One extra sweet purring couch potato is looking for a home

A photo posted by Connie (@tfkblog) on Feb 12, 2015 at 10:46am PST

This will be Abby's last post. When I took her home a month ago I knew she would not be staying with me indefinitely and her time really has come and gone. I was and am happy to have her here, but her being her is not conducive to her being adopted. I have networked her everywhere I can and no one my posts have reached has room for one more kitty - let alone one needing such a unique set of skills to be cared for.

I have tried to highlight that while caring for a diabetic cat can seem highly intimidating, it does not have to be. Caring for a diabetic cat takes about a minute more than caring for a non diabetic cat. Yes you will need to feed specific foods, but one of those food options is Fancy Feast and is available at pretty much every store that sells cat food (and is cheaper than Rx foods). While I would never wish a diabetic cat on anyone, I will tell you that it does make for an incredibly special relationship, one that you will never forget. Many people who had a diabetic cat will go on and adopt additional diabetic cats because of that. If you are willing, know there are diabetic cats all over the place that are losing their lives for the simple fact that no one is stepping up to care for them. Also know that a large percentage of cats who are diagnosed with diabetes will go into remission with a simple diet change.

Abby is a couch potato in shape and demeanor. She has had an incredibly rough life up until now, but she still is so people orientated. She has never lashed out at me, she has never growled, never snapped, never even so much as appeared to consider it. If she doesn't like what I am doing her preference is to just get away. She is overweight and being in a cage for 10 months has not helped that one bit. She gained some more weight when she was here because I was feeding to her size and not to what she should be. Now she gets one can of FF in the AM and one in the PM and she has started to lose. Her blood sugars aren't quite as stable as I would like, but I can't help but wonder if it isn't because her pancreas is coming back 'online' and her body is considering going into remission *knocks wood* She is currently getting 1 unit of insulin twice a day.

I did offer her some of our raw food, and originally she wasn't that interested but I tried it again the other day and she ate it quite heartily. She didn't originally finish the meal before coming back for some love and attention. When she went back for a bit more I had put some canned food down and she started eating that, but you could see her say 'hey, this isn't what I was eating before' and trying to decide if it was worth moving her great big body to the other plate, and after another bite or two she decided it was worth it. It took every ounce of restraint to not jump up and down for joy. The lower the carb count the easier it is for her body to deal with the food and the lower the glucose levels usually are. Raw is awesome, but she is very happy with her canned food.

Not the most artistic photo ever, but one that conveys so much #diabeticcateatingraw #yayAbby

A photo posted by Connie (@tfkblog) on Mar 3, 2015 at 6:14pm PST

Sadly Abby has absolutely no interest in play. She doesn't really even bother watching balls rolling across the floor. Feathers cautiously dragged against her paws garners no response. If you wave them in her face she simply closes her eyes. Couch Potato. She wants to sit next to you, touching you, and having you pat her.

A photo posted by Connie (@tfkblog) on Jan 31, 2015 at 5:46pm PST

Picking Abby up is a quick way to distress her. She also doesn't like it when you put her on your lap. I have been trying to desensitize her to this, and she seems to be able to last a few seconds more each time I do it, but she has a strong preference to be a Couch Potato. She wants to sit next to you, touching you, and having you pat her and that is ALL she wants out of life. Well occasionally she likes to look at herself in the mirror.

A photo posted by Connie (@tfkblog) on Mar 4, 2015 at 7:57am PST

Because of her extra weight and her time in the cage, her back legs are weak and are a bit splayed. She walks a bit funny, but she gets around okay. She hops up on the couch just fine. I imagine that if she continues to lose weight with an appropriate diet and good glucose control she will start to regain a more normal gait; not that this is necessary because she gets around just fine.

I have been giving her Rescue Remedy since her dental and it has been helping her a lot. Unfortunately I got the pet version which is made with glycerin which has an effect on her blood sugar levels. You can easily use the regular Rescue Remedy made with alcohol. I used that version with my own cat years ago.

She is not out the door yet, but I've decided to stop blogging about her with this post unless we have some wonderful news. She has someone who has offered to cover some transportation costs for her if someone wants to adopt her but they aren't near by. We are also looking for alternatives to sticking her back in a cage at the shelter; hopefully we can work something out. Sadly Abby falls distinctly into that category of 'the cats no one wants' which just breaks my heart.

Why you would want to learn to home test your cat

One of the major reasons diabetic cats lose their lives is because people find treating diabetes so incredibly intimidating. I would like to take a few minutes to try to explain to you why it isn't, and why it is such a great live skill to have.  If you can home test a cat's blood sugar levels you will have one incredibly useful skill. One that could and easily can save a life. A life like Abby.

A lot of people when faced with the idea of home testing, they are introduced to it by a vet who wants to sell their client a pet glucometer. These glucometers are generally very expensive and you have to go back to the vet to buy even more expensive strips for the meter.  Since you normally want to test your cat twice a day when giving insulin (once before each shot) and occasionally you will want to do 'curves' - where you test ever two hours between the two shots - so you can see how quickly you will go through strips.

There are many inexpensive glucometers at your local megamart. I tend towards the Relion brand sold at Walmart, because that is what is sold near me. The last time I talked about this meter a very kind reader, Jamie Kowatch, offered to send me an Accucheck meter to see if the issues I was having with Abby's numbers was the meter or not. Each meter has it's own quirks and personality, so if you are going to use more than one meter it is helpful if you get a few 'duplicate tests' (a test on each meter) to see where it falls. Meters in the US are regulated by the FDA to an accuracy of has set accuracy criteria to ±20 mg/dl for levels less than 100 mg/dl or ±20% for glucose levels greater than 100mg/dl for at least 95% of results.  If this is good enough for people, it is good enough for cats.

Three different human glucometers

lancets - for poking the ear and making it bleed

Now I will fully admit that the learning curve for treating feline diabetes is pretty steep - but it is very short. We are all taught that blood needs to remain on the inside, if it isn't it is a problem, so going about with the intention of making your beloved kitty bleed is a hard one to get over. Remember two things, that by doing this you will be contributing to the long term good health of your cat and two, your cat will most likely only be bothered if YOU are bothered.

The general recommendation for giving insulin is to start low and go slow.  A lot of vets will prescribe multiple units of insulin to start your cat off, but it is always best to start off giving one unit. Your cat is far better off with too high blood sugars for long periods of time then going too low even for a moment. Doing a curve will help you understand how that unit of insulin is working in your cat and what the lowest point in your cat's blood sugar is  - usually six hours after giving insulin if you are using a 12 hour insulin. Now you can do 'spot checks' to see where your cat falls throughout the day. This will help you catch any problems such as going too low or not going low enough.

I'm sure all of this seems incredibly time consuming and not something you can do, but trust me it isn't and you can.  I recorded a video of my testing Abby twice. The first time I didn't angle the camera down enough so you don't get a full view of what I'm doing, but I am sharing it here to show you how little time testing takes.

