Update on The Boys - All 3 of them..

[Laura and Harley (GA)]

Yes, you read that subject line right and no, I haven't adopted another cat. Last night Bagheera joined my crew as a DCIN foster as his Mom is experiencing some family issues right now that make caring for Bagheera very difficult. Giving him up was a very hard thing to do as they have been together for the last 10 years and are closely bonded. We hope that once the family situations resolve themselves, that he will be able to go home again.

In the mean time, he's with me enjoying the spare bedroom and his very own Yeooowwww Nanner. Here's what I know so far: He's a 12 year old, neutered male, front paw declawed, all black medium sized boy about 10 pounds. He's not overweight, in fact he's just about the right weight. He has no other known health conditions except for the diabetes. His dental history is unknown. He is scratching and pawing his ears a lot and his mom says he has a history of gunky ears. She wondered if it could be a food allergy and said she'd been feeding a lot of fish because it's low carb. So I've switched him to Fancy Feast Turkey and Giblets which is also low carb. but has no fish just to see if perhaps the absence of fish helps with the itching. I'll also check for fleas this morning just in case. Crossing paws it's just the food! He's got a great appetite and LOVES water, not just to drink but to play in. His mom has even given him a bath in the past. He's not met my cats but has seen/smelled 2 of them under teh door and was very growly and hissy so he's not a pushover.

Bagheera was originally diagnosed FD in 2009 and treated for a year on ProZinc with no hometesting. Then due to financial constraints, he was off insulin for about a year being only fed a low-carb. diet. In January, his Mom contacted DCIN and they get her set up with Lantus and also pointed her towards Diabetic Cat Help where she has been receiving dosing advice in the Hodgekins Tight Regulation Protocol using Lantus. I took all his numbers from DCH and put them in a spreadsheet so we color-blind peeps could see them better. ;-)

Bagheera's Spreadsheet

Last night, I switched Bagheera to Levemir. His PMPS was 122 so I only shot 0.5u (note, I would not have shot had I not had the DCH data to show that he'd received higher doses on a similar pre-shot and was OK.) This morning at +10, he was 75. I had to feed 1/2 can FF as he was very upset with the BG testing and started pulling tufts of fur out of his shoulder. This is a very stressful situation for him. Since I'm home from work this week, I'll test again at AMPS. [ETA: 179 at AMPS and that includes a bit of food spike. Shot 0.5u and fed rest of can FF.]

Harley continues OK at 1u and Hadley has been pretty much high greens on 0.5u. My going out of town and having the sitter skip doses did stall his dose reduction trend but on the bright side - at least hes at a dose I can easily measure now! :lol:

Would appreciate anyone's thoughts on dosing and also ideas for calming very-stressed out kitties. I do have a Feliway Plug in going to help.

 

[Laura and Harley (GA)]

March 5
PMPS=122, Shot 0.5u
+10=75, Had to feed breakfast, he was starving.

March 6
AMPS=179, Shot 0.5u
+4=144
+8=67
+10/PMPS=84, Fed dinner & shot a skinny 0.5u with a bubble in it. I need to get him on the same schedule as H&H. I'll test at +7-8 overnight and shot another reduced dose in the morning for safety
+2=217, Food spike + bounce. I was wondering when he'd do that...
+7=153

 

[Sheila & Beau GA & Jeddie GA]

Good for you - you are a glutton for punishment though!

I think what you are doing dose-wise with him is good. I wonder if he could be on a lower dose without the stress he is under (when he calms down there or goes back home)? His numbers under the circumstance seem really good.

As for calming them down, that will take time, but if Bagheera (great name for a black kitty!) is exhibiting OCD symptoms, which tearing out his own fur is) maybe a short course of prozac would help. I think that rehoming is very, very stressful for older kitties that are bonded to their humans, and other pets if they had pals. Jeddie was very stressed emotionally by being rehomed and chewed off all his tummy fur. I think he also had ichiness from food as well. He was on DM canned when I got him, but I am betting that his diet before that was low quality dry food (yeah, I know, that's pretty much redundant!) which caused his FD in the first place. He also had fleas before I got him, according to his vet records, but had been treated with Frontline. He also was peeing inappropriately outside the LB. Anyway, the prozac really helped him. I waited a long time before starting it because I was afraid he would become a zombie cat, but it actually allowed his real personality to come out because the anxiety was gone. I was just posting to Peggy that he will probably be on it the rest of his life, but that is OK. He is doing well on it and it is cheap.

Are you having any testing trouble with Bagheera? Jeddie was really bad when I started testing him. I had to wear gloves and burrito him. He was so mad he bit me really badly when I tried to pick up a food bowl the day after my first (failed) attempt. Ouch!

