Hello everyone,
My name is Jenn & our cat, Bert, was diagnosed last Tuesday with diabetes. To say we were shocked would be a gross understatement. We are usually really good with knowing when our cats aren't well, but with Bert, we "saw" the symptoms, but explained them away as other things like anxiety (which we had been treating him for already), aging (he's 12), new kitten, etc. Then, it just became too much, so we brought him in for a full work up. Our vet came back with the bloodwork and I cannot remember what the number represented, but high was considered to be 8.84. Bert was almost 25!
Poor Bert. I still feel so awful that I let him get that bad. He's always been the healthiest so he was in the background of the other cat stuff we've had happen in the last year or so.
Lexie - last July stopped eating and wasn't herself. Working with our vet...by the time we did x-rays not even 3 weeks later, we were told it was likely pancreatitis/cancer. She had a tear so enzymes were leaking into her body cavity. Long story short, we left the clinic without our baby girl that night (she's buried in our vet's apple orchard). We went home and sat in the dark for hours not even talking. It happened SO fast we had no time to wrap our heads around it. It's better now, but we still miss her. She was really cool.
Joey - Oh Joey! He was a rescue and has never been 100% healthy. Upper respiratory issues, obsessive licker, the list goes on. So, when he got particularly "huffy" and snotty, we didn't immediately become concerned. Tried all the usual things to help him. I realized that none of them were working. Brought him to the vet to learn he had a highly infectious strain of pneumonia. Took him home and quarantined him for 2 weeks. Meds, humidifier, more meds, then a diagnosis of the super bug Pseudomonas aeruginosa from a snot sample so meds for that too (only one antibiotic showed as being a possibility). Vet really didn't think he'd make it, but I'm happy to report that he's a fighter and is currently snuggled up in his cat bed watching it rain. I was not going to lose him so soon after Lexie. It would have crushed my boyfriend. And, Joey is pretty cool too.
We got a kitten in December to help lessen the loss of Lexie. She's a super cute fluff ball, but then she goes and gets uveitis on us! Having seen it in horses, I knew how serious it could be. Treat right, and treat fast. So, eye drops every 4 hours for a week or so, another kind to dilate her eye. It was more chaos. Happy to report she's fine and has both of her pretty blue eyes and will be 10 months old tomorrow.
So....it's been A LOT. Bert's diagnosis almost put me over. Especially, since my boyfriend is afraid of needles. I knew I couldn't do it all by myself. I had taken care of my friend's dog who has diabetes so I had a faint idea of what lay in store for us. Bert went back to the vet Wednesday so they could regulate him, and we've had him at home since Thursday getting used to our new routine. SO PROUD of my boyfriend for overcoming his fear and stepping up. We go tomorrow for a recheck. It's still a lot to process and with 2 other cats with their own needs, I have a lot of anxiety so I'm glad I found this site! And...Bert is damn cool too! He deserves a chance just like the others.
If you made it through all this, thank you & it's nice to meet all of you!
Jenn
My name is Jenn & our cat, Bert, was diagnosed last Tuesday with diabetes. To say we were shocked would be a gross understatement. We are usually really good with knowing when our cats aren't well, but with Bert, we "saw" the symptoms, but explained them away as other things like anxiety (which we had been treating him for already), aging (he's 12), new kitten, etc. Then, it just became too much, so we brought him in for a full work up. Our vet came back with the bloodwork and I cannot remember what the number represented, but high was considered to be 8.84. Bert was almost 25!
Poor Bert. I still feel so awful that I let him get that bad. He's always been the healthiest so he was in the background of the other cat stuff we've had happen in the last year or so.
Lexie - last July stopped eating and wasn't herself. Working with our vet...by the time we did x-rays not even 3 weeks later, we were told it was likely pancreatitis/cancer. She had a tear so enzymes were leaking into her body cavity. Long story short, we left the clinic without our baby girl that night (she's buried in our vet's apple orchard). We went home and sat in the dark for hours not even talking. It happened SO fast we had no time to wrap our heads around it. It's better now, but we still miss her. She was really cool.
Joey - Oh Joey! He was a rescue and has never been 100% healthy. Upper respiratory issues, obsessive licker, the list goes on. So, when he got particularly "huffy" and snotty, we didn't immediately become concerned. Tried all the usual things to help him. I realized that none of them were working. Brought him to the vet to learn he had a highly infectious strain of pneumonia. Took him home and quarantined him for 2 weeks. Meds, humidifier, more meds, then a diagnosis of the super bug Pseudomonas aeruginosa from a snot sample so meds for that too (only one antibiotic showed as being a possibility). Vet really didn't think he'd make it, but I'm happy to report that he's a fighter and is currently snuggled up in his cat bed watching it rain. I was not going to lose him so soon after Lexie. It would have crushed my boyfriend. And, Joey is pretty cool too.
We got a kitten in December to help lessen the loss of Lexie. She's a super cute fluff ball, but then she goes and gets uveitis on us! Having seen it in horses, I knew how serious it could be. Treat right, and treat fast. So, eye drops every 4 hours for a week or so, another kind to dilate her eye. It was more chaos. Happy to report she's fine and has both of her pretty blue eyes and will be 10 months old tomorrow.
So....it's been A LOT. Bert's diagnosis almost put me over. Especially, since my boyfriend is afraid of needles. I knew I couldn't do it all by myself. I had taken care of my friend's dog who has diabetes so I had a faint idea of what lay in store for us. Bert went back to the vet Wednesday so they could regulate him, and we've had him at home since Thursday getting used to our new routine. SO PROUD of my boyfriend for overcoming his fear and stepping up. We go tomorrow for a recheck. It's still a lot to process and with 2 other cats with their own needs, I have a lot of anxiety so I'm glad I found this site! And...Bert is damn cool too! He deserves a chance just like the others.
If you made it through all this, thank you & it's nice to meet all of you!
Jenn
