Duchess is finally getting some treatment!

[cjsmith]

Vet Appointment: Went to the new vet yesterday afternoon & got her examined. Vet was friendly, listened as well as talked, and seemed competent/intelligent. What a good feeling!

Because I'd been unsuccessful at getting her records transferred, I suggested simply doing another diabetes monitoring panel. It probably wasn't necessary but I wanted a backup plan to get things STARTED finally.

She weighs slightly under thirteen pounds now. Two weeks ago she weighed in at fourteen and a quarter at the old vet's (different scale); before the UTI she was 14.5; a year ago she was (IIRC) fifteen. Thirteen's fine, but the rapid drop isn't.

Murphy's Law said she wouldn't have any urine ready when she went in. I brought her back this morning for that. She's getting awfully tired of the carrier and the car.

New Diet: We got her some new high-protein low-glycemic-index food. The vet warned me that many staple cat foods have a lot more carbs than cats have evolved to eat. Sure enough, when I got home I saw that the food I had been using has corn meal as its first ingredient. Wow. Good to get her diet changed I'm sure. I'm transitioning by mixing new and old and gradually changing the mix. I am told that as long as the other two cats don't have kidney problems, they'll also do better on this than on the old food. That's handy.

No Insulin Yet: The vet was reluctant to start insulin right away. For one thing, we didn't have bloodwork in hand, and for another, sometimes diet is enough in the beginning. I'll get a phone call about the latest lab results some time today; I'll ask then about how we'll assess when and whether to start insulin.

Records Transfer: Finally got my old vet's office on the line this morning. Guy was very friendly and helpful; wish he worked there more often! He's faxing her complete record to the new place. I got her blood glucose number: 361. Yeah. Diabetic all right.

Phew. I am so relieved to have her a) starting treatment b) at a friendly, responsive, available vet c) close to home. I hadn't realized how stressed I'd been. The enormity of the relief surprised me.

Comments

[dawnd.livejournal.com]

yay. Glad to hear of progress.

[cjsmith.livejournal.com]

Thanks! I'm sooooo relieved!

[portia.livejournal.com]

So happy to see that Duchess and you are finally getting some relief!

[cjsmith.livejournal.com]

The feeling of relief hit me like a cannonball. I think I'm glad I didn't really realize how stressed I'd been. It's so good to know SOMETHING'S HAPPENING.

[rampling.livejournal.com]

Ohhh, finally some positive stuff to do, with a responsive vet!

Wow, diabetic-ness confirmed. *hugs* and *kitty-purrs* to you both from me and mira_kitty

[cjsmith.livejournal.com]

Yeah, it's been awful just watching her shed weight and having nothing useful to do. This is so much better.

*hugs* back to you and *scritches* to mira_kitty!

[eeyore-grrl.livejournal.com]

YAY for good vet that you feel comfortable with. health vibes to kitty cat!

[cjsmith.livejournal.com]

Major relief! Still a little worried about potential insulin treatment, but her getting help is so much better than NOT.

[airporter.livejournal.com]

No Insulin Yet

Smart Vet. Like us bipeds, diet is often enough. Thinking good thoughts for you and Duchess.

[cjsmith.livejournal.com]

Thanks! It's been so worrisome not having her under treatment at all.

[perfect-autumn.livejournal.com]

YAY.

What's the new food?

[cjsmith.livejournal.com]

I'm so relieved! The new food is Hill's m/d. My vet gives it for weight control as well as for diabetes, which reassures me about jackiecat eating it (she's nearly half fat). It's expensive. I hope its formulation helps Duchess.

[hnybny.livejournal.com]

Diabetes is very treatable. I'm so glad you got a diagnosis!

[cjsmith.livejournal.com]

Thanks -- so am I! And I'm selfishly hoping Duchess does well on only the food change. :)

[genderfur.livejournal.com]

You might see an improvement in the litter box as well. Our cats are allergic to the corn in most catfoods and they get loose stools and !stinky! poops if they eat it.

We switched to a fancy-schmancy food with no cornmeal and it's made a big difference. Then there was a relapse, and we discovered that the new kitty catnip treats were corn-based. (Now they only get yummy liver treats.)

Best of continuing good luck to you & yours!

[cjsmith.livejournal.com]

Oh, interesting. I don't know how stinky is stinky, so I'm not sure whether any of mine are showing that kind of symptom. Either way, though, it makes sense that different food will result in different litterbox results. That hadn't yet occurred to me.

Thanks!

[lilbluekittans.livejournal.com]

Sophia: The kitten daddy gives us "Wellness" dry food. It's pretty tasty for dry food.
Grace: They assert that it's made from people food ingredients.
Sophia: And it's actually mostly meat-based, which is good for my beauty. preens
Grace: I think deer are stuffed full of it. I bet I could get a deer. It's probably no match for my mighty huntress skills.
Sophia: They also make...
Grace and Sophia: (in a reverent tone) ...gooshy food.
Grace: It's not as good as the patè but it's really really tasty. We don't like the seafood flavors though. Beef and chicken are the best.
Sophia: Gooshy food is much tastier than dry food. Plus it's, well, gooshy.
Grace: I hope the airplane cat feels better soon. Being sick is no fun.
Sophia: Maybe she needs some of those freeze-dried chicken treats. Those always make me feel better. But I hope she feels better too.

Meow?

[cjsmith.livejournal.com]

Hi lilbluekittans! My kitties seem to enjoy this one too. It's Hill's m/d. They make gooshy food too! :-)

I'll tell the airplane cat you said nice things about her. She is very friendly and will be pleased to hear she has beautiful and mighty online kitty-friends.

[sunnydale47.livejournal.com]

I thought of you right around the time you were posting this! Seriously ... I suddenly had a thought: "CJ hasn't said anything about Duchess lately, I'm going to ask her how she's doing" -- and when I got to the computer, I found this post.

I'm so glad you're getting things under control!

[cjsmith.livejournal.com]

An e-mail reminded me to post, so I did! :-) Thanks. I'm really glad too. This is obviously just the beginning, but man, at least it's a beginning!!

[therobbergirl.livejournal.com]

I'm glad treatment has started and that you're feeling better (I hope Duchess is, too).

[cjsmith.livejournal.com]

Thanks! She does seem to like the new food.

[quasigeostrophy.livejournal.com]

Yay for clueful treatment for Duchess and stress relief for you!! :-)

[cjsmith.livejournal.com]

Thanks! There's still some stress but it's much better now.

[tsjafo.livejournal.com]

I'm a firm believer in "they don't care how much you know until they know how much you care." I'm glad you found a vet who cares. I hope Duchess gets better soon.

[cjsmith.livejournal.com]

A good point. Thanks!

[wooddragon.livejournal.com]

The enormity of the relief doesn't surprise me one bit, although there was very little of that with Nitro's illness. So I am so happy to hear that!

[cjsmith.livejournal.com]

You sure went through hell with Nitro. Every so often I am reminded that though we live in an age of medical miracles, there are still limitations. :-(