Things that make you go hmmm?

Okay so if Molly's numbers are the best they've been in a vry long time (can't believe i'm taking the chance to even type that!!!!) how come there are still glue clumps at the bottom of the litter box? You would (okay, i would) think that it wouldn't be so sticky anymore.

Warning: Don't even suggest it could be a civvie cause uh uh, no way, only room for 1 diabetic cat in this household and Molly is it. (The boys are doing fabulous and no one has taken a drink of water around here in over a year - gotta love wet food :smile: ). Which leads me to ask you all - Do you ever see your cat(s) drinking water? No one here even goes near a water bowl.

 

Simple answer -- relatively those are good numbers, but they're still above some versions of the renal threshold (180-220 depends who you ask).

Looks like if you ask your cat, it's around 180 and so you still get the sweet copious urine. Keep below that number and it will go away.

 

well, I can't tell in my house...I have two CRF kitties - one of which is getting fluids and the other drinks her body weight in water every week, sharing the boxes with the diabetic that has been hovering between 150's and 250's for the last few weeks ( no SS is not updated), not to mention the other 6?, too...

I scoop every day ( in theory ) and keep the boxes deep so there are no sticky things at the bottom, but I get clumps between ping pong and grapefuit size on any given day.

I have seen PK at the water dish recently but the level never seems to go down, so I don't know if he is drinking or just sniffing to make sure its there in case he ever wants to drink it!

 

I have 5 cats (as you know :mrgreen: ) and I have to wash out the water dish because it has clumps of fur in it, not because anyone drank any of it. In fact, my youngest (who will be two in a week or so) likes to "wash" her furry mouse toy in it - and then drag it around the house.

I also have a glass on the bathroom sink that only my oldest and hyperT kitty drinks from. I would say she drinks about the same as any of my cats ever did when they were fed dry food.

Litter boxes: oldest and Jeddie pee standing up and straight out back against the wall of the box. It runs down the side, so it clumps against the wall and is a sticky mess. Nothing I can do about it no matter how deep the litter is. Neither buries it either.

Michele, you might notice a difference in quantity if you can keep her below 200 most of the time, and below 150 would be better for most of the time. Maybe a "fat" 2.25 or 2.0 would do it.

 

Those numbers are looking much better!

Are you off this week for spring break? If so, maybe try to dose the full 2.25 on those lower numbers. You might be surprised that you won't see her dropping too low. Just if you are comfortable.

Has she lost any of that extra weight yet (sorry Molly)?

Do you use clumping litter? Tigger has some orange size balls when he does use the litterbox (and they stick to the sides) and he is pretty much below the renal threshold all the time. He likes to drink water when I am in the bathroom sometimes, but I think it is more because he likes the attention.

That is funny Sheila that your youngest likes to 'wash' her mouse toy. :mrgreen:

 

I spoke with my vet about Gandalf humungous pee balls last year when he was doing fairly well with his numbers. She said his renal issues and the fact I give him fluids is going to cause increase in output unrelated to the diabetes.

Hey, Michele, if you get World's Best Cat Litter, the "sticky" urine won't make putty balls anymore! And it cleans off very well if they do get their feet in it. No more cement booties!

Odd that used to be a question we'd get fairly often on Health - what litter is best for FD? I have not seen that question in a long time. Early on I resorted to putting pine chips over the litter so he wouldn't step in it. He would literally sink in to the wet litter and have INCHES of it plastered to his feet.

 

Yes, we use clumping litter and although we keep their box pretty full, somehow there is always glue at the bottom of it. I have wanted to try to WBCL but there is just something about the convenience of buying Arm & Hammer for multiple cats at the supermarket.

On vacation this week and Molly is in desperate need of a curve. The preshot numbers and spot checks look great but i'd like to get a full picture of what's really going on. Thursday is the only day i don't have plans so it looks like that's the day.

Question..Sheila wrote: Maybe a "fat" 2.25 or 2.0 would do it. I am so afraid to mess with the good numbers she's getting (good in regard to the crappy ones she usually gets). Would one suggest that i decrease to 2u or increase to a fat 2.25u which to me really just means 2.5u? I guess a curve will help to better answer that.

So cute about the water bowls at your house Sheila. One of my civvies, Lincoln, has this thing for rubberbands and absolutely loves the elastic hair ties i use in my hair. I find them all in his water bowl. Not to long ago we had our bathroom redone and i came home to find the contractor cursing a blue streak. I asked him what the prob was and he calmly tried to explain that a crucial rubber gasket was missing. A rubber gasket he just had! Yup, found it floating in the water bowl. The contractor did not find it as cute as i did :lol:

 

I wouldn't mess with your dose until you get a good curve on the present dose to see how well it's actually working.

But you already answered your own question....so you knew that

 

not that anyone ever heeds my advice on this, but you know I stand at no dose messing until curve justifies it.

Also- curves don't have to be done all on one day...I've read that it is better and you get a more complete picture if you get say +1 , +4 and +7 on one day, then +2, +5 and +10 on another day then fillin th emissing +'s on another day.

Plot all your numbers gathered over a few days on one graph and volia- you have insta curve without spending all day at the clock....tick, tick, poke...