Hobo's Sick

Hobo has had some trouble walking the past few weeks. His back legs
seemed to be weakening a bit but it was not particularly alarming. We
assumed it was due to the dregs of the maulings he endured last summer
and his lengthy recovery from bites on his back leg. Also, since his
escapade down the city drain pipes around Christmas, he's been an
indoor-only cat and now uses the litter box - - I use the scoopable
and his big polydactyl paws picked up the pellets which clumped inside
the many crevices. We cleaned out the litter with olive oil every day
making it less painful to walk on. Did that solve the problem? No.

It became more pronounced over the weekend with his rear legs buckling
under, though he'd regain his balance without falling, but he couldn't
walk three feet without stopping to lie down and rest. Off to the vet
Monday to see if he was arthritic or had a fracture or something. No
way did I expect the diagnosis. Hobo is diabetic. One symptom is
loss of muscle strength in the rear.

Hobo was kept overnight for further testing, observation, and insulin
treatment. Poor old guy. We are to go back this afternoon about 4:00
to pick him up - - but also to be taught how to do the treatment at
home. I don't know what to expect. I am scared silly. What if I
don't do it right? Chris says if we have to stick him with a needle
everyday, *we'll* soon be basket cases. I know Marina deals with this
very well but another poster (don't recall who) almost lost her kitty
when it wasn't fed exactly on time. I'll gladly do anything for Hobo
and hope I never hurt him. Thankfully his problem isn't cancer or
some other horrific malady.

Sorry this is so long. Just venting. My mind is roiling in circles.
Thanks for listening.

Jeanne

Healing purrs for Hobo on the way. Keep us posted.


--
Victor Martinez
Owned and operated by the Fantastic Seven (TM)
Send your spam he
Email me he

"JBHajos" wrote

Sorry this is so long. Just venting. My mind is roiling in circles.
Thanks for listening.

No excuses necessary, this is a big thing to get your head around.
Incidentally, it's not my cats who are diabetic, it's me. My cats just have
hyperthyroidism. But anyways, lots of purrs from the cats and vibes of
sympathy from me to Hobo and you. Let's hope it's not too difficult to get
the insulin dosage right. The needles nowadays are so small that he might
not even notice he is being pricked. (You should have seen the ones in use
when I was diagnosed in 1970!)

--
Marina, Frank and Nikki
Email marina (dot) kurten (at) pp (dot) inet (dot) fi
Pics at http://uk.f1.pg.photos.yahoo.com/frankiennikki

Purrs heading Hobo's way - yours too

helen s


--This is an invalid email address to avoid spam--
to get correct one remove dependency on fame & fortune
h*$el*$$e**nd***$o$ts***i*$*$m**m$$o*n**s@$*$a$$o* *l.c**$*$om$$

"JBHajos" wrote in message
...
Hobo is diabetic.

Hobo was kept overnight for further testing, observation, and insulin
treatment. Poor old guy. We are to go back this afternoon about 4:00
to pick him up - - but also to be taught how to do the treatment at
home. I don't know what to expect. I am scared silly.


Jeanne



Jeanne,

Please check your email. I sent some information there.

MaryL

You'll get used to it very soon, you only have to stick the needle under the
skin, so you don't have to search for veins or muscles. It's really worth
it, I kept a diabetic cat alive for 6 years (from his 7th to his 13th year).

Nanny

"JBHajos" schreef in bericht
...
Hobo has had some trouble walking the past few weeks. His back legs
seemed to be weakening a bit but it was not particularly alarming. We
assumed it was due to the dregs of the maulings he endured last summer
and his lengthy recovery from bites on his back leg. Also, since his
escapade down the city drain pipes around Christmas, he's been an
indoor-only cat and now uses the litter box - - I use the scoopable
and his big polydactyl paws picked up the pellets which clumped inside
the many crevices. We cleaned out the litter with olive oil every day
making it less painful to walk on. Did that solve the problem? No.

It became more pronounced over the weekend with his rear legs buckling
under, though he'd regain his balance without falling, but he couldn't
walk three feet without stopping to lie down and rest. Off to the vet
Monday to see if he was arthritic or had a fracture or something. No
way did I expect the diagnosis. Hobo is diabetic. One symptom is
loss of muscle strength in the rear.

Hobo was kept overnight for further testing, observation, and insulin
treatment. Poor old guy. We are to go back this afternoon about 4:00
to pick him up - - but also to be taught how to do the treatment at
home. I don't know what to expect. I am scared silly. What if I
don't do it right? Chris says if we have to stick him with a needle
everyday, *we'll* soon be basket cases. I know Marina deals with this
very well but another poster (don't recall who) almost lost her kitty
when it wasn't fed exactly on time. I'll gladly do anything for Hobo
and hope I never hurt him. Thankfully his problem isn't cancer or
some other horrific malady.

Sorry this is so long. Just venting. My mind is roiling in circles.
Thanks for listening.

Jeanne

Purrs for Hobo and you. You can do this!! I think everyone feels overwhelmed
at first. There is a good yahoo feline diabetes group out there though I
don't have the address right now. I'm sure someone else does and will
provide it. I hope you are BOTH feeling better about this soon.

Karen

"JBHajos" wrote in message
...
Hobo has had some trouble walking the past few weeks. His back legs
seemed to be weakening a bit but it was not particularly alarming. We
assumed it was due to the dregs of the maulings he endured last summer
and his lengthy recovery from bites on his back leg. Also, since his
escapade down the city drain pipes around Christmas, he's been an
indoor-only cat and now uses the litter box - - I use the scoopable
and his big polydactyl paws picked up the pellets which clumped inside
the many crevices. We cleaned out the litter with olive oil every day
making it less painful to walk on. Did that solve the problem? No.

