If it's not one thing it's another

[cjsmith]

Duchess's sample from Monday morning came back clean from the lab. No infection! ...There's always a but, isn't there? There was a very high level of glucose.

Friday morning I bring her in for a blood draw to see if she's diabetic. (Given how long it took them to get that sample, and how long it had been since she'd eaten, I don't have a huge amount of hope. She probably is.)

Dayum.

Comments

[quasigeostrophy.livejournal.com]

Poor kitty. :-/

[cjsmith.livejournal.com]

She hasn't had a good few weeks. She's very well-behaved at the vet's office, but I'm sure even her patience is starting to wear thin.

[platypus]

Oh dear. I hope it's a freak abnormal result, but that seems a bit unlikely. Diabetes can predispose beings toward getting nasty infections, so it almost makes a bit of sense.

If that does turn out to be the case, I'd suggest talking to arielblue. She had a diabetic cat who did great for, god, nearly a decade, I think. Some cats have harder to manage cases than others, of course, but she was certainly doing something right.

[cjsmith.livejournal.com]

Good point. It does hang together in a wy. It's also almost fortunate, because this infection caused the vet to take a urine sample. We wouldn't have caught diabetes, possibly for a long time, without that.

Thanks for the name. I don't know her, but clearly she has experience with exactly what I'd be wanting to know.

[nosrednayduj]

If your cat is diabetic, DO HOME TESTING. Get your vet on board about it. My vet was skeptical and it was a giant pain to fight with him about dosages. Home testing made it easy to monitor what was happening, since my cat was one of those who fluctuated wildly with her insulin production, and avoid trips to the emergency vet---I had three for hypoglycemic shock due to overdose of insulin before I started home testing. I used the Glucometer Elite -- you need one that takes a very small spot of blood. You get it from the ear. I wrote up some long thing about this once, I wonder if I saved it anywhere, or if it was random unsaved email to someone.

Felinediabetes.com is an excellent resource.

[cjsmith.livejournal.com]

Thank you for all the info and the website and tester recommendations. If my vet is skeptical, well, I was about to switch anyway!

But but but

[fuzzygruf.livejournal.com]

Yes, if it winds up that she's diabetic, DO HOME TESTING. You'll save a fortune. nosrednayduj is absolutely correct.

I had two cats who were diagnosed with diabetes at age 10. One lived until age 19, so it's definitely treatable.

---

"There's always a but..."

Wait a minute. Barry Clasper often calls but-less Spin the Pulleys. I usually prefer a good but...

Re: But but but

[cjsmith.livejournal.com]

Thanks for the second on that motion. If that's her diagnosis I will insist on doing home testing. And thanks for the hope about the lifespan! Reassuring. (Duchess is twelve or so.)

Stimulate but ______ is often a crowd-pleaser. The names of calls get even more versatile when you have the whole C4 list to work with. I believe it was Sue who came up with "Touch Along Snake Nicely" and "Reach Out and Tickle Something New".

[cassidyrose.livejournal.com]

Oh man. I'm sorry. Poor kitty. Best health wishes to her.

[cjsmith.livejournal.com]

Thanks. I hope it's easy to manage.

[ericainohio.livejournal.com]

Awwww...poor kitty. Poor you!

I'm glad to see that you're getting some good info and advice here. I remember that we had diabetic cats at the no-kill shelter I used to volunteer with, but I have no recollection of what they went through to treat them.

Keep us updated, 'k?

[cjsmith.livejournal.com]

Thanks. Keep reading here and you'll prolly find out! :-)

[portia.livejournal.com]

Poor Duchess. I certainly hope her test results don't indicate that she has diabetes but, at the very least, it's a treatable disease. Isn't it?

[cjsmith.livejournal.com]

Thanks. Usually, yes, it can be managed (some cases more easily than others). I have yet to find out what this means in terms of workload.

[perfect-autumn.livejournal.com]

My Carra went in today for possible bladder infection. I feel like a terrible mommy because it was probably obvious for weeks, and I chaulked it up to her being mad at me. :(

They kept her over night!!

Man, I didn't mean to be all whingy. Gah.

Anyway - I feel for you and my thoughts are with you and her.

[cjsmith.livejournal.com]

Oh man, don't you hate those GUILT!GUILT!BAD KITTYMOM feelings? Hopefully she'll be back to normal soon! And thanks.

[perfect-autumn.livejournal.com]

My initial reaction was:

Q: You know what they do to BAD KITTY MOMMY'S?

A: TAKE THEM AWAY.

I beat myself up too much sometimes.

So what is the treatment plan if she is diabetic? Shots? special food?

[cjsmith.livejournal.com]

Or take the kitties away! WAAAAAH NO!

