27/12 Mo - AMPS 389, +5 333 - Mo bit me

Yesterday's post

The weather has gotten colder...it's about 10 degrees C outside and it's the middle of summer here....I would like a refund please! Mo seems to be enjoying it though. He was able to sleep on the couch last night instead of the floor. I'm hoping it warms up soon!

Mo is super hissy when we test him even with treats. The vet made me realise that ever since we started home testing, he won't cuddle us all that often anymore. He must be wondering why we keep hurting his ears, poor thing. BUT GUESS WHAT I FOUND IN MY CUPBOARD?!?!??! I FOUND SOME NEOSPORIN OINTMENT!!!!!! We must have bought some the last time we went to Hawaii! YAAAAAAYYY!!! Can someone please let me know how to use it on Mo?

Have a great day, everyone

 

lol that made me laugh out loud. Hope there were some sun spots to warm up in!

You can put a itty bitty dab after each poke or put it on when you wont be testing for awhile. I personally do a thin layer where I poke for BG testing at night time. I do find it's best if I wipe it off before I poke for blood again but that's just my personal experience. Another reason I usually only use it at night is my civvie cat Benji will clean Jax's ears during the day (we separate them at night) so I don't want him licking the neosporin off of Jax's ears.

Paws crossed the cuddles return

 

Thank you! I'll start putting it on him before bed. Hopefully he won't try clean it off.


Something I have noticed today while he has sat near me is that his tummy is very bubbly today. I also just noticed that he has done a smelly fart. He only used to fart on biscuits or when he had pancreatitis....I'm really hoping it's not pancreatitis again but it would explain his high numbers. He's eating happily and i'm adding extra water into his food. And I did give him a belly rub earlier and he seemed fine. I'll keep a close eye on him.

 

I hope it's not pancreatitis again. I put a tiny dab of Neosporin on Furball's ear after each test, but if I put too much on it can keep a blood drop from forming the next time I test. If I know I'm done testing for the night I put some on.

 

I'm so upset. Tim is out so he wasn't able to help me tonight. I tried testing Mo and he tried to attack me. Hissed at me and growled. So for my safety I skipped the test. I inject him while he's eating so that's usually fine. But today he bit me. I'm at my wits end. All this testing and injecting him has made him hate me. I don't know what to do and I'm just laying here crying.

 

I am so sorry Mo was upset and bit you. One thing I'm wondering about, is this a behaviour that's gotten worse as his dose got higher? Lantus has an acid base, that can sting at larger doses. For that reason (and others) a number of people with larger dose cats will switch to Levemir. I have also seen some people see a personality change. Neko sometimes walked away as I was injecting Lantus, purred when I did the Levemir. Some people describe personality changes in this post in Think Tank.

 

This makes a lot of sense. He has recently started reacting to the injections when he never felt them before.
A lot of his hissing and growling is directed towards the testing though. We weren't able to get any tests done tonight. When Tim got home, I had to head out for night shift so we couldn't help each other do it. We find it helps when one person is giving him scratches and tickles while the other does it but when it's just one of us it's really tricky.
I will definitely look into Levemir and consider switching if we have it available here. Lantus doesn't seem to be doing much for Mo

 

I'm sorry to hear he's not taking well to the testing, etc. even when treats are involved. I think Wendy made a great suggestion about the switch to Lev...we've used Lev and I think in most cats it also helps 'level' the numbers...the bounces aren't as high.

Also on the topic of Neosporin - Luci LOVES Neosporin...must be something about the smell...because she licks it off...and will stand on the tube and squish it out so she can lick that too...Luci is very bad about contraband and eating things that aren't good for her - I've since switched to a store brand of antibiotic ointment because it apparently doesn't have the same ingredients and she isn't nearly as interested in eating it! I use it after every poke too - just a tiny dab massaged on her ear where the poke was - I think it helps to stop the bleeding as well...

I hope he'll settle down for you and I do hope it's not pancreatitis rearing up again with that tummy bubbling thing...

Hang in there Katy! You're doing a great job with Mr. Not so Nice there...

 

Thank you so much for this Sue I'm glad you've had a good experience with Levemir!

I think we will have to use neosporin after every test in the hope that it helps with the sore ears. Maybe it will make him feel a bit happier? Silly Luci for wanting to eat the neosporin! That's not what it's for, silly gorl. For some reason, we just don't have over the counter antibiotic ointment! Come on NZ!

Really appreciate your comment

 

@Wendy&Neko I've just been reading through the thread you linked me and OMG reading everything everyone is saying about how their kitty acts on Lantus is 100% what Mo is like!!! I will definitely be discussing switching Mo to Levemir at our upcoming vet appointment on Thursday along with demanding blood tests. Thank you so much for bringing this to my attention! I finally have some hope that Mo will at least start to feel happier if we change his insulin type. Thank you

 

Katy, I'm so sorry you have encountered yet another hurdle with Mo . I hope that the vet will work with you to switch him to Levemir! Sending you lots of support and vines for better days ahead.

 

Levemir is another human insulin, just somewhat newer than Lantus. It should be readily available at human pharmacies. You might want to phone and ask before the vet appointment. The biggest different is that onset and nadir are around a couple hours later than Lantus, so typical Lev onset is +4, typical nadir +8. The Management of Diabetic Cats document attached to the Sticky on Insulin Info refers to the use of Levemir in cats. In case you need something to give the vet.

Lyane @Ti-Mousse had similar issues with personality and her boy on Lantus.

 

I had a lot of problems with my Ti-Mousse and had to switch from Lantus to Levemir. He was not even on high doses at the time but when it was shooting time he was hiding everywhere, growling and hissing at me, which he had never done before; he was afraid of me as soon as I was coming close to him..... he had always been such a sweet boy. I knew about the acid base but never thought it would affect him on such small doses; after a month he was so miserable that I switched to Levemir. Everything went so smoothly right after; not a word at shooting time, I couldn't believe it. My sweet minou was a happy kitty again !!
Hope your vet will help you switching to Levemir!

 

Thank you so much for sharing your story! It gives me so much hope that I can get my sweet boy back <3 Thank you