Robyn and Penny
Member Since 2013
I'm a little overwhelmed and not even sure I'm posting in the right place. I've been driving the Facebookers over at Feline Diabetes crazy the past two days...
First, I want to thank this board for helping me save my non-diabetic cat's life back in 2011...she had fatty liver disease, the vet diagnosed as liver cancer and swore it was a mass and not infection in her liver. Turns out she was constipated (she had developed chronic constipation as she got older and she was around 14yrs then) and after a fecal extraction and a switch to all natural food and syringe feedings, we got her liver back to normal about 3 weeks after she started eating on her own again, after being jaundiced with a bilirubin in the 2000s. Sadly, she passed over the Rainbow Bridge in April 2012 from a mediastinal tumor pressing on her trachea, and when we couldn't do anything to help her breathing anymore, I had to make the hardest decision I had to make. She passed peacefully at home with me by her side and an expensive vet with incredible bedside manner and worth every dime of the $200 it cost for him to come to my home! Without reading the messages on this board, I would have never learned about Miralax for cat constipation and the benefits of all natural cat food, and gotten another pretty healthy and quality year with Tabby.
In May, 2012, I adopted two rescue cats who had the enormous task of mending my broken heart and lightening the load around here. They do a very good job. Weeny, who was originally named Irene b/c she was rescued around the time Hurricane Irene hit NJ, and Penelope (Penny), who was passed off as a rescue but is actually a retired show cat, a long hair domestic who is a big girl and may be part coone. She is the diabetic, just diagnosed last Thursday.
Prior experience had taught me to research and question everything the vet says. And with the help of the Feline Diabetes Facebookers, I've already gotten her switched from Vetsulin to Lantus pen, getting my hands on some U100 needles, been conditioning and practicing giving the injections since a botched attempt on Thursday night, where I broke her trust and terrorized her and ran around with a needle for a half hour before I broke down lol. I think we are ready for her first real injection while she eats breakfast tomorrow...she hasn't even noticed when I tented her skin, poked, pinched, etc..the conditioning, I hope, has worked. My stomach is in knots at the thought of going "live" tomorrow.
I talked the vet into 1 unit of Lantus b.i.d. while I switch her from half Chicken Soup for the Cat Lover's Soul and Solid Gold Indigo Moon, plus wet Weruva, Weruva pouches, BFF pouches, Earthborne Holistic and Petite Cuisine. They are on about half wet, half kibble. I've already eliminated all treats besides hairball treats, about 7 each AM, and eliminated Chicken Soup and just have them on Indigo Moon while I wait for my Young Again no carb samples to come in. If both cats like them, I will be ordering that for their kibble.
I don't know how to home test yet. Once I get the insulin routine down with Penny, I will work on getting her used to have her ears touched and pinched and learn how to home test. By that time, I hope they are on the no carb food and I will continue with most of their wet foods, although Weruva pouches are a little high in carbs, the only other two Weruva flavors they are on are pretty low according to that wet food chart I found on here. They only eat the Mediterranean Harvest and the one with tilapia. I have an email into Petite Cuisine on the carb content of their flavors, because they are new and not on the list. I had tried to give Penny Fancy Feast in the past, the ground flavors without the wheat gluten, and all four times she ate it, she threw up. She has a very sensitive system and I don't think she has a tolerance for the chemically-laden supermarket foods, so I'm afraid to try Friskies. Plus, I saw what a difference it had made for Tabby to get her off the supermarket foods and on the out of my budget fancy schmancy all natural food lol
Anyway, I'm terrified of overdosing Penny on insulin and am driving all the Facebookers nuts as well as the staff at my vets. My stomach is a mess and I've barely worked my business all weekend lol. Thanks for reading!
First, I want to thank this board for helping me save my non-diabetic cat's life back in 2011...she had fatty liver disease, the vet diagnosed as liver cancer and swore it was a mass and not infection in her liver. Turns out she was constipated (she had developed chronic constipation as she got older and she was around 14yrs then) and after a fecal extraction and a switch to all natural food and syringe feedings, we got her liver back to normal about 3 weeks after she started eating on her own again, after being jaundiced with a bilirubin in the 2000s. Sadly, she passed over the Rainbow Bridge in April 2012 from a mediastinal tumor pressing on her trachea, and when we couldn't do anything to help her breathing anymore, I had to make the hardest decision I had to make. She passed peacefully at home with me by her side and an expensive vet with incredible bedside manner and worth every dime of the $200 it cost for him to come to my home! Without reading the messages on this board, I would have never learned about Miralax for cat constipation and the benefits of all natural cat food, and gotten another pretty healthy and quality year with Tabby.
In May, 2012, I adopted two rescue cats who had the enormous task of mending my broken heart and lightening the load around here. They do a very good job. Weeny, who was originally named Irene b/c she was rescued around the time Hurricane Irene hit NJ, and Penelope (Penny), who was passed off as a rescue but is actually a retired show cat, a long hair domestic who is a big girl and may be part coone. She is the diabetic, just diagnosed last Thursday.
Prior experience had taught me to research and question everything the vet says. And with the help of the Feline Diabetes Facebookers, I've already gotten her switched from Vetsulin to Lantus pen, getting my hands on some U100 needles, been conditioning and practicing giving the injections since a botched attempt on Thursday night, where I broke her trust and terrorized her and ran around with a needle for a half hour before I broke down lol. I think we are ready for her first real injection while she eats breakfast tomorrow...she hasn't even noticed when I tented her skin, poked, pinched, etc..the conditioning, I hope, has worked. My stomach is in knots at the thought of going "live" tomorrow.
I talked the vet into 1 unit of Lantus b.i.d. while I switch her from half Chicken Soup for the Cat Lover's Soul and Solid Gold Indigo Moon, plus wet Weruva, Weruva pouches, BFF pouches, Earthborne Holistic and Petite Cuisine. They are on about half wet, half kibble. I've already eliminated all treats besides hairball treats, about 7 each AM, and eliminated Chicken Soup and just have them on Indigo Moon while I wait for my Young Again no carb samples to come in. If both cats like them, I will be ordering that for their kibble.
I don't know how to home test yet. Once I get the insulin routine down with Penny, I will work on getting her used to have her ears touched and pinched and learn how to home test. By that time, I hope they are on the no carb food and I will continue with most of their wet foods, although Weruva pouches are a little high in carbs, the only other two Weruva flavors they are on are pretty low according to that wet food chart I found on here. They only eat the Mediterranean Harvest and the one with tilapia. I have an email into Petite Cuisine on the carb content of their flavors, because they are new and not on the list. I had tried to give Penny Fancy Feast in the past, the ground flavors without the wheat gluten, and all four times she ate it, she threw up. She has a very sensitive system and I don't think she has a tolerance for the chemically-laden supermarket foods, so I'm afraid to try Friskies. Plus, I saw what a difference it had made for Tabby to get her off the supermarket foods and on the out of my budget fancy schmancy all natural food lol
Anyway, I'm terrified of overdosing Penny on insulin and am driving all the Facebookers nuts as well as the staff at my vets. My stomach is a mess and I've barely worked my business all weekend lol. Thanks for reading!
