Feeling like a wreck

[wifey]

Had to take the old boy Mr Bill to the vets yesterday. He hasn’t been well the last couple of weeks. Still himself but lost weight. So along we went and had blood work done. He’s diabetic and 15 years old, we’ve had him since he was a year old and he had several homes before he joined us. He’s well loved and adores our son his best buddy. They have been close since we adopted the daft cat when Ethan was 4.. we have warned Ethan that we have some tough decisions to make. We spent most of yesterday, last night and this morning researching how best to treat this condition. It’s costly, and we looked at buying some of the stuff online. The thing is our other cat is a worry wart she gets separation anxiety if she can’t be with Mr Bill, Miss Marge will literally tear the house apart if she can’t get to him. So we are left wondering how on earth we are going to get around the issues ahead of us.
I rang the vets this morning as the one I spoke to yesterday was very understanding and said we can ring any time with any questions about it. So now I’m waiting on a call back. I have a long list of questions that need answering. I’m hoping they can offer a payment plan of some sort. Giving the injections isn’t a huge concern it’s the testing of the blood glucose levels and the urine testing that are going to be problematic. We work opposite shifts and rarely catch either cat actually using the litter tray as is. Miss Marge loves to follow Mr Bill straight after he’s been in it so catching a sample is going to be a challenge. Having him only pee on the special non absorbent litter will also be a challenge since he usually does that secondly he almost always poops first. We have no idea at the moment how long the testing will last either.. could just be an assessment period or all his life... our heads are reeling since there seems to be lots of info on the internet but everyone seems to take a different approach to it.. just got to wait for that call back now it’s going to be a stressful day😔

[nadya]

Oh I'm so sorry to hear of the diagnosis,hope you get answers asap and that you find a way for forward to treat your precious mr bill.we have a 10 year old cat named mr jelly,he is permanently attached to his litter mate,flump ,they are upset to be apart so understand your concerns.thinking of you

[Kd0758]

Sorry to hear about this. Animals really are a huge impact on our lives. But it’s so nice to see that you’re willing to do what you can for him.

When our cat became poorly with a bladder issue we bought cameras which I point at the litter trays so I can make sure he is going to the toilet. They also allow me to see which bit of urine is his and which bit is his sisters so I can keep a closer eye on his. It’s the best solution for us so may be of some use?

[wifey]

Originally Posted by Kd0758

Sorry to hear about this. Animals really are a huge impact on our lives. But it’s so nice to see that you’re willing to do what you can for him.

When our cat became poorly with a bladder issue we bought cameras which I point at the litter trays so I can make sure he is going to the toilet. They also allow me to see which bit of urine is his and which bit is his sisters so I can keep a closer eye on his. It’s the best solution for us so may be of some use?

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Thank you so much for the tip, it could be very useful ...as long as Mr Bill isn’t peeing for England 🤪he could make a sport out of it at the moment. We may have to change the cat litter to some of the nasty clay type (for sampling purposes) soon I’ll talk to the vet about that. I did get some answers to my questions today however I’m still waiting on a call back about the costs involved. The nurse who organised it for us is out today so I may have to wait until Monday or Tuesday to find out more. He will need 2-3 units twice a day and constant monitoring and blood glucose curve testing for a while. We can either take him in for that or monitor it at home..Once it’s stable (if we can achieve this)things should improve for him. We need to talk about this more which we will do when we have all the facts and figures.

[Melbatb]

We had a terrier who was diabetic many years ago. We used to have to follow her around to catch her doing a wee!

Good luck - so difficult when our family animals are under the weather xx

[wifey]

We have been reading up on the insulin this afternoon and need clarity over it. As we read it the pet version isn’t as strong as the human one to treat the patient. We think the Vetpen system might be the best option for him but still need to discuss it with the vet. If we have done our maths right it may cost £2-£3 a day to treat him initially ( not including testing) but that’s buying everything online. I suspect the vets may charge much more that that so we need to know what their charges will be for the exact same stuff. It’s going to be easier for us to talk blood glucose level tests than trying to get Mr Bill alone and taking a pee sample from him. It’s going to be an adjustment for sure. We think he will benefit from going into the vets for 24 hours to get a base level check done and take it from there.

[wifey]

So apparently they don’t do the blood glucose curve until the insulin has been used for two weeks. Yet the vets seem reluctant to talk about costs and acceptable blood glucose levels.. this is becoming a long process.

[wifey]

Update:- We have started Bill’s treatment this morning. He’s all set up with a Caninsulin VetPen and tolerates his first dose very well.

[Kd0758]

Originally Posted by wifey

Update:- We have started Bill’s treatment this morning. He’s all set up with a Caninsulin VetPen and tolerates his first dose very well.

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I just came back to check to see if everything was ok. Good boy for taking it so well.

At first doing these things might seem daunting but you’ll get used to it and it’ll seem second nature. Hope it continues to go well, keep us updated!

[wifey]

We are trying to reward him with a healthy treat after each injection and cuddles whenever he wants one through the day👍Now we just need to get used to removing those pesky air bubbles from the cartridges before giving him his shots.