3/14: Sammy - AMPS 97; +4 69; PMPS 99; +4 69

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Tina & Sammy

Tina & Sammy

Member Since 2010
Yesterday's Condo

Good morning LL,

It is always nice when I can go back to bed after AMPS and sleep right up to +2.

So far we aren't seeing much difference in numbers from adding that drop or two back into the dose, other than better PS numbers. I am reluctant to try a decrease tomorrow since we did have a couple test over 120. It looks like we might be stuck at this dose for a bit longer.

We are also at the point were I don't think Sammy is going to go OTJ before I leave for Knit Camp. My husband just doesn't understand the importance of testing and monitoring so I feel really uncomfortable about leaving him home with DH. Even though it will probably be a little stressful, I am going to probably be taking Sammy with me to Knit Camp. The good thing is I host camp so I sort of make the rules, and I have talked to all the participants and made sure it won't be a problem for them. Sammy will have to stay in my bedroom the entire time, but at least I will be able to monitor and won't be stressed out about what my husband is or isn't doing.

My biggest fear is the 1.5 hour car trip to get there. Does anyone have any suggestions about taking a cat on a long car trip. The longest any of my cats have spent in the car is maybe 15-20 minute to go to the vet, or to the office. So I am really nervous about the 90 minute trip. I think it will be more difficult for me, but I am worried about what if he needs to go to the bathroom, or what if he has a low while we are in route.

I was really hoping that he would be off insulin before I left so I wouldn't have to worry about that.
 
I dragged punkin with me everywhere, including to 2 quilting retreats at the coast. Cats can be very portable, and for FD, that's a great solution to keep them safe if it works for that particular cat. We have a monthly potluck and one evening in the summer we took him with us and just left him in the car in a cool spot - came out there to give him his shot and checked him as needed. The coast is about an hour away for us and that's probably the first longer car ride i took him on. You can get Rescue Remedy at any pet store and give drops to calm him. The amount varies by cat. My civvie, Anya, who is maybe 8lbs, is knocked out by just a drop of it. I gave punkin a full dropperful - about 4-5 drops and it barely phased him. He weighed about 14lbs. I'd started with just a drop for him and increased with each trip. I think it works well.

There was a cat on here (I can't remember which) that got carsick and the person put a towel over the carrier so the cat couldn't see outside - then the cat was fine.

We let punkin be loose in the car. He just stayed under the back of the driver's seat, coming out to look around here and there. I had a litter box on the other side of the back seat floor. If you're alone in the car you might not want to try that with Sammy, but punkin went absolutely crazy in a cat carrier, so for us it worked. He'd spend the entire time trying to dig his way out and being very upset. Some people worry about the cat escaping, but we had a harness on punkin and always clipped on the leash to hold it before opening any car doors. If Sammy would stay in a cat carrier that's probably better.

We took both cats with us to Colorado to get punkin treated for his acromegaly - 1300 miles each way. They did fine. Yowled for the first hour but then slept most of the rest of the time under that seat. hehe just for kicks here's the condo for the day we traveled there - couple of pics of him in the car.

Taking Sammy with you is a great option. Punkin became a very well-travelled cat and he did fine. He had anxiety about going outside at home and about strangers in our house, but he travelled just fine. I hope Sammy does too. It's more important to let Sammy heal and give his pancreas support than trying to rush him into remission again. Can't really cause that to happen anyway.
 
by the way, you're on day 7 of the 1.0u - after 14 cycles with all normal numbers (i wouldn't worry about that single 138) you can try to reduce his dose by 0.25u and see if he'll hold the reduction.

Reducing the dose:
  • If kitty drops below 40 (long term diabetic) or 50 (newly diagnosed diabetic) reduce the dose by 0.25 unit. If kitty has a history of not holding reductions well or if reductions are close together... sneak the dose down by shaving the dose rather than reducing by a full quarter unit. See additional notes in the next paragraph about drops into the 20s and 30s. Alternatively, at each newly reduced dose... try to make sure kitty maintains numbers in the normal range for seven days before reducing the dose further.
 
