When Mr. Duke was first diagnosed with diabetes a couple of months ago and we were told he would need twice-a-day insulin shots, it seemed like the end of the world.
Getting a pill into him is already a problem. How could we possibly get one of our unruly cats to let us stick him with a needle morning and evening?
And after my first clumsy attempt attempt to restrain Duke while readying the syringe, I was nearly in despair. It’s never going to work.
Then I read the most helpful suggestion–make it all part of an enjoyable ritual. And that’s what we’ve done.
It has worked like magic! In two months, Duke has come to look forward to these moments.
I thought I would share this with others getting the same news.
You can do it!
Anyway, it took a little over two minutes last night to go through the ritual and, midway through, sneak in the shot.
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Terrific, Ian!!! I enjoyed the vid.
I thought this was going to be more about Aiona and his distaste for shots.
Our old boy Roo was also getting the two-shot a day treatment. Basically, since the needle is so fine and the injection was under the skin, by the time he’d react, the deed was done.
The insulin really helped him for about a year. Alas, a few weeks ago he took such a dramatic turn for the worse, with no going back, that he had to be put down. Roo was our alpha animal and now all the other animals are rudderless. We sure miss him. He was 13.
Burl, Sorry to hear about Roo. Ian, so what were the signs and symptoms for Duke? Loss of appetite, weight loss, thirsty etc. Thanks.
Duke’s mother died of previously undiagnosed diabetes soon after Duke and his sister were weaned. Then, earlier this year, his sister died of diabetes. So were were on alert, especially since he was very overweight. We first put him on a diet, and succeeded in getting his weight down from 20 pounds to just over 15 pounds. But, despite the weight loss, blood tests confirmed diabetes. Behaviorally, we did see increased drinking and urination, and he had become less and less active. Those symptoms have now lessened, but I wouldn’t say they have disappeared. And we’re still trying to get to fine tune his insulin dose to get the best control of his condition. That’s just a long, slow process, at least in his case.
Ian, did you get my question on the “Editing political posts”?
Hmmm, Kainoa (18 lber) is drinking a lot with frequent urination and stinky breath. Maybe it’s time to go to the vet..Want another cat? Thanks. Aloha.
First read this in an RSS browser window (minus the vid) and thought you were talking about Duke Aiona! While speculating just what that rewarding “ritual” might be, I realized you were talking about a cat. : )