Cats, cats, cats

It's a well known fact that cats are better than ironing.

In Fall and Winter my girls love to lay on the laundry I have drying on our cast iron radiators.

Well, sorry to say I was right. Squeakers has diabetes. We have another vet appt on Tuesday to get training in giving insulin and to try for a urine sample. Uses the box all the time at home, wouldn't go near it there. There are 2 human diabetics in our family, so we have some experience giving insulin to people.

Wren - sorry about the diagnosis for Squeakers but glad you were on top of it. Hope that Squeakers manages the shots ok, my Lester is so good about them.

Mommyof2 I definitely have one that is a prolific "abstract artist" hahaha

Wren, not what you would wish for Squeakers, but it is a very good thing you were so quick to spot the changes in his habits. Best wishes with collecting the urine sample and with his treatment going forward.

Wren: I had a rescue cat who developed diabetes when he was about 16. He was sort of a tawny leaning to orange cat and it seems like many of them develop diabetes. The vet wanted me to dip his urine to determine the insulin dosage but it was a challenge because the urine dip paper can't touch the litter and he objected to me trying to do this as he urinated. Giving the insulin twice a day was not an issue because I injected into the scruff of his neck and he purred the entire time. I had to wait for him to eat before the injection and of course once immediately after I gave the insulin he vomited and refused to eat. He then proceeded to have a seizure due to the drop in his blood sugar so please buy a bottle of plain Karo syrup to keep on hand. Getting your hands on a larger syringe helps so you can then administer the Karo in the event of an emergency. He spent the night in the vets but fully recovered and it was the only time I had this experience, TG.

You can purchase both the cat insulin and insulin syringes (U-30's) online at a much better cost than through a vet. You do need a prescription for the insulin to send them though and my vet gladly provided one. The cat lived for an additional 4 years and had quality of life during this time.

Wren44: I sent you a PM. Insulin syringes for animals are more like those used for children with diabetes. Just make sure you have the plain Karo available if needed. That seizure was the scariest experience. I was warned it could leave him with neurologic sequelae and did I want to euthanize him? They did give me a projected cost for care and I said I was willing to pay. The emergency bill was a small fortune and the fact that I had to bail him out by 7 AM or face another fee was disconcerting. They left his IV access in his paw and advised that I needed to take him to my vet on discharge. When I called my vet he asked if the cat was bothering the IV? When I answered "no", he said leave it in but to keep him home since he was already stressed. I called the next day to say he had a little head tic but otherwise was back to normal and he advised pulling the IV. The head tic did resolve after about 4 days and he was fine. I still miss him.

Paws crossed for your orange guy. We fostered a cat with no teeth (pulled due to rot) and she managed to eat kibble out of Squeaker's bowl. I think she just wanted to show she could. Squeakers needs his teeth cleaned and we were ready to have it done when he was dx with diabetes. Now I think we need to get him stable first.

Wally is staying at the vet's tonight. This was at our request--it's so traumatic for him to go that it didn't make sense we would bring him home tonight to scream at the other three cats and then have to take him back tomorrow, assuming anything shows up in the blood work. Plus I kind of suspect he'll need x-rays.

His teeth aren't the cause so I guess I'm glad about that but concerned about what it might be. He's not eating lots, which w/ the weight loss might indicate a thyroid problem (although the lab work will determine that). Nor is he drinking excessively, which we'd expect if he were diabetic. But he's lost two pounds, which is a lot. Poor guy

Best wishes Wren and Squeakers and Edj3 I hope you can swiftly arrive at diagnosis and treatment for what is bothering Wally.

Petite, Is Miss Felix a gray tabby by any chance?

I hope Wally bounces back quicklywith the meds.

Love to Wally. Hope he is settling back at home and the vet will become distant memory soon.

I hope the steroids and antibacterials will help.

Can you use the Relion brand from Walmart? It’s about $25 a vial.