Probably both shots and special food. Depending on how we test her sugars, I might want a special litterbox. I hope I can opt for blood testing though because I've got three cats. Collecting urine samples, even in a special litterbox, could be a nightmare.

[perfect-autumn.livejournal.com]

omg.

Yes, the vet told me today we need to get a second litter box. We have the two and no where to put a second box. They've never had a problem sharing in the past....

[cjsmith.livejournal.com]

Oh weird. Ours have no problem sharing either, although I should note it's a freaking enormous box. What I can't see is how to make sure Duchess uses hers and only hers, and the others use theirs and only theirs. I don't want to keep them separated forever. So I hope I can do without urine testing.

Oh, who am I kidding? I hope I wake up tomorrow and that phone call was a bad dream.

[perfect-autumn.livejournal.com]

It's all a nightmare.

[cjsmith.livejournal.com]

No kidding. When will you hear about Carra?

[perfect-autumn.livejournal.com]

Presumably when she pees.

She held it all afternoon and when the doc checked her it was about the size of a rubber bouncy ball - so she's got to be full. If she doesn't do us the courtesy of peeing on the mat by 4pm tomorrow OR she does and there's no infection they'll have to take a sample with a needle.

My biggest concern? b/c she has to pee on the mat for them to test it she can't have anything else in the cage with her aside from food and water. No bed, no towel, no shirt that smells like mama. I want to weep for her little kitty loneliness.

And now? Simba keeps walking around the apartment mewling questioningly...

[cjsmith.livejournal.com]

Oh, poor Simba! And poor Carra too. I'm sure cats know they're not "supposed" to pee on the mat. They can hold it for ages because they're trying so hard to be tidy.

[perfect-autumn.livejournal.com]

Well, last night she peed on a pillow from the couch. I think she's past the tidy point.

I just hope she goes soon. I miss my baby.

[cjsmith.livejournal.com]

I think you're right. *hugs*. Snuggle Simba a little extra? Won't change Carra's situation but might help you and Simba feel a little better!

[perfect-autumn.livejournal.com]

HA. Google ads it trying to sell me a self cleaning literbox. That's the quickest way to make then NOT use it.

Yes, *snuggles* all around.

[cjsmith.livejournal.com]

Google ads can be "so close but yet so far"!

[shadopanther.livejournal.com]

YAY for the infection being gone. Good hopes and wishes vs. if Duchess turns out to be diabetic.

[cjsmith.livejournal.com]

Thanks. Fingers crossed for "not" or for "easy care".

[rampling.livejournal.com]

Ohhhh, scary! Best hopes and wishes and *hugs* and *kitty-purrs* from me and mira_kitty.

[cjsmith.livejournal.com]

Thanks! I hope it's a fluke reading, but there are clues that seem to make a fluke unlikely. Dang, this is going to be a lot of care. No more going away for weekends without boarding her. No more working late. Sigh...

[rampling.livejournal.com]

A kitty-in-need is such a big responsibility and time commitment! *major-sympathies*

[cjsmith.livejournal.com]

Thanks. I'm sure I'm an awful human for trying to figure out how old she is and thus how many years I'm likely to be giving shots or pills. :-(

[rampling.livejournal.com]

That's being a responsible human, trying to understand how much she may really need. And how big an impact this might be for you. Constant kitty-tending isn't easy, and it's reasonable to try to asess it.

Ohhhh, *more-hugs*

[cjsmith.livejournal.com]

True enough, assessing my own capabilities and the size of the problem is responsible. (Have I really been too much around people who think responsible equals heartless?) Anyhow, big commitment any way you slice it. *sigh*

We don't even DO the blood draw until Friday, so I won't hear results until early to mid next week. This will not be a fun few days, waiting.

[just-cyd.livejournal.com]

*hugs* to you both. :(

[cjsmith.livejournal.com]

Thanks. This will, if it's true, definitely mean more planning for a lot of the things I do.

I've had to give up all the fun stuff: running, hiking, backpacking, square dancing. Now I may have to give up a lot of the flexibility with work hours and trips for calling square dances. I think the Universe is trying to teach me a lesson. I sure hope the lesson is something better than "HA HA NEENER NEENER".

[lkeele.livejournal.com]

Damn.

[cjsmith.livejournal.com]

Yeah. :( I'll find out early to mid next week.

[dawnd.livejournal.com]

Ah, poor kitty. Poor kitty-mommy. Hope it all turns out OK, and isn't too horrible for you guys to manage.

And re your next post: (hug) I think I've mostly given up participating in communities of any sort. I've been flamed once too much for my taste, and over stupid stupid things. Deity grant you the wisdom to not cast your pearls before swine in the future. ;^)

[cjsmith.livejournal.com]

Thanks! I am told I will get the lab results Monday. Fingers crossed...

(hugback) thanks! Wisdom, yeah, that's what I need in a goodly dose. :-)