Griffin the Siberian
Member Since 2021
Before I begin - I cannot believe the wealth of information I have found on this site! Just want to thank everyone ahead of time for all the time and care this community puts in for all of us and our kitties.
Hi, My name is Sarah and I adopted my Siberian cats Griffin (9) and his sister, Phoenix (8), in 2014. We also have a Morkie dog, Belle (7). I’m very sorry for the novel to come, but am starting to feel like Griffin’s health story is all connected and wanted to get my thoughts down.
GRIFFIN’S PAST ISSUES
Diet-Related Allergy
When I adopted the cats, I wanted to feed them affordable high quality, dry food (I now know I was grossly misinformed) and sought a grain free “quality brand”. I switched them to Blue Buffalo from the Life’s Abundance they were being fed previously. Griffin started losing a lot of fur and after several visits to the vet, the cause was finally connected to the food. So I put them back on Life’s Abundance until Griffin got a UTI in 2017. I switched to prescription until getting a glowing recommendation for Castor & Pollux Pristine, which I have been feeding them both ever since. (I have always just done free-graze - food out all the time.)
Undiagnosed Skin Condition
Griffin’s fur has always been more coarse than his sister, and he periodically gets very dense mats at the base of his tail - it almost feels a little greasy in that area when it happens.
Possible Peripheral Neuropathy
His back leg has periodically slipped out from under him for years, but he is able to jump just fine. I am including this because it might be connected to his current diagnosis.
Constant Runny Eye
His left eye always seems to have a buildup of crust in the corner. It has become habit for me to pick it and get the crust out. I am including this because it might be connected to his current diagnosis.
GRIFFIN’S NEWEST ISSUES
He had started peeing outside the box over the last couple of years, and then in October of 2020, we were getting ready to move to a new house. I took all the animals in for a checkup so we could start fresh and make sure everyone was healthy. There was nothing unusual found.
Fast forward to about a month ago, he has been regularly peeing (and sometimes pooping) on brand new rugs, in the garage, and also sometimes in the litter box - pretty much ever since we moved in.
I added a serving of about a fourth of a can of wet food every day to help with hydration (and we have a fountain they drink from), but then stopped doing that after it seemed like it was causing loose stools and I was also concerned about his weight because he is a big boy and has always been just on the edge of being overweight.
I finally called the Vet a couple weeks ago and they suggested getting some Feniway to determine if this was behavioral.
LEFT EYE - “TRAUMA” BLOOD SPOT AND ENLARGED, CLOUDY PUPIL
On August 19th, I noticed that Griffin's left pupil (the same eye that is constantly crusty) was HUGE - way bigger than the right pupil - almost the size of the entire eye. It was late, so I waited until the morning and called the vet first thing. They asked me some questions and when I went to look at his eye again, there was now a big red (blood) area in the corner of his eyeball, and his pupil was now cloudy and grey. So I took him in right away. The eye wasn't outwardly bleeding, but looked like a popped blood vessel or something inside the eyeball.
UTI
They decided to check for a UTI while I was there and found blood in his urine, so they gave an antibiotic in hopes that it might clear up both the UTI and whatever was going on with his eye.
BLOOD CLOTTING ISSUE
They also did bloodwork, but in drawing his blood, found that the area just kept bleeding...it wouldn’t clot. They kept him a few extra hours and said was still seeping even when we came to pick him up.
DIABETES
Which brings me to why I am here. When they got the blood work back, they said his BG level was at 339 and set an appointment to begin insulin.
TODAY AND QUESTIONS
My intro to insulin appointment was this morning. Unfortunately though, the UTI seems to have returned and his eye has gotten worse. The blood red area in the corner has now spread across the bottom of his iris and his pupil is oddly shaped and cloudy grey.
The vet wants to make sure there isn’t more going on that might connect all these issues before starting on insulin, so they referred us to an eye specialist and gave another antibiotic for the UTI. I have an appointment at 1pm tomorrow for his eye.
In the meantime - I was planning to come here today with new marching orders for insulin and tons of questions about starting this journey. I have been reading and making notes over the last couple of weeks to wrap my head around everything...
But now that I have a little more time, here is where I want to start:
DIET QUESTIONS
In my first conversation, the vet tech recommended that I not make any dietary changes until we get Griffin regulated. He also was not familiar with the brand of food I was feeding the cats, nor did he ask any questions. Everything I have read here is telling me that I MUST make dietary changes as soon as possible.
Griffin has lost a lot of weight over the past couple weeks...I am not sure the cause of this, since surely the diabetes didn't just pop up overnight.
Hi, My name is Sarah and I adopted my Siberian cats Griffin (9) and his sister, Phoenix (8), in 2014. We also have a Morkie dog, Belle (7). I’m very sorry for the novel to come, but am starting to feel like Griffin’s health story is all connected and wanted to get my thoughts down.