China used to be a very car sick kitty...putting a towel over the carrier and putting the carrier on the floor of the car helped quite a bit, but when I promised DM I'd take her to Branson for the Christmas shows, the only solution to the "China problem" was to pack her up and take her with us!! Instead of keeping her in a carrier for 3+ hours for the drive, I got her used to wearing a harness and just let her go. Put a blanket over the entire back seat and a litter box on the floorboard in the back and off we went! Pulled over at a rest stop once to test and for the vast majority of the drive she was really good!

Some cats are bound and determined to get under the gas and brake pedals, so if Sammy is "one of those", you'll have to keep him in the carrier for everyone's safety.

And as Julie said, if you have him loose in the car, always with a harness on and always clip the leash on before opening the door...or even the window more than a tiny crack!

Start taking Sammy out for short rides and see which way makes him the most comfortable and then go from there!
 
Thanks, @julie & punkin (ga) and @Chris & China I sort of feel like a crazy cat lady that can't leave home without her cat, but at least I know I am not the only one. And thanks so much for the tips on travel. I will be alone in the car, so Sammy will definitely be kept in the carrier. I know 90 minutes is not that long, but it will probably seem like an eternity. I will probably try to get the Rescue Remedy, is it the same the people can take or is there a special cat one? My biggest concern is the bathroom problem, I don't want to have to have a litter box in the car, but I guess it is an option.

@julie & punkin (ga) Thanks for the information about the reduction after 7 days. The only problem I see is that on Wednesday and Thursday I accidentally shorted the shot by a drop or two and Sammy had higher PMPS numbers both days. So in fact he had a couple of over 130 readings this week. Would you still recommend giving the reduction a try? Those two days Sammy was also getting different food, 9Lives Flaked Tuna and Cheese, because he wouldn't eat anything else, so that might have also been the problem and not the slight dose reduction. I have since gotten him to eat the Wellness Turkey and the Friskies Special Diet Turkey and Giblet that he was eating before, I have also been adding a bit of another food that I think he likes just for a bit of variety. So far on the revised 1 unit dose things seem to be working out okay.
 
This is the best PMPS we have seen all week. The last green PMPS we saw was on Sunday when we were only on the first dose after the reduction. I am interested to see where tonight goes. I am not expecting anything spectacular, but you just never know. I would love to see Sammy get down into the 50's tonight.
 
Looking good! :D How about a full day of green today Sammy?

One of our members had to commute each week to another town for work and her diabetic cat was on the road about 3 hours each way twice a week. He hated car travel. Lisa wrote these tips on Traveling with Diabetic Kitties. Neko also used to hate car travel. She'd yowl on the 10 minute drive to the vet. After 3 days each way of 9-10 hours on the road going to Fort Collins, Colorado, she's become a much mellower traveler. We had the carrier door open, but she spent most of the time lying in there as it was her "safe" spot. I have a sedan with split seats, and I put an LB in the back truck with a bed there too and she occasionally stayed there. I used Rescue Remedy and sprayed Feliway in the carrier the first couple of days. The worst part of the travel was Neko deciding it was time to start earning reductions, in the middle of the burning hot day, in the middle of nowhereseville with all the road pullouts closed.:rolleyes:
 
Thanks for the link @Wendy&Neko I have ready through all the tips and saved the document for closer to the trip. There were a number of things I had not even thought about. Now I am more stressed. LOL! Best to be prepared.

We are hoping for an ALL GREEN day, it is looking promising so far.
 
Go green Sammy :D

Vyktor is an excellent traveller. When I got him I didn't know cats were supposed to hate cars so I used to take him everywhere with me, including to the courier job I had at the time to drive around all day! He sits on my lap and will use the litter tray while we're travelling if he needs to go. Hoping that Sammy turns out to be a good traveller too.
 
One thing I forgot to mention, but if you read Sammy's spreadsheet you might have already noticed this, but I am now giving Sammy MM at AMPS, +2, +4, and +9. I am feeding approximately 1 oz at each MM, and trying to give a variety of different foods to keep him interested.
 
Sammy is looking great!

On the Rescue Remedy, there is one specifically for animals that has no alcohol and that is the one you want to get.

I wouldn't reduce him yet but it would be better if you could annotate his SS in the unit column with "sk1u" . I know you have it in the remarks but it's easier to pick out in the U column and the dose should be correctly identified there.

Have fun at Knit Camp!
 
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