Reassure a worried Momma Bean

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Gina & Yittle (GA)

Gina & Yittle (GA)

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Would somebody please reassure me, I know this all is logical but after Saturday's trip to the ER I'm still in WMB mode (Worried Momma Bean).

Yittle hurt his leg, not a huge deal - nothing broken, bad sprain, bruises, some swelling, perhaps a minor tear to muscles/ligaments/tendons etc. The ER Doctor's prescription was to crate him for a week (not really possible with Yittle), and to dose him with Bupe. The dose was supposed to be .l5 ml? 3x a day.

Now Yittle has separation anxiety issues regarding me - so the only way to crate him is if I sit in the crate with him the entire week. Since that wasn't practical we decided to shut off the basement stairway (and the 2 litterboxes at the bottom of it), and to shut off my bedroom (the bed is quite high, and while he can climb in ok, jumping out is not a good idea), and when we're not home we also shut off the other 2 rooms where there's something that would require a large jump down from - which gets rid of another litter box. Of course we can't shut off the main room of the house - which has the sofa I'm pretty darn sure he injured his leg jumping off of because there's no doors. And if we shut him in the one room thats left with closeable doors that gets rid of the only litter box for 7 cats. As you can see - not really possible either. I sorta hoped he had enough sense to not jump off the thing that hurt him last time while he was still in pain.

We started on the Bupe. and it worked fine but Yittle got constipated almost immediately. I figured this out in the middle of the night and decided to start with the only cure I had at home - organic unsweetened canned pumpkin. Since he gets fed 6+ times a day I don't put it in all his meals but I put a dollop in (around 2 teaspoons?) a couple of times a day (2-3) in the foods with the strongest taste. I know the canned pumpkin can raise his blood sugar a bit, and so can being stressed or in pain. The pumpkin appears to be working and helping him pass his bowels. We tried cutting back on the bupe a bit, either doing it twice a day or only dosing him with .l0 instead. It seems to be enough for pain management - I spend more time trying to keep him from running, jumping and doing stuff he's not supposed to then worrying he's in pain or not mobile. He is not back to his normal potty habits quite yet though.

Anyway - on to the actual worry. Would somebody please tell me that statistically speaking - The fact that his blood sugar had been in the mid-high 60's - 70's of late and the fact that its now in the mid 80's is meaningless. Between the pain, the stress, the pumpkin and taking into account meters can be off by 20% I know I shouldn't be worried. But I am. Nothing else has changed - food is the same (old formula FF, Friskies etc), he's not getting into the kibble, the exam at the ER didn't show a serious dental problem or any kind of infection. I know mid-80's is a perfectly acceptable bg number for a cat in diet-controlled remission but for some reason its flipping me out because its l0-l5 points higher then its been for the last 4-5 months. Somebody please tell me I can relax and get out of WMB mode....
 
wowzee!!

but yes, given what the poor boy is dealing with, i wouldn't worry one iota about numbers being up 10-15 pts is all. in all honesty, i'm surprised they aren't higher given the circumstances so off you go, stop worrying, and do your chores or whatever you need to get done today :-D
 
I agree with Cindy. If after everything yittle has been through, he is only up 10-15 points, that's nothing to worry about! Sometimes I swear just someone knocking on our front door raises mochas BG's by the hundreds! :lol:
 
Looks like you have a consensus of experience here. Those are great numbers given the stress he is under, inflammation in his system, etc.

The only suggestion I might make is would it be possible to confine him to one room in the house vs. shutting off rooms to him.

An example is a bedroom where the door still faces a main room, then use a babygate or two. He can see you, hear you, and is better controlled for his recovery?

Right now I have a foster kitty confined to the "kitten room" in such a manner. Surprisingly my civvies won't jump the gate and I figure if the foster decides to jump the gate...he is feeling mighty fine.

It is just an idea.
 
Well today he decided to be in the mid 90's - BUT I was sick most of last night (flu, food poisoning, something) and I know Yittle can get really stressed out if I'm obviously sick. I'm also not 100% sure he didn't go on bowl patrol and get a few bites of leftover breakfast before the test. I thought he hadn't, but you know how they are. I had my attention on the Times Square thing for a few minutes while they got rid of the package that was found and he could have ducked off the sofa and returned perhaps. Even the mid-90's isn't bad.

I wish I could lock him in a room - vs locking rooms off from him. Unfortunately we're living in a house my parents own with wall-to-wall carpet in 2 rooms and hardwood floors in most of the rest. By agreement with my parents the only places the litterboxes can be are the 2 bathrooms where there's tiles and the bottom of the basement steps where its concrete. There are tiles in the kitchen but I refuse to put a litter box there - call it a sanitation quirk. The only room I can lock him in, with a litterbox is either the main bathroom where he flips out - or the back bedroom that has an attatched powder room. Unfortunately that room has my desk and a window seat which he loves to jump off. Trust me, it was a nightmare figuring out what to do about this. The other cats I could lock in the bathroom but Yittle just has these emotional issues and if you shut him away from me he has an absolute fit. Trust me, if I locked him away from me you would see his blood sugar spike through the ceiling as a response.

Luckily his leg seems to be doing much. He's walking well, still a small limp but not much and he doesn't yelp or get cranky if I touch it so the pain must be less. It has been almost a week now after all. I think we're going to try and go without the bupe. and hopefully without it he won't be constipated so we can go without the pumpkin too. Perhaps that will make his blood sugar go back down a few points. I knew the pumpkin would add carbs, but the constipation had to be addressed while he was on the pain meds. I appreciate the moral support, spending the morning in the ER will leave you in a nervous state for awhile. I'll make sure I get some good 2-hr fast blood tests on him in the next few days and hopefully he'll settle back in. I might also replace my test strips, they've been open 5 months now (6 month suggested life) and order more control solution.

Ah the joys of having more cats then rooms in my house (lol). I so didn't mean to aquire the last 2 of the 7, but it was take them or watch them die - what can you do.

Thanks again,
Gina

Bumper sticker recently aquired - I have so many cats at home, people started calling me "Madame"
 
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