Oliver's Progress

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jlw1959

Member Since 2012
Hi!
Oliver is doing great, considering the seizures he had left him blind, he has managed to do very well, once he got his bearings around the house, it doesn't seem to phase him at all. The only thing I am concerned about right now is that he is losing weight, yet he eats, and drinks quite often throughout the day, should I be concerned about this? He is completely off the insulin, as of now, (vet's orders) since that's what caused his seizures in the first place, he was getting too much insulin. Other than the weight loss, he seems pretty normal, he still plays and sleeps a lot, but cats do a lot of that anyway!! I feed him Fancy Feast classic canned food, he loves it! and he also loves milk, so I buy the lactose-free milk for him, as most cats are lactose-intolerant. He will occasionally drink a little water, but not much. When we sit down to dinner, he begs like a dog! sometimes we will give him beef or chicken, but I try not to give him too many table scraps. Oliver is 12 years old now, I hope he sticks around with me for a long time, he's my baby, and I would be lost without him! I love him dearly! Any comments or suggestions from anyone would be greatly appreciated! Oliver and I thank you!
 
That's good to hear that he's doing a bit better.

Regarding the weight loss - have you been hometesting his blood glucose? I read your previous posts, you've received a meter but were having trouble working out the best way of using the lancets. Did you manage to sort this out?

I've recently started regularly home testing my Cleo, similarly this was prompted by a hypoglycaemic seizure that she suffered. It's terrifying, isn't it? But this just goes to show how important home testing is. Again, in a similar situation to yours, Cleo had been diagnosed diabetic, was unregulated, and her insulin dose increased on vet's orders; however due to our adjusting her diet to a very low carb food, that insulin dose was too high, which caused the seizure. Since then I have continued to reduce her insulin dosage, whilst monitoring her blood sugar. Cleo has now been insulin free for 6 days, and her blood glucose tests are showing numbers in a nicely normal range.

The reason for Oliver's weight loss could be that he does actually still need insulin - but the only way you're going to find out is to regularly test his glucose at home; under NO circumstances should you recommence the insulin unless and until you are absolutely certain of his glucose levels.

I therefore urge you to start testing regularly, if you are not already doing so.

And if you are, could you let us know what blood glucose readings you have had? Have you managed to plot a blood glucose curve?

Also, what insulin and dosage was Oliver being prescribed, before he had a seizure?

H
 
Hello Everyone!
I wanted to give you all an update on "Oliver" He has been insulin-free for a month now, he seems to be eating and drinking more often now, but I am concerned about his weight loss. When he was on the insulin, he was given 1 unit, twice a day, which was too much, and was causing his seizures. I have tested his blood glucose and I have been getting high readings of: 297-310. I am going to contact my vet, but I wanted to hear some comments or advice from anyone here first. I feed him Fancy Feast classic, (the wet food) and he drinks the lactose-free milk because he goes crazy over milk and dairy products, I thought the lactose-free milk would be better for him, since cats don't easily digest it very well, and he also drinks water. I did tell my vet that I purchased a home-testing monitoring kit from this website, and she said the human test kits are not as accurate as what would generally be used on animals, but I think otherwise, anyway the one I use is the Free-Style Lite. I would also like to know how often I should test him. Oliver and I would greatly appreciate any comments, or advice. Thank you.
 
Those are diabetic numbers. I assume you got them at home, where they are most likely to be accurate? The renal threshold is considered to be in the 250 range - above which his organs can be in distress. Our numbers for a cat in remission, off insulin, range from 40 - 120 with the majority of the time in double digits.

What type of insulin were you using? You can give a tiny dose to get his numbers down. Many people here give doses under .5 units. We even have a way to give drops of insulin.

If you decide to try that, be sure to ask for help from the people who use your type of insulin. I would plan to start with a tiny amount and plan to be around to monitor.
 
First of all, I am sorry to hear that you lost your beloved cat, also named "Oliver" They are so precious to us, I know!! I really thought I was going to lose my Oliver as well, I guess it just wasn't his time to go yet, he is 13 now. The insulin he had been given is/was ProZinc. My vet also wanted me to try and get a urine sample from him. I communicate with her over the phone as much as I can, don't get me wrong, because I love Oliver dearly, he is my baby, but I do not have a job, and I just can't afford to take him to the vet everytime, as most of you all know, it can get very expensive, I personally think they charge way too much for a simple office visit! Another reason I avoid taking him to the vet is when he gets stressed, it is hard for them to do any kind of tests on him, which my vet agrees with. When I first adopted him about 10 years ago, (he was a stray) I wanted to get him de-clawed, but after my vet checked him over, she discovered that he has a heart murmur, so putting him under was risky, she advised against it. Whoever had him before me did have him neutered however. I think he was an indoor-outdoor cat, but since I have had him, he is strictly an indoor-only cat now. Thanks for all your help and advice.
 
Hi!

Yes, those are numbers that need insulin. However, the Freestyle Lite meter has a history of not being accurate... it might not be a bad idea to get a second meter almost like a second opinion.

You will want to test right before each insulin shot, and also once (or more) between each shot. Around the 4-6 hr mark is good. The tests before the shot are so you know if it's safe to give insulin. We recommend newbies not shoot under 200 until they know how their cat reacts better to insulin. The mid cycle checks are how you find out.

Declawing is a very inhumane operation and I am glad you didn't follow through with it (although for other reasons). Declawing cats is not like just pulling off a fingernail. Cat's claws are attached to their bone... so attached that in a "declawing" operation, the last bone in your cat's toe is actually cut off. Think of it like cutting the tips of your finger off at the knuckle. It is EXTREMELY painful, has a very high risk of complications like infection, litter box aversion due to pain, and leaves your cat without any defenses should it ever need them. I would NEVER recommend it and would be wary of any vet who would be willing to do it... More info here - http://www.declawing.com/
 
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