I have found, after testing almost a dozen cats, that the cats do not mind being pricked in the ear with the lancet nearly as much as they dislike having their ears held. I have found using a tissue behind the ear makes it easier for me because I am less fearful that I am about to poke myself through the cat's ear. Cats generally are not a fan of the feel of the blood pooling up on their ear and will want to shake their head to get rid of it. This is another reason why I like using a tissue, because as soon as I have done the test I can use the tissue to staunch the flow of the blood. Some people like to warm the cat's ear prior to testing with a baby sock filled with rice microwaved until warm to help increase blood flow to the ear.

I have used my knowledge on how test the blood sugar to not only treat diabetics, but I used this on my own non-diabetic cats when I wondered if they weren't feeling well or if I was over reacting. High blood glucose levels often accompany illness because of stress. I was very glad to know how to do it.

No one ever wants their cat to have diabetes, but most people who have ended up with one report that it really strengthens the bond they have with their sugar kitties. It is a rare person who is willing to take on a cat with diabetes, mostly because they do not understand how little it takes to save their lives.

Chandler and Abby #diabeticcats need a home

Abby

Chandler

I first introduced you to Chandler and Abby back in April of 2014.  I met Chandler when I stopped in to the shelter to take photos of the kitties, and I completely fell for him. Chandler is diabetic and he had something going on with one of his back legs that required it to be wrapped up for a while so when I got him his leg had atrophied and it was covered in loose fur and lots of dead skin. My heart ached for him, and if I could not adopt him, I could at least get him out of the cage he was in and give him some time at Casa de Gato where he could walk around and exercise that leg.

When I went to pick him up, I was convinced to take Abby home. She was surrendered to the shelter when she became diabetic. She looked a lot like Chandler, but she was scared out of her gourd and really really just wanted to hide. The shelter really wanted me to take her for a while in hopes of getting her regulated and improve her disposition.

Chandler improved a lot while he was here and Abby seemed to relax some and eventually the time came to return them.  Chandler was okay with being back at the shelter, Abby was not. She spent a great deal of time under her bedding and hiding in general.

The shelter housed them together for a while in the larger cage that can accommodate two cats, which gave them more room than the individual cages, but kept them isolated from the general population which are fed a non diabetic safe diet.

Chandler came into the shelter with the name Schindler. The shelter changed it because of the connotation, and I have to admit, I liked Chandler it seems to fit him.

Eventually Chandler was adopted. A woman in a near by down with small children and a dog took him home. I found out about it when she shared his photo with the shelter saying how well he was adapting. I was over the moon for him.

Abby still did not come out of her shell. I did my best to visit with her and try to make her feel comfortable, but she continued to be very unhappy.  After a few more months I suggested that they might want to give her some Rescue Remedy.

I will admit I didn't follow up on Abby as much as I have other kitties that have been at the shelter, and I do feel bad for that, but she did not seem happy to see me and I was not helping her, so it seemed pointless to do it.

When I went to the shelter website the other day I noticed right there on the top of the adoptable cat's page, that Chandler was back.  He had been renamed Albert when he was adopted, so they listed both of his names on the website.  My heart broke for him. I do not know why he was returned, and I don't think I want to know... the why is not important.

What is important is there are two diabetic kitties waiting for a home, and have been waiting for nearly a year.  They were perfectly okay with one another while they were here, and they are perfectly fine with not being together too.  When I went to visit Chandler they put him in the cage near Abby so I was able to visit with her, and I am guessing they had started giving her rescue remedy because she was bright eyed and alert and she interacted with me unlike before where she would do her best to hide and not be seen at all.

I know this is a long shot. I know this is bordering on a mean thing to do because so many of you are not in a position to do anything for either one of these kitties.. but they are three months shy of being at the shelter for a year.. I would adopt them in a heartbeat but I know my own limitations and the limitations of my household.  It will take a special person in the right set of special circumstances and I am hoping beyond hope that somehow, some way, we can get these guys in front of the right pair (or pairs) of eyes.

Abby is 11 years old, Chandler is 12.  Their adoption fee is just $10 (per kitty). They are in Southern Maine, but I am sure arrangements can be made to get them to you if you can't get here.

Abby, Chandler and the insulin

Just a quick post today.. Sorry no photos

I did two curves on Abby and Chandler this weekend.  The first one on Saturday was done on Fancy Feast Turkey and Giblets classic.  Once I knew how low they were going and where the 'nadir' was (the lowest point in the curve) I decided to put them on raw food.

I gave them a little nibble and they were very happy to eat it, so on Saturday night they only got raw food with one can of FF. In the AM their blood sugars were about what they have been, so I gave them only raw for breakfast and did another curve.

This one went well, they had a nice drop, but we hit two snafus..

The first is that the insulin only 'lasts' for five hours not six.  Being a 12 hour insulin, the numbers SHOULD drop for six hours and then slowly rise for the next six, just in time for the next dose. Unfortunately it only drops for five hours, then rises for seven.. which might be why I'm having a hard time getting their upper numbers to lower.  I've written to the shelter to let them know, I don't know if they'll get another vial of insulin or not..

The second was after the fifth hour today they were both very hungry.  We were out of raw chicken, so I gave them some raw beef.  The Crew are unenamored with the raw beef and often let it go uneaten.  Unfortunately when I went back down to tend to them a few hours later there was vomit in four different locations in the room.. apparently beef did not agree with them, and the stress of vomiting, or empty tummies, or *shrug* something caused them both to have BGs nearing 500!

Since putting them on a raw diet long term really isn't an option, and their readings really didn't improve, or go lower, while eating it, I've decided to put them back on the canned.

I'm also not sure how much longer I'm going to keep them.  I took them both because the shelter was going to be closed that weekend... then I decided to keep them through Easter when the shelter is closed..   I guess if the shelter agrees to get a new vial of insulin, then I'd probably keep them here for a few more days to see what that insulin does for them.. if not, then once they start giving me the numbers that I had been getting I'll make arrangements for them to go back.

Doing the sugar dance - treating diabetic cats

Abby

Sadly I still haven't been able to take a decent photo of Abby. She has such an incredibly expressive face, it really is quite a trip.  Sadly most of the time she looks like she is freaking right out, expecting me to be yelling at her or worse.. I can only imagine what she went through in her old house..

Anyway.. When you give a cat insulin, it helps to know what their blood glucose (BGs) levels are to start with.  I've run across a lot of vets who do not think this information is important... to me it is vital. I can not imagine giving insulin with out knowing what the BGs are. How would you ever know if the cat is running low for some reason and giving insulin when BGs are low is dangerous if not deadly.

