3/6 Meowzi AMPS 206, PMPS 186 .... Longtimer

Discussion in 'Lantus / Levemir / Biosimilars' started by WCF and Meowzi, Mar 6, 2010.

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  1. WCF and Meowzi

    WCF and Meowzi Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    Dec 28, 2009
    Last week's condo

    So much to update, not sure where to start.

    BG's first I guess. We think she's been pulling a Cagney on us - the "sections closed for repairs" stuff. I had wondered if scar tissue from her 4 scruff shots a day (2 insulin shots, 2 SQuid administrations) was interfering with the insulin action, so on Friday morning (3/5), we started giving flank shots to see what would happen. The results surprised us so much, we thought our meter was broken :lol: I guess her scruff section is closed for repairs.

    Granted, there were a couple other changes that happened around the same time: started new pen on 3/2, and raised her SQuids from usual 75 mls to 100 mls on PM of 3/4, 80 mls 3/5 AM, and 100 mls 3/5 PM. But this morning, she got only 75 mls (I was worried about her very deep purrs at 4 am this morning), and tonight's PMPS is still flat. It's too early to tell, but we're hopeful that this nice BG trend will continue. (BTW we're going back up to 100 mls SQuids tonight - had Dr F-B take a look at her Feb chest x-rays today, and she said she didn't see anything not consistent with a 15-y.o. kitty).

    Bloodwork - we've received part of it; the ones run by Antech (labs ss link in siggy below). I got just the renal values over the phone on Thurs night, which left me in tears because they had deteriorated as I'd been bracing for but had been hoping against. The surprise came on Friday morning, when I picked up the faxed full copy of her b/w at tbp. We're now questioning if CKD is truly the primary concern right now - something's up with her CBC that may (or may not) have skewed her renal values. On Jojo's advice, I had our tech call Antech for a manual diff. It probably got sent that back today, but Dr S hasn't called, so I expect him to call on Monday/Tues. One of her liver values was a little elevated too, as was her amylase (and that was elevated, together with her renal values, during her last CP flare in Sept.) - quite suspicious for some liver/pancreas involvement here. Jojo had some suggestions - rads and urine tests, among others, which we will likely be following through on after the manual diff and MSU results come back.

    WCR: Appy was still MIA all week despite starting brand-new mirtz on Sunday, and a second dose on Wednesday. She would eat from our hands, but not from her bowl by herself. Yesterday morning, she was not interested at all in breakfast or her usual treats :eek:; had to resort to Temptations bribes to get her to finish an ounce of breakfast. We wondered about a CP flare - it's rare for her to refuse treats - and were prepared to try a bupe pain med trial in the evening. But when we came home from tbp, she started up on seeing us, walked out into the living room to greet us, and proceeded to munch on Cali's cat grass (Meowzi rarely eats it) and then stayed out in the LR the entire night. She ate pretty well that night, so we decided to hold off on the bupe. Gave her 100 mls as planned. This morning, she ate 7/8 oz of her 1 oz breakfast in one sitting, and quite enthusiastically too. We don't know what to attribute the improvement to - lower BGs, better hydration, threat of an hr-long drive to get an u/s, .... who knows, but things have certainly improved since last night.

    Oh, cute story. Because of her elev. ALT, we decided to start her on Denosyl. She's never had it before, so I tried one for a taste test. Unchewed, it's fine - coated, no taste. But it is NASTY once chewed on - I had to rinse my mouth out (and I'm used to bad-tasting Chinese herbal medicine!). So we were in a quandary. It's a fairly large pill, compared to her routine mirtz and amlodipine. I sat down with her, and explainedhow it tasted really nasty but she needed to take it, and could she be a brave baby and try to pick it up from my hand and swallow without chewing. (she eats her her Renal Essentials tablet - is big, we halve it, but is tasty chicken-fish flavoured - from my hand.) So she tried to lick up the Denosyl, but it was too big and she couldn't pick it up. DH then squished it into a Friskies soft treat. I told her we were putting it in a treat, with a blank IVD treat before and after, and that the middle treat would taste nasty and not to bite into that. And as she ate her first treat, we praised her, reminded her not to bite into the second treat .... nailbite_smile .... she didn't bite, and just swallowed it, and then she bit into the third treat. We weren't sure it would work again today, but we just had the same success tonight dancing_cat I think the trick may be to warn her which is the nasty one not to bite into. She got plenty of kisses and praise after that; we told her she's a brave and clever baby and how proud we are of her. cat_pet_icon
     
  2. Jill & Alex (GA)

    Jill & Alex (GA) Senior Member Moderator

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    Dec 28, 2009
    wow. i've suspected for quite a long time now that kitties understand more than we realize or give them credit for.
    what a sweetheart! cat_pet_icon
     
  3. Linda and Bear Man

    Linda and Bear Man Well-Known Member

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    Dec 28, 2009
    (((Choy-Foong))) You do have a brave and clever baby, and you are a brave and caring Mom to her. I'm glad Jojo is helping you out with suggestions. Sending good b/w vines, as always. Denosyl is SAMe? Bear has been taking SAMe for a while. It was suggested for his cognitive function, and it seems to have helped him a bit with his wandering and circling. Did you see Cheryl and Winnie's post on Health about a possible Bupe shortage?
     