It became more pronounced over the weekend with his rear legs buckling
under, though he'd regain his balance without falling, but he couldn't
walk three feet without stopping to lie down and rest. Off to the vet
Monday to see if he was arthritic or had a fracture or something. No
way did I expect the diagnosis. Hobo is diabetic. One symptom is
loss of muscle strength in the rear.

Hobo was kept overnight for further testing, observation, and insulin
treatment. Poor old guy. We are to go back this afternoon about 4:00
to pick him up - - but also to be taught how to do the treatment at
home. I don't know what to expect. I am scared silly. What if I
don't do it right? Chris says if we have to stick him with a needle
everyday, *we'll* soon be basket cases. I know Marina deals with this
very well but another poster (don't recall who) almost lost her kitty
when it wasn't fed exactly on time. I'll gladly do anything for Hobo
and hope I never hurt him. Thankfully his problem isn't cancer or
some other horrific malady.

Sorry this is so long. Just venting. My mind is roiling in circles.
Thanks for listening.

Jeanne

"JBHajos" wrote in message
...
.... Hobo is diabetic. One symptom is
loss of muscle strength in the rear.
Hobo was kept overnight for further testing, observation, and insulin
treatment. Poor old guy. We are to go back this afternoon about 4:00
to pick him up - - but also to be taught how to do the treatment at
home. I don't know what to expect. I am scared silly. What if I
don't do it right? Chris says if we have to stick him with a needle
everyday, *we'll* soon be basket cases. ...
Jeanne
As soon as you mentioned the weakness in the back legs, I was thinking
diabetes. This, along with really big puddles in the litter box, was the
symptoms we noticed in Josh (RB). I was really concerned about the needle,
too. The vet showed us how to pull up the skin to make a little tent and
inject the needle just under the skin.
I remember vividly the first day I had to do it at home. I carefully filled
the syringe, pulled up the tent of skin, injected the needle, pulled out the
needle, and depressed the plunger, releasing the insulin into the air.
So I had to poke him twice! I think it was harder on me than on him,
because he didn't seem to notice. I was surprised how easily the needle
went in.
There are a couple of gauges of needles. I don't remember the numbers, but
I bought the smallest one available and used a fresh one each time. I
bought the needles and his insulin at the pharmacy.
Josh was about 14 when he was diagnosed. Except for the progressive weakness
in his hind legs, he did well for a little over a year, until the diabetes
finally caught up with him.
When Josh got too weak to climb into the litter box, I got some hospital
pads and put them on the floor next to the box. I carried him in, and he
did his business on the pad.
Now you can monitor the glucose levels every day at home. Back then it was
pretty much hit and miss at home with periodic visits to the vet for a blood
check.
Also, ask your vet about potassium supplementation. It might help his legs.
I read about this after it was too late for Josh, so I don't have any
first-hand experience with it.
I'm sure you will do fine with Hobo.
Annie

Hi the

I'm so sorry that you and Hobo have to go through this. I'm glad you've got
it diagnosed and that there's something that you can do for him. How old
is? It must be scary to imagine giving needles though I'm sure that you and
Hobo will quickly do get the hang of it. Please keep us posted.

Susan M
Otis and Chester

"JBHajos" wrote in message
...
Monday to see if he was arthritic or had a fracture or something. No
way did I expect the diagnosis. Hobo is diabetic. One symptom is
loss of muscle strength in the rear.

Hobo was kept overnight for further testing, observation, and insulin
treatment. Poor old guy. We are to go back this afternoon about 4:00
to pick him up - - but also to be taught how to do the treatment at
home. I don't know what to expect. I am scared silly. What if I
don't do it right? Chris says if we have to stick him with a needle
everyday, *we'll* soon be basket cases. I know Marina deals with this
very well but another poster (don't recall who) almost lost her kitty
when it wasn't fed exactly on time. I'll gladly do anything for Hobo
and hope I never hurt him. Thankfully his problem isn't cancer or
some other horrific malady.

Sorry this is so long. Just venting. My mind is roiling in circles.
Thanks for listening.

Jeanne

Hobo was kept overnight for further testing, observation, and insulin
treatment. Poor old guy. We are to go back this afternoon about 4:00
to pick him up - - but also to be taught how to do the treatment at
home. I don't know what to expect. I am scared silly. What if I
don't do it right? Chris says if we have to stick him with a needle
everyday, *we'll* soon be basket cases. I know Marina deals with this
very well but another poster (don't recall who) almost lost her kitty
when it wasn't fed exactly on time. I'll gladly do anything for Hobo
and hope I never hurt him. Thankfully his problem isn't cancer or
some other horrific malady.

Sorry this is so long. Just venting. My mind is roiling in circles.
Thanks for listening.

Jeanne

Jeanne, I haven't had to do insulin injections, but I have had to
administer sub-q fluids and they're done about the same way. I don't
think you guys will have a problem.

The insulin is injected subcutaneously, which is MUCH less uncomfortable
for the kitty than intramuscular injections. It's very simple to do,
once you establish a routine. When miss DD required sub-q fluids, we had
to do it every day and allow the fluid to flow for a couple of minutes.
By comparison, the quick injection under the skin ought to be no problem
for you or for Hobo.

Take a look at the web page at
http://diabetes.about.com/gi/dynamic...injections.htm