We are dosing with PZI, a 12 hour insulin.  This means at about 6 hours after giving the dose the BGs would be the lowest, with the highest levels being at the time you give the insulin.  If you chart it out, you should have a nice 'rolling hill' curve over time. Most vets will have you drop off your cat to do a 'curve' to see how low the insulin drops the BGs, and they do that by testing the BGs every two hours until they start going back up

Abby's BGs:

Sat PM:    329 (1unit)  
Sun AM:   367 (1 unit)
Sun +6     290
Sun PM:    373 (2 unit)
Mon AM:  360 (2 unit)
Mon +8    344  
Mon PM:  396 (2 unit)
Tue AM:  376 (2)
Tue +6     325
Tue PM:  393 (1)
Tue +6     247
Wed AM:  397 (1.25)
Wed PM:  400  (1.25)
Thur AM:   355 (1.25)
Thur PM:  326 (1.25)

It seems counter intuitive that more insulin would produce less of a drop in the BGs but the liver does start to over compensate when insulin levels drop too much or there is an excess of insulin in the system.  This is why the 'start low and go slow' protocol works so well... and this is why the 5 units that the vet prescribed is far too much.  I was sorely tempted to go to 1.5 instead of 1.25 since 1 unit produced a nice drop in BGs, but 1.25 wasn't keeping it down (still hitting the 400 target) but notice that with time the top level of the curve is starting to come down.  Today I will be able to do another midday test, and I will try to do a curve over the weekend and see exactly what is going on..

Chandler

Chandler finally started slowing down on the need for food. His BGs have a better range.. remember that a normal BG is under 100... 100 is a target we aim for when reducing BGs artificially.  You can aim for a lower number, but it can be risky, and I don't go there.

Sat mid afternoon at the shelter 59
Sat PM 157 (no insulin given)
Sun AM 221 (no insulin given) (I probably could have given some insulin)
Sun +6 240
Sun PM 261 (1 unit)
Mon AM 211 (1)
Mon PM 91 (0)
Tue AM 209 (1)
Tue +6 242
Tue PM 237 (.5)
Tue +6 157
Wed AM  177 (.5)
Wed PM 199 (.5)
Thur AM 174 (.5)
Thur PM 200 (.5)

I'm looking forward to tomorrow's data from Chandler as well.  I find it very interesting that he is 25 points lower in the AM  vs the PM in the last couple of days.  I'm tempted to go a little lower in the insulin to see what that does, but at this point I need another +6 number to see what is going on..

Blog the Change for Animals - Diabetic cats need your help

Once a quarter I try to help highlight small things you can do to help the animals in need.  I try to keep the ideas small and very doable to help encourage people that they can do something and not think it 'too small' because every little bit helps.

But this time I thought I would go big. Have you ever considered fostering or adopting a diabetic cat?

See this time BtC fell at a time when I brought home two new fosters..

Chandler

Abby

Chandler and Abby were both surrendered to the shelter because they became diabetic. Sadly vets often do not know how to properly treat diabetic cats and make their care nearly impossible for the average pet owner. To make it even more difficult, the cost of the diagnosis and initial care and regulation can be impossible for even the most loving of pet owners.

According to this blog post, 800,000 cats are diagnosed with diabetes every year. When I was active on a message board for diabetic cats, I would quite often see owners of newly diagnosed cats absolutely overwhelmed with not only the idea of owning a diabetic cat, but the cost. A vial of insulin alone can cost $100 or more. Many people faced with this try to rehome their cats. Please know, there are ways of reducing the costs. Learning how to test the glucose levels of your cat's blood can dramatically reduce not only the cost, but also your own stress levels by giving you loads of data on your cat and how the insulin is working in your kitty.

I have often stated that the learning curve for diabetic cats is very steep, but it is very short. In most cases these days a simple diet change can reverse the high glucose levels and you can avoid the need for insulin all together. Changing the cat to a high protein "low carb" diet can dramatically lower high glucose levels in a cat, and should never be attempted on a cat that is actually on insulin unless you are home testing...

Do you get the feeling that I strongly recommend home testing? I do. I believe it is a vital skill to lean, even if your cat is not diabetic, and it takes about $40 to be able to do it.  The most basic of glucometers at your local mega mart will work just fine. I tend to pick my glucometers based on the cost of the test strips, because they can range in price from $0.35 to $1.00 or more per strip... and the goal is to help make this affordable. Most vets require the cat to come in to the office and spend a day or more to be 'regulated' on an insulin dose.  This is something you can do at home once you have the ability to test. This saves money and stress on the cat. Also, when you generate the data first hand, you have so much more control.



I tend to use a lancet not in a pen, and I use a tissue or a paper towel to 'protect' my fingers from being poked.  If I am not worried about poking myself I am much more confident in poking the cat. I also tend to poke several times in one spot as I got my experience on a cat that did not like to bleed.  Chandler is a nice bleeder and I only have to poke him once.  Abby is not and takes several pokes and some 'milking' of the ear to get enough blood.

Knowing what the blood sugar levels are at gives me the knowledge of how much insulin the cat might need and when you do a 'curve' - testing every two hours - you can watch and see just how the insulin is working through out the day. Just as human diabetic glucose levels fluctuate, so do the cats, and having this information can prevent you from giving too much insulin - which is a life threatening situation.

Once you get the hang of testing, it takes no more than a minute or two.  Giving insulin also takes but a moment. I generally give it while the cat is eating and you are often done giving it before the cat even notices.

Owning and treating a diabetic cat is not something I'd wish on anyone, but once you do it, you find the bond with you cat turns in a whole new direction and deepens quite a bit. Often the people who treat diabetic cats find themselves adopting additional diabetic cats because they have the knowledge and really appreciate that deep bond they have with their 'extra sweet' kitties.

Right now there are cats all over the world who need a home simply because they became diabetic. They need someone to step up and say "Yes, I am willing"

Meet Chandler and Abby

Well I went to the shelter to pick up Chandler to give him some out of a cage time since he still wasn't up for adoption, and while I was there I was introduced to Abby..

For a recap, Chandler was at the shelter with a very bad leg that the vet saw and wrapped up for a while and he had very high blood sugar levels and was deemed diabetic.  He was kept in one of the shelter's standard size cages for quite some time and he was becoming depressed.  I saw him earlier in the week and promised him that he would come home with me for a while to give him a break and to see if I could get him off insulin with a diet change.

Chandler

Chandler's leg

Abby was recently turned into the shelter because her owners could not afford to treat her diabetes. Because they couldn't afford to, they didn't. Being an unregulated and untreated diabetic she would drink a lot and pee a lot, and peed around the house, so they kept her in a small cage for six months.  When she was turned into the shelter she was apparently covered in filth and she needed quite a bit of care to make her smell good. Because of her previous care she is also currently on clavamox (no idea why) and tresaderm (for bad ears). She also came to me with an excessive amount of matted fur. Being a short haired kitty, this was heartbreaking.

Abby

Abby's mats 

Chandler's BG reading was 59 at the shelter.  Anything under 100 is 'normal' and a reading that low is a bit concerning while on insulin.  With out insulin that number is 'normal' and not a worry, but when you are artificially bringing that number down, you risk having it go too low which is very very serious and can lead to long term problems (including death).  He was also starving. He ate while at the shelter, and then ate four cans of Fancy Feast that night. You should have seen him light up when I popped the top of the can. He was actually so hungry he tried to eat the can itself.

