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Some of you will remember when I talked about Binx being sick a while back, and how he dropped a lot of weight (he couldn't keep his food down, and was puking his poor little guts out nearly every day). Right around that time, I started feeding him raw food, and he seemed to make a miraculous recovery. He was more alert than he had been in months, and energetic and cuddly.
But, it wasn't to last. In the fall he started drinking a lot. Like more than I drink, a lot. He was also going through cat litter like it was going out of style because he was urinating so much. We weren't sure what was wrong with him, but we were nervous about taking him to the vet because of how he's reacted through much of his life. He gets very stressed, cries, loses his hair, and since he is 12 years old this year, we figured that we didn't want to chance him having a heart attack or something, so we let it ride.
About a month passed and then I was up to buying a bag of cat litter every week. At that point we figured that he would just have to deal with the stress because this problem wasn't going away. We took him to the vet, and had blood tests run. Turns out he is diabetic. The vet said that he probably has been for quite a while, it just wasn't bad enough for us to see any symptoms.
After that first visit, they wanted to run more blood tests because they saw something that could indicate that he had previously had a heart attack - which would line up with when he first started getting sick. We did those tests (they never did tell me what they said), and made an appointment to get him on a glucose curve.
This, they told us, would involve a three day vet stay and a bill of about $400 (on top of the $250 I had payed in blood tests up to this point). We didn't have this sort of money lying around, and told them that we would need to save for a few weeks before we could bring him back. Got a nice guilt trip from one of the vets, but we made the appointment for February (my birthday, actually), and started scrimping.
I felt a little better knowing what was wrong with him, and that he wasn't underweight like I thought he was. We started him on the prescription diabetic cat food that he will have to eat for the rest of his life, and his symptoms seemed to disappear. He went back to drinking normal amounts and he started cleaning himself again.
I got a call from the vet the same evening that I dropped him off for his three day stay, saying that they really didn't need to keep him, and that the new insulin that they have for cats is so great (slow acting and long lasting), that we can take him home. The vet we saw this time was the owner of the clinic and he was great.
He showed us how to inject him, and explained to us that this is very common because cats were never meant to eat dry food. Their bodies can't process the carbs and they become overweight and/or diabetic. He said that if we had a new kitten, he would suggest a 50/50 or even up to 70/30 diet of wet to dry food.
He also explained that in most cases, a cat's pancreas just needs a rest, and that eventually, it will start working again. He also told us that it is really important to understand that it is better for his blood sugar to be a little too high than too low. He explained to us what to do if he ever goes into hypoglycemic shock (which he can die from), and that if we miss with the needle or if we aren't sure if he got his shot, then just wait until the next one, rather than give him another.
He has been in for weekly vet visits since then (at about $100 a visit), and not only is he doing fine with the travelling - all of the vet tech girls love him (he is such a flirt) - he is the healthiest I have seen him in many years. His fur is fluffy and his dandruff is going away (the vet explained that this is actually a sign of ill health). He is cuddly and happy and playful.
His decline was so gradual that we really had no idea just how sick he had been until he got better. I feel bad for avoiding the vet for so long, but now I know better.
Now, I just need to find out how much longer I am going to have to be spending $400+ a month on these vet visits. The vet did tell us that we could get a glucometer and that he will show us how to moniter his sugar levels at home. I am really hoping that that happens soon.
I am hovering just above poverty right now, and while I have no problem spending what I have to to keep him healthy, I cannot afford to keep doing this indefinitely. Right now, what the vet bills mean is no nights out, no photography course, and only minimal groceries.
I am working on ways to bring in some extra money, but not having to spend a quarter of my paycheck on the cat would be nice. It's not too bad, because I cook from scratch, and while there are a lot of things that I want, I can live without them until my kitty is given a clean bill of health. I just miss my spending money, is all. The money that would have let us go away this weekend instead of spending it at home cleaning.
Ah, well. Such is life, I guess. Though, I think that since Binx is feeling better, he needs to go and get a job! lol
--Phae
But, it wasn't to last. In the fall he started drinking a lot. Like more than I drink, a lot. He was also going through cat litter like it was going out of style because he was urinating so much. We weren't sure what was wrong with him, but we were nervous about taking him to the vet because of how he's reacted through much of his life. He gets very stressed, cries, loses his hair, and since he is 12 years old this year, we figured that we didn't want to chance him having a heart attack or something, so we let it ride.
About a month passed and then I was up to buying a bag of cat litter every week. At that point we figured that he would just have to deal with the stress because this problem wasn't going away. We took him to the vet, and had blood tests run. Turns out he is diabetic. The vet said that he probably has been for quite a while, it just wasn't bad enough for us to see any symptoms.
After that first visit, they wanted to run more blood tests because they saw something that could indicate that he had previously had a heart attack - which would line up with when he first started getting sick. We did those tests (they never did tell me what they said), and made an appointment to get him on a glucose curve.
This, they told us, would involve a three day vet stay and a bill of about $400 (on top of the $250 I had payed in blood tests up to this point). We didn't have this sort of money lying around, and told them that we would need to save for a few weeks before we could bring him back. Got a nice guilt trip from one of the vets, but we made the appointment for February (my birthday, actually), and started scrimping.
I felt a little better knowing what was wrong with him, and that he wasn't underweight like I thought he was. We started him on the prescription diabetic cat food that he will have to eat for the rest of his life, and his symptoms seemed to disappear. He went back to drinking normal amounts and he started cleaning himself again.
I got a call from the vet the same evening that I dropped him off for his three day stay, saying that they really didn't need to keep him, and that the new insulin that they have for cats is so great (slow acting and long lasting), that we can take him home. The vet we saw this time was the owner of the clinic and he was great.
He showed us how to inject him, and explained to us that this is very common because cats were never meant to eat dry food. Their bodies can't process the carbs and they become overweight and/or diabetic. He said that if we had a new kitten, he would suggest a 50/50 or even up to 70/30 diet of wet to dry food.
He also explained that in most cases, a cat's pancreas just needs a rest, and that eventually, it will start working again. He also told us that it is really important to understand that it is better for his blood sugar to be a little too high than too low. He explained to us what to do if he ever goes into hypoglycemic shock (which he can die from), and that if we miss with the needle or if we aren't sure if he got his shot, then just wait until the next one, rather than give him another.
He has been in for weekly vet visits since then (at about $100 a visit), and not only is he doing fine with the travelling - all of the vet tech girls love him (he is such a flirt) - he is the healthiest I have seen him in many years. His fur is fluffy and his dandruff is going away (the vet explained that this is actually a sign of ill health). He is cuddly and happy and playful.
His decline was so gradual that we really had no idea just how sick he had been until he got better. I feel bad for avoiding the vet for so long, but now I know better.
Now, I just need to find out how much longer I am going to have to be spending $400+ a month on these vet visits. The vet did tell us that we could get a glucometer and that he will show us how to moniter his sugar levels at home. I am really hoping that that happens soon.
I am hovering just above poverty right now, and while I have no problem spending what I have to to keep him healthy, I cannot afford to keep doing this indefinitely. Right now, what the vet bills mean is no nights out, no photography course, and only minimal groceries.
I am working on ways to bring in some extra money, but not having to spend a quarter of my paycheck on the cat would be nice. It's not too bad, because I cook from scratch, and while there are a lot of things that I want, I can live without them until my kitty is given a clean bill of health. I just miss my spending money, is all. The money that would have let us go away this weekend instead of spending it at home cleaning.
Ah, well. Such is life, I guess. Though, I think that since Binx is feeling better, he needs to go and get a job! lol
--Phae
