Update on Tonka - 18-05-15

Just got home from a very long shift out of town and opened the door to find two very happy cats.

Tonka appears to have forgiven me for having all but a couple of his teeth removed last month (I'm bringing him into the vet for a follow-up tomorrow when they're open to see how he's been healing up) and is eating very enthusiastically. Actually, he acts like he's starving. But his blood sugars seem to be good. I tested him when I got home last night and he was 90, and this morning he was at 82. So, for a cat in remission who's almost a month past his dental, he's reading a touch higher than many, maybe he just tends to run a bit higher. The monitor that I use for him (Bravo - one of the newer ones available in Canada) does tend to read a touch higher than my old OneTouch that we used before. It's also supposed to be more accurate though (10% rather than 20% from true), so who knows. Either way, he's back down from where he was shortly after his extractions when he was no doubt in a lot of pain.

So thank you all again for all your help and advice in getting him to this point! You have no idea (well, you probably do) how much better I feel in leaving him and Teeger with our very loving and attentive (but reluctant to BG test) catsitter when I have to go away, now that he is diet controlled. I was quite terrified of the prospect of being away for much of the field season this year when I was getting him better regulated on the insulin over the winter. Getting him OTJ is such a blessing. And his legs are almost back to normal. With the exception of him getting his lip caught on his one remaining canine tooth from time to time (so undignified! poor guy), he seems quite back to normal, although slimmer than he was this time last year, before his diabetes set in. This seems to be a healthier weight, though, since he was a very stocky cat before.
I weighed them both this morning: Tonka (Mr. OTJ diabetic, toothless wonderpuss of a trouble cat) is 13.4 lb, a touch down from where he was a month ago, but only by a few ounces; Teeger (Mr. hyperthyroid, almost as toothless, poking, purring snugglebug) is 12.6 lb, also a touch down but only by a few ounces. How much weight fluctuation (percentage wise) is considered normal (this amount doesn't seem out of that range to me, yet), and when should I be concerned that they're losing weight again and maybe offering them a bit more/higher calorie food? Tonka is doing well on the food being offered so I don't want to mess with that when I'm not going to be around regularly to monitor unless it becomes concerning...

 

Hi Jordi - great to hear from you and Tonka. Happy Victoria Day! Tonka sounds like one happy puss, especially since his bean is back home again. Since you are seeing the vet soon, I'd ask what he/she thinks is an ideal weight for Tonka and then work to get him there. Slow weight loss (a couple ounces a month) is fine. Before diabetes, I used to find that Neko would fluctuate seasonally. She'd exercise more in the warmer months and be as much as half a pound lower than in the winter. I don't think I'd worry quite yet.

 

Happy Victoria Day back at you
That's good to know. My biggest worry is that he's been trying to steal Teeger's food on top of his own, and Teeger is also losing weight. But seasonal fluctuations are likely for these two, since they get to go outside a bit in the summers, while spending most of the winter snoozing.
Yup, he seems to be quite content with his situation today. I've spent the day being walked on, head butted, leaned on and told off by both cats every few minutes... It's good to be home.

 

It's great to hear how well Tonka is doing!

 

Other than him thinking that he is being starved But he is a bit of a glutton, so that's all back to being normal for him. Thanks for checking in

 

aw, great to hear a report on Tonka! he sounds like he's doing really well!

Good luck on the dental - and keep the weight loss very slow, about 1% of his body weight per month.

 

His vet is quite happy with the condition he's in right now and said about the same thing regarding his weight, then proceeded to tell him that she didn't want to see him for another year now, so he'd better keep in shape