Chandler's leg is very thin, and he does not want to put much weight on it at all. Because it was wrapped up for so long, he has quite a bit of lose fur on it, and it comes out in clumps when I try to get the excess off. He doesn't much like it when I do, and he only lets me get a bit off at a time. His coat in general is in pretty poor shape, and I was able to take quite a bit off simply by patting him - all very heart breaking.  I do not know what they think is wrong with the leg, but I can't help but wonder if he has a little diabetic neuropathy going on.  He also felt the need to mark his territory once he got here.  He peed on Charlotte's favorite basket. I moved him to the litterbox figuring he didn't know where it was, and he stepped out of the box and peed on the wall.  He then walked over to the door and peed on that. He has since peed on the couch, on the wall and on one of the toys in the room. His first introduction with Abby didn't go well either. Chandler was still hungry and there was a food dish to protect. Since he is getting all the food he can handle and then some, things have gotten a bit easier between the two. It helps that when his stomach is full he just hunkers down on the couch and sleeps.

Chandler - I love his ear tufts

Because of his hunger, and the healing he needs to do with that leg, and my fear of his going hypoglycemic, I held off giving him insulin initially.  His blood glucose levels slowly started to rise, and he is currently on 1 unit of insulin but I am going to monitor him very closely.

Poor Abby is a whole different story.  Her BG readings were in the 300s.  The vet recommended 5 units of insulin BID, which is contrary to the general recommendation of starting with 'start low and go slow' protocols.  I gave her 1 unit and it dropped her blood sugar levels about 100 points over the course of the day. A nice decent drop, but it is still leaving her a bit high, so I gave her two units last night. A better dose might have been 1.5 but since she has been untreated for so long and she too has a limp, I wanted to see if we could knock a few points from her nadir.

Abby is also quite fearful.  Her trust has been broken and I have a feeling it was broken by a woman just because of the way she looks at me when I move too fast for her liking. She was also hungry when she got her and is eating quite a bit, but not nearly as much as Chandler. However she absolutely adores my husband, and will sit next to him and purr and let him pat her. He has not combed out her mats, nor tested her blood, nor given her antibiotics. I still have one mat I couldn't get off her with out making her growl, I am hopeful that she'll start working on it when she starts feeling better.  She too is limping on her hind leg, and I want to do some research on the best course of treatment for it.. I know that many people have given OTC supplements to help treat it.

Abby's remaining mat - that I know of

Abby really seems to like that mirror

I told the shelter that I'd take these two if they make sure I get some kittens soon.  I promised Chandler a few days to a week.. Abby is here at least until the 17th because she's on medication and I figure it is just easier to keep her here and do that. Considering they are eating 12 cans of Fancy Feast a day, they are going to be eating me out of house and home.. but that's OK.. I bet you they slow down soon..

Gigi seems to be doing better

She is slowly putting on weight.  I thought she was gaining faster than she was because the second time I weighed her she had jumped from 9lbs 5 oz to 9lbs 12, but since then she went down to 9lbs 6, and has gained about an ounce a day.

Her stools are still great, no complaints there.

Her blood sugar levels have been very steady at 170ish.  still too high for my liking.. She's gone 36 hours with out insulin as of the writing of this post. I'll test her again in a few hours and if she is still holding at 170ish I'll probably give her another drop of insulin to try to tap those numbers down a wee bit.

So if we can keep this going, it looks like she is on the road to head back to the shelter to find her forever home.. paws crossed another week, maybe two if things don't go as smoothly as I hope.

There is a cat in the kitten room

Friday I had plans to go down to the shelter and photograph some kitties (which you saw yesterday). Before I got there I got an email asking me if I might be interested in fostering a diabetic. I have done this a few times, and I am not a fan any more, because there is often no end-game in it. I foster, they don't want to take it back because they don't feel they can keep to an insulin schedule. I have found homes for some that I have fostered, a few I 'fixed' so they didn't need insulin, and Miss Benny passed away while still in the care of the shelter. Diabetic cats break my heart because finding people willing to take on their special needs is so very difficult. It frightens them. Giving insulin is frightening, monitoring blood sugar is frightening, worrying about hypos, worrying about too little insulin, worrying about the right food, their levels of stress, not to mention your own.. it is not for the casual pet owner. (btw, it is only frightening until you do it, then it is really easy and not a big deal and you wonder why you were EVER scared of it. Trust me. People do not believe the learning curve while steep is very short, and every time they are pleasantly surprised at how quickly they adapt)

But if I don't do it..

My record of getting cats off insulin is pretty high, so I'm wondering with a diet change and some TLC we might just get this cat "OTJ" (off the juice) and give her a good chance for a home.

I get there on Friday and meet her. Information is very limited. Her name is "Little Cat" she is 12 years old, she has had issues with vomiting and 'gelatinous stools'. Her sugars were high then low then high, so vet recommended diet change then insulin. I check her teeth. Infection is one reason for a cat's blood sugar levels to be high. Her teeth are beautiful. I put my hands on her. She is thin. She has that 'old cat' feel, but she is purring and bright eyed.. (and she let me look at her teeth) so I packed her up and brought her home.

She spent quite a bit of time wandering around the room the first day. Getting pictures was not easy (see above) because all she wanted to do was look around. I got some low carb low plant based foods for her and she ate them like a champ and asked for more. I did not get her BG level that day, nor did I weigh her. I did offer her some raw food, which she also ate. I think 'oh this is going to be easy'

*****
I want to stop now and thank all of you for your kind words on my "Some days you feel like a phony" post. I was down on myself for not 'knowing it all' / 'catching it all' / 'having cats that don't get along' and I do really appreciate your comments. Some of them really hit home and made me feel better about things. But my true reason for posting that was to remind people, and myself, that some days it really feels like it all hits the fan, and that is OK. Like Jennifer Lawrence and her tripping on the stairs, it is fully possible to pick yourself up and continue on and continue to be awesome. You are not alone out there when you feel like.. well less than stellar.
*****

Yeah, about that "easy"...

So after I get her home and situated, I get a phone call from the shelter.. Oh, btw, she is on prenisone, so you will need to come back and pick that up for her.. I try to find out why she is on pred, and I do not get a clear answer. I ask why she went to the vet in the first place, I get the vomiting / diarrhea issue in reply. She got a dental, got antibiotics, and things just went down hill from there. She's been at the shelter a month and a half (owner surrender - couldn't afford) and in the past few weeks things started cropping up.

• so.. do I think she is diabetic.. no. Could I be wrong, yes.
• So.. how are her stools? First day awesome, then they got soft, then they firmed back up..
• is she vomiting? not really. I got one small vomit that was mostly hair.. which is understandable as she is matting up and shedding quite a bit due to the lack of proper nutrition and weight loss.

But her blood sugars are consistently in the 300s so back to the shelter for insulin (why they wouldn't give it to me the first day I have no idea, don't get me started). I didn't want to start her on insulin and then go to bed and risk there being an issue, so I started her Monday morning. I gave one last ditch effort to lower her sugars with diet alone and fed her a nice heaping meal of raw food - which she promptly decided she didn't want to eat.. so her blood sugar level was in the 400s (not an unheard of reaction) so I gave her "Little Cat approved" low carb canned food, a low dose of insulin and went off to work.

Little Cat slept all darn day. Watching a sleeping cat is about as exciting as watching paint dry..