  4. Libby and Lucy

    Libby and Lucy Senior Member Moderator

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    Dec 28, 2009
    Meowzi is such a smart kitty. :smile: I hope you get some answers from the new tests. Whatever it is, it sounds like Meowi's QOL is still just fine so keep on keeping on.
     
  5. Dyana

    Dyana Well-Known Member

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    Dec 28, 2009
    Meowzi is very smart. Nice communication skills you two have with each other.
     
  6. WCF and Meowzi

    WCF and Meowzi Well-Known Member

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    Dec 28, 2009
    Jill, I was inspired to try after reading this site :smile: I don't agree with some of his technical tips further down the page - keeping in mind that his experience was more than a decade ago - but I found his thoughts on how to get kitty to cooperate very interesting. It was one of those "why didn't I think of it" ohmygod_smile moments for me.
     
  7. Libby and Lucy

    Libby and Lucy Senior Member Moderator

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    Dec 28, 2009
    it's funny that you brought that up today. On my Siamese fosters message board, one of the foster moms was talking about a cat she fostered once who was very dominant and even managed to chase the foster mom out of the room! Foster mom said she went back in, picked up the kitty and looked her in the eye and said that she was not to do that anymore. She didn't! When the cat went to her forever home, foster mom gave new mom that tip. Sure enough, cat tried to dominate her new mom, mom sat her down and had the talk, the problem ended. Her mom did decide to let her continue to chase certain guests out of the house, though. :lol:
     
  8. Cyn and Cosmo

    Cyn and Cosmo Member

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    Dec 28, 2009
    I love the treat story.... wonder if I could get Cosmo to take oral meds if I had a talk with him. (hmm).

    Funny story: my advisor at school (a psychologist) has family "meetings" with her two cats when they fight too much. She gets both in the same room, sitting, and will chat with them about their behavior. I thought it was cute.

    Hoping that the next renal panel shows better numbers and that this one was skewed for some reason!
     
  9. Sienne and Gabby (GA)

    Sienne and Gabby (GA) Senior Member Moderator

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    Dec 28, 2009
    I love how Meozi listens. I think Gabby might. Gizmo, not so much. (He's a kitten and way too busy.) I hope you get the answers you are looking for in the labs.
     
  10. pjstroop

    pjstroop Member

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    Dec 28, 2009
    awwww Meowzi! You are the sweetest and smartest kitty.. :razz:
    I hope that the tests come back with positive news (((WCF))!

    Sending my best appy vibes to Miss Meowzi..
     
  11. Cheryl and Winnie

    Cheryl and Winnie Well-Known Member

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    Dec 28, 2009
    sorry her labs are funky ....

    One thing sticky out in my head right now about the denasyl.
    Meowzi's still on pepcid?
    Winnie was on denasyl and I started finding it whole in her exported goods .
    Called Nutramax and talked to tech. They said the pepcid was prohibiting the coating from dissolving.
    (btw same thing ended up happening w/ Wolfie too after he started on it)
    They said that the coating was to protect it from oxidizing -- is very sensitive and happens fast when exposed. Suggested that we go ahead and smash the pill and give it very quickly after doing so. That we would lose a little but should still be *enough* and certainly better than having it all go straight through.
    I can pill Wolfie very easy ( Winnie was super about it too) . so I put on plate and gently tap with bottom of a glass -- not completely smashed just enough to break open into a few pieces. wrap in a little cheese to keep all the pieces glued and down the hatch. It has worked well for us.
    They also suggested not giving pepcid w/i a couple hours either side of it. (mostly we are able to follow that .... sometimes belly's dictate otherwise)

    So...... I would suggest,er... um....trying to put this delicately for HRH..... looking for *treasure* in ... her digestive transfer. Hopefully she will be able to handle it w/o the pill breaking. Just thought I'd give you the heads up ( tails up ? :lol: )

    speaking of commerce......... Wolfie's fragrant deal just went through ...... gotta run
     
  12. Nina and KB

    Nina and KB Well-Known Member

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    Dec 28, 2009
    So glad her appetite has picked up again.

    You and Meowzi have a very special relationship.
     
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