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.

[portia.livejournal.com]

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

[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

[eeyore-grrl.livejournal.com]

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

[airporter.livejournal.com]

No Insulin Yet

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

[perfect-autumn.livejournal.com]

YAY.

What's the new food?

[hnybny.livejournal.com]

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

[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!

[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?

[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!

[therobbergirl.livejournal.com]

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

[quasigeostrophy.livejournal.com]

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

[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.

[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!