This was the exciting part, she moved her foot

I ran home about 6 hours after her insulin shot to test her, and she was at 300 again. Not nearly low enough for my liking ('normal' is 50-100 so we generally target for 100, much lower than that artificially and we start worrying about going too low which is dangerous) and when I tested her before her dinner 12 hours after her insulin shot when her numbers should be returning back to what they were before giving insulin (as it has a 12 hour 'curve' with the lowest reading being six hours after the shot) she was 107. Two hours later she was 110 (with the variance it is basically the same reading). I've also got a feeling that something is 'off' There is no reason for it, no symptoms, it's just a feeling.

so much for easy..

No idea what is going on with her. She weighed 9lbs 5 oz when I weighed her on Saturday.. she weighed 9lbs 12 oz on Sunday, a gain is a very very good thing. She has the build of a cat who should be 11-12 lbs. She lost a little when she refused to eat the raw, but hopefully we can put that back on her.

So we'll just take this one day at a time and see what happens. I am hoping there is some sort of lingering infection from what ever was going on that caused them to do a dental on her and in a few more days of probiotics, digestive enzymes, vitamin C and a few other things will get her system settled down so her liver stops flooding her system with glucose and her pancreas has a chance to catch up.

Little Cat with the soulful eyes..

I'm thinking I'm going to change her name to Gigi.. (but we'll see if she likes that first)

Esmay

Well Esmay is doing fine.  She's not all that thrilled about getting the antibiotics she has been given - and considering she didn't have any bacteria in her urinalysis, I have no idea why I'm giving them to her.

As a reminder, she was surrendered to the shelter at 13 years of age and started drinking and urinating excessively while up for adoption.  She went to the vet and the UA had lots of protein, blood and glucose in her urine.  A BG was in the 350 range.  She was diagnosed diabetic with a secondary urinary infection because if it (very common for diabetics who have a lot of glucose in their urine)

She was diagnosed on the 18th, came to my house on the 21st.  I don't believe she had insulin given to her by the staff... but they did give her the antibiotic.  When I got her home I tested her blood sugar and it was in the 50 (which was very low) it slowly rose until it leveled out around 70 - anything under 100 is not diabetic. I am so glad that she was sent to me, because if anyone had injected insulin into her body while she was in the 50 range (heck even at 70) it would have killed her.  I don't use that term lightly.  Maybe someone would have been around to see her go into hypoglycemic shock and been able to do something about it, but there is a real possibility that even if they had been aware of it that they couldn't have been able to counter the insulin.

So now we really only have to deal with this ear of hers.  Poor thing.  Reading through her history she has had several bouts with discharge from that ear, and I have no doubt that what ever is causing it (it is suspected polyps - which makes total sense to me) made her scratch her ear so badly that she damaged it causing a hematoma.  (no spell check, I do not mean tomato!) which means that the area between the inside and outside of her ear is inflamed - generally when it happens it fills with blood (and sure, it can often look like a tomato but that doesn't mean I meant tomato)  Often fixing it means surgery, and if there is a polyp in there, they can take that out as well.  Doesn't mean that is what is next for her, but that is a possibly - but not until she's done her antibiotics, so she's here for a few more days - unless she never forgives me for pilling her in which case she'll go back sooner and be stuck in a cage so she can't hide from who is going to medicate her..

I do want to say that I'm really loving her eyes, they look a bit like really cool marbles..

So, I got this email..

     We have a 13 year old cat that has been with us for a month or so and started drinking all of her water and peeing a lot.  We sent her to {redacted name of vet} and she is diabetic and has a UTI so I need a wonderful foster home for her :-)  Know anyone that may be interested.....?  :-)  She is going to be starting on 1 unit twice a day and as you probably know he recommends feeding her a high protein wet food such as fancy feast classics.  Let me know...

well duh.

So I went and got her after work.

She is interesting.  I introduced myself to her and she started purring.  I asked her if I could pick her up and I got the distinct impression she was against that.  I decided to leave her be while I got up to date in her information and checked on supplies (as well as a few kitties* in particular)  but shortly after I shut the cage door the shelter worker came in and picked her right up and stuffed her in a carrier... and stuffed is the correct term because she was totally unhappy at being held.

Her official name is "Bandit".. yeah, that doesn't work for me, and she doesn't much seem to like it, so I'm calling her Esmay. 

The shelter didn't have enough food nor enough testing supplies so I brought her home and cleaned up the room from Fluffy and left her in her carrier while I did it. When I did open the carrier she SHOT right out and started patrolling the room, walked around with purpose. She then went behind the couch and sat there. My husband had come in and we were having a conversation and I was about to leave and go get supplies at Walmart when she decided to come out and check out the room again. Gave it another quick once around and back behind the couch.

Went to Walmart, picked up a meter, strips and some Fancy Feast Classics as recommended by said vet as the new recommended foods.. I laughed and laughed because I've been using those for diabetics for ten years. I picked up my preferred Turkey and Giblets - even found a coupon on the shelf.

When I got home she was sitting on the couch, and was very happy to see me. She let me love on her, and gave me head butts. She is a very sweet kitty.. I feel so bad for her (more on her story in a minute) I was able to draw a little blood and was able to test her, and low and behold her blood sugar level was 53! I am guessing she was never diabetic and said vet (mentioned in yesterdays post) simply decided she was diabetic and that caused her urinary issues - it is very common. Diabetic cats often spill glucose into the urine and it feeds the bacteria causing a UTI. I got the vet paperwork including a blood panel they did on her, and I didn't see a fructosamine - which gives an average blood sugar level for the past few weeks. I know full well that a cat who is ill can have elevated blood sugar levels (I got very high blood sugar readings off Ollie once when he was feeling miserable) and I don't doubt the stress on her over the past few months (more on that in a bit) along with the species inappropriate food (dry) that often causes feline urine PH to dip too low ( hers was 6.5 instead of the 7.5 - 7.0 range it should be) and become alkaline instead of acidic which caused the urinary issues which caused her more stress, which made her throw more glucose and thus her reading at the vet of blood sugar levels in the 350s.

She was diagnosed at the vet on the 18th. She has been on antibiotics since then as well as a change in diet to a high protein low plant based diet and thus the better blood sugar levels. Might she actually be diabetic and giving her the right food put her into remission - absolutely. But reading over her history, I'm thinking that isn't the case. But I do not presume to assume that I am right in this and I will be watching her very carefully over the next few days.

Poor Esmay was surrendered to the shelter at the beginning of 2013 because her owner is ill. Just like poor Pumpkin, she was separated from her owner due to an illness. She is very fortunate to have ended up in a shelter with a high adoption rate and the willingness to treat a 13 yr old cat for diabetes - a diagnosis that makes all too many people run for the hills. There are soooo many cats out there right now that are diabetic that desperately need homes and finding a person who is willing to take on the challenge of testing and injecting a cat twice a day every day is hard.

