crazyride
Member
Hello! I'm not sure how much/little information I should share here, but since this is an introduction, I'll try to give enough info to inform you about Kitty (my furry baby!) and his recent diagnosis.
Kitty is a beautiful black DMH rescue that I got when he was a tiny kitten, through my veterinarian. He was found when he was several weeks old, with no siblings or mother that anyone could find. I took him on, "temporarily" (thus the name. I didn't want to choose his name, now he won't respond to anything else) and of course grew very attached to him, and couldn't imagine finding him another home. He was an ideal kitten for a first time cat owner like myself, and my family. He's very low maintenance, was free-fed dry food and given a small "treat" teaspoon of wet food once daily at dinner time. He's friendly, but not overly needy. Will cuddle next to you, but doesn't need to be on top of you all the time. And as a self-proclaimed dog person, I was won over by his charm.
About three weeks ago I noticed that he was drinking an excessive amount of water. Of course, the first thing I checked was his litter box, wanting to make sure there wasn't a urinary blockage. When I saw how wet that was, I knew a trip to the vet was in order. Luckily, I now work for my veterinarian, and was able to scoop him up that day, and take him in for a checkup. His glucose was incredibly high, and there was also glucose in his urine. After a battery of tests (maybe even a few extra at my paranoid need to be beyond thorough, and my employee discount making these things more affordable) the doctor came to the determination that he has diabetes, and would need to start twice daily insulin injections immediately, as well as switching his diet (not fun for this VERY picky eater) to something low-carb, and eliminate his dry food all together. Which sounded scarily daunting to me, and made me nervous that my parents wouldn't be willing to help me administer his injections when I was out/at work.
Thankfully Kitty responded very well, just days after beginning his insulin he started acting more like himself, drinking less water, and even eating the new food I was sure he would refuse. I was happy, and figured we were out of the red zone. All three of us learned how to give him his injections, and when I took him in for a glucose re-check his levels were within normal limits. To be on the safe side, the doctor suggested I do a glucose curve on him. Because he gets very stressed and nervous when he leaves the house (he is an indoor cat ONLY and very skittish about strangers) I asked if she would mind if I did this test at home. Another perk of working there is access to testing supplies! (I am so incredibly lucky, I know)
However, when I came home from work today, I got to deal with my first hypo incident, and it was very scary for me. Despite my warnings of what to watch for in case his blood sugar is too low (written in big, bold, highlighted letters and posted on our fridge. I'm a worry-wart!) I came home from work, and when Kitty wasn't there to greet me at the door like he always is, I was concerned. When I asked my dad if he'd seen him, he mentioned that he'd vomited earlier this afternoon, and then ran and hid in my bedroom and hadn't been seen for several hours. I literally threw my things down, and ran into my room only to find him laying in the middle of my bedroom floor. (he's very spoiled and usually only lays on furniture. usually my bed, of if he's feeling anxious he hides under it) When I called his name he didn't move, only cracked one eye and let out a faint "mew" I scooped him up, and he was so lethargic he couldn't even hold his head up. I ran for the glucose kit, and quickly checked to find out he was at 21. I remembered reading on this site about maple syrup, so while I grabbed that I quickly called my doctor (another benefit! 24/7 access to an amazing doctor!) who told me to rub the syrup on his gums, and if he perked up enough to try and get him to eat. Luckily I still had a few cans of his old wet food stashed away, and I knew he'd eat that no problem. The doctor said that was fine, not to worry about carbs right now, to just get food into his tummy. He wolfed it down, and I waited anxiously for an hour to recheck and find that it had climbed back up into a normal level. Even 15 minutes after he ate I could tell he was feeling better, as he wanted to rub up against me, and give me the hello I usually get the second I walk in the door. However, it was such a scary moment! Thinking what would have happened had I ran the errands I meant to run after work, but was too tired to go out and do.
All of this has taken it's toll on me, emotionally. Thankfully my co-workers and mother have been very supportive of my desire to manage this disease, and understand how worried I can be about him, and how much I love him. I'm having some problems with friends, though, and dad (which sucks because he is the one who is home more often and is the one I ask to keep an eye out for things, help with injections, etc) Everyone seems to be of the same opinion that he should be "put down" that I am dragging out his life unnecessarily, wasting money, or being unrealistic. But the way I see it, diabetes is a manageable disease, and as long as it is properly maintained he isn't suffering! He is almost 11 years old, and I certainly don't think he is going to live forever. But I feel like as long as I can afford to take care of this, and have access to vets and techs to ask any questions that might pop up, why not take advantage of it? He's family, and I've grown closer to this little furball than I ever thought I would. I know at some point his life will come to an end, but he is otherwise 100% healthy, and I can't see that I'm doing the wrong thing here.
So, basically I just need some support! To hear from other people that things can turn around, and that it's ok to be a little stressed and worried, especially in the beginning. I hope I didn't ramble to long, but to be honest, finding this place almost feels like I've found some peace and comfort for the first time in three weeks. Because despite my co-workers understanding, none of them have personally dealt with an insulin dependent pet before, so I don't think even they can truly understand.
SO! Kitty, and I would like to thank you for reading our long story! Any advice, words of encouragement, suggestions, tips ANYTHING AT ALL you can offer us is greatly, greatly appreciated. Thank you so very much, everyone!
