Friday, September 11, 2015

Weak in the Knees

Tucker has developed what I believe to be a new symptom of his diabetes. He now has trouble jumping up on to the furniture. He enjoys lying on the arm of the couch next to me, and at night, he will leap up on to the bed to sleep there. He now cannot jump high enough even for his forelegs to pull up the rest of his body. I know that weakness in the rear legs is a problem associated with diabetes, a sub-condition called neuropathy.

The good news is that the roly poly and I go to the veterinary later today. I don’t think that the dosage of insulin he is receiving is sufficient to fight the diabetes. Naturally, the doctor wished to start Tucker off at a low amount, to gauge his reaction to it, and how it affects his problem. He has been getting one unit of insulin twice a day. This will probably have to go up.

There is a cat in the foster-care of the rescue-group to which I belong who is five years older than Tucker, and has diabetes. He too suffered from neuropathy, but thanks to the diligent care of his excellent foster-guardian, he is active and happy today. There is also a vitamin, methyl-B12, that I intend to question the doctor about.

I am assailed by doubts now as to whether I am injecting the medicine properly. Perhaps that is why he is not reacting well to it. I choose a spot on the side of his abdomen, and, so far as I can determine, the insulin is going in under his skin. The amount, I know, is very small, but I should still feel some dampness if it is not entering under the skin. I am likely administering the medicine correctly, but I still worry that I am not.

In any case, today, Tucker will see the doctor and more questions will be answered.

In the meantime, I am trying to instruct him in the use of the steps at the end of the bed. As he grows older, he will probably need them eventually, anyway. He has no problem going up and down the stairs to the basement - walking itself is still unimpeded. He is afraid of the steps at the bed, probably thinking them some weird and wonderful creation wrought by magic which he doesn’t understand. Tungsten used them gladly; Josie, with her girth, is happy to have them; Renn trots up the steps jauntily, though he doesn’t require them, and even Cammie has condescended to use them. But not Tucker. He fears them.

It’s bad enough that he has to cope with a medical condition that is causing him distress, and now his human is forcing him to crawl up steps. Life can be difficult for a roly poly sausage.

15 comments:

  1. He probably does need more insulin. The same thing happened to our grand-kitty and the vet straightened it out with the proper dosage. It's all a guessing game in the beginning. It will work out for him with the vets help.I think a B12 shot is a good idea. It helped one of our cats that was ill have more energy and over-all better days.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Awwww, Tucker....Lots of purrs to him today for his check. You'll get the insulin dose sorted out, at least the vet has been erring on the side of caution, which is better than overdosing (on any med).

    Would he be okay with a different set of steps? Do these have carpet on them or could you glue some on if they don't? We wonder what about them scares him. Ah, if you knew that, you could resolve it!

    Good luck, paws (and fingers) crossed for him.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I will be looking for something to put on the steps, something similar to what is used on the bottoms of tubs to prevent slipping. I tried looking at Canadian Tire, but the four children I asked in succession did nothing more than give me a blank look and reach for their telephones to call other children who worked there. I'll try somewhere else...

      Delete
  3. I'm so glad I never did have to deal with neuropathy. My Em started limping until I made a vet appointment and then stopped before we got her in. When I tell people she did this they claim it was neuropathy, but I know she did it simply to get my attention.

    I too have heard about injecting towards the abdomen but I always inject in the scruff because for me it was simply easier. You might also want to ask about short needles that some people use to simply put down into the cat and inject that way so you don't have to lift the fur to try to get it under the skin.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. The roly poly seems not to mind being injected on either side right now. I'll take advantage of it.

      Delete
  4. I did the injections under the back scruff of Sasha's neck. That's what my vet recommended. But that was a couple of decades ago!
    Try treats on the stairs, maybe? Or would everycat interfere with that idea. Hmmm. Maybe not that good an idea.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. It's good you'll see the vet, to have some peace of mind that you're injecting the insulin correctly - I suspect as you've said it is the dose.

      Hopefully Tucker will over come his fear. Otherwise I'm sure he'll find a way to let you know he wants up on the bed.

      Delete
  5. John, if roly has not had his injection by the time you go, perhaps the vet can administer it while you're at the office and give you some "tips" as it were...I imagine it's hard and a bit unnerving and scary trying to inject him; I know it would be for me.

    As far as the steps are concerned; if you can sit on them and persuade him to come to you, or perhaps leave a treat on step two, he will grown accustomed to them.

    It took Dude a good month to get used to the steps I have, but once he knew they were not a vicious alien disguised as steps, he used them all the time

    all the best with today's visit

    frum da tabbies : heerz two a walkin catfish kinda week oh end ♥♥♥

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Treats as bribes up the steps sounds like a good idea.

      Delete
  6. I would share the same worries and doubts about administering the medication correctly. I agree it would be nice to have the vet do this with you. Jessica had had fluid administered for a it this way and I never really knew if I were doing it correctly. I do hope Tucker loses his apprehension of using the steps. Steps up to the bed have made all the difference in Jessie's life - she goes up and down even with her arthritic front legs. We hope all the best for Tucker. From Jessica and Eileen

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I think my steps were an excellent Christmas gift for the beasts. I may have to get more...

      Delete
  7. You're probably doing things just perfectly. Dear Tucker probably needs an insulin increase. Are you testing his blood at home? Perhaps a sliding scale for his insulin rather than a fixed dose? You may also ask your vet about insulin injection site selection. The best site is the one that he most tolerates and you feel most comfortable with.
    There are lots of types of stairs for kitties . You'll definitely want one with carpet for traction. Do you have a Pets Mart where you live? There are rigid pre- moulded ones with carpet that work very well. There are also ones that are made of wood and are covered with carpet. The steps are a little wider and have worked a bit better for my cats. I have both styles, though. Pets Mart has a liberal return policy so you can take back the non-perfered ones. Our prayers are with Tucker and you. Extra prayers for a successful vet visit.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I will be testing his blood at home in the future, performing 'curves', which are a series of tests all in one day to measure how he absorbs the insulin and how it works on him. The vet visit went well, and I will be writing about it soon.

      Delete
  8. I am sure you are injecting Tucker correctly, if not you would definitely feel the dampness. Flynn has a B12 injection weekly and this morning the needle must have blocked as the syringe shot off it. For such a small amount, 1/2 cc, his fur was far more than slightly damp. I hope his vet visit went well.

    ReplyDelete