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Away for a few days ....

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Cathi - 13 Oct 2004 22:49 GMT
... So cats have been instructed to purr for all those in need.  They're
going to a new cattery - old one weren't happy to administer jabs.  I
can understand their point of view - I wasn't exactly happy about it
first time!

See you all in a few days,
Signature

Cathi

Christine Burel - 15 Oct 2004 04:51 GMT
Will be glad to see you upon your return -- hope you have a good time.
Christine
> ... So cats have been instructed to purr for all those in need.  They're
> going to a new cattery - old one weren't happy to administer jabs.  I
> can understand their point of view - I wasn't exactly happy about it
> first time!
>
> See you all in a few days,
polonca12000 - 15 Oct 2004 22:19 GMT
Have a great time!
Best wishes,
Signature

Polonca & Soncek

> ... So cats have been instructed to purr for all those in need.  They're
> going to a new cattery - old one weren't happy to administer jabs.  I
> can understand their point of view - I wasn't exactly happy about it
> first time!
>
> See you all in a few days,
Cathi - 17 Oct 2004 17:47 GMT
Apparently, he was a model patient, and took his jabs perfectly happily.

For those of you who don't know, Jasper (our 7-y-o black neutered DSH
male) was diagnosed as being diabetic this summer.  A week of special
diabetic food brought his sugars down a bit, but not enough, so we're
now into a routine of insulin shots night and morning.

The first couple of days were *horrible*.  No problem in getting him to
have his jabs, but his behaviour afterwards was very peculiar.  He'd get
himself behind things and under things and have no idea how to get out,
despite them being obstacles he'd encountered a hundred times before
with no problem.  The vet likened it to a human having consumed way too
much Scotch.  If Jasper wanted to get from one space to another, he
wouldn't go the obvious, direct route, but would skirt walls and
furniture to give him bearings.  He'd blunder into things as if he'd not
seen them.

Then we had the collapses.  Basically, his blood sugars had plummeted
too low, and his legs had about as much strength as overcooked
spaghetti.  Seeing my formerly active, healthy boy sprawled out on the
kitchen floor, unable to move an inch, was heartbreaking.  However, our
wonderful vet had prepared us for such eventualities by telling us to
administer a strong solution of sugar in water by mouth.  Within ten
minutes Jasper was up on his feet again, albeit gingerly.  We had a
couple of episodes where he just couldn't walk, and a few where he was a
tad unsteady on his feet; sugar water cured them all.

Over the course of the next week his insulin was reduced quite
drastically, and his condition improved immeasurably.  The first
weekend, when he was so off-colour, I had visions of him never going
outside again (he's a very active cat by nature, and an accomplished
hunter).  The following weekend, he brought us a mouse to say thank-you
for looking after him ;-)

And now his sugars are perfect!  We do have to watch his eating habits;
he's given to stealing Carrie's food if given the chance, and will
scrounge shamelessly if I'm cooking.  We can't afford to let him get
overweight; that will just bring another set of problems.

But at the moment all seems rosy :-)
Signature

Cathi

polonca12000 - 17 Oct 2004 22:19 GMT
Thank you so much for taking such good care of Jasper's health.
Best wishes,
Signature

Polonca & Soncek

<snip>
> And now his sugars are perfect!  We do have to watch his eating habits;
> he's given to stealing Carrie's food if given the chance, and will
> scrounge shamelessly if I'm cooking.  We can't afford to let him get
> overweight; that will just bring another set of problems.
>
> But at the moment all seems rosy :-)
Christine Burel - 18 Oct 2004 03:14 GMT
Awww, I'm sooo happy to hear this update on Jasper!
Christine
> Apparently, he was a model patient, and took his jabs perfectly happily.
>
[quoted text clipped - 36 lines]
>
> But at the moment all seems rosy :-)
Karen Chuplis - 18 Oct 2004 04:27 GMT
> Awww, I'm sooo happy to hear this update on Jasper!
> Christine

I am too. What a scary adjustment period. Here's to long good health to
Jasper.
CATherine - 18 Oct 2004 03:24 GMT
>Apparently, he was a model patient, and took his jabs perfectly happily.
>
>For those of you who don't know, Jasper (our 7-y-o black neutered DSH
>male) was diagnosed as being diabetic this summer.  A week of special
>diabetic food brought his sugars down a bit, but not enough, so we're
>now into a routine of insulin shots night and morning.

