Sammy Nov 7 - AMBG 72 Checking in

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LindaMS

LindaMS

Member Since 2013
Time for us to check in with you. Sammy is still doing great. Hard to believe a year ago I was crying and trying to get her ears to bleed for tests, terrified I was going to find a dead cat every morning. Now she is Off the Juice, healthy, happy, and thriving on her FF Liver and Chicken (which I had the nerve to run out of, so I have to go to the store right now and get some... its 7am and dark, but she has been *****ing at me since 4am, so I give up!). At the ripe old age of 15.5 , she is doing amazing. The infection she had this summer passed without further incident, and she is 100% again.

Sammy continues to hiss at the kitten (who is now 7 months and HUGE). The nicknames Hiss and Vinegar still apply. Lizzy has all sorts of nicknames. Hubby calls her Midget, or Lizard. I call her Thunder Hooves due to her very loud thumping paws when she runs through the family room. She is the strangest cat we have ever had. She moves like a squirrel, that fast run, low to the ground, and then stop on a dime.

The funniest is when she decides to go blanket diving. She races up the center of our bed, does a 180 at the head and dives under the covers (i swear she is airborne for at least part of that manuevour) . Then she stops dead. Hubby says "ERRRRRRRCH!" (brake noise). Every night. Its ridiculous.

Sammy is very jealous if Lizzy is near me. She gets very very pissed about it all, and I get treated to a cat fight in the bathroom at my feet. Oh, what a lovely way to start the day. I used to get so upset when Sylly (GA) and Sammy would fight, it would bother me all day. Now I hardly notice unless these two are too loud for me to hear something on the radio, lol.

So, with purrs from "the girls", we wish you a great day!

Oh.. speaking of calling them "the girls". I was over heard saying to hubby "I am not going to rush home after work to feed the girls, it wont kill them to wait for supper until we go home later. They could stand to develop some patience anyway|' . WELL! A lady took offence at that, and threatened to report me to the Ministry for Children and Families, how could I treat my kids so callously? I had to explain that I was speaking of cats, not kids. She said, and I quote "Well, that is no excuse for child abuse!". LOL. She was so busy being "right" she forgot to listen.
 
LindaMS said:
WELL! A lady took offence at that, and threatened to report me to the Ministry for Children and Families, how could I treat my kids so callously? I had to explain that I was speaking of cats, not kids. She said, and I quote "Well, that is no excuse for child abuse!". LOL. She was so busy being "right" she forgot to listen.
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ROFLMAO!!! Oh too funny!!

The other day we were in Walmart picking up the weekly 3-40lb boxes of litter and 140 cans of Friskies and this lady asked if we had cats? To which my husband replied without batting an eye. "Why No, this is for the kids." which at the time I was out of earshot because I was getting syringes and lancets..Poor timing on my part as right after it was said I come around the corner and yell..."Hurry up we need to get home and Shoot the cat" Oh the look of horror on the woman's face was priceless. Of course we quickly explained that we think of our animals as children and the cat that was being shot was diabetic and we needed to go give her an insulin shot. Thankfully she had a sense of humor and we all had a good laugh.

I should know better by now not to leave him alone in the pet food aisle, last time I did, and someone asked him that stupid question he told them "No, but if you mix it with Tuna Helper you can't tell the difference." :lol: :lol: :lol:

Mel and The Fur Gang
 
Lol! I love the blanket diving picture!

So nice to hear a success story. I am still at the crying stage and terrified of finding a dead cat in the morning. If Silver does anything slightly unusual I panic.

We are just starting our journey to OTJ.

cat(2)_steam
 
Try not to cry. It will be alright. Remember, if not for the good work you have done so far, your cant most likely would not have survived this far! You ARE doing it, you ARE getting there. Slowly but surely the cat feels better, and is more stable. OTJ is possible, it doesnt happen for all, but it can be done. And alternately, a nicely regulated diabetic on insulin is a great cat to have.

