some questions from Alex Olivia's foster mommy

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hollybee

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Hi all, I am new to this and have some questions......

In a nutshell, someone took Alex Olivia to the shelter with her lifelong buddy Donovan because they had 'too many animals' in the house ; (

I work with an adult cat rescue and they agreed to take them in, but while in the shelter they discovered she had diabetes - they were there 2 weeks b/c we were moving to a new group home. During this time she lost weight and one of them was using the litter box a lot. Both went on Clavamox - litter box now looks great. She also came to me with diarrhea which we thought was from Clavamox, but after a day it cleared up......I think she really didn't like the food they had there.

Anyway, we got a full blood panel done at the vet. Her GLU was 485.
We got the test kit and used it that same afternoon: 309
We put her on 0.5U Levemier BID
We have been testing her at 8am and 8pm, right before she eats:

Feb 8th 8pm 136
Feb 9th 8am 248
Feb 9th 8pm 197 (she had a small bit of food about two hours before this reading)

I am new to all of this, the testing has been difficult, but it's me, not her : ) Giving the Levemier shot is a breeze......

I have three questions (for now).

1) I am currently feeding her up to a can in the morning and up to another can in the afternoon......she loves the canned food....I just got her Sunday from the shelter and she has definitely put some weight back on here (you could feel her spine). Should I keep feeding her as much as she wants? I am currently feeding Wellness CORE but not sure how long my budget can handle that. Any suggestions for a good wet food for her? Should I leave dry food down her? We have Evo in the house. She doesn't whine for food, but devours all the wet food I put down for her!

2) How do I know when to adjust the amount of Levemier I am giving her? Should she be below 150? I know the machine will flash 'ketones' if there is a problem, is this associated with a certain number or can cats be all over the place with numbers and end up having this problem?

3) I am new to this and learning as I go. Unfortunately my schedule is about to change in a couple of weeks (in addition to my M-F job, we have a side business and do weekend shows) which means long days away from home and some overnight travel. The rescue and I are desperately looking for someone to foster Alex Olivia and her brother - they are both really sweet, and really laid back. They get along with our resident cats just fine. They are 10 years old and really enjoy finding a comfy spot to lay. We are in Baltimore MD, but we are willing to transport them. Of course our goal is to get them into a forever home, and right now we'd like to find someone who has the experience to get her regulated.

They are both in really good spirits, despite all of the shuffling around. Alex Olivia is amazing when it comes to being tested, and the shot she never even feels! She is very even keel and I don't sense any depression, anxiety etc in her.....she seems very happy to have good food, a room (instead of a metal cage in the shelter) filled with comfy places to sleep, less noise, and her 'husband' Donovan!

Thanks for any insights you all can provide!
I have attached a pic, but it's not the best......she really is much perkier than this, but she blinked!

holly and alex olivia
 
Can I help you set up a spreadsheet? Then you can post over on the Lantus/Levemir site. They use your insulin and can help with dosage.

Fantastic that you are testing. You do need to get some mid cycle numbers. The tests before the shots will let you know if it is safe to give the insulin you want to give. The mid cycle numbers tell you how low she is going - or how well the insulin is working. With new diabetics, we usuually urge you not to shoot under 200 until you have been doing the testing awhile and have some data to predict what she might do. If you get a number under 200, you can wait 20 minutes and test again. You want to make sure the number is heading up.

If you want help with the spreadsheet, just choose the PM message in the bottom LH corner of my post and send me a message. We can get it set up in a few minutes.
 
Holly I'll answer all your questions but can you please either shrink down the pic or take it out...it's soooo big that i can't really read the questions!
 
thanks Sue........

Lori, I can't figure out how to remove the picture......should I delete my post and re-post without the pic?
 
i think so becuase the sentence goes on so long on the line it takes a looooonnnnng time to read it. :lol:
 
weird! ok I will delete this post and re-post without pic, Sue and Lori please comment on the new post, thanks!
 
great, now i can read it all.
those are some nice pre shot #'s.
sue is right we need to see a few mid day nuimbers..like +4 and +6 and maybe +8
the numbers look so good tho' that i feel very hopeful for alex olivia.
i know your schedule will be changing soon and you won't be home.
are you still looking to get the pair adopted out asap? or have you fallen in love with them?
 
oh good, glad the numbers are looking ok : )
I will be home saturday until about 3pm.....I give her the shot at 8am so I'll be able to get in a 10am, noon, and 2pm shot....
Sue sent me the link for setting up the spreadsheet so I will do that before Saturday's adventures.......

yes, we are still looking to place them together ASAP! Trying to get her regulated to help that process along.....I am very inexperienced with this....they are very, very sweet, but our schedule is just not conducive......we have 4 of our own and foster other cats and place them in homes, most of these kitties come through our feral TNR clinic and we find out they are friendly! or they come as friendly strays......

I took this video of Alex Olivia this evening, she is being so strong with all of this and taking it with a grain of salt.......I am using all the avenues I can for advertising them:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QiZdTkiX6JU
 
omg, she is absolutely precious. i'm going to ask a freind here who sometimes places kitties to have a look!
 
aw, thanks so much Lori! I'll take video of Donovan too - he's her 'partner for life'......he's got that super thick grey fur, like carpet....sweet boy he is...he is healthy and needs to stay with her.....I'm afraid to try and upload his picture here :-D

Also, I am willing to drive them somewhere.....
 
she's holding steady at 195

quick question, when cats go into remission do they go off of insulin or once on, will they always need it?
 
they can go completely off it. tom did for 2.5 years. but if a person gets careless with the diet or if an infection of some sort builds the kitty may need help again.
 
her name is Venita and she is really good with placing diabetic cats.. i sent her a pm.
i'll do whatever i can here but you are east coast no?
 
I just managed to catch Donovan, Alex Olivia's life partner, on film:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ovv7QlXBolo

He loves to 'jump' up into your hand for petting, as he's doing in the beginning of the video.......

another question: Alex Olivia's BUN was slightly high....I was going to start adding aluminum hydroxide to her wet food, do you know if that is acceptable when they are on insulin? thanks!
 
don't have the answer to your question but love donavan...can you get us a video of the 2 of them together?
 
thanks, I will post a new thread and see if anyone has some info......

I'll try to get some combined video : ) he's tucked away in the crate sleeping right now (I leave the door open, but he loves sleeping on the top shelf)......and Alex Olivia has discovered the warm pad on the chair.......
 
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