GRIFFIN’S PAST ISSUES
Diet-Related Allergy
When I adopted the cats, I wanted to feed them affordable high quality, dry food (I now know I was grossly misinformed) and sought a grain free “quality brand”. I switched them to Blue Buffalo from the Life’s Abundance they were being fed previously. Griffin started losing a lot of fur and after several visits to the vet, the cause was finally connected to the food. So I put them back on Life’s Abundance until Griffin got a UTI in 2017. I switched to prescription until getting a glowing recommendation for Castor & Pollux Pristine, which I have been feeding them both ever since. (I have always just done free-graze - food out all the time.)
Undiagnosed Skin Condition
Griffin’s fur has always been more coarse than his sister, and he periodically gets very dense mats at the base of his tail - it almost feels a little greasy in that area when it happens.
Possible Peripheral Neuropathy
His back leg has periodically slipped out from under him for years, but he is able to jump just fine. I am including this because it might be connected to his current diagnosis.
Constant Runny Eye
His left eye always seems to have a buildup of crust in the corner. It has become habit for me to pick it and get the crust out. I am including this because it might be connected to his current diagnosis.
GRIFFIN’S NEWEST ISSUES
He had started peeing outside the box over the last couple of years, and then in October of 2020, we were getting ready to move to a new house. I took all the animals in for a checkup so we could start fresh and make sure everyone was healthy. There was nothing unusual found.
Fast forward to about a month ago, he has been regularly peeing (and sometimes pooping) on brand new rugs, in the garage, and also sometimes in the litter box - pretty much ever since we moved in.
I added a serving of about a fourth of a can of wet food every day to help with hydration (and we have a fountain they drink from), but then stopped doing that after it seemed like it was causing loose stools and I was also concerned about his weight because he is a big boy and has always been just on the edge of being overweight.
I finally called the Vet a couple weeks ago and they suggested getting some Feniway to determine if this was behavioral.
LEFT EYE - “TRAUMA” BLOOD SPOT AND ENLARGED, CLOUDY PUPIL
On August 19th, I noticed that Griffin's left pupil (the same eye that is constantly crusty) was HUGE - way bigger than the right pupil - almost the size of the entire eye. It was late, so I waited until the morning and called the vet first thing. They asked me some questions and when I went to look at his eye again, there was now a big red (blood) area in the corner of his eyeball, and his pupil was now cloudy and grey. So I took him in right away. The eye wasn't outwardly bleeding, but looked like a popped blood vessel or something inside the eyeball.
UTI
They decided to check for a UTI while I was there and found blood in his urine, so they gave an antibiotic in hopes that it might clear up both the UTI and whatever was going on with his eye.
BLOOD CLOTTING ISSUE
They also did bloodwork, but in drawing his blood, found that the area just kept bleeding...it wouldn’t clot. They kept him a few extra hours and said was still seeping even when we came to pick him up.
DIABETES
Which brings me to why I am here. When they got the blood work back, they said his BG level was at 339 and set an appointment to begin insulin.
TODAY AND QUESTIONS
My intro to insulin appointment was this morning. Unfortunately though, the UTI seems to have returned and his eye has gotten worse. The blood red area in the corner has now spread across the bottom of his iris and his pupil is oddly shaped and cloudy grey.
The vet wants to make sure there isn’t more going on that might connect all these issues before starting on insulin, so they referred us to an eye specialist and gave another antibiotic for the UTI. I have an appointment at 1pm tomorrow for his eye.
In the meantime - I was planning to come here today with new marching orders for insulin and tons of questions about starting this journey. I have been reading and making notes over the last couple of weeks to wrap my head around everything...
But now that I have a little more time, here is where I want to start:
DIET QUESTIONS
In my first conversation, the vet tech recommended that I not make any dietary changes until we get Griffin regulated. He also was not familiar with the brand of food I was feeding the cats, nor did he ask any questions. Everything I have read here is telling me that I MUST make dietary changes as soon as possible.
Griffin has lost a lot of weight over the past couple weeks...I am not sure the cause of this, since surely the diabetes didn't just pop up overnight.
- Should I take away all dry food immediately and start him on Fancy Feast or Friskies this evening? What is the best way to do this - cold turkey or slow transition? He loves the wet food when I have given it to him in the past.
- How do you handle multiple cats when changing up the diet like this? Do I continue Phoenix on dry food, set up a new schedule for both, but keep them separate when feeding the appropriate serving size in the morning, afternoon, and evening? I will need to figure out serving sizes...
- I am terrified of this new world of blood and shots and medical stuff, but am determined to do anything I need to do in order to take care of Griffin and help him lead his healthiest life. So I am prepared to home test when the time comes.
- I was wondering if anyone here has ever dealt with a cat who has a blood clotting issue?
- In all my reading on this site, I feel like I have seen several of the issues I have mentioned here and wonder if it’s all related. The back leg issue, the UTIs, the eye issue, and even the skin condition.
- Just curious if anyone here can relate to Griffin’s story and have advice or a story to share that might help give some more perspective?
