The Official HTF Cat Thread (1 Viewer)

[Malcolm R]

Yeah, I think my cat would look at me and say "really?".

Yeah, then proceed to play with the box it came in. Those are obviously paid spokes-cats in that ad, not normal cats.

 

[Johnny Angell]

I noticed that all the cats seemed to be looking forward and up. They didn't just look forward. They all seemed to be rather slim too. Is that because the use the cat wheel or they use the wheel because they are slim?

 

[Sam Posten]

I think they are chasing laser pointers

 

[Kevin Hewell]

Anyone tried one of these?
http://onefastcat.com

I wish I had that kind of willpower.

 

[Stan]

Today we said goodbye to Wonder.

About a year ago we noticed he was losing weight and he developed diabetes. Our vet (a great guy) ran a blood test on him and Wonder was diagnosed with acromegaly. This is usually caused by a (probably) benign tumor in the pituitary gland. It can result in insulin resistant diabetes. At one point he was getting 16 units of Lantus 2xdaily. We learned how to do the test ourselves after too much insulin caused him to go into hypoglycemia. That happened because this diabetes became less severe and he got that 16 units when he didn't need that much. Eventually he was getting 1 or 0 units per dose.


Tomorrow I'll post a pic of him. Just not up to it today.

I know how hard it is to lose a pet, my prayers are with you.

I just question if you were giving him 16 units of Lantus. That's a really big dose. I was diabetic for several years, taking 30 units and the quick dose regular insulin with meals.

I weighed about 160 lbs. and 30 units turned out to be way to much. Long story of blood glucose going down to 32, ER visit, etc. But 32 units for a cat? That's a huge dose.

Had a much longer story I'll post later, but for whatever reason, Windows10, touchy laptop touchpad, I apparently posted without even knowing it.

 

[Johnny Angell]

Stan, I can understand your concern about the size of the dose, it was a huge dose. Keep in mind that acromegaly can cause insulin resistant diabetes. This was occurring before we learned to do the test ourselves at home. We'd take Wonder to the vet once a week for the test and then typically go up one unit at a time per dose. I think we even increased it by 2 units a couple of times. We eventually arrived at 16 units and that did work for Wonder.

One evening just shortly before he'd get his evening dose he crashed with very low blood sugar. Wonder ended up at the emergency clinic. After that we learned to do the test ourselves. For reasons not understood, he apparently no longer had the insulin resistant variety of diabetes. I assure that he was doing fine on the 16 units until he crashed. Maybe it would be better to say we thought he was doing fine, perhaps his need for insulin had been declining for a few days and we didn't know it.

Anyone with a diabetic cat should not hesitate, like we did, to learn how to do the test. I googled how to do it and picked up some very good pointers.

As Wonder's need for insulin declined, his readings fluctuated. We were testing him before each injection to determine what he would need.

 

[Stan]

Stan, I can understand your concern about the size of the dose, it was a huge dose. Keep in mind that acromegaly can cause insulin resistant diabetes. This was occurring before we learned to do the test ourselves at home. We'd take Wonder to the vet once a week for the test and then typically go up one unit at a time per dose. I think we even increased it by 2 units a couple of times. We eventually arrived at 16 units and that did work for Wonder.

One evening just shortly before he'd get his evening dose he crashed with very low blood sugar. Wonder ended up at the emergency clinic. After that we learned to do the test ourselves. For reasons not understood, he apparently no longer had the insulin resistant variety of diabetes. I assure that he was doing fine on the 16 units until he crashed. Maybe it would be better to say we thought he was doing fine, perhaps his need for insulin had been declining for a few days and we didn't know it.

Anyone with a diabetic cat should not hesitate, like we did, to learn how to do the test. I googled how to do it and picked up some very good pointers.

As Wonder's need for insulin declined, his readings fluctuated. We were testing him before each injection to determine what he would need.

How do you test a cat's blood glucose? Thankfully my issues cleared up, A1C has been fine for years.

I could give myself injections with no problem (five a day at one point). But the finger prick to test things, horrible, I absolutely hated it.

My dog barely lets me cut her nails, can't imagine how I'd get a blood test from my cat.

 

[Johnny Angell]

You get the cats blood and use the same kind of meter the people use. I even use the same lancets with a small device that triggers it. The cat's ear is used to get the blood. Once I got it down, it didn't bother Wonder very much. When your pet's health is at stake, you will be amazed at what you can do.

 

[Sam Posten]

 

[Stan]

Picked up my cat yesterday, just needed a little snuggle time. Nope, not working at all.

A few hours later, she jumps in my lap, wants her snuggle time. Apparently if it fits her schedule, it's okay.

This is exceedingly rare. It can be 3-4 days before I see her sometimes. Food is disappearing, litterbox is used, so I know she's alive, somewhere in the house. Then once in a while she gets into these cuddly, friendly moods. The bizarre brains of our pets, a never ending learning experience.

 

[Johnny Angell]

Picked up my cat yesterday, just needed a little snuggle time. Nope, not working at all.

A few hours later, she jumps in my lap, wants her snuggle time. Apparently if it fits her schedule, it's okay.