 

[Laura and Harley (GA)]

Good for you - you are a glutton for punishment though!

Ain't that the truth! :lol: :lol:

I think what you are doing dose-wise with him is good. I wonder if he could be on a lower dose without the stress he is under (when he calms down there or goes back home)? His numbers under the circumstance seem really good.

I'm hoping he will need a lower dose too, or at least not need a huge increase once his body gets used to the Lev. We've seen it before - a great first 3 or 4 cycles and then glucose toxicity sets in and we need to raise the dose. So I'm not holding my breath...

As for calming them down, that will take time, but if Bagheera (great name for a black kitty!) is exhibiting OCD symptoms, which tearing out his own fur is) maybe a short course of prozac would help. I think that rehoming is very, very stressful for older kitties that are bonded to their humans, and other pets if they had pals. Jeddie was very stressed emotionally by being rehomed and chewed off all his tummy fur. I think he also had ichiness from food as well. He was on DM canned when I got him, but I am betting that his diet before that was low quality dry food (yeah, I know, that's pretty much redundant!) which caused his FD in the first place. He also had fleas before I got him, according to his vet records, but had been treated with Frontline. He also was peeing inappropriately outside the LB. Anyway, the prozac really helped him. I waited a long time before starting it because I was afraid he would become a zombie cat, but it actually allowed his real personality to come out because the anxiety was gone. I was just posting to Peggy that he will probably be on it the rest of his life, but that is OK. He is doing well on it and it is cheap.

Bagheera is definitely a bit stressed. He's been an only kitty for the last 10 years and here he is in a house of other kitties which he knows are there on the other side of the door but he can't see. Anytime one of them makes a noise or comes near the door he growls or rumbles and even hisses. Plus he's a front paw declaw so I'm wondering if he's also feeling vulnerable. He's not tearing huge chunks of fur out. There's two things he's doing. One is just regular grooming and then little tufts of fur appear. Then he scratches his ears with his hind paws which are not declawed and he pulls out some fur that way. His head, neck and tail are soft and shiny but his sides and back are kind of dry. His fur is the short, thick, soft black kind. So I'm wondering now if what he needs is a good grooming. Not something I can do yet though. It's only his first day here so I'm going to give the diet change a try and if he'll let me down the road, brush him.

Are you having any testing trouble with Bagheera? Jeddie was really bad when I started testing him. I had to wear gloves and burrito him. He was so mad he bit me really badly when I tried to pick up a food bowl the day after my first (failed) attempt. Ouch!

The testing is going pretty good considering I'm clearly Not-The-Mommy. His mom told me she placed him on her lap and tested him there. I did that plus threw in freeze-dried chicken treats which he at first looked at like he'd never seen them before and then realized they were good food. So I give him the FDC first, then place him on my lap and do the pokey on his right ear. He's usually growling the whole time but he hasn't bitten me he just tries to run away. So I can't say that we're ready for a hypo dance, but I can get the minimum # of tests from him. Hadley was actually more of a challenge in the beginning, now he just sits on the kitchen rug and lets me do his pokey big as you please. You really had a challenge with Jeddie. I don't know if I could have gone through all that!

 

[Sheila & Beau GA & Jeddie GA]

March 5
PMPS=122, Shot 0.5u
+10=75

March 6
AMPS=179, Shot 0.5u
+4=144
+8=67

I am assuming these are Bagheera's numbers? Is his appetite good? I wonder if he isn't headed for a dose decrease pretty soon with those 60 and 70s. Maybe not. As you say, things can change in after 2-3 cycles o n lev.

Although there were more issues with him that I posted on Peggy's thread today, I bet you could have dealt with Jeddie if you had to. I mean, we do what we have to, right? I do remember being very angry with him after about 4-5 months when I felt he should have adjusted already and realized he was in a nice home with nice kitties to play with. I had to rip out some carpet because of him and when that didn't stop him, I told him that peeing on the floor was a "deal breaker", lol. Well, that is behind us and he is such a nice cat. I can't imagine not having him here.

But you know what gets to me the most? His old "dad" got him as a tiny kitten (found under a dumpster with siblings) and has photos of him as a kitten that I can not get him to send to me! I want to see what he looked like as a baby! I have the guy's email and send an update once a year - with current photos, I might add...

 

[pamela and tigger]

I did do a double take on that subject line! Good for you Laura for taking this little guy in. You have a huge heart!! I hope he settles in with your crew soon. Poor guy, it must feel so strange to him all these changes. What a great name! When you get a chance please post a picture.

And yes, they do Lantus on a sliding scale in that forum. It will be interesting to see how he does with a consistent dose on Levemir.