Also, the other by product of this is an even closer bond with your cat. She knows, even when she is pissy at you for poking her ears, that you are helping her. Its just like little kids... its Mom who forces the yucky medicine down their throats, or wipes the gravel out of the skinned knee and wont stop until it is clean, no matter how much the kid screams. And yet when they feel crappy, all they want is Mommy.

You are "kissing it better". You are making a difference.
 
LindaMS said:
Try not to cry. It will be alright. Remember, if not for the good work you have done so far, your cant most likely would not have survived this far! You ARE doing it, you ARE getting there. Slowly but surely the cat feels better, and is more stable. OTJ is possible, it doesnt happen for all, but it can be done. And alternately, a nicely regulated diabetic on insulin is a great cat to have.

Also, the other by product of this is an even closer bond with your cat. She knows, even when she is pissy at you for poking her ears, that you are helping her. Its just like little kids... its Mom who forces the yucky medicine down their throats, or wipes the gravel out of the skinned knee and wont stop until it is clean, no matter how much the kid screams. And yet when they feel crappy, all they want is Mommy.

You are "kissing it better". You are making a difference.
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Thanks. Actually Silver is soooo good. He doesn't squirm, hiss or get upset when I am stabbing his ears. I give him his insulin while he is eating so he doesn't even look up from his food. Its me that gets upset when I see his bruised ears and I know he doesn't like peeing and pooping outside the box. Cats are clean animals. He comes and lies down on the floor by my bed in the mornings and that's my cue to lift him up for attention as he cant jump up on the bed anymore.
 
Try a small stool at the end or side of your bed so he can get up on the bed on his own. Cats like to know they can get out of a situation on thier own before they will go there.

The weakness in the back end , which causes him not to be able to jump, can be caused by the diabetes. Sammy was wobbling along like a drunk hooker when she was diagnosed. Fast forward to today, I just watched her jump straight up 4.5 feet onto the fireplace mantle. And she is 15 years old.

Some find a certain type of vitamin B12 to help (Methylcobalamin). Also watch her potassium levels.

As for bruising be sure that you are putting some pressure on that ear and holding it for a good long time to stop the bleeding and prevent bruising. I used to sing Twinkle Twinkle little star while I held it just to make sure I held it long enough.
 
Hi, thanks yes, I started him on methylcobalmin this weekend I am hoping it works quick.

He cant even jump up onto a stool - his legs are bad. He even has trouble climbing into his litter tray. He can jump down but not up.

A few people have mentioned potassium levels to me. I must do some research. I am not hitting my vet up with too much as I don't want her to think I am saying I know more than her! He had a full blood test panel done at diagnosis 6 weeks ago and has been on insulin now for four weeks.

He doesn't bleed too much - I think the bruising is me trying to get a drop out. Sometimes I get a rush of blood - too much. Other times I need to prick several times to get a tiny amount.

When you started managing the home testing yourself - how often did you take your kitty to the vet? I am trying to not take too much as my funds are drained.

Thanks for the tips!
Juliet
 
She started on insulin in Oct 2013. I muddled through on my own, with this group's help. I took her in for a quick check the end of Dec, and the vet got angry that she was not on more insulin. She got herself fired, is what she got :).

Then she saw the vet in Feb to get her teeth pulled as she was having problems eating (resorptive disease). April she went OTJ. August she saw vets due to infection. So, I was lucky and kept costs down. This forum has saved me a fortune!
 
LindaMS said:
She started on insulin in Oct 2013. I muddled through on my own, with this group's help. I took her in for a quick check the end of Dec, and the vet got angry that she was not on more insulin. She got herself fired, is what she got :).

Then she saw the vet in Feb to get her teeth pulled as she was having problems eating (resorptive disease). April she went OTJ. August she saw vets due to infection. So, I was lucky and kept costs down. This forum has saved me a fortune!
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Sounds like a very unsympathetic vet! Mine wants me to bring my kitties in for teeth cleaning but that's waaaay outside my current budget.
 
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