George is going to the vet! Update #7

[Catty1]

Further to this thread, where George's owner was not going to take him to the vet...
http://petoftheday.com/talk/showthre...ghlight=George

I hadn't seen the owner for a while, as he and his fiancee (a good friend of mine) had been dealing with elderly, ailing parents. His dad died recently, and her mom is staying with a daughter, but the sisters take turns visiting her.

Anyway, I caught up with him yesterday to offer my condolences. We went for a long walk, and he mentioned how he might have to break down and take George to the vet...George is still peeing a lot, and the owner heard about a medication to cut down on the peeing.

I said if it was diabetes or a UTI, maybe; if it's kidneys, no. But I did tell him that a full geriatric panel including urinanalysis is $150.00. The one vet also gives a free bag of cat food along with the checkup.

The owner didn't have a carrier, and happily agreed to use an extra one I have. I dropped it off today; he set it up in the living room so George could get used to it, and also folded a favourite blanket inside it.

Thank God...George will likely need a debugging (parasites etc) and at least will get a good checking over. He is about 16, getting bony, but still a sweet boy and nice kitty.

Prayers that he gets the checkup soon! And that his health will improve.

All other prayers appreciated!

[krazyaboutkatz]

I sure hope that everything will go well with his vet visit and that his peeing problems can be easily treated. Lots of prayers and positive thoughts are being sent his way.

[Medusa]

Oh my goodness, of course prayers for George! I do hope all turns out well.

[phesina]

Prayers for George that he gets his checkup soon and all turns out well.

[Freedom]

George does need a vet check, he will feel better no matter what the outcome.

Prayers to keep this moving! I know it's been a LONG haul.

[catmandu]

We are praying the George will be well.
He sounds like a Great Senior Cat, and he deserves to be well and pain free in his Golden Years.

[Catty1]

Well, George has diabetes and is getting insulin twice a day. (I'm glad it wasn't his kidneys!). He also has to be fed food to build up his muscle. The vet poo-poo'ed Frskies as the dry food; George's person will continue to combine the wet Iams, tuna and one other wet food. (I will try to steer him to better food that doesn't cost the earth). George is also on special tinned food to build up his muscle.

He goes back for tests in three weeks.

It has cost $500 so far, but as I pointed out to the owner, when you spread that over the time he has had him - almost 16 years - then it's not much. He agreed.

Also - no mysterious lumps or bumps, so that is good news!

Thanks for your good wishes and prayers - please spare several more that George gets better and gains muscle.

Oh, and he was a very good boy in the carrier and at the vet.

If you look in my album, you can see pics of George from a couple of years ago. He is very bony right now, but hopefully will plump up.

[Freedom]

I am SO glad George got his check up!

Insulin can be very tricky -- too much, and the cat can go into seizures, even die. So you give the set dose, but then if the cat decides not to eat, that could be too much insulin.

I sure hope George's human is taking this seriously!

[pomtzu]

Poor George - I hope his diabetes is easy to manage. It was a challenge with 2 dogs that I had years ago that were diabetic, even tho it was easy getting a urine sample twice a day to test. How can you get urine to test a cat???

Be sure that your friend keeps some Karo syrup around - just in case George's sugar takes a dive naturally, or he gets more insulin than needed. It saved the life of one of my diabetic dogs many times over, since she was almost impossible to regulate.

Prayers that George will be around for a good while longer.

[phesina]

So glad that George got his checkup.. and I'm glad it's not his kidneys too!

Prayers and healing energies and good wishes that George gets the right food and that his person is able to manage the insulin properly. How good that he agreed that the cost spread over George's lifetime so far is not all that much!

God bless you all, and may George keep on keeping on for a good while now..

[krazyaboutkatz]

I'm sorry to hear that George has diabetes but I'm glad that his owner finally took him to the vet. Hopefully he can keep it under control and the food he's feeding him will help too. Lots of prayers and positive thoughts are being sent his way.

When my RB Pepper was diagnosed with diabetes, I had to cut up test strips and put them in the litterboxes and then I hoped that he would pee on a few of them. I had a chart that had the different colors it would turn and what each one meant. He was also put on a prescription dry food but I later found out that canned food is a lot better probably because it contains a lot less carbs than dry food.