Some good news, and some bad news.
Good news: Basette’s insulin dose is having some effects and appears to be helping her. She is feeling better and has been up and around more.
Bad news: She has lost more of her vision.
This morning I sat and watched her before going in to work. For 30 minutes, I sat and talked to her watching how she reacts to my voice. How she turns her head in my direction without looking at me. Every time I said her name, she mrowed in her half-purr, half-hoarse meow. She headed towards me, turned once too early and stopped just before walking into a cabinet. She continued out of the kitchen to where I sat, and sat in front of me, facing away from me, purring like an out-board motor.
I’ve situated things in the kitchen carefully so she can have everything where she needs it, and it won’t be rearranged any time soon. She seems to be adapting to using her other senses very quickly.
Every time I walk into the kitchen she purrs and mrows at me. She can’t see me clearly but she hears my voice and tells me to pet her. She is an amazing little kitty.
I waited anxiously at work all day after dropping Basette off at the vet’s this morning. Her eyes hadn’t improved any from the night before. She still seemed to be able to see where I was. She came over and sniffed my feet, purring loudly. She even followed me into the office the night before.
However, she seemed confused. Patient, purring, and not sure what was going on. With her eyes like that, I assumed she had trouble focusing. The once-vicious now having trouble seeing her prey…
The vet called in the afternoon with not-so-good news: Basette has retinal damage, maybe detached retinas, maybe diabetic retinopathy (less likely). Either way, the condition was probably caused by high blood pressure related to her diabetes and reduces vision, sometimes causing blindness.
There is basically no viable treatment to help the Little Black Wonder Cat(tm). The best we can do right now it try and get her glucose levels under control.
We have to wait and see what happens with her vision. She’s already had trouble focusing, the question now is will it keep deteriorating, or will it stabilize?
The one good point? Her glucose in the evening was 290, so the insulin dose is at least having some effects.
Something strange is happening with Basette’s eyes. This evening her pupils looked completely dilated. Even when I picked her up and looked at her eyes in bright light, the pupils didn’t respond. She isn’t looking directly at me. She looks in my direction, but never meets my gaze, unlike my other kitties.
This isn’t right. Click on the picture to see what I mean. Take a close look at her eyes.
I called the vet at her house — the only time I’ve ever done that — and she said to bring Basette back to the clinic if her eyes hadn’t improved by morning.
The Little Black Wonder Cat(tm) is home at last, after a few days with the vet.
For the past six or more years, Basette has been a proud client of Oak Ridge Veterinary Clinic. During her stays, she enjoys fine Southern hospitality and gourmet prescription diabetic food. She has her own little kitty condo, complete with deluxe bed (courtesy of Mom), clean towels to cover the bed, more litter box changes then a window washer with only one window to clean, and lots of love and attention. You know you are at a good clinic when it takes longer to pick up the kitty then to drop her off because everyone has to say their good-byes.
I called this afternoon to check on the “Basetters” (her knick-name at the clinic). Basette’s glucose levels didn’t respond as well today as they had yesterday. However, they still went down while she was on the glucose. It’s still positive news, it’s just not quite as dramatic as it had been yesterday.
Basette has an unusually calm disposition for a cat, so she does get some special treatment. (Me? Spoil my kitties? Oh never!) She rides in the front seat on her kitty condo bed, is carried inside with the bed, and placed into her ‘condo’ without having moved from the bed. Much of the time, when we’re in transit, Basette insists upon sitting in my lap and purring. Unlike some cats who whine or scratch for attention, Basette inches her way onto my lap and then simply places her head against my hand. And leaves it there until she is petted to her satisfaction.
She does seem to be feeling better. She tried to climb onto the dash at one point to watch the cars pass. I had to retrieve her onto my lap several times. She didn’t want to sit still on the pillow or on my lap. It was exploring time and I was cramping her style! Very different behavior from her first few weeks visiting the clinic when she just sat, quietly, on her bed in the front seat.
Her sense of exploration is something small, but it’s another step forward. Another bit of hope.
It is certainly possible that Basette’s responsiveness last night was from a cleared up infection that didn’t show up on the UTI tests. I hope so!
Basette’s glucose was above 500 again this morning, so she’s going to try her on the bovine insulin (PZI) again.
Another update! Vet just called and said that Basette responded today to an insulin dose of 5 units — down from 15 units (which is a WHOPPING dose) before the clavamox and glipizide three weeks ago.
With any luck, she’ll be back up home in a day or so and regulated!
Here is some good news, at least! Basette went back to the vet’s this morning. Her glucose levels were still high this morning and afternoon. However, after she recieved her insulin, her glucose levels plummeted from over 500 down to almost half that!!
Woohoo! If Basette was here, I’d party. The vet was esctatic. I was delighted. We’re not jinxing anything, though, and hoping that it wasn’t a fluke.
In all of her prior glucose tests, Basette has never responded with that much of a significant drop in glucose levels.
It is a real start, and hopefully some progress for the Little Black Wonder Cat(tm).
This has definitely been an interesting week. Roller-coaster ride, frustrations, and more. Yeehaw.
First, my mare was lame on Sunday (bad). On Tuesday, my diabetic kitty was more active and alert (good). Wednesday I cleaned the house, had everything looking nice, and then discovered two bird families had made nests in the house (bad). Last year, one nest of birds spread these nasty bird mites through the house. (shudder) They don’t transmit disease, they just make your skin crawl. My skin has felt invisible creepy-crawlies since Wednesday.
Thursday afternoon, I installed Word Press (VERY good). Thursday evening, the vet came out and diagnosed Isis with laminitis. (MAJOR bad).
So it’s been a topsy-turvey ride.
At least there aren’t mites (knock on wood).
How to start things off?
My mare came up lame last week on Sunday morning: stiffness, no apparent swelling, ouchy on both front feet. Add that to spring grass coming in and her tendency to put on weight faster then a cheetah bringing down an antelope, and you get the idea.
Yesterday, the vet confirmed my worst fears: laminitis, a serious disease which causes the laminae (interior parts of the hoof) to break down. Basically, in bad cases, part of the inside bone (the very tip of the horse’s leg) sinks because the ties that hold it in place (laminae) deteriorate.
Isis’ case is mild, luckily. With a little rest and weight loss, she should be back to normal. Except what will normal be after this?
Some times inspiration hits, like so much chocolate melting over ice cream.
Basette looks a little better today. She has been walking with me to the door and into the office.
The vet said that the UTI tests were negative. Basette will go back into the vet’s on Monday next week for another round of dosing… Maybe she’ll respond this time.
It was really good to see her feeling even a little better.
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