Yup, 6 cats, 1 dog, and one little old lady ferret. We have a regular menagerie, but we love it.
 
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