Calloway's eating!! update 12/2

[jennielynn1970]

Holy cow... I have a brand new (well, a few months old) Honeywell sitting right in the middle of the living room. Turned off. Duh.

Guess I should stop walking around it and turn it on, lol.

There's a filter on the furnace, but that definitely needs to be changed. Another one of those things that I keep forgetting to do. Ugh.

He's been good today. No hacking, no coughing, scampering around on his stubby little legs, lol. He's been a good boy and has been eating all of his DM food!!

Of course Honey is refusing to eat at any prescribed time and is staring at me, beseechingly, as if I'm purposely starving him.

[Catlady711]

I'm glad Calloway's meds seem to be helping the coughing. Sorry to hear his blood glucose was so high. That is common in overweight pets, but cats are fortunate that sometimes with a strict diet and a gradual weight loss they can avoid insulin or decrease the amount of time they have to be on it. Dogs in contrast tend to have to stay on insulin for life.

One vet said I had three cats. I didn't get it at first. But he said the average weight for a cat is 7lbs. I couldn't imagine a 7lbs cat.

Back in the old days the avg. weight for cats was 7-8 lbs, however it's not uncommon now for some cats to be 15+ lbs and not be a bit overweight and for some to be as small as 5 lbs and not be underweight. I guess cat genetics are getting a wider range. Bear weights 16-17 lbs and he's not really fat. I had him down to 15 at one point but I didn't think he looked good although his vet isn't concerned about his weight as long as he stays between 15-17 lbs.

The vet said she can't put him on any steriod with the diabetes, so the asthma med is something other than pred. I think it has been helping because I haven't heard him do the coughing/gagging noise since the meds, and when he wheezed, it was time for the next dose. I'll have to find the name of it. It's something with a T, lol.

I'm guessing Temeril-P?? Small round gray pill?

Have you tried Science Diet I/D for the barfers?

I had always thought I/D was only for hospitalized animals or ones with severe digestive disorders for short term use only. I just looked it up on Hills website and it doesn't say anything about that it was the A/D I was thinking of. Hmmm. Learn something new every day. LOL

Do cats get collapsed tracheas? I'm just wondering if cats get this? I'm not sure.

I could be wrong on this, but as far as I know, cats can get that, but it's more common in dogs. I'll have to ask the boss on Monday on that one, because now I'm curious.

[jennielynn1970]

The med for the asthma is Theophylline 100mg.

[Catlady711]

The med for the asthma is Theophylline 100mg.

Ah ok I know that one, just can never pronounce it correctly. LOL When you said he was coughing the first thing I thought of was the Temeril-P.

[krazyaboutkatz]

Jenn, I'm sorry to hear about Calloway. Hopefully the new diet will make him lose the weight that he needs so that his diabetes can be controlled by diet.

When I first stopped free feeding, my cats weren't too thrilled either but they soon learned that they had to eat when I fed them. After about 1 week your cats should learn the routine and do better. I know that if I continued free feeding that Sky, Starr, and Ziggy Stardust would be extemely over weight by now. Good luck.

[jennielynn1970]

I'm actually happily relieved that no one has really decided to have a "mewtiny" (had to steal Medusa's word, lol). Honey is not happy, and so I've been feeding him separately some canned food and yoghurt. He's older, and grumpy, and I hate to see him looking so miserable. He loves yoghurt and sour cream, and laps it up happily. Of course it doesn't mean I get any extra loves from him, I'm just his servant...

I was up at my mom and dad's yesterday, left my house around 1:00pm, got back home around 9:30pm. WOW!!! I had some very vocal kitties on my hands! They were fed around 8am, so it was a little over 12hrs that they weren't fed. Even with that, they were well behaved, no one gorged, and I can happily say, no one has thrown up on this new food (Royal Canin), and Calloway really enjoys his Purina DM. I really don't think there is much he would turn down, lol.

I have totally cut back on treats too. I feel bad, but oh well. I know that their having treats every night (and a decent amount as well ) isn't good for them. I'll be giving them treats every few days, and just a few per kitty. It's also a help for the pocketbook. If I have to cut back, it might as well be the treats.

I'll have to schedule Cal for a check up next week or the week after. I hope it will be an improvement. I want to check his weight myself, before that. I do have a baby scale that I used for when my RB Bear was so sick, so I'll pull that back out (great steal on eBay back then!). Wish Calloway luck, and also me, because I do not want to do shots!

[Lizzie]

Jenn - Could the silica in the crystal cat litter be irritating his lungs?

I know that sooner or later I"m going to end up with a cat with diabetes and I must admit that I dread dealing with it. Good job that Calloway isn't on insulin and diet may really work for him.

I know what you mean about having one cat that's a bowling ball with legs, that describes my Taranis very well. A few years ago, when she'd only been with me for a year, and after trying low-cal diets and restricted feedings, I resorted to chasing her all over the house in an effort to make her lose weight. However, cats don't move if they don't want to, even if they have someone stomping their feet at their rear and yelling "Run, dammit, run".

[jennielynn1970]

Well, tomorrow at 11:15, Calloway and I have an appointment at the vet to see how well his diet is working, and if his glucose has come down at all. I'm hoping things have been working in his favor. I do think he's lost weight. He looks less round to me, lol. The scheduled feedings have been working really well, surprisingly, and the only ones having issues with wanting snacks in between feeding times are Zachariah and Furbee.

Keep Calloway in your thoughts please, and hope that his glucose has come down and that he won't need insulin!

[Moesha]

Morgan and I are hoping for good numbers for him in the morning. Can he eat before the checkup? When they were checking Morgan's sugar levels he could never eat or have insulin in the morning before the test. Now they tell me he can eat, but I always try to get him there first thing without having food.

[jennielynn1970]

They never said not to eat, but I can give him just a little really early.. like 6am. He won't be happy about it, lol, but if it's better for his numbers, we'll definitely do that.

[Reachoutrescue]

I really hope it is good news for Calloway tomorrow! He is a handsome cat. I hope his wheezing stops too...poor guy. Please give him a head scratchie for me!!

[Catty1]

Calloway, praying here for good news and that you are on the right track! Give him a cuddle for me!

[Moesha]

All I know is that eating makes sugar go up. They always Morgan to eat when he got the insulin shots. I think that was supposed to help prevent a sudden drop. I ask them about it now and they said that it didn't matter if he's eaten or not really. They said that if it is going to be high it will be high any time of day. I don't quite understand the reasoning behind that, so I try to go before he has eaten. Maybe if he eats several hours before the tests it won't make much difference.

[Emeraldgreen]

I hope Calloway's appointment goes really well and that his weight and his glucose are both down! Please let us know how it turns out.

[jenluckenbach]

I was wondering about Cal. Hope things are improving for him.