So a thirteen year old kitty surrendered to the shelter. She was adopted out as a companion for another kitty. The new owner had her about a week before returning her because they did not get along. How sad is that.. a thirteen year old kitty given a week :( She got sick with upper respiratory issues and was on medication before being adopted.. so she lost her home, went to a strange place with lots of other animals, and noises and smells and weird people coming in and out, and she got sick and was medicated, then more people and then put in a carrier and brought to another house where there was another kitty and they didn't get along so another carrier and back to the shelter.. you get the point. Thirteen.. according to the charts that is about 70 years old..

not to mention her poor ear with a hematoma on it..








*Lucy was not at the shelter but had been moved to a satellite adoption center and I was told she is doing very well. Fluffy is still at the shelter and is on the adoption floor. Sadly she is in a cage instead of one of the adoption rooms, but considering her limp I am not surprised. I'm going to do a write up for her in hopes to generate a little more interest in her. I do love her dearly. I was telling my husband about my seeing her and he asked if I wanted to adopt her.. of course I do, but we are so not the right fit for her. We are a two level house with hard wood floors and rambunctious kitties.. I could not give her what she needs

Update: I tested her this morning and her blood sugar level was 59. I was a little concerned that maybe the meter wasn't working properly. I went upstairs to find a bottle of test solution (which gives a standard BG reading) while looking for it I also came across another meter I had so I decided to test that one and the new one with the solution. While they did not give the exact same reading - which is pretty standard - it was close enough that I am no longer concerned about Esmay being diabetic. I was able to trim most of her back claws. I found a wetish discharge in her hematoma ear which was pretty gross. I combed her because her short hair felt a bit matted and she is apparently having grooming issues due to being overweight as she had some dandruff and excess fur which felt a bit like matted fur, but there were no mats. She is REALLY sweet, but very much a tortie (even with her white locket) she does NOT want to be on your lap, she does NOT want you to decide where she is going to be thank you very much. I could do pretty much what ever I wanted to her as long as I didn't hold her down nor move her around. I so do love a kitty with an attitude. :)

Murray and Mack went home

I stopped in the shelter today to get some more food for Beatrice.  Duncan and Clair were in a cat room waiting for a home.  Yea for Murray and Mack.  May they have a wonderful life.
I went to the shelter in search of a particular flavor of Fancy Feast cat food.  It is lower in carbs and plant based ingredients. Cats can't properly digest plant based ingredients and diabetic cats often have dramatically lower blood sugar levels when they eat foods that have little to none of them in it. Well despite having a plethora of food, they didn't have any of the particular flavor I feed.  I was so happy to see the shelves full of large cans of food, but alas none of the one I need, so I'm off to the store here in a bit to get some more.

Speaking of cats and food, I just found this on Twitter, and thought it a very interesting read...http://the-scientist.com/2012/01/01/cat-cravings/

Now that the kittens are off, I'll be highlighting Beatrice a bit more.  Hopefully someone will take a liking to her and we can get her a new home.  If not, then I hope we can get her off insulin so she can go back to the shelter and find a new home there.

"Not Sugarbutt"

I keep throwing names at her, so far we haven't settled on one.

I weighed her this afternoon, 12lbs 3 oz.. which was cute..She probably is meant to be 9lbs.. She has started hanging out on the chairs in the room she is in.  She purrs quite loudly and loves head butting and rolling around while getting attention.  Think she's happy to be here?

I gave her the 2 units as prescribed, and we were getting some low numbers, so I gave her 1 unit of insulin, and it sent her pretty high, so I'm settling on 1.5 units and we'll see what happens.

Diabetes care has progressed quite a bit since the 80's :) When I first started treating Em in the 90s, we were taught an old school method.  We gave her a "high fiber" diet (cause that works wonders for dogs) and blindly shot insulin and sent her to the vet to be tested and have a "curve" (where they test the blood sugar levels every two hours to see how the insulin works through out the day)  Em totally balked at the high fiber diet (it gave her major diarrhea) and so we left her on the dry food that came out of a big huge bag that we bought at the supermarket that we fed her and the other kitties at the time. After a few years I wanted to learn more about feline nutrition, and I talked to people at pet stores, and they convinced me that a "premium dry food" was the way to go, and so we started feeding Felidae.  Well two of my kitties became blocked with urinary crystals while eating it (I am NOT saying Felidae did it, but I do believe that dry food in general was the cause)  So I did more reading, and learned that a canned diet would be good for urinary crystals, and at the time Em was losing weight so we put her on a canned diet and fed her separately so she wouldn't be harassed out of her food by the younger cats, we had Jack and Eli on urinary canned food, and the rest on Felidae.  Em had even more issues, and at that point I joined the message board for diabetic kitties and learned from a vet who actually studies feline nutrition that ALL dry food is basically unhealthy for cats and that feeding a high protein, low plant based ingredient raw diet would help Em with her diabetes AND Jack and Eli with their crystals, so I gave it a shot.  Em's insulin need went from 7u twice a day to 1u.  there were days when she almost didn't need insulin and I was so excited that she might be going into remission.  Unfortunately she stopped eating raw, and went on to a low plant based ingredient canned food (Fancy Feast Turkey and Giblets in loaf form) and her insulin need settled between 1-2u until the cancer showed up.  (at which point I fed her anything and everything she wanted and let the blood sugars fall where they would)

How did I know her insulin need dropped so dramatically?  We learned to home test her blood sugars. They learned that a human glucometer would work quite nicely to test a cat's blood, and we use a lancet to poke her ear and get drops of blood that way.  Em hated to bleed.  Most of the fosters I've had after her bleed nicely.  "Not Sugarbutt" has apparently learned that after she gets tested she eats.  Cause food that is completely ignored becomes inhaled right after I finish testing.

If you are interested, there are a lot of videos of people testing their kitties. Here is a great of of Buddy showing you how it is done  I don't know Buddy or his adorable owner.

Home testing has some great advantages.  You don't have "white coat syndrome".  Stressed out cats tend to throw higher bgs in general (not every cat, but a lot).  You don't have to make an appointment, you have immediate feed back. It saves a lot of time.  Money not so much because test strips are expensive, and once you get the feel of testing you get a little test happy because having the info is so incredibly helpful in keeping you sane.  It is also very helpful if you suspect a hypo (giving too much insulin and blood sugar levels go too low which can be deadly) and helping you navigate it (know when blood sugars start rising and the kitty is no longer in danger) but then again if it saves you a trip to the ER that will buy you a LOT of test strips :)

One other thing about diabetic cats, their owners are incredibly in touch and in tune with their cats.  Getting a diagnoses of diabetes in a cat isn't anything I would wish on anyone, but those of us willing to walk that road with the kitty come to realize it does create an incredibly special bond. The kitties come to realize that the injection makes them feel better, and well... While I will admit the regimented schedual of shots every 12 hours is annoying, it is so worth it..

(So anyone want a pretty black and white purr machine that needs injections every 12 hours?)

Trying to be Thankful Thursday

Mom, why is this door closed?

Well darlins, because we have yet another new visitor.  She's nine years old and she was surrendered by a vet tech three days ago because she is diabetic.

Harrumph!

