Very Frustrated Suggestions Welcome! UPDATED

For the first few days Morgaine was not fighting the blood tests. suddenly she is not cooperating at all. I have been very good about praising her and giving her treats but since yesterday she just fights me and gets away from me. She is a large cat and she is very strong. I suppose I could just give her a couple more days off and let her be because she has not needed any insulin injections at all. These are her blood tests. Any advice would be appreciated.

Blood Tests:
Diagnosed Wed. 5/5/10 at 292 by labs

Home Testing:

3 AM Fri 5/7 BS 162 3 hours after meal

9:40 PM Sat 5/8 159 2 hours after eating

7:30 PM Mon 5/10 125 2 hours after eating

4:00 PM Tues 5/11 153 4 hours after eating
first test four hours after amoxy dose

9:45 PM Tues 5/11 129 2 hours after eating

7:30 PM Wed. 5/12 114 2.5 hours after eating
Finished amoxy Thursday 5/13 12 Noon
2:30 AM Fri 5/14 132 3 hours after eating

I feed her 5 small feedings a day of FF.

 

Re: Very Frustrated Suggestions Welcome!

those are great #'s and you can give her a break from testing if she's already upset. have you had here checked for any infections...urinary, teeth, etc...that could cause her glucose to be elevated...but right now your right about her not needing a shot.
don't let it go for too long tho'.

 

Re: Very Frustrated Suggestions Welcome!

Because the vet didn't know what was wrong and because he thought she might have a UTI, he put her on amoxycillin. Her blood work and her urinalysis showed no signs of infection but her BS was 292 and her urine was +3 so that indicated diabetes. I immediately switched her to FF and stopped feeding Hill's prescription r/d both dry and canned. Her numbers went down immediately. I am hopeful it will be controlled by diet but I do want to keep testing her to be sure she is not going high.

 

Re: Very Frustrated Suggestions Welcome!

It looks like she may very well be diet controlled now.

Some cats need to be restrained for testing, and some fight if restrained. Mine always fought restraint, but would sit next to me and let me do the testing, as long as I didn't hold onto them. When I was first learning, I would get Max between me and the end of the couch, so that he couldn't go left or backwards easily. I also got him accustomed to sitting like that with me even if we weren't testing.

If Morgaine is one of those cats that need to be restrained, you can try the old burrito trick--wrapping her up in a towel. There are some videos on YouTube, but I didn't find them helpful because it seemed they were all compliant cats and the process shown involved rolling the cat. None of my cats would put up with that. If they needed a burrtio, I would set them on a towel, all legs inside, and them tuck the towel up around them.

Good luck!!

 

Re: Very Frustrated Suggestions Welcome!

My biggest problem is ME! I have severe Rheumatoid Arthritis and I can only reach her in certain places. I doubt she will let me restrain her without a big struggle. I had been testing her when she jumped up on her kitty tower and got snuggled into her round perch. It has sides and it is a little easier to hold on to her there. I am going to give her a couple days off and then try again but if anyone has any other suggestions please let me know.

I am not sure what to think about her numbers. I know they are really great for such a short time on a new diet. Is there a general rule of thumb for how long a cat needs to have numbers like these before you can relax a little and not worry so much? I'm a little freaked that I can't get a blood test done. It always makes me feel so much better to see these lower numbers and I am hoping she will get a little lower. I have really good control of my own type 1 diabetes and I test several times a day. Perhaps i am too uptight about this with Morgaine.

Morgaine is my companion animal. I am homebound and she is my joy! I know we all have very special relationships with our fur babies and mine is one of those. I worry about her well being and she is so cute and loving but very stubborn.

Also, I tried to upload a picture of her but they are all too big and I have resized them down to the appropriate pixels. Can anyone help with that?

I want to thank you all again. This is such a wonderful place for information on helping us keep our cats moving forward. Diabetes is a serious disease if not properly controlled and you are all so devoted to taking good care of your kitties. I'm so grateful you are here.

 

She let me do the blood test today and was very cooperative. Cats are so interesting. Anyway, she was 108 3.5 hours after eating. I think we are good on diet for now. Thanks again for all your helpful comments.

 

Whooo hooo - ANOTHER one!!!!! YAY!
Morgaine is in good hands - keep up the good work. Now relax, just a little.