A big 'thank you' and a message of hope.

I would like to say a huge 'thank you' to all the people who helped me through the really frightening time of having a Walter diagnosed with FD, closely followed by his brother and litter mate, Nimzo. They were both 8 years old and dashing, neutered males who quickly lost loads of weight, flooded the litter trays and generally started looking very old. This was five years ago and I'm happy to say that they are both doing really well now, though Nimzo has been a lot harder to regulate and doesn't see as well as he used to. I found all the information and help on the FDMB, aswell as the support at all times of the day and night, helped me help my boys and I'm sure they wouldn't be thriving now without that help.

They have both got pancreatitus aswell as FD and this sometimes sends their numbers a little higher. And Nimzo hates going to the vets so any visit will stress him and throw odd numbers up. Their fructosamine results show them both in the 'well regulated' region. They will both walk away from their food bowls when there is still food in them, going back later for more when they feel like it, which is a huge step forward from the starving, wolfing down of food and having to feed them in seperate rooms to make sure they didn't eat all their brother's too! They both put on a lot of weight at the beginning of their insulin treatment and slowly returned to good weights when I found the right dosage for them.

I really appreciated learning to home test (against my vets advice at the beginning) and finding out more about cat food and switching to an all wet diet (not recommended by my vet either). But I also really, really had to learn and understand that when you say that 'every cat is different' that Every Cat Is Different. Sounds simple but it is a hard lesson. Walter and Nimzo have lead me a merry dance and just when I think I can relax then one of them will remind how 'special' they are! All the advice in the world, both professional and from other carers, should never stop you from actually learning from your cats. They are amazingly resilient and understanding and you have to watch out for all the 'tells' that things are not quite right even when life has been pretty smooth for a while. I don't test before every shot now but I always have the monitor and strips handy if I feel that things are not quite right. I know I should test but 5 years of testing 2 cats twice a day is not only time consumming but expensive. I did test every meal time for 3 years though to find out how my cats reacted to differnet foods and situations and to find dosages that would suit them. However, if they urine output increases or the food gets wolfed down or ignored, then they get tested. If they get lethargic or stop playing, they get tested. Nimzo will also pee outside his box if he is not feeling very well. Well, it makes a point doesn't it?

My original vet is still not that keen on home testing but he does appreciate the fact that the boys are doing well. His younger collegues have been very supportive. I didn't realize that so much dietry advice given by the vets comes directly from the major cat food manufacturers such a Hill's. My cats wouldn't eat the expensive tinned Science diet that I was advised to buy and the dry food sent their numbers into the high 20's (UK reading) even with only 3-4 lumps. I have found the Butchers Classic cat food keeps the numbers low and most of the quality tinned foods in jelly are fine for my boys.

I have been lucky with my insulin too. Both my cats are on Insuvet protamine zinc 100iu/ml and I use BD microfine demi 0.3ml syringes which have short needles and half unit markings. These help with the smaller dosages and the short needles have decreased the likelyhood of fur shots or straight throughs! Walter is on a half unit twice a day and Nimzo is on 3 units twice a day (ECID!). Nimzo is a much larger (taller) cat and much harder to stabalise but is thriving at the moment. We thought we would have to find another insulin for Nimzo at one point about a year in when we couldn't even out his curve but, by being very strict with his feeding times, he slowly evened out. It would have been hard to pay for 2 different types of insulin and I didn't want to change Walter's as he was doing so well.

It has been difficult at times and I have found it hard to stand up to my vet but the more knowledge you have, the easier it gets. I have had 5 fabulous years of living with my 2 sugar cats and hope to have many more. I couldn't have done it without the support and information I got from the FDMB Thank you so much!

 

Thank you for telling your story so well....I hope some of our new members read it.

I'm glad your kitties are doing well...wishing you more happy years.

 

What a wonderful story and such a caring sugar mom. You really saved your boys' lives and continue to do so, every day. Bless you.