This is exceedingly rare. It can be 3-4 days before I see her sometimes. Food is disappearing, litterbox is used, so I know she's alive, somewhere in the house. Then once in a while she gets into these cuddly, friendly moods. The bizarre brains of our pets, a never ending learning experience.

The closing credits for Inside Out has the answer for why cats can be so unpredictable.

 

[Kevin Hewell]

LOL

That looks like my pussy.

 

[Mark Booth]

Toby, a Domestic Shorthair Tabby, shared his house with us for 16 years. We lost him to cancer about 10 years ago. It's taken that much time to get over the loss but I'm thrilled to report that we adopted a 6-month-old Siamese/Domestic Medium Hair mix on December 2, 2015. We named her Sasha.

Sasha is a loving and playful joy. She follows us around the house, more like a puppy than a cat. She greets us at the door when we return home from running errands, and she welcomes friends at the front door when they come to visit. At this very moment she is lying on the desk next to my computer, watching me type this message.

She is very talkative, with an amazing range of meows and other cat sounds. And she likes to dance!

Actually, that is a photo I shot of her when she was chasing after the feather on a wand toy.

More Sasha photos, as well as several videos, can be found here:

http://www.thephotobooth.net/Family/Sasha/n-FX9Qsc/i-dG4XH5c

We fell in love with her right out of the gate. Two months later, we scratch our heads and ask why we waited so long to bring more kitty love into our home. Ahem... I mean her home!

Added bonus, the photos contain home theater content in the background!

Mark

 

[Johnny Angell]

Toby, a Domestic Shorthair Tabby, shared his house with us for 16 years. We lost him to cancer about 10 years ago. It's taken that much time to get over the loss but I'm thrilled to report that we adopted a 6-month-old Siamese/Domestic Medium Hair mix on December 2, 2015. We named her Sasha.
....
We fell in love with her right out of the gate. Two months later, we scratch our heads and ask why we waited so long to bring more kitty love into our home. Ahem... I mean her home!

Added bonus, the photos contain home theater content in the background!

Mark

We all have our personal ways of reacting to grief. One thing to remember is Sasha hasn't replaced Toby but only succeeded him. He's still there in your hearts and you found there was room for another.

Since we've had multiple cats for years, we've never been in a house without cats after a dear one has left us. The years have caught up to us and we've decided not to adopt any more. With the passing of Wonder we now have 13 cats. It will be a while before we are faced with the prospect of saying goodbye to our last cats. That's much laughter, joy, and tears down the road.

Sasha is drop-dead gorgeous. Since she is an only cat she will be very attentive to you and I think her talkative trait is the siamese in her.

 

[Kevin Hewell]

We all have our personal ways of reacting to grief. One thing to remember is Sasha hasn't replaced Toby but only succeeded him. He's still there in your hearts and you found there was room for another.

Since we've had multiple cats for years, we've never been in a house without cats after a dear one has left us. The years have caught up to us and we've decided not to adopt any more. With the passing of Wonder we now have 13 cats. It will be a while before we are faced with the prospect of saying goodbye to our last cats. That's much laughter, joy, and tears down the road.

Sasha is drop-dead gorgeous. Since she is an only cat she will be very attentive to you and I think her talkative trait is the siamese in her.

A wonderful sentiment.

BTW, Mark, was Sasha born with red devil eyes?

 

[Mike Frezon]

Hey, Mark! Congratulations!

Sasha is beautiful.. Looooooooooove that first portrait.

 

[David Willow]

Wow Mark, Sasha is a good looking cat. I really like those blue eyes (and even the red devil eyes ).

 

[Sam Posten]

Agreed Sasha is very cool!

Shultz keeps going to his favorite spot.

16-Shultz-7624 by Sam Posten III, on Flickr

 

[Mark Booth]

Thank you, everyone! Yeah, I was pleased with that portrait shot of Sasha. I grabbed it with my iPhone when she had her front paws up on the top of one of the breakfast nook chairs. And those red eyes only appear in the shots where I used flash. Maybe I should edit them with the red eye filter in Aperture?

If you didn't already look, there are videos in the gallery I linked in my previous message, including one of Sasha getting in "trouble" for being on top of the refrigerator.

Agreed Sasha is very cool!

Shultz keeps going to his favorite spot.

16-Shultz-7624 by Sam Posten III, on Flickr

Sam, I think your Shultz sees everything and knows everything, unlike a certain Sergeant we all remember!

Mark

 

[Mark Booth]

We all have our personal ways of reacting to grief. One thing to remember is Sasha hasn't replaced Toby but only succeeded him. He's still there in your hearts and you found there was room for another.

Since we've had multiple cats for years, we've never been in a house without cats after a dear one has left us. The years have caught up to us and we've decided not to adopt any more. With the passing of Wonder we now have 13 cats. It will be a while before we are faced with the prospect of saying goodbye to our last cats. That's much laughter, joy, and tears down the road.

Sasha is drop-dead gorgeous. Since she is an only cat she will be very attentive to you and I think her talkative trait is the siamese in her.

Thank you, Johnny!

Mark