HelloKrystie
Member Since 2020
Long post, filled with questions and terror.
My Sirius was diagnosed a week before a scheduled 6 days of travel. I taught my bf, my brother, and my sister-in-law all how to give him his shots and monitor him. I went over everything a handful of times with them all when teaching them. I even typed up normal instructions, emergency situations with instructions, and left them and a credit card with his temporary caretakers just in case. To my absolute terror, I found out last night that my bf was microwaving his insulin. In the bottle. The whole freaking bottle. WHYYYY?!? The bf claims “it was only like 2 times”, but he obviously can’t be trusted. So, all of his following shots, after the first time the bottle was microwaved, were basically like not giving Sirius any insulin at all. My bf can’t tell me when the first time he microwaved the bottle was, so it could have been the full 6 days I was gone. I just learned this last night, so now we’re at 9 days (including today) that Sirius is basically without insulin. (I haven’t given him any more of that insulin knowing it was ruined) He was diagnosed so soon before I left that I hadn’t tested his blood yet, but after learning this, I tested him right away with the bf’s help. His BG was 176 (ReliOn Premier Classic meter). This was about an hour and a half after him eating about 1/4 of a can of FF. That was at just about 8:30pm last night. (I’m eastern time here in the northeast PA). I wasn’t able to test him again on my own last night, as I asked the bf to leave before I murdered him. I’ve tried several times today to test him on my own, but I haven’t been able to manage it. Twice no results because not enough blood for the meter(I even warmed up his ear prior to both sticks), and once where he scratched me for trying to test his paw. (This is very rare for him, he never scratches at me). I have also set up a Ketone testing center in the litter box, but he hasn’t urinated yet today. Which worries me, as it’s now after 2pm. Although, I haven’t seen him drink water either. He normally drinks a decent amount, being diabetic and not regulated yet. He’s eating normal, acting normal, and seems to be his normal self all around. (prior to his insulin he was starting to get lethargic and hiding from me, but since his start on his insulin, ProZinc, he’s been more his social and cuddly self) I’m panicking because it doesn’t seem like I’m going to be able to get his insulin until Monday. I’ve called every veterinary clinic, every emergency clinic, and every pharmacy in the extended area to get him seen, or at least get his insulin. No one can help me, so I’m left testing, and praying, until Monday. Any advise, or recommendations? (aside from breaking up with the bf)
Feeding help, I’m still a tad confused:
My vet sent me home with Purina DM, both dry and wet. He never said anything about slowly transitioning him over. So, when I got home I immediately took up his old food and replaced it with the Purina DM. Sirius has never been a fan of wet food, but he went for the wet, and left the dry food to sit. Surprising, but definitely a great start! After much research here, and about an hour spent in the pet store, I have FF Classic Pates for him. I bought a few of every flavor of the FF that the store had available, just to make sure to have some food on hand that he would eat, and is safe for him. Should I stick to one flavor? He still has some wet DM left, so I switch between the DM and the FF. Is this okay? Should I stick to one specific food? And if so, one specific flavor? I read on Dr Piersons food chart that liver is recommended, so I bought him more of the liver flavor than any other. He’s a grazer, I’ve never been able to put him on a feeding schedule. His Vet told me to keep his feeding the same, especially since he’s going on 16, and lost an extreme amount of weight. He was a 19lb kitty, but now down to under 12lbs. We wanted him to lose weight, but his Vet said the grazing would hopefully help him put weight back on. Is leaving his food down for him okay? I’ve seen on here that a lot of caretakers give multiple small meals a day, but these seem scheduled. He’s used to me waking up, and immediately giving him food. So, I’ve been waking up (around 6:45-7am) and giving him about 1/4 a can of FF to placate him until his 7:30am shot, since I know to make sure he’s eating with the insulin. (Also so he doesn’t hide on me expecting the shot, since he’s getting keen to me and that needle) I’d like to try him on a timed feeder, especially if leaving him to graze is unadvisable. Any suggestions on feeders is definitely appreciated. Do I need one that keeps the food cold since he’s eating all wet food now? Any better or highly recommended brands or types?
His feeding “schedule”(using FF 3oz cans for reference): He gets his morning taste (about 1/4 of can) at around 6:45-7am, then his actual meal with his shot at 7:30am (maybe 1/2 a can). I leave him what’s left of his breakfast (he usually doesn’t finish it all), and add the rest of that can to his dish. I come home for lunch to check on him at about 3:30pm and give him about another 1/3 of a can because he’s yelling at me that he’s starving. I come home from work around 5:30pm, give him a little more (usually, about 1/3 a can, then at 7:30pm I’m giving him “a full meal” (1/2 can) with his shot. Then he eats a few bites of food here and there throughout the rest of the night (maybe another 1/3 can) and I put a very small amount more on his dish before I go to bed. (Maybe 1/4 can, but he’s starving by morning) So I think he’s eating just about 3 cans a day, 9 ounces total. According to the food chart, that’s around 276 calories a day, depending on the flavors he’s eating. So according to the caloric intake formula (weight x 13.5 + 70) he’s getting approximately 44 more calories than would be needed to maintain his weight. These are all rough estimates, I can be more diligent about his feeding amounts if you all think I should be. Does this seem like enough, or too much food? Again, I’d like him to put a little weight back on. He’s always been a large kitty, he looked like he was from an older litter compared to his sister. Even their Vet doubted they were from the same litter it at their first kitten visit.
I think my worried rant is over. Any help would be amazing! Thank you for reading through all of this!
