Been reading the forum for a few weeks, finally making an account.

Hello, my name is Miranda and my diabetic kitty is Wendy.

Wendy started losing weight last year and getting very lethargic. I'll be the first to admit that I grew up with dogs and was ignorant about recognizing red flags in a cat's health. I had heard that older cats lose weight and vomit just as part of aging and chalked up her lethargy to being part of a cold she was having. To top it all off, last year my husband and I struggled financially and had no way to take her to a vet.

This year we finally were able to get her to a vet. I was terrified the vet would say she had an incurable disease and would recommend putting her down.

I was relieved to hear it was diabetes. I dreaded giving her shots, but had seen my mother give insulin shots to her diabetic dog and he didn't seem to mind.

So I started giving her the 1 unit of Vetsulin once a day as directed. I was supposed to return to the vet in 10 days for a curve but didn't have the money to pay for it. So I just kept doing what I was doing, feeding her as often as she would eat, and she seemed to put on a bit of weight. She was 2.5 lbs on the day of her diagnosis and I now struggle to keep her weight around 3 lbs.

Once I noticed her progress plateauing and my husband got his new job, I called the vet to schedule a curve. We soon realized they couldn't do a curve on the weekend and it wasn't possible to take her on a weekday, so the vet recommended to do a fructosamine test instead. We went in Saturday, March 16, for this test. Two vet techs came in to draw her blood. They grabbed her by the scruff and she started to make horrible noises I had never heard her make before. Her face started making pained faces I had never seen before. I hid behind my husband, crying and panicking already.

And then I heard one of the techs say, "Oh my god, she degloved." This is how we came to know that Wendy has skin fragility syndrome. She lost skin all around her scruff and behind her ears. I am now home with her all day to monitor her progress but am now in a place where I'm very distrustful of veterinarians and their techs and wanting to do as much as I can at home.

I know I need to start testing her BG and I'm actually now in deep regret that I hadn't known that I could have done the curve myself and potentially avoided the injury that my poor baby is struggling to heal from now. I just worry about doing too many things to her. At one point I had insulin, pain med, antibiotics, eye ointment, and eye drops to administer through the day, even in the middle of the night.

Anyway, I'm glad to finally engage in this forum. Thanks for being here. I look forward to learning everything I can.

 

Welcome Miranda and Wendy. I'm glad you decided to join the community and find some answers to your questions and concerns. Wendy has had a very rough start and this is a good place to get in touch with experienced and knowledgeable people for information and support.

Home testing is going to help you see how the insulin is affecting her during the cycles between shots, and ensure that it's safe to actually administer the injections. We can help you learn how test at home and what supplies you will need.

Please don't beat yourself up or spend your time and energies in regret, you are going forward and doing what's best for Wendy now. You will need that time and energy to learn and get little Wendy to better health and comfort. We are here for you and want the same results.

Please start a new thread in the Main Health forum HERE. You can copy your message from this forum and paste it right into the message window on your new thread. This Introduction forum is the welcome mat, to say hello and what's next? We want to get to what's next right away, get more members' eyes on the issues and start getting you some answers and information.

Visit the Vetsulin forum and read the sticky about Vetsulin at the top of the page. You can also post there, as the experienced Vetsulin members check there to be of assistance.

It's all a learning process, a path each of us has traveled. Injections and testing do become routine, and you will have the knowledge and confidence that this is helping Wendy. I love this quote I discovered some time ago:
Start by doing what's necessary; then do what's possible; and suddenly you are doing the impossible. Saint Francis of Assisi
It's so true.

Best wishes going forward

 

Wow, what an appropriate quote! Thanks for responding with direction and kind words.

 

Only 3 lbs at 11 yrs old, did I read that correctly?

 

So sorry to hear about your kitty and all the trauma she has been through. It breaks my heart because there is no reason for it. Please do research to find a new more compassionate vets office immediately with staff that are better trained. I see no reason anyone should be picking up a cat like that. As an example at my vet they wrap my cat in a towel and carry her. She is not a fighter even and they still handle her wrapped in a towel so she is less scared also. Look online for reviews, see if there are any vets that specialize in her medical issues. Look up their backgrounds and interview them. Even ask them how they pick up the cats? is everyone trained in this?

I have heard some areas have vets that make house calls, maybe that is an option, then you have more control.

If you do find a new vet, I would absolutely refuse to let my cat out of my sight and would insist you are present for any and all tests and treatment and they are fully informed of her condition.

I saw your location, and found this vet. I hope this is not where you had the problems. Under services they list specializing in soft tissue injuries and surgery. Maybe they are familiar with the condition your kitty has. Female vet sounds very compassionate. Worth a phone call and ask office if you can talk to vet regarding whether that may be a good fit to help your cat. If the reception says you have to come in, I would say you need a new vet, but need to talk to the vet before bringing the cat in due to specialized circumstances, the vet should be willing to return your call, they can’t give medical advice without seeing the cat, but they should be able to answer your basic questions about their ability to handle Wendy’s issues, how are the staff trained, etc. a truly compassionate vet should understand especially what you have been through.

https://www.arkansasbrowninganimal.com/meet-our-team.html

This is just one, do your own research too. Best of luck.

 

Yes, you did read that correctly. She eats about 1.5 to two 5.5 oz cans of food daily but unfortunately she doesn't absorb much nutrients.

EDIT: I should note that the most she is a very small cat, I don't think she ever weighed more than 5 pounds. I'm so used to being around her that I forget how small she really is. I'm always reminded when I see y'alls posts mentioning your 12 and 15 pound cats.

 

I just got chills at your reply. Unfortunately that is the exact vet that the trauma occured at, so I won't be returning to them.

 

Was she tested for EPI?

 

You wanted to learn to test at home. It really is easy. I have a video in my signature showing how I test my cat CC at home. I'm so so sorry she's had this trauma... That's terrible! They should never be so rough.

What are you feeding? Be sure she has access to foods whenever she wants. There's a food chart link in my signature as well. Pick foods under 10 percent carb.

All insulins are ment to be given to a cat twice a day. Their metabolism is faster than dogs or people. That vet was truely aweful.

 

That is so awful. If it were me, I’d be talking to an attorney. No reason that should have happened, especially with such a tiny cat. What the hell is wrong with people? Makes me so angry when I see animals hurt. I hope you find something that works for your kitty. Maybe screening vets that make housecalls, at least you are always seeing what is going on.