Jasper's done it again/Diabetic cats

Those of you who were posting here four years ago or so may remember
that Jasper, our handsome black DSH male, has a small bald patch on one
leg. He was involved in a fight; his leg was bitten, and one of the
many punctures became infected with an abcess as the result. Luckily
our fantastic vet was able to sort things out for him, and the bald spot
is all there is to show. No limping or movement problems.

Well, Jasper's been bitten again, on the same leg. This time we were
able to see the wound, and he's been to the vet to have it cleaned up
and bandaged. He's getting around with relative ease, and his
appetite hasn't been diminished!

One thing of concern though .... in the tests the vet did, it would
appear that Jazzie's glucose levels were high, indicating the
possibility of diabetes. He's about 7 years old BTW. It could be that
the levels were high owing to the stress of the fight/wound/etc but
...... we shall have to wait and see.

Anyone here with experience of diabetic cats - any advice you can offer?
It may be something that can be controlled with diet, according to our
vet; Jasper, whilst a solid cat, isn't fat, and is very active.

TIA


--
Cathi

On Sun, 15 Aug 2004 06:27:17 +0100, Cathi
wrote:

Those of you who were posting here four years ago or so may remember
that Jasper, our handsome black DSH male, has a small bald patch on one
leg.

Yes, I've been with the Group for nearly seven years and remember
Jasper. Sorry to hear he's been hurt again.

Anyone here with experience of diabetic cats - any advice you can offer?

Our Hobo's experience is almost identical to Jasper's. Last summer
he was attacked by a semi-feral tom who spent his time terrorizing the
neighborhood. Hobo's back leg was wounded and took forever and a day
to heal. Seemed no amount of antibiotics, ointments, even an
E-collar, helped at all. It kept re-infecting but finally healed
over. Then in January, we noticed that Hobo had difficulty with his
back legs crumpling under him as he walked. Back to the vet for an
X-ray to check for a possible hairline fracture from the bite. Long
story shorter, there was no break but the vet (a new one) suggested
testing for diabetes. Weakness in the back legs is one sign of it as
is the long healing process. It was, indeed, diabetes - a full-blown
case of it. His glucose level was sky-high. How I wish it had been
caught earlier - and I truly hope that Jasper is NOT diabetic or that
it's been found early enough that diet alone will help.

Hobo's case has been a roller-coaster ride. It's been difficult
getting him stabilized. He'd lost a lot of weight, "crashed" twice,
has frequent glucose-level checks, has insulin injections twice a day,
and has a special Purina DM (diabetes management) food (that is
available only from a vet). Even so, his glucose level continues to
rise and his insulin dosage increased. It's a rough battle.

I truly don't mean to scare you or sound pessimistic. Hobo just
suffered with it too long before the disease was discovered. Probably
Jasper was just stressed out and will be all right. I got good advice
from folks here in RPCA; Zuzu (Megan) was a tremendous help, too,
especially since I knew zilch about diabetes.

Anyway, that's been our experience. Best of luck to you and Jasper.
Keep us updated.

Jeanne

On Sun, 15 Aug 2004 06:27:17 +0100, Cathi
wrote:

Those of you who were posting here four years ago or so may remember
that Jasper, our handsome black DSH male, has a small bald patch on one
leg.

Yes, I've been with the Group for nearly seven years and remember
Jasper. Sorry to hear he's been hurt again.

Anyone here with experience of diabetic cats - any advice you can offer?

Our Hobo's experience is almost identical to Jasper's. Last summer
he was attacked by a semi-feral tom who spent his time terrorizing the
neighborhood. Hobo's back leg was wounded and took forever and a day
to heal. Seemed no amount of antibiotics, ointments, even an
E-collar, helped at all. It kept re-infecting but finally healed
over. Then in January, we noticed that Hobo had difficulty with his
back legs crumpling under him as he walked. Back to the vet for an
X-ray to check for a possible hairline fracture from the bite. Long
story shorter, there was no break but the vet (a new one) suggested
testing for diabetes. Weakness in the back legs is one sign of it as
is the long healing process. It was, indeed, diabetes - a full-blown
case of it. His glucose level was sky-high. How I wish it had been
caught earlier - and I truly hope that Jasper is NOT diabetic or that
it's been found early enough that diet alone will help.

Hobo's case has been a roller-coaster ride. It's been difficult
getting him stabilized. He'd lost a lot of weight, "crashed" twice,
has frequent glucose-level checks, has insulin injections twice a day,
and has a special Purina DM (diabetes management) food (that is
available only from a vet). Even so, his glucose level continues to
rise and his insulin dosage increased. It's a rough battle.

I truly don't mean to scare you or sound pessimistic. Hobo just
suffered with it too long before the disease was discovered. Probably
Jasper was just stressed out and will be all right. I got good advice
from folks here in RPCA; Zuzu (Megan) was a tremendous help, too,
especially since I knew zilch about diabetes.

Anyway, that's been our experience. Best of luck to you and Jasper.
Keep us updated.

Jeanne

On Sun, 15 Aug 2004 06:27:17 +0100, Cathi
wrote:

Those of you who were posting here four years ago or so may remember
that Jasper, our handsome black DSH male, has a small bald patch on one
leg.

