Molly & Charlie's Vet Visit

All is well

So, as expected, Molly didn't enjoy her 'trip'--she bit me while I was getting her out of her cage I'm expecting some sort of retaliation when I get home from work late tonight.

Molly has to get her teeth checked in another 6mos, they arent great--but I knew that. She weighed in at 9.4! Doc said she is very healthy and doing exceptionally well! She got her very dirty ears cleaned--and didn't like it at all

As usual, they were a bit hit at the office--everyone loves to see them and were so happy to see how great big C is doing these days.
Charlie is weighing in at a whopping 15.7--but the vet said he's looking pretty healthy. Hopefully with spring being near, he can get more exercise in the yard.

So, my vet attended a CE conference last month, and is now on board with hometesting (when the kitty allows), and is totally into LC wet food!! She was speaking with a prominent researcher who is currently working on several studies. While the researcher couldn't give a lot of specifics about her papers that are now under review, she was able to talk about the newer recommendations regarding food and testing. Apparently, some are finding that lowering carbs below 5% can potentially see an 80% remission rate for sugarcats!! My vet now recommends NO DRY KIBBLE!! :thumbup She said her preference is to feed FF wet 5 and under carb values.
We had a wonderful conversation about hometesting & diet and how they can make a tremendous difference in the need for insulin. Her one caveat about home bg meters is to factor a 20% difference in true values--which still keeps Charlie's #'s in the green!!
Her suggestions for C's tx in the future is to do a monthly bg test, (normally, she would recommend a weekly test, but hes been otj for over 5 weeks now and I've been testing daily) while monitoring his overall health and keeping an eye on hunger, water & urine, etc. She suggested doing a weekly test for ketones.
She was telling me about a product that you 'sprinkle' in their clumping litter. Then within 12 hrs, you can look at any clump to see if there are ketones---has anyone heard of this product? She said she could order the kit for me, but I decided to hold off for a little while. This sounds like a much easier way to test, except for the multiple cat issues--but then you can see how the civies are doing as well. Anyone heard of this product before? Anyone interested in me getting the name of it?

I'm thinking because C tolerates the bg tests so well, that I will do a weekly test and forgo the ketones test, but would like any input on the issue.
Hope everyone's having a great day--we sure are!!
Jen

 

That's hilarious, nothing like a good conference to convince people! Because of course all the evidence we have here, well, you know, it's the internet. ;-) Arghhh, but hey, if vets are getting on board now that is awesome. I think my hometesting actually evolved out of a conference - I think the marketers of the meter I got from my vet gave them some free samples & sales pitch, etc., and that's part of what prompted it (I was the office "test case" I'm pretty sure).

That's all great news though! My crew is really easy to test for pee so I personally wouldn't bother with the ketone additive, but it could be a lifesaver for those who struggle to test pee. Might post on Health about it if you have the details, just to spread the word that it's an option.

 

I would love something as a litter additive. My kitties are secret pee-ers. I never know when they are going unless I walk in (and then we both freeze and stare at each other.)

 

Glad to hear that everything went well at the vet! That's great that the conference is opening more eyes to our situation. My vet is still iffy about all of this, so I will have to ask him if he heard about the conference, hehe My babies are eating Friskies between 6 and 7 carbs, but I may have to see if I can get Prudence to eat the FF again :-|

 

Great news, Jen. Hopefully Molly won't hold a grudge. We give our two droolers and civie Charlie Proden for their teeth. Its made from some kind of seaweed and it really helps with plaque and tartar. A year ago our vet said Beau needed dental cleaning, but since using the Proden, his teeth are clean and healthy. Charlie hasn't had his yearly visit yet, but I'm betting his teeth are much better too.

 

There's this stuff, Glucotest, made by Purina: http://www.purinaveterinarydiets.com/Fe ... x?prod=262

I haven't used it, but ran across the webpage the other night.

 

Donna-thanks for the link, I think that is the product my vet was talking about! Think I'll post the link in Health for anyone who has trouble testing their kitties. Looks like its only available at the vets, wonder how expensive it is.