Kitty is a beautiful black DMH rescue that I got when he was a tiny kitten, through my veterinarian. He was found when he was several weeks old, with no siblings or mother that anyone could find. I took him on, "temporarily" (thus the name. I didn't want to choose his name, now he won't respond to anything else) and of course grew very attached to him, and couldn't imagine finding him another home. He was an ideal kitten for a first time cat owner like myself, and my family. He's very low maintenance, was free-fed dry food and given a small "treat" teaspoon of wet food once daily at dinner time. He's friendly, but not overly needy. Will cuddle next to you, but doesn't need to be on top of you all the time. And as a self-proclaimed dog person, I was won over by his charm.
About three weeks ago I noticed that he was drinking an excessive amount of water. Of course, the first thing I checked was his litter box, wanting to make sure there wasn't a urinary blockage. When I saw how wet that was, I knew a trip to the vet was in order. Luckily, I now work for my veterinarian, and was able to scoop him up that day, and take him in for a checkup. His glucose was incredibly high, and there was also glucose in his urine. After a battery of tests (maybe even a few extra at my paranoid need to be beyond thorough, and my employee discount making these things more affordable) the doctor came to the determination that he has diabetes, and would need to start twice daily insulin injections immediately, as well as switching his diet (not fun for this VERY picky eater) to something low-carb, and eliminate his dry food all together. Which sounded scarily daunting to me, and made me nervous that my parents wouldn't be willing to help me administer his injections when I was out/at work.
Thankfully Kitty responded very well, just days after beginning his insulin he started acting more like himself, drinking less water, and even eating the new food I was sure he would refuse. I was happy, and figured we were out of the red zone. All three of us learned how to give him his injections, and when I took him in for a glucose re-check his levels were within normal limits. To be on the safe side, the doctor suggested I do a glucose curve on him. Because he gets very stressed and nervous when he leaves the house (he is an indoor cat ONLY and very skittish about strangers) I asked if she would mind if I did this test at home. Another perk of working there is access to testing supplies! (I am so incredibly lucky, I know)
However, when I came home from work today, I got to deal with my first hypo incident, and it was very scary for me. Despite my warnings of what to watch for in case his blood sugar is too low (written in big, bold, highlighted letters and posted on our fridge. I'm a worry-wart!) I came home from work, and when Kitty wasn't there to greet me at the door like he always is, I was concerned. When I asked my dad if he'd seen him, he mentioned that he'd vomited earlier this afternoon, and then ran and hid in my bedroom and hadn't been seen for several hours. I literally threw my things down, and ran into my room only to find him laying in the middle of my bedroom floor. (he's very spoiled and usually only lays on furniture. usually my bed, of if he's feeling anxious he hides under it) When I called his name he didn't move, only cracked one eye and let out a faint "mew" I scooped him up, and he was so lethargic he couldn't even hold his head up. I ran for the glucose kit, and quickly checked to find out he was at 21. I remembered reading on this site about maple syrup, so while I grabbed that I quickly called my doctor (another benefit! 24/7 access to an amazing doctor!) who told me to rub the syrup on his gums, and if he perked up enough to try and get him to eat. Luckily I still had a few cans of his old wet food stashed away, and I knew he'd eat that no problem. The doctor said that was fine, not to worry about carbs right now, to just get food into his tummy. He wolfed it down, and I waited anxiously for an hour to recheck and find that it had climbed back up into a normal level. Even 15 minutes after he ate I could tell he was feeling better, as he wanted to rub up against me, and give me the hello I usually get the second I walk in the door. However, it was such a scary moment! Thinking what would have happened had I ran the errands I meant to run after work, but was too tired to go out and do.
All of this has taken it's toll on me, emotionally. Thankfully my co-workers and mother have been very supportive of my desire to manage this disease, and understand how worried I can be about him, and how much I love him. I'm having some problems with friends, though, and dad (which sucks because he is the one who is home more often and is the one I ask to keep an eye out for things, help with injections, etc) Everyone seems to be of the same opinion that he should be "put down" that I am dragging out his life unnecessarily, wasting money, or being unrealistic. But the way I see it, diabetes is a manageable disease, and as long as it is properly maintained he isn't suffering! He is almost 11 years old, and I certainly don't think he is going to live forever. But I feel like as long as I can afford to take care of this, and have access to vets and techs to ask any questions that might pop up, why not take advantage of it? He's family, and I've grown closer to this little furball than I ever thought I would. I know at some point his life will come to an end, but he is otherwise 100% healthy, and I can't see that I'm doing the wrong thing here.
So, basically I just need some support! To hear from other people that things can turn around, and that it's ok to be a little stressed and worried, especially in the beginning. I hope I didn't ramble to long, but to be honest, finding this place almost feels like I've found some peace and comfort for the first time in three weeks. Because despite my co-workers understanding, none of them have personally dealt with an insulin dependent pet before, so I don't think even they can truly understand.
SO! Kitty, and I would like to thank you for reading our long story! Any advice, words of encouragement, suggestions, tips ANYTHING AT ALL you can offer us is greatly, greatly appreciated. Thank you so very much, everyone!
ohmygod_smile ) but I have read that some people have more luck getting kitties to eat things when they add additional (warm) water to the food and sometimes pureeing it additionally helps too. It seems like some have had luck leaving wet food out for up to 12hrs with no signs of spoilage. This is not something I have tried personally, and I would ask someone more knowledgeable if this is true or not, but if it is, you might be able to try an auto feeder with wet food during the day. I’m sure it would be much preferred over leaving dry if it were possible. There’s also the option to freeze wet cat food in ice cube trays or as a solid puck and put that out for kitty to eat. I'm not sure if your cat would leave it alone until it defrosts, I know mine absolutely would not. I’m not sure if this is useful to you, but I thought it was pretty ingenious!