Can't figure this out

Hi, all--I haven't been here for a while, but that's not because things have been going smoothly, alas. My kitty Misha's numbers are all over the place. I'm thinking it's time to start attempting the TR protocol again (I haven't been following it for a while), because on the few occasions where I've gotten him into the maybe 80-150 range, he has really seemed to feel better.

Most of the time, though, he's bouncing around anywhere between the mid-40's and 300+. I try to get a fair number of tests in, but I have to leave him alone for 9 hours most weekdays, and I haven't been doing his shots at a time that would let me get a +2 consistently. I work 10-6 and have been doing his shots at 9 a.m. and 9 p.m.; that has been really nice, since it lets me sleep in a little on the weekends and be able to go out to dinner sometimes in the evening, but it means I have to leave for work shortly after his injection. I guess I need to move back toward 7:00 so I can do a +2. Sigh.

The vet and I both think he has arthritis; I've had him on injectable Adequan for several weeks but am not noticing much of a difference. His teeth have been cleaned recently (no problems there) and he had a checkup a couple of weeks ago that was pretty much normal. There's some blood at the base of his nails, which usually signals allergies for him, but I don't know what the issue might be; I haven't changed his food. Both he and my other cat are getting a bit of facial acne right now. His numbers have been hard to control in the past when he had an ear infection or a serious food allergy issue (causing scabs on his head and neck), but that hasn't happened in a long time--so I really just don't know what's going on or what I can do to make progress with him safely. When he does go down around 40-60 now, he gets upset--lots of howling and agitation--so I'm not feeling like "Oh, that's not really a big deal; I can keep pushing him."

Does anybody have any advice? What might be causing all this unsteadiness? At this point, I'm no longer wishing I could get him into remission, or even into good numbers; I'd settle for keeping him under 200 without hazardous plunges...

P.S. I know I haven't done an optimal job following a protocol consistently. I don't know why I sometimes dropped or raised the dose by .25 and then went back, and there are some missing numbers from times when my husband wasn't able to get any blood. I have no particular excuse other than being stressed out and tired

 

I can't advise on the lantus but I do have a cat with severe arthritis.

How long ago did you stay the adequan? Did you do twice a week for the first 4 weeks? I find my cat needs a shot every 1-2 weeks.

 

My vet prescribed 2x/week for 3 weeks, then once every 2-4 weeks after that. I just finished the first 3 weeks. Sounds like you feel like it's helping--that is great to hear! I really can't tell at this point--he seems maybe a little more willing to jump down from things, but that's all I've noticed. He's still kind of chewing at his paws and forelegs a bit.

 

I would do at least 1 more week of twice a week. The typical loading is 4 weeks. Then go to every other week. I noticed slight difference after 2 weeks, but quite a bit of difference after 4.

 

Thank you, that is really helpful! I will keep it going a little longer!

 

You can also give dasuquin or cosequine at the same time if she needs it

 

I tried cosequin before on its own and didn't notice a difference, but I haven't tried dasuquin yet--thank you!

 

.FD can be exhausting. I’d read the two protocals and pick one and follow it. From what you said SLGS might work best for you.