 

[Marcy & Klinger (GA)]

(((Laura))) It's wonderful that you were able to take this little guy in for a while. Wasn't there a shirt that your mom gave you with the number of cats...how many more to make that shirt accurate? Big hugs to you. You're a special momma bean.
Please post a picture soon.

 

[Laura and Harley (GA)]

Good morning,

Bagheera is doing well today and sends purrs and rubs to his fan club. To answer I think Sheila's question from yesterday, yes, he's eating well. Yesterday he destroyed his meals. This morning he ate half his food at once and then half later. He slept on my purple fuzzy blanket last night but he won't sleep with me yet. I went to sleep with my kitties, got up at 1 am and switched rooms so I could nap with him.

He bounced last night shortly after his PMPS so today he's still clearing that bounce. Not bad #'s for a bounce.

AMPS=183, Shot 0.5u
+6=89
+9=66
+11=89
PMPS=129, Shot 0.5u


And great memory Marcy! Yes, the shirt said "Ooops, I adopted another cat" and there were 7 cats on it so I have 3 more to go. But I have a loophole - this is not an adoption - he's a foster. :lol: :twisted: :lol:

As for pictures...here we go!

 

[MommaOfMuse]

Yeah right he is a foster...Just to remind you Maxwell and Musette were fosters also when they first arrived... :lol: :lol: And I caught DH the other day window shopping at the DIabetic Kitty Store..lol. mostly because he wants to keep one of the foster kittens and I told him no, if we are going to expand the family again it will be another sugarcat, since kittens are easy to find homes for...Now to see if I win the great Cat debates. :lol:

Looking good for all your boys.

Mel, Maxwell, Musette & The Fur Gang

 

[Laura and Harley (GA)]

Yeah right he is a foster...Just to remind you Maxwell and Musette were fosters also when they first arrived... :lol: :lol:

Or is that what you told DH to get him to agree? :lol: :lol:

Seriously, my heart tells me his momma wants him to come home. It's just a matter of not knowing when that will be. She took his cat carrier with her when she left and he's an only cat. So that says a lot to me.

And I caught DH the other day window shopping at the DIabetic Kitty Store..lol. mostly because he wants to keep one of the foster kittens and I told him no, if we are going to expand the family again it will be another sugarcat, since kittens are easy to find homes for...Now to see if I win the great Cat debates. :lol:

Looking good for all your boys.

Mel, Maxwell, Musette & The Fur Gang

Good luck winning this debate! But I thought Juliet and Jasper were already spoken for? Or if they aren't, be sure to tell him they are. :twisted: There is some mighty tempting merchandise at the Diabetic Kitty Store...

I'm so glad you switched Musette to Lev. She's looking so good, like a whole different kitty now. cat_pet_icon

 

[MommaOfMuse]

Oh that's right Bageera has a mommie that just couldn't take care of him right now...yep that makes a huge difference, sort of the same reason we have hazy and the babies right now.

Well Juliet and Jasper were spoken for, but the person that was suppose to take them both backed out. Which I'm kind of glad about since I found out that the reason they wanted them in the first place is because their last couple of cats have been hit and killed by cars. So I wasn't really thrilled about these two going to them in the first place. But when I refused to start Juliet and Jasper on dry food because of my diabetics in the house the people backed out on taking the kittens so back to searching for homes for them. But I'm still holding tough on if we expand the family it needs to be a special needs baby. But I have also told DH that no one new shows up until the kittens are in their furever homes and Hazy is back with her daddy again. I can handle caring for 14 and two widgets but so not going to try to care for them all and intergrate a brand new sugarcat into a household being held hostage by 2 1lb energizer balls of fluff...lol

Mel, Maxwell, Musette & The Fur Gang.

 

[Charliemeow]

I read this and thought you had some sort of revelation that Molly was actually a boy! But here I find out you have Bagheera. I didn't know that! That's amazing, and you are amazing Well, he certainly fits right in with the crew, doesn't he :lol:

 

[Laura and Harley (GA)]

I read this and thought you had some sort of revelation that Molly was actually a boy!

ROTFLMAO! :lol: :lol: :lol:

But here I find out you have Bagheera. I didn't know that! That's amazing, and you are amazing Well, he certainly fits right in with the crew, doesn't he :lol:

Yep, he fits into the black or dark coat color motif I have going. He's met the resident clowder and is convinced that he was born to rule the all which does not sit well with Harley who is the King, The Big Cheese, El Jeffe...

B. is a lovebug with me though. He purrs and plays like a kitten and has been sitting on the couch next to me at night when I read or watch TV. He even lets me brush him for a little while.

Thanks for the vote of confidence!