Rufus & Bee have (finally) registered!

Hi, all.

I'm Bee, Rufus' resident ear-and-chin-scratcher, and I thought it was only appropriate that we introduce ourselves. Rufus is a thirteen-year-old Norwegian Forest mix who was diagnosed with diabetes a few years back. I have been hiding under a rock while my mother cared for his insulin needs ever since. I can't remember what it was exactly (I can't remember much of anything, to be honest!), but something wound up my key and I started ticking - in other words, I finally decided to be involved in his care.

I've never been afraid of needles, but the idea of jabbing someone else with one disturbs me - as well as the fact that I have naturally shaky hands. I'm still working on that one, but I have just recently begun testing his BGLs (... as in, I have tested him once.) He did a very good job of sitting still and didn't flinch at all with the sound of the lancing device. I'm sure he'll have his cattitude flare ups from time to time, but that first try was a very (perhaps falsely!) promising start.

Rufus is on Lantus (and not doing horribly well on it, frankly) after being well regulated on PZI for some time. He receives two units twice daily, which sounds like an awful lot compared to many of you. He enjoys Merrick's Cowboy Cookout quite heartily, and I'm using the Contour USB as his meter, which I am very pleased with so far (I've tested it on myself a few times to get the routine down).

GoodNESS, am I ever long-winded! Anyway, I'm very pleased to finally be among the active, and looking forward to reading and learning more from all of you and your experience. ... and Rufus says, "Hi", too.

 

Welcome. It seems you are doing an excellent job of caring for Rufus. Two units twice a day is not that high. My Bailey is on about two units of Lantus too.

 

Welcome to FDMB. You are off to a great start - already hometesting. :mrgreen:

If you have not already, start reading the info on this site. It will provide a lot of info about insulin, diet and care. Feel free to ask us any questions you may have, even if you are not sure if it is important. The reason we are all here is to help others learn to care for their sugar babies.

 

Welcome to you two! I am sure you will like Lantus once you find the right dose. You can post in the Lantus forum and get some help from many others using the same insulin.

A dose of 2units is not that high; you will find many others on higher doses, but so long as it's what kitty needs, that is what kitty gets.

both of my two are high dose kitties with one getting 7.75u and the other getting 23u.

Feel free to ask any questions you may have.
To know the road ahead, ask the man coming back.

 

Firstly, thank you all for the greetings, it's very nice to be welcomed by such kind people.

Secondly - Wow! I had no idea a cat could tolerate that much, but as you said - if they need it, they get it.

My mother should be getting a phone call from Rufus' vet today to discuss a whole day's worth of testing (Mom's the one paying the bill, as I'm [technically] disabled) so I'm sure we'll get a good picture of what is happening concerning his lack-o-regulation, and perhaps discuss other alternatives.

Although she knew about feline nutritional needs she was not aware of the healthy foods on the market and suggested we put him on Hill's - Blah! She's a kind woman and very sensitive to both pet and pet owner (she put down one of our elderly ailing dogs), but I get the idea her experience with Diabetes isn't as complete as she'd like it to be.

You mentioned two diabetic pointy-eared ones, It seems like several board members have more than one diabetic cat - I wonder, are people rescuing diabetic cats from shelters and independent rescues, etc. ? Now that I'm getting an education in the ins and outs of the disease I wonder if I'll ever be able to remove that from my life. I think I'd probably feel bereft without the routines that are developing!

 

First off Welcome to you and Rufus to FDMB, you are now part of the best kitty caregiver family there is. And Second to answer your question, yes a lot of folks here have adopted more than one sugar baby from either, shelters, private folks and even this board itself. We have several right now that are looking for home, Twinkie, Beasley, Peanut and Brie to name a few. Mine own dear sugar baby Muse is waiting for me at the Rainbow bridge, but should any of my other 10 civies (non-diabetic kitty) decide at some point to join her,(No time soon I hope) or my husband and I move to a larger property, I'll be right up there with so many folks here adopting another one.

Sounds like you are off to a good start with learning to home test, and it only gets easier from there. Don't hesitate to ask questions. There is a wealth of knowledge here.