You put it much nicer then I could.  But the woman apparently has a baby, and the kitty apparently kept them up at night meowing (but mom we haven't heard a peep out of her in the 24 hours she has been here).  I have her vet records, and she has quite the medical history with pancreatitis and diarrhea. (she has had a lot of vet visits including an ultrasound) But she has also been eating carb heavy low quality foods. So she came home with me with just some low carb canned foods and a glucometer.. we'll see what we can do.  Her starting BG was in the 300s, I just got it and it was 174. Hopefully with less stress and some good quality food we can get those even lower.

She is freaked.  She wants to be loving, but she would really rather be hiding right now.  But she lets me test her BGs, which is awesome.  She's a little "enthusiastic" in her litter box digging and covering.

There are way too many diabetic cats waiting for homes on the diabetic kitty message board I hang out on (well I used to, and I started back since bringing her home) so I doubt I'll find her a good home unless I can get her off insulin.  *sigh*   This is the one bit that bugs me most.. when people give up "perfectly wonderful" pets because of health or behavioral issues. If the people who own and love them don't want to put up with a cat's issues, what makes them think anyone else will either??

Yes yes yes, there are rare gems of the human race who do take them in, but it is very rare, and once again there are just WAY TOO MANY... wait.. don't yell.. *deep breath*... there are just way too many cats out there needing homes.

Hopefully our little Sugarbutt (not her real name, I want to change it as the name she has ... well I think she needs something different) will find one of those blessed souls who needs her to fill a spot in their life.

Now.. introducing..

ANYTHING but "Sugarbutt" please..

She is a bit overweight.  She has almost no scruff to speak off because of it.  What is really unique about her is that her nose and her paw pads are black. I am so used to noses and paw pads on white to be pink..  She found a spot to hide last night that took us 10 minutes to find her (in one small room that was highly impressive) and then she found out she could open the closet door and is now spending most of her time in there - which I'm NOT happy about, but *shrug* that is what she wants - and at least it is easy enough to get her out when I need to test her.

Waiting to hear on Peter and Tinsel

I am assuming they didn't get to the vet yesterday, and I haven't heard back yet today on their fate.  They are most likely sitting at a vet waiting to be examined.  I'll probably hear in a couple of hours.

I checked my webstats this morning, and couldn't help but smile at all the traffic I got over my post about House.  People got here some interesting ways, and I hope it means they are all interested in treating diabetic cats.  Diabetes in a cat is NOT a death sentence.   My cat lived seven years with diabetes before she died of cancer.

lost in confusion

Another Em post.. can you handle it?

Okay.. so again with another brief back story. Diabetic for 9 years. Eat dry food for most of that, with high readings and high insulin doses. Recently switched over to wet food, dramatic reduction in insulin need. Major weight loss during this time. Tried to get over on raw food. Ate for a while, then decided we were evil for offering it to her, and wouldn't eat it. More weight loss. Switched over to low carb high protein, (aka best food I could find that wasn't raw) canned Evo. She likes it. She takes WAY too long to eat though. Take a few bites, takes a break, takes a few more bites, takes a nap, takes a few more bites etc. We keep reminding her to eat until she stops all together.

I weighed her a few days ago, and she was 12 lbs 8 oz. I made a concerned effort to make sure she was eating as much as she possibly wanted. Tested her BG level constantly - adjusting insulin as needed... trying to keep her upper range in the 200s

Tested her this morning, we got 192. Not a bad reading.. Weighed her, got 12 lbs 7 oz. She is taking her sweet time eating this morning too.. although she is VERY VERY interested in my turkey bacon.. I keep breaking small bits off and putting it in her food.. bacon bits for kitties :D

Spoiled little tart..

So why is she still losing weight? Why are her sugars all over the freakin place? And what on earth do I do about it??

Unique kitty quirks

Well, Em has decided that she will not eat ANYTHING tainted with raw food. She likes raw hamburger, so I bought some and mixed it in with her canned, figuring it would reduce the overall carb content and help her insulin need. Nope. I had tainted her food and come death and starvation she wasn't going to eat it!! This morning I offered her a little bit of yogurt, which she ate willingly. I put that on the side of the plate with her wet food, and she refuses to eat anything touching the yogurt. ugh!

She did like the package of salmon I bought for the kitties. Ate just about all of that last night. Her sugars were back up in the 400s that night.. Not really sure why.

She's lost some more weight. In the 12lb range now. I'm torn between trying to get her to eat less of the good food so she needs less insulin, or giving in to what she really wants, hoping that will put weight on her, and totally increasing her insulin need.

She also vomited again this morning. Don't know why. She did the other night too, but she vomited the pills I gave her (cosequin and herbs) so I could rationalize that. This morning's vomit seemed to contain raw, but I know she won't touch that. Maybe she snarfed a few pieces of the raw hamburger I put down as well. *shrug* who knows.

I have to say I wish there was a way to test her sugars without sticking her. She hates it. They say there is something on the horizon for human diabetics, but I bet by the time it comes out it will be too late for Em. Considering all she is currently going through, I don't think I'm realistic to think she'll make it to 20.. But man I'm still hoping. Although I have to admit I hate putting her through what she is currently going through. I know I'm just projecting.. She doesn't mind so much refusing the raw, or canned that is tainted raw.. She also doesn't seem to mind when her sugars are high. It's all me. Probably my fear of the end.

The curse of having kitties. That dreaded end.

So now I have to grab my rabbit ears and go take easter pictures for you all :)

Don't you need just one more cat?

I'm so mean. Sorry.

I read over my blog the other day (when I went to make sure the pictures fit in the template) and noticed I have been ranting about raw lately. We are still all on it - and except for a little pica going on (eating of non food items) things have been going pretty well. My last batch I added some green beans (frenched in a can) and the pica stopped. I added the beans cause I read somewhere they were good for diabetics.. who knows if they are or not.. I wanted to add greens, I had this piece of info, I had lots of cans of beans, so they got some. Besides, Jack loves them anyway.

The last batch I removed the b vitamins, and the egg whites, and it has gotten the same reception as every other batch... so I'll put those back in.

As I mentioned yesterday, I tried feeding whole pieces of hen. Didn't go over well. I think they ate the heart and the short piece of ribs I put out. Jack chewed on the wing a few different times, but on the whole, it didn't go over well at all.

The bunny is doing VERY well. I got the last room in my house set up (FINALLY) and she's in there. I put an old rug down, and she stays on that for the most part. I can open up the cage and let her run around for hours with the door open and she just hangs out on the rug or in her cage. Currently, there are no electrical cords in there, so the only damage she can do is peeing on the floor (Please no!) and chewing on stuff... and she seems to have no interest in either. She's been very good using her litter box. She didn't like the switch of litter over to feline pine (pellets) so I think once that is gone I'm going to go back to some sort of shredded material. She is eating like a horse.. But she is a growing bun :) She gets along really well with Tweedle and Ollie. yes, Mr Grumpy Pants Ollie.. it's cute.