Ele- is proden a supplement? where do you get it from? I would like to try something 'cause Molly has already lost 2 of her teeth, and it looks like she might lose a few more later this year

Molly has calmed down while I was at work tonight DH said she spent half an hour following him around '*****ing' when he got home tonight!! LOL, she can be very vocal, especially with him.

Gonna go relax now, and have a much deserved glass of wine!!

 

Oops! The Glucotest sprinkles are for glucose, not ketones. So not exactly what you were looking for.

 

No worries Donna--I totally didn't realize it either Gonna ask the vet this am if this was the product, or if it is something else.

 

Jen, here's a link to the Proden Plaque Off: http://www.entirelypets.com/plaqueoff180.html
The company even makes a similar product for humans, but it's easier to brush our teeth than kitties teeth. :mrgreen:

 

That Proden stuff sounds really interesting, Ele. I noticed you use it on your droolers and civie. Is there any reason you don't use it on Blackie? Where did you hear about it?

 

Ele-thanks for the link, will definitely consider using it. Question: is it something I can crush up to mix with her food? I doubt we would successfully pill this kitty--especially daily

Stopped by the vets this am with a stool sample for Molly (she didn't cooperate and give me one yesterday before her appt--urrgh)
My vet wasn't there, but a trusted tech knew the product I was asking about and looked it up for me. Unfortunately, it only is the one that tests for glucose I was really hoping for a great new product. I removed the "this might help" portion of the title on my health post--'cause it doesn't seem to be an overly useful product. Ele posted that she tried it before, and it is a big hassle.
Big C has shyness about peeing in front of me, so we haven't successfully tested for keytones. I am not concerned, though. His numbers have been solidly in the green for weeks. I think I will get a weekly test of his bg's, and as long as those stay in the norm, and he doesn't show any other symptoms, I will forgo the keytone tests.
Happy caturday!

 

I don't use the PlaqueOff for Blackie because he has perfect teeth. Every vet that's looked at his mouth is amazed that his teeth looks so good at age 17. I don't remember how I found the PlaqueOff, but I know it's been working. It is a powder, so you don't have to crush it. It comes with this tiny little scoop and Charlie only gets a half scoop mixed in with his canned food once a day. The droolers (over 50 lbs) get a heaping scoop each. Here's the link for the company that makes it: http://www.plaqueoff.com/

Jen, I don't know which product you are talking about that was a hassle. I've used ketostix and Azostrips, but not glucose strips. But I could be confused. :lol:

 

I'm so glad the vet appts went well. And how awesome that your vet is now a hometesting/LC canned food convert! I know that must be a relief for you.

My vet tried to sell me that stupid glucose litter box thing and I was so aggravated with her. She knows I hometest and have miles of data. She knows we have 3 cats and isolating one of them for 12 hours to ensure no one else peed in the LB is absolutely asinine. She suggested it as "an alternative to bringing the kitty in for monitoring at the office, so as to cause less stress for kitty". :shock: Love her, but she is pretty clueless when blinded by potential money-making opportunities. I wrote her a firm, somewhat angry e-mail in reply. Funnily enough, she hasn't e-mailed me since. :lol:

Personally, like you said, as long as BG is low and no other symptoms are present, I wouldn't test for ketones. I know I don't do so (Buzz was notoriously difficult to test) and I'm not worried about it. I think Charlie will be fine as long as you keep an eye on everything else.

 

Ele,
Thanks, I will be ordering that plaque stuff for molly next week--paws crossed it helps her
I was talking about a product that the vet recommended to check for glucose (I thought she meant ketones). Its something you can sprinkle into the litter to check in 12 hours for presence of glucose in the urine. We haven't had success getting a 'sample' from C, he's shy--but I'm not concerned since he's in remission.
Luckily, for me Charlie is easy to test--so yeah, we'll just check his bg's 1x week.

Thanks for all your support ladies!

 

Ele-
I was looking through this post to get the link for prodent, and realized I must have confused you!! When I said you tried and didn't like the gluco-test stuff---I meant to say it was Karen & Smokey GA who tried it.

Sorry!! Duh Guess my brain still isn't working right from lack of sunshine--is spring here yet? lol