Monday, May 15, 2017

Things I Have Learned from My Cats, Part 287

There are many things I’ve learned from my cats. Lately, however, I have been thinking about the boys’ diabetes, and Cammie’s illnesses, and the treatments thereof.

Ideally, the boys’ blood-sugar numbers should be below ten at their lowest. Tucker’s has come close, though we will see if it has remained so after his next curve this weekend. Parker’s has not fallen below 12.8 during managed care. But diabetes is a tricky condition. Not long after Parker arrived at my residence, his number one early morning was five. I certainly couldn’t give him insulin when he was that low. Since then, his numbers have been the norm for the time of day. Not long ago, Tucker started a ‘curve’ day at ten; even without insulin, it dropped to almost eight before climbing again. In his case, as well, his numbers have been normal thereafter.

Certainly, there are many, many cases of diabetes being managed better than I have been able to do with the boys. But right now, with the doses they are receiving, their numbers are good. Their doctors are satisfied with the situation, and the cats themselves are otherwise healthy.

Then there is Cammie. She has been sick two or three times with vomiting. I have been able to remedy the problem in each case so far. She has coped with head sores that seem to defy definition, and now she has the start of kidney failure. I have tried to feed her kidney-friendly food, but she will have none of it, literally. I have attempted other foods and they either arouse indifference or cause stomach upset. The only soft-food she will consent to eat are three flavours of Fancy Feast, and even then, not all the time.

This has led me to philosophise. There are some ends that no means will achieve. This is not to say that I will cease trying to improve the beasts’ lives. I will continue to offer Cammie new and better foods. But the mornings when she eats little worry me only if they are not compensated by hungry evenings. I will continue to think up ways to encourage her to drink water. I will consider different doses for the boys’ diabetes but not at the cost of destabilizing a satisfactory equilibrium. My cats’ health will always prey upon my mind. But we do the best we can, man and beast, and more than that cannot occur.

One cannot agonise over not reaching zero by dividing by half. Perfection cannot be achieved, and there is no sense in worrying about such a fact. Sometimes the best place on a see-saw is a little distance from either end. This is different than not trying. If one ceases to try, then one commits a disservice to those in one’s care. If one tries, and achieves health and contentment to the best of one’s ability, then that is good. It may never be good enough, but it will astonish how much happiness comes from good.

16 comments:

  1. Really good post, well put. All we can do is our best, whatever that is at the time, based on what we know and the resources we have. Nothing ever will change the fact that All Beings die, and that the lifespan of our animal companions is far, far less than an average human lifespan. So yes, we need to do our best, learn not micromanage, let the rest go. Because most of life is out of our control.

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    1. I agree, most of life is out of our control. It's unfortunate, but we always seem to be at the mercy of someone or something else. We just have to work with what we have.

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  2. It can be a fine line to walk....get them better at what cost mentally to everyone? Make the effort and know are doing your best - that is all any of us can do.

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    1. I wish that doing our best didn't sometimes seem inadequate.

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  3. Your post offers a lot of "food for thought". You're quite right to say that perfection cannot be achieved, so there is no sense in worrying about it. But being pet parents, we do worry when one of our cats becomes ill. However, all we can do is love and care for our pets the best way we can. One thing is for sure, John, your cats are very lucky to have you taking care of them.

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    1. Thank you. I worry about them all the time, and then worry that worrying isn't enough!

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  4. There is a saying that we use quite often when we are practicing medicine where I work. "The enemy of good is perfection". You are doing very good and perfection might destroy all that. Be happy that you have reached a very good balance, that is what most medicine and wellness care strives for when it is being realistic.

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    1. Yes, reaching too far can cause problems, it's true. It's only natural to want to do more and more, but sometimes less is better, as we all know.

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  5. guyz...dadz doin hiz veree best N all wayz will; that in de long run end ree sult, iz all that matterz....N we think heez total lee awesum for doin sew....we noe ewe due two ! ☺☺♥♥

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    1. Thanks, guys. I know it's the same in your household. We humans try our best, and hope that's enough.

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  6. There is no doubt in my mind that you are doing the best you can for your cats. As you say, perfection is not possible, but I don't they ask that of us, merely that we do the best we can by them.

    The kitties would say "You're a pawsome bean dad!"
    Eileen

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    1. Thank you. They are very demanding in their small ways, these cats, but when it comes to the big things, they just ask for love, respect and safety. We humans can do that.

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  7. I have to say that I wish I had your advice and knew you when the Admiral was still with me. She was so ill the last year of her life with idiopathic hyper calcimia and hyper thyroidism. I even went so far as to keep saying how "unfair" to her it all was as there was no way out; but still, I tried and tried. Your thought here about there being some ends that no means will achieve would have been some comfort in a way, to my heart.

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    1. Such advice that I have to give has come only after learning from sorrow and regret, it seems. You tried because you wanted the Admiral to live, and live well. I think we only learn that some goals cannot be achieved after we find it impossible to achieve them, and the greatest lesson may be knowing when to stop, and let go. That is a hard and bitter lesson - and I still don't know if I have learned it well enough myself.

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  8. Strive for perfection but settle for excellence.
    A quote attributed to coach Don Shula and lots of other folks. And excellence is certainly the quality of care you've given to your cat family. I'm not going to get philosophical when it comes to the nature of perfection but let me just say our search for perfection has to be tempered with quality of life. I often wake up at night filled with guilt for what I put my Arthur through trying to find answers/ resolve for issues that had no resolve. In attempting to give him perfect quality of life I, instead, managed to lessen it at some points along his health care continuum. Regrets are from what I did do rather than what I didn't. Fourteen thousand+ $ dollars worth of care really didn't change what the first four thousand $ discovered. Since then, my philosophy has been treatment to quality of life. Giving pills that induce nausea, insisting on foods that are not enjoyable, painful diagnostics just "to know" are no longer a part of my plan. Believe me though,
    "good enough" will never be part of my vocabulary when it comes to my cats. But I've learned perfection is a two edged sword that can cause unintended pain and heart ache to both pet and owner.

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    1. You're quite right. I think that any cat - and probably most humans - would prefer a few months of happiness (or at least contentment) to years of an indifferent life. I have at last learned that doing the best I can do means the best I can do for my cats, and not the best, period.

      I think that Arthur would understand. They are astonishingly understanding creatures, these cats.

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