I believe I've been ranting about not being able to get Em's BG's under control as well. She is having a reduced need for insulin, but trying to figure out what that is, I have over dosed her a couple of times. Fortunately, her body does a glucose dump from her liver keeping her from hypo-ing (aka no blood sugar in body thus death) but it is throwing everything out of wack. I was getting very frustrated as I was having a hard time getting her sugars down this last time, but I think they are on their way, and hopefully we can keep them there. Not sure what to do when she gets another low reading, as getting less than half a unit into her is going to be hard.

hum.. what else haven't I told you about.. Eli is overcoming his paranoia and is actually asking to be patted. It is so sweet, and it's about time. Unfortunately, he's given it to Tweedle who you can no longer go to and pick up. She'll come to you just fine, but if you look at her and make a move toward her she runs like the wind.

Oh yes, and the 'kitty crack episode" of 3/25/06. :) I was frustrated with Em's sugars and the raw food was still quite frozen in the fridge, and the kids all wanted something to eat. So I threw down some dry Innova Evo. They have all really liked this food, but since figuring out it doesn't help Em's sugars, I've stopped doing it. I couldn't find Em so I figured I would throw some down so I could get her to come into the kitchen so I could test her sugars. Well, Eli was downstairs, and moments after I threw the food on the floor he came racing up the stairs. DH asked in a joking way if that was her. Em the log kitty running anywhere is just unheard of. Well, moments later who should actually race up the stairs at a pace I have not seen from her in over 12 years, but Em. :) She loves that dry food. She can't eat it - as she has the hardest time picking it up off the floor, and we have more of her spit on the floor than she has food in her tummy, but she loves it.

Okay, I think that is all the news as of now. Stay tuned cause you know tomorrow is going to bring its own new challenges.. like where on earth am I going to put the kitten cage now that the kittens have started to figure out how to walk (cause it is currently on top of the TV and they could break their little bodies if they fell out.)

Um. mom... what is that???

I bought a cornish game hen to see if the cats would eat the thing whole. There is a whole other school of thought when feeding raw and that is to feed the entire prey to the animal. Let them chew the bones and rip the flesh off the meat and what not. Since they were doing better with their chunked portion of ground, I thought what the heck. Thought the predator in them might enjoy it.

Well they seem to have no concept that it is food. They sniffed, seemed interested.. I think Tweedle ran into the living room with one of the gizzards.. but so far the pieces I put down are pretty much unmolested. Jack chewed on one of the wings for a bit..

Maybe they just don't want their "ma" to see what wild vicious animals they can be, and will eat it when I'm not around.. (ha ha, I'm so funny)

Em is still confusing me with her BG levels. I had her down to 168 the other day (pre-shot - which is fantastic for her) and I only gave her half a dose, and I seemed to over dose her, which shot her levels way back up. I can't get them back down either. I'm going to do a curve today and see what 2 units does to her when she's this high up. I did one unit on Thursday and the spot checks said she was pretty flat - indicating that 1u was not enough. arrgh

The kittens are starting to interact with each other. The little girl spends a lot of time contemplating her thumb. It's cute. Often looks like she is trying to suck on it. The walking is coming a bit more. still not good at it, but they are giving it a shot. They are only 3 weeks old and are already almost a pound.. will be before next week is out. according to the schedules, they are about a week ahead of schedule.. which fits in with their opening their eyes 5 days early :)

diabetic frustrations (ok, and pet food too)

Ok, so Em has been a diabetic cat for what.. almost 7 years now.. She started losing weight at the very end of 2005, and continued to do so through 2006. She is on herbs, and cosequin, and Vitamin E. I noticed her sugars were a bit low, so I started reducing the insulin.. from 7 units down to none (which was too little)

One day when giving her the pills, we didn't feed her right after, and the pills stuck in her esophagus, and caused her to start vomiting. She didn't stop for a week. Blood tests and vet visits proved this was her only problem. Her fructosamine showed she had high blood sugars, but I knew that going in, cause I realized that no insulin was not working.

Due to her previous weight loss - we think from the other cats eating her meals while she gets distracted - we switched her to canned and fed her separated out. This decreased her need for insulin. However the vomiting and what not increased it, so we were at 3 units.

Kept an eye on her. Decided that three feeding stations for the cats (due to Jack and Eli being on urinary food) was very frustrating, so I looked into alternatives. Decided that a raw diet was going to be the best option.

Started raw about three weeks ago. Not the huge hit I would expect, but no one has lost weight. Everyone is perky and has lots of energy. Eli's face is looking so very good.. Em's sugars were even lower.

Em started to fill out. She got down to like 13lbs 2 oz, and was back up to 13lbs 13 1/2 or so. Was this the raw, or the canned we were shoving down her throat when she wasn't eating, I'm not sure at this point.

But soon Em decided she wasn't eating raw. Fought it every step of the way. I did a 12 hour fast and she still wasn't going for it. Switched over to Evo canned for her alone. Starting to mix in bits of raw to get her back on it

Last night her BG was 181 before eating (normal pre-shot is in the mid 300s). I was ecstatic. Well, we forgot to give insulin, and four hours later she was in the 300s. This morning she was in the 300s and when I weighed her she was back down to 13 lbs. I can't figure out why she's losing weight. She LOOKS great. looks like she is up to 14, but nooooo.. grrrr.

Raw is going well for everyone. I'm grinding my own. No veggies.. So I'm starting to think I need to put some in.. why? well cause Jack started chewing the rabbit's timothy hay, and Ollie sampled Bri's lettuce. Or maybe I should just give up and go to Evo for everyone. There is so much negativity regarding raw in the vet community. I can't find anyone who has used it having an issue with raw online. I've only started to look, but all the negative press I find is from people / vets who say the bacteria would be a problem. Negativity from people who have never done it, no studies to back it up.. nothing! Only naysayers who have no proof.

What ticks me off the most about these naysayers is that they want you to feed a good quality cat food. Well frankly, to find one that doesn't contain garlic (harmful to cats - though the pet food industry says that isn't proven, *rolls eyes*, at least not in the quantities they put in.. well why on earth do they put it in at all??) and is low in carbohydrates - things that apparently cats can't utilize well at all, and frankly seem to be just cheap fillers so they can make more money - is next to impossible. Even Innova Evo - which seems to be the best at the moment - has tomato flakes in it. Tomatoes are from the nightshade family - and cats who have ingested tomatoes have died. (my cats are known to clean off my tomato sauce from my dinner plate with no problems - so I'm not going to worry - just cheezes me off that they would put it in)

So what is a cat owner to do? I want to feed them the best I can so I don't have to deal with health issues in the future. Not to say there won't be any, but the consensus is starting to be that dry food is a huge culprit in a lot of medical issues. Being unemployed and having all day to search around for information only makes things worse I think. Only 'good' info I can find are from people who feed raw, and who haven't studied nutrition. Only 'bad' info I can find are from people who have supposedly studied it, but apparently not in depth, and honestly have no experience with it at all.

I started on this journey thanks to the felinedibetes.com message board, and the input of Dr. Lisa, a regular member of the board. She runs catinfo.org. and has used the recipe I'm using for years with her cats. I still feel like I'm doing the right thing, but it is hard when the professionals out there are against it.