Hi all ! Queed has gone from 5.1 to 7.3 lbs now on the FFC ! I've just increased his insulin to 4U on the 29th. He's BG is under 400 so far . I gave him a good break from tests because of his poor ears. Tonight at test time he is a different cat, he's scary, he's growling and attacked the other cat with a scream, then he hissed at me when I tried to pick him up and wanted to bite me. He's NEVER acted like this before. He has turned on me quickly a few times a few weeks ago from tons of ear poking going on , but he was not going to hurt me at all, but he's not messing around now, he's aggressive and means business , and hissing loud . I feed him and got his blood checked, it's 217. I read a 2013 post that mentioned hypoglycemia, but it's obviously not that. I set up the big cat cage and put him in it to protect the other cat. He wanted me to pick him up afterwards and I did, but only for a minute, I was afraid he would snap . Does anyone have any ideas on what's going on with him?
No , I never thought about it, because I give him his food directly after, he was he happy self this morning though, thank goodness. I have no idea what was wrong with him yesterday.
My very quiet and sweet girl act grumpy when her BG fall very fast (or low) after the insulin injection (I use Lantus). Such behavior not her at all and involves some hissing and occasionally displaying attacking mode postures. I take it she doesn't feel good when BG moves up and down. I give her time and space when she does it and she goes back to norm. Offering treats after each test goes very long way, try it out.
How are you at test time? Are you nervous and anxious as you're getting him ready for testing? Its possible he's picking up on your queues. Have you tried humming a tune and gently petting him for a few minutes before you even attempt to prick his ear? Spot is not treat motivated at all, so treats don't work for him, but he loves all the loving he gets at test time
I’m not nervous, but I do hate doing it. It hurts him. He loves affection, so I just let him sit in my lap and rub him until I’m ready to do it.
It may help to remind yourself over and over while you're testing that you are doing this as an act of love. It is for his well being, to keep him happy and healthy and safe. Cats definitely pick up on how we're feeling about things, so the more you can see this as a good thing, it might help Qweed feel good about it too. And Tanya has a good point too - my kitty will get wound up if he drops too quickly on a dose, so there may have been some element of that going on as well. He may not have been hypo when you tested him, but it's possible that he's bouncing around with the dose and not feeling well.
That must be what happened, he’s been totally normal this morning and afternoon, I didn’t check his Glucose, using the power outage as an excuse. But I will check it in the morning. I do need to change my way of thinking about this testing. I have not found any “sweet spot” on the edge of his ears, he feels it all, and most of the time just cries out when I stick him, and I don’t always get any blood out of it .
I’m glad to hear that Qweed is back to being himself. That must have been so scary! Re: testing, do you warm the ear first? We tested without it at first but about a month ago started using a heated rice sock, and I can’t recommend it enough. It has made a major difference in getting the ear to bleed (and Josie was always a good bleeder, I thought) with just the tiniest pressure with the lancet (we free hand). On a good day, she sometimes doesn’t even notice I’ve done it!
My cat is one who feels it too (my civvie doesn't feel it at all). I agree with Jenna - warming the ear first makes a huge difference, especially now that the temperatures are dropping. When Sam's ear is nice and warm, I can be much more gentle with the poke and still get a good bleed with less discomfort for him.
Thank you ! I will try the heat. Yes I have really talked out loud to the guy that says there are no feelings in certain spots , lol he definitely feels every where .
This calls for a celebration! I am so incredibly glad you found the board and Qweed is seeing some results. Keep on keeping on, nice and steady.