Krystie & Sirius
My Sirius was diagnosed a week before a scheduled 6 days of travel. I taught my bf, my brother, and my sister-in-law all how to give him his shots and monitor him. I went over everything a handful of times with them all when teaching them. I even typed up normal instructions, emergency situations with instructions, and left them and a credit card with his temporary caretakers just in case. To my absolute terror, I found out last night that my bf was microwaving his insulin. In the bottle. The whole freaking bottle. WHYYYY?!? The bf claims “it was only like 2 times”, but he obviously can’t be trusted. So, all of his following shots, after the first time the bottle was microwaved, were basically like not giving Sirius any insulin at all. My bf can’t tell me when the first time he microwaved the bottle was, so it could have been the full 6 days I was gone. I just learned this last night, so now we’re at 9 days (including today) that Sirius is basically without insulin. (I haven’t given him any more of that insulin knowing it was ruined) He was diagnosed so soon before I left that I hadn’t tested his blood yet, but after learning this, I tested him right away with the bf’s help. His BG was 176 (ReliOn Premier Classic meter). This was about an hour and a half after him eating about 1/4 of a can of FF. That was at just about 8:30pm last night. (I’m eastern time here in the northeast PA). I wasn’t able to test him again on my own last night, as I asked the bf to leave before I murdered him. I’ve tried several times today to test him on my own, but I haven’t been able to manage it. Twice no results because not enough blood for the meter(I even warmed up his ear prior to both sticks), and once where he scratched me for trying to test his paw. (This is very rare for him, he never scratches at me). I have also set up a Ketone testing center in the litter box, but he hasn’t urinated yet today. Which worries me, as it’s now after 2pm. Although, I haven’t seen him drink water either. He normally drinks a decent amount, being diabetic and not regulated yet. He’s eating normal, acting normal, and seems to be his normal self all around. (prior to his insulin he was starting to get lethargic and hiding from me, but since his start on his insulin, ProZinc, he’s been more his social and cuddly self) I’m panicking because it doesn’t seem like I’m going to be able to get his insulin until Monday. I’ve called every veterinary clinic, every emergency clinic, and every pharmacy in the extended area to get him seen, or at least get his insulin. No one can help me, so I’m left testing, and praying, until Monday. Any advise, or recommendations? (aside from breaking up with the bf)
Feeding help, I’m still a tad confused:
My vet sent me home with Purina DM, both dry and wet. He never said anything about slowly transitioning him over. So, when I got home I immediately took up his old food and replaced it with the Purina DM. Sirius has never been a fan of wet food, but he went for the wet, and left the dry food to sit. Surprising, but definitely a great start! After much research here, and about an hour spent in the pet store, I have FF Classic Pates for him. I bought a few of every flavor of the FF that the store had available, just to make sure to have some food on hand that he would eat, and is safe for him. Should I stick to one flavor? He still has some wet DM left, so I switch between the DM and the FF. Is this okay? Should I stick to one specific food? And if so, one specific flavor? I read on Dr Piersons food chart that liver is recommended, so I bought him more of the liver flavor than any other. He’s a grazer, I’ve never been able to put him on a feeding schedule. His Vet told me to keep his feeding the same, especially since he’s going on 16, and lost an extreme amount of weight. He was a 19lb kitty, but now down to under 12lbs. We wanted him to lose weight, but his Vet said the grazing would hopefully help him put weight back on. Is leaving his food down for him okay? I’ve seen on here that a lot of caretakers give multiple small meals a day, but these seem scheduled. He’s used to me waking up, and immediately giving him food. So, I’ve been waking up (around 6:45-7am) and giving him about 1/4 a can of FF to placate him until his 7:30am shot, since I know to make sure he’s eating with the insulin. (Also so he doesn’t hide on me expecting the shot, since he’s getting keen to me and that needle) I’d like to try him on a timed feeder, especially if leaving him to graze is unadvisable. Any suggestions on feeders is definitely appreciated. Do I need one that keeps the food cold since he’s eating all wet food now? Any better or highly recommended brands or types?
His feeding “schedule”(using FF 3oz cans for reference): He gets his morning taste (about 1/4 of can) at around 6:45-7am, then his actual meal with his shot at 7:30am (maybe 1/2 a can). I leave him what’s left of his breakfast (he usually doesn’t finish it all), and add the rest of that can to his dish. I come home for lunch to check on him at about 3:30pm and give him about another 1/3 of a can because he’s yelling at me that he’s starving. I come home from work around 5:30pm, give him a little more (usually, about 1/3 a can, then at 7:30pm I’m giving him “a full meal” (1/2 can) with his shot. Then he eats a few bites of food here and there throughout the rest of the night (maybe another 1/3 can) and I put a very small amount more on his dish before I go to bed. (Maybe 1/4 can, but he’s starving by morning) So I think he’s eating just about 3 cans a day, 9 ounces total. According to the food chart, that’s around 276 calories a day, depending on the flavors he’s eating. So according to the caloric intake formula (weight x 13.5 + 70) he’s getting approximately 44 more calories than would be needed to maintain his weight. These are all rough estimates, I can be more diligent about his feeding amounts if you all think I should be. Does this seem like enough, or too much food? Again, I’d like him to put a little weight back on. He’s always been a large kitty, he looked like he was from an older litter compared to his sister. Even their Vet doubted they were from the same litter it at their first kitten visit.
I think my worried rant is over. Any help would be amazing! Thank you for reading through all of this!
Krystie & Sirius
