Lucky is Diabetic

Since April of 2013, I have had a very terbulant time with my cats. One cat was diagnosed with Hyperthyroidism, and As of August Lucky was diagnosed as Diabetic.

I started noticing Lucky waiting by the water dish if another cat was drinking. Something she did not normally do. I also noticed that she went frequently to the water dish many times during the day.  She had also lost some weight.  So I put her in a room and monitored her. She wasn't eating very much, but was drinking well over 1 cup of water a day.  I  noticed that her urine didn't have that distinct ammonia smell that most cats urine had.  I made an appointment with the vet as soon as possible.  She had blood drawn and a urine strip test was done. There was a lot of sugar spilling into her urine, and her urine was very dilute.  Her blood sugar came back at over 300.

The vet was very optimistic that only a diet change may be needed.  So she was then put on an all wet food diet of Fancy Feast as it was the lowest in carbs and the cheapest.  At first her numbers went down a little but they were still above normal.  I wasn't sure what I was going to do. Looking into insulin, the best for her was Latnus. However Latnus cost around $200.  Which I did not have.  I wasn't sure what I was going to do for her.  I was referred by someone to Diabetic Cats In Need, and they were quick to help out by sending a pen of Latnus to get me started. Luckily by the time that arrived. She started having blood sugar readings in the normal level, and they stayed there for 14 days. After which she was considered in remission, and controlled only on food.  This was a BIG relief to me.

Since being diagnosed, she has had to have one dental cleaning and was put on antibiotics.

Hopefully she continues to be controlled simply by diet.

Another Diagnosis of HT

As of April 4, 2013 I have another diagnosis of Hyperthyroidism. Sassy was officially diagnosed and put on medication.  However, after a few days of the medication she started to scratch her face and had sores all over :( Poor Sassy!

A small percentage of cats have an adverse reaction to the Methimazole medication.  I did not want to give up so I did try stopping it for two weeks and then restarting it while giving her Zyrtec for the itching.  She was restarted on her once a day pill treatment and so far the itching has not returned.  However I feel as time progresses and she needs more, this may not still be the case. For cats like Sassy they need the radioactive iodine treatment which is a 100% cure for this disease.  So ultimately I have to start raising funds for this.  The radioactive iodine therapy costs around $1500.

If you would like to help, I have opened a Bonanza booth where you can purchase a wide variety of items from Toys to Android Tablets.  All proceeds will go to getting her radioactive iodine therapy.  If you can not help with a purchase, please forward the link to the store on your facebook, twitter and tumbler accounts.

Here is the direct link to : Koshkonong Treasures .

She as done nicely so far, and does need to go back in for lab testing to make sure her T4 is where it should be.  Hopefully this will be done within the next month or so.

Recovering Nicely!

Charlie is recovering nicely from his Dental surgery. Have not seen any red ears since the day after surgery.  Hoping the Dental surgery solves this issue.

The others cats are doing nicely (knock on wood). Today they are being lazy as I am too!  Soon I will be changing food.  I will be changing back to chicken soup for the pet lover's soul. Hopefully it takes care of the dark waxy build- up in smokie's ears and the vomiting.  Smokie has another three months until another blood draw for updated T4 readings.

I have found a toy that they all love. It's a hybrid that I put together.  It's a dabird attachment feather or mouse and put it on a child's fishing rod. OMG they go nutty for it! It's the only toy that they want to play with!

It's Been A While

It's been a while since I last posted on any of the cats.  Since taking the 2nd Job, it's now my main job. Smokie is still on the medication, all though he started throwing up again about 8-9 months ago.  He went in to check his thyroid numbers and they were good. He's also had a lot of brown waxy build up in his ears as well. I'm thinking it could be allergy related on both accounts due to food.  It could also be the medication. But stopping the medication is not going to be the answer. He'll start throwing up without it. So I won't know either way. So, I'll be changing food to a limited ingredient food. Trying to find one that is within my budget is not an easy task as they are all really expensive. So the search is continuing.

Smokie is a very interesting cat.  He knows the time at which he gets his meds and he will be next to me crying away and it's usually two minutes to 7 (he gets his meds at 7am and 7pm).  There have been times I've been busy doing something and have not heard my alarm go off for his meds. And I know if he's pestering me persistantly it's one of two things if his bowl is full it's because it's past 7 and he has not gotten his medication. HE reminds me! He's such a unique cat, and that's why I love him!

One of my other cat's Faith had to cross the rainbow bridge due to a stroke on December 27th 2011. I was heartbroken but I knew it was best for her. It's been a hard year without her. I miss her tiny squeeks. :(  Many people have tried to send other cats my way, but unfortunately I have a limited income and can not afford at this time to take any more in. It's sad, but true. I see a great many cats that I'd love to rescue, but the funds are just not there.

Many of the cats, in 2012, had lots of dental work done. All of my cats accept the youngest Callie, has had teeth removed.  Charlie the recent one, had 4 removed. One was one of his canine teeth. He is genetically predisposed to having them just drop out.  The one that was taken had a pocket in it, so it had to be removed.  He's doing fine. I initally brought him in for the very red ears he'd get.  We're thinking it was from the teeth, but not completely sure right now. If it doesn't resolve with the teeth removal, then we'll be looking at blood pressure next.

Sassy used to get red ears and now it's been quite some time since I've seen them red like the picture's I've posted in my blog previously. I'm thinking the tooth removal might have been the issue with her. And I'm hoping it's the solution to Charlie's red ears.

The other thing that prompted me to bring Charlie in was that he has been pouncing on Lucky. Just after Christmas he bit her leaving her with a bite mark and a nice wound. That has healed over, and he does seem to be calmer since the dental surgery. I'm hoping that stops the agressiveness towards Lucky and the other female cats.

That brings everyone up to date on their lives thus far and their journey in life.