March 03 my Sheba became diabetic. With insulin (my vet started the
dosage very low and gradually worked up) and Purina Diabetic
Management food, she was off insulin in December. Now her blood
glucose is regulated by food alone; although i check her bg
frequently. I got my own glucometer, a One touch Ultra like you see
advertised on tv. It works great for a cat.

Why don't you check into Feline Diabetes Message Board?
http://www.felinediabetes.com/fdmb/frames.pl?review=285373  You can
get a lot of expert help there from people all with diabetic cats.Many
of them know far more than most vets do. My own vet knew nothing about
feline diabetes. he had to contact the vet college and Purina vet.

The best food is high protein-low carb. Purina DM canned like I fed is
responsible for getting many cats off insulin. It is the perfect diet.
However, i also feed a very few pieces of DM dry for the crunches. But
it is high calorie and all the attributes are like concentrated. All
my cats are crazy about it; so it works good as a little bit for a
treat.

>The first couple of days were *horrible*.  No problem in getting him to
>have his jabs, but his behaviour afterwards was very peculiar.  He'd get
[quoted text clipped - 5 lines]
>furniture to give him bearings.  He'd blunder into things as if he'd not
>seen them.

This would be because of the high dosage of insulin. He literally did
not have enough glucose to work his brain functions well enough;
although very high blood glucose can produce such effects, also. The
FDMB recommends for insulin--start with a low dose and increase
slowly. High blood sugar kills slowly--a cat can live for weeks with
high numbers while the dose is slowly raised; low blood sugar kills
fast-once blood sugar gets below the normal level and he collapses, he
has only a matter of a few hours, if that much.

Watch him carefully and we will be purring for you both. Our best
Purrs, CATherine, Sheba, Djoser and Robin
Cathi - 18 Oct 2004 18:40 GMT
>>Apparently, he was a model patient, and took his jabs perfectly happily.
>>
[quoted text clipped - 15 lines]
>of them know far more than most vets do. My own vet knew nothing about
>feline diabetes. he had to contact the vet college and Purina vet.

Thanks for the link - I took a brief look, and the symptoms of a hypo
were Jasper to a tee.  He doesn't have much of a voice normally, but the
yowl he let out when I found him in a heap on the floor was awful.  The
glassy stare and "drunkenness" were all there too.

And to look at him now you wouldn't know there was anything wrong with
him!

I'm so glad I found a cattery willing to take him too.  The owner's
daughter fell in love with Jasper, to the extent that she found an old
cuddly  toy, drenched it in catnip spray, and gave it to him as a
present for being a brave boy.  So now I have a pink, catnip-flavoured
Care Bear in my kitchen. What more could a girl want?!

Signature

Cathi

polonca12000 - 18 Oct 2004 21:59 GMT
Awww, how adorable!
Best wishes,
Signature

Polonca & Soncek

<snip>
> I'm so glad I found a cattery willing to take him too.  The owner's
> daughter fell in love with Jasper, to the extent that she found an old
> cuddly  toy, drenched it in catnip spray, and gave it to him as a
> present for being a brave boy.  So now I have a pink, catnip-flavoured
> Care Bear in my kitchen. What more could a girl want?!
Marina - 18 Oct 2004 05:00 GMT
<snip>

> But at the moment all seems rosy :-)

Glad to hear Jasper is doing so well now. Those moments of hypoglycaemia
are scary, even for a human who knows what is going on. It's not just
that your blood glucose gets low and you can't move properly, your self
esteem sinks along with the blood glucose and you feel terrible both
physically and mentally. We're purring that Jasper's glucose remain stable.

Signature

Marina, Frank and Nikki
marina (dot) kurten (at) pp (dot) inet (dot) fi
Pics at http://uk.pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/frankiennikki/
and http://community.webshots.com/user/frankiennikki

Julie Cook - 18 Oct 2004 21:36 GMT
> Apparently, he was a model patient, and took his jabs perfectly happily.

Cathi,
I'm so happy that Jasper is doing so much better and that he takes his
jabs so willingly.  I imagine finding the right dosage for a cat would
be very difficult.  At least we can tell the doc how we're feeling, our
feline family can only hope that we know them well enough to know when
something is wrong.

Scritches to Jasper and headbutts to you.
Julie, Hobbes, Selena, Lacey and Sam
LOL - 19 Oct 2004 07:45 GMT
> Apparently, he was a model patient, and took his jabs perfectly happily.

(snippage)

I'm glad to read that your Jasper is doing so well!  Please give him a
scritch for me.  :-)

------
Krista
 
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