Yes, I've been with the Group for nearly seven years and remember
Jasper. Sorry to hear he's been hurt again.

Anyone here with experience of diabetic cats - any advice you can offer?

Our Hobo's experience is almost identical to Jasper's. Last summer
he was attacked by a semi-feral tom who spent his time terrorizing the
neighborhood. Hobo's back leg was wounded and took forever and a day
to heal. Seemed no amount of antibiotics, ointments, even an
E-collar, helped at all. It kept re-infecting but finally healed
over. Then in January, we noticed that Hobo had difficulty with his
back legs crumpling under him as he walked. Back to the vet for an
X-ray to check for a possible hairline fracture from the bite. Long
story shorter, there was no break but the vet (a new one) suggested
testing for diabetes. Weakness in the back legs is one sign of it as
is the long healing process. It was, indeed, diabetes - a full-blown
case of it. His glucose level was sky-high. How I wish it had been
caught earlier - and I truly hope that Jasper is NOT diabetic or that
it's been found early enough that diet alone will help.

Hobo's case has been a roller-coaster ride. It's been difficult
getting him stabilized. He'd lost a lot of weight, "crashed" twice,
has frequent glucose-level checks, has insulin injections twice a day,
and has a special Purina DM (diabetes management) food (that is
available only from a vet). Even so, his glucose level continues to
rise and his insulin dosage increased. It's a rough battle.

I truly don't mean to scare you or sound pessimistic. Hobo just
suffered with it too long before the disease was discovered. Probably
Jasper was just stressed out and will be all right. I got good advice
from folks here in RPCA; Zuzu (Megan) was a tremendous help, too,
especially since I knew zilch about diabetes.

Anyway, that's been our experience. Best of luck to you and Jasper.
Keep us updated.

Jeanne

In message , JBHajos
writes

(snip Hobo story for compactness)

Thanks. No sign of weakness in the legs so far. And he seemed to like
his antibiotic tablet, which is a bonus - the vet commented that they
are made to be palatable. He certainly seems healthy enough other than
a fetching red bandage on the affected leg.

At least this time we caught his wound early. With the first one, the
first we noticed was him limping very badly. Trying to look at his foot
was impossible; he swore and scratched - not like him at all. This
time, although he's using the leg with care, he is at least using it.

Carrie thinks this is wonderful. She gets "out" time in the garden
without the risk of being attacked by a bouncy black cat!
--
Cathi

In message , JBHajos
writes

(snip Hobo story for compactness)

Thanks. No sign of weakness in the legs so far. And he seemed to like
his antibiotic tablet, which is a bonus - the vet commented that they
are made to be palatable. He certainly seems healthy enough other than
a fetching red bandage on the affected leg.

At least this time we caught his wound early. With the first one, the
first we noticed was him limping very badly. Trying to look at his foot
was impossible; he swore and scratched - not like him at all. This
time, although he's using the leg with care, he is at least using it.

Carrie thinks this is wonderful. She gets "out" time in the garden
without the risk of being attacked by a bouncy black cat!
--
Cathi

In message , JBHajos
writes

(snip Hobo story for compactness)

Thanks. No sign of weakness in the legs so far. And he seemed to like
his antibiotic tablet, which is a bonus - the vet commented that they
are made to be palatable. He certainly seems healthy enough other than
a fetching red bandage on the affected leg.

At least this time we caught his wound early. With the first one, the
first we noticed was him limping very badly. Trying to look at his foot
was impossible; he swore and scratched - not like him at all. This
time, although he's using the leg with care, he is at least using it.

Carrie thinks this is wonderful. She gets "out" time in the garden
without the risk of being attacked by a bouncy black cat!
--
Cathi

"Cathi" wrote


One thing of concern though .... in the tests the vet did, it would
appear that Jazzie's glucose levels were high, indicating the
possibility of diabetes. He's about 7 years old BTW. It could be that
the levels were high owing to the stress of the fight/wound/etc but
..... we shall have to wait and see.

I don't have experience with diabetes in cats, but do have 34 years of
experience with diabetes in me. ;o) We are sending lots of purrs that
Jasper's wound heals soon and that the high glucose was, indeed, due to the
trauma and not a sign of diabetes.

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

"Cathi" wrote


One thing of concern though .... in the tests the vet did, it would
appear that Jazzie's glucose levels were high, indicating the
possibility of diabetes. He's about 7 years old BTW. It could be that
the levels were high owing to the stress of the fight/wound/etc but
..... we shall have to wait and see.

I don't have experience with diabetes in cats, but do have 34 years of
experience with diabetes in me. ;o) We are sending lots of purrs that
Jasper's wound heals soon and that the high glucose was, indeed, due to the
trauma and not a sign of diabetes.

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

"Cathi" wrote


One thing of concern though .... in the tests the vet did, it would
appear that Jazzie's glucose levels were high, indicating the
possibility of diabetes. He's about 7 years old BTW. It could be that
the levels were high owing to the stress of the fight/wound/etc but
..... we shall have to wait and see.

I don't have experience with diabetes in cats, but do have 34 years of
experience with diabetes in me. ;o) We are sending lots of purrs that
Jasper's wound heals soon and that the high glucose was, indeed, due to the
trauma and not a sign of diabetes.

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