Rufus--take it nice and easy on your chin scratcher.

Mel & Muse (GA)

 

Thank you very much.

I'm sorry to hear that you lost one (temporarily). I have several four-legged family members from my earliest years on who I suspect are up there playing together, the latest of which went last November. It's definitely hard to be separated.

I don't know if I could handle ten cats in one house, particularly with one of them being so territorial. I envy you your fortitude! I definitely know how you feel about wanting more, though. I'm always looking at shelter postings and tempting myself - thankfully I live in my mother's house and would need her OK on bringing a larger animal home, or I'd probably be up to my eyeballs in fur. :lol:

 

Welcome!

Fantastic that you are hometesting. Have you been over to the Lantus site? It is one of the Insulin Support groups on this website. The stickies at the top have great info for you. And everyone there uses Lantus so they may have ideas to help you. viewforum.php?f=9

One of the tools they use is a spreadsheet so they can see the patterns on insulin use/levels. It is a great tool that is color coded. If you are interested, it isn't terribly hard to do: http://felinediabetes.com/FDMB/viewtopic.php?f=6&t=16

 

lol Thanks I don't think I have a single cat here or the drooler for that matter that I intentionally went out and got, they just seem to show up for various reasons, most with horror stories in their past. And around here cat fur isn't a problem, its a condiment :lol: We even keep lint rollers by the door to hand guests when they leave so they can do fur removal, but I wouldn't have it any other way. Keep up the good work with Rufus and soon this will be as easy as eating and sleeping for you.

Mel & Muse (GA)

 

Hi and welcome.

I switched my FDs from PZI to an insulin similar to Lantus, called Levemir. It was not easy at first, but it's well worth it. I think you'll find Rufus may start feeling better pretty quickly.

Getting numbers at the vet is great, but it's not really as good as getting numbers at home. If Rufus is nervous about being at the vet, his numbers may be a little higher than normal and you may not get a good picture of what's going on.

Learning to hometest is fantastic. Test before the morning and evening shot, and try to get spot checks in between. It can be daunting at first, but it's the best way to see how Rufus is reacting to the Lantus. You'll see if he drops his blood sugar too much or too little, if an increase or decrease is needed.

Looking forward to learning more about you and Rufus.

 

I'm glad to hear it's working well for your cats, unfortunately, Rufus has been on Lantus for quite a while - a year and a half, I'd like to say, and while he sometimes shows us healthy body and mind, we far too often see troubling signs instead (dry skin, excessive drinking, gummy urine [the scariest in my opinion], anxiety, and decreased socializing). I know Lantus is really a godsend for a lot of cats, but I have to wonder if Rufus is among the minority that just don't respond the way we'd all hope. :YMSIGH:

Thankfully Rufus isn't much afraid of the vet's office - he really doesn't care for the car trip there, though! I'd bet his numbers were a little elevated, but their techs have been known to sit near an open crate with an upset animal and soothe their little furry fears, thankfully. It's a very nice office... when they aren't suffering from low-staffing.

Rufus had to have a fructosamine done instead of a curve because an emergency caused us to miss an insulin dose the night before, they explained. His numbers were 610, so we're looking at a morning insulin increase by a unit... which is why I'm really glad I bought that meter!

We've been trying to test before his injections, but the last two times I was unable to get either any or enough blood. He became agitated, so the two of us cut it off before it turned into a battle. Need more treats! And perhaps a deeper setting on the lancing pen. Well, the fact that I've succeeded once keeps me motivated - I just need to keep going until we both get used to it. :mrgreen:

 

Lantus is different from PZI and it gets dosed differently. We change the dose based on the peak/nadir, the time when Rufus' blood sugar is lowest during the cycle. It could be 4 to 8 hours after the shot is given, ECID (every cat is different). Hometesting will reveal this information.

I would suggest that you take some time and read the stickies that are in the Lantus insulin support group. Then feel free to ask lots of questions. It's confusing when you're first trying to understand things like the shed, the amount of insulin that gets stored first before the rest of the insulin starts to work, but the folks who put together the information have done a fantastic job.

So, if you haven't, read the stickies and definitely ask questions.
viewforum.php?f=9