Can you believe they’re TWO WEEKS OLD already?
It’s amazing how the time crawled before they were born, but now it’s flying by.
Leia loves to come over to the edge of the cat bed to see what I’m doing.
They have such serious little faces.
“What’s going on out THERE?”
I’m starting to think perhaps Leia is a little Sheriff in training.
Mama Kate doesn’t spend ALL her time with the babies or snuggling with me. She also plays.
“I disapproves of Mama playing. Mama is suppose to be here, watching me and taking care of my needs!”
Leia the little smiler.
I’ll have their two-week pictures tomorrow, hopefully. I want to compare them to their newborn pictures and we can oooh and ahhhhh at how much they’ve grown!
How about a video? I apologize for the terrible, dark picture (I made the video on a rainy day), but the kittens were clearly hearing me, and judging by their hissy reaction, they weren’t caring for my voice. Brats. On the up side, in the two days since I made the video, the cats learned that my voice doesn’t necessarily mean anything bad, and in fact it can lead to belly rubs, so they stopped hissing.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Jakey in the Jakey Cave.
Pardon me, Jake. Your loon appears to need some tuning.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Previously
2012: ::sulk::
2011: Maggie’s baby story.
2010: “I HAZ A COMPLAINT HE IS BITING ME MAKE HIM STOOOOOOOOOP!”
2009: A boy’s gotta have priorities!
2008: No entry.
2007: I was somehow elected to take Newt to the vet, so we boxed him up and put him in my car.
2006: No entry.
2005: No entry.
Sweet Jakey-poo! Good to see you.
It’s amazing how quickly kittens’ faces and personalities start to come out.
I’m dead again. the babies, they keep on killing me! Smilin’ Jake, the serial killer- he’s got a killer smile!
Black kitty with beautiful (currently, I know) blue eyes. Gorgeous, even if he is spittin’ at you. I fear little Leia may be less a Sheriff in training than a budding rebel.
Naw, she’s the hissiest, so definitely sheriff… maybe an explorer sheriff! 🙂
I don’t know. Leia was always pretty hissing-y at Han.
Love these babies – thanks for getting an otherwise gloomy Tuesday off to a great start!
Sparkle Toy! I see Miss Kate has good taste in chase-able objects. 🙂 My kitties love the sparkle toy attachment for Da Bird!
Robyn, I think Leia is going to be the first one over board. She looks like she is ready to explore. They are so beautiful and healthy looking. Kisses & squishes 🙂
Deb, you must have read her mind – this morning when I walked into the room, she was laying in the middle of the floor! I put her back into the bed and she was not pleased with me. 🙂
The leg hanging out of the Jakey Cave just kills me.
And the babies…those precious wittle faces…oh the cute!
Robyn – I am hoping to get some advice from you and all the other cat whisperers out there. My friend’s 6 year old beautiful, long haired tuxie, Tommy, was just diagnosed with diabetes. This past summer they lost his twin sister Nikki to FIP, so they are crushed by the news about Tommy. He is healthy otherwise – all his other bloodwork is normal, no kidney or liver issues, etc. They will be learning how to deal with the insulin shots this week, but were wondering if you all had any recommendations on what kind/brand of food would be the best for him, if there are any good web sites on diabetes in cats and anything else can they do to help him. They love him with all their heart and just want to give him the best and longest life possible. Thank you all for any help you can give.
Awww, there is nothing cuter than a tiny hisssss! To Ibby … I’ve had two cats with diabetes. My Divine Miss Flazy’s diabetes was brought on by a diet of grocery store kibble (this was years ago; I didn’t know!). Once I switched her to mostly wet food with just a bit of high-quality kibble, the diabetes went into remission and never reappeared. My beloved Morris (a later cat) had diabetes, too, and he required shots. The shots aren’t that difficult (easier than pilling, in my opinion), and I will admit that I took him to the vet for glucose checks instead of trying to do it myself. Morris was declawed (NOT by me!), but he could bite and use his back claws just fine! I fed him grain-free dry and pretty much any wet food he would eat. He mostly liked Innova Evo, but when he would tire of it, I’d just get a small bag of some other grain-free kibble (he demanded food be available at all times). I’ve heard a number of people say that their cats’ diabetes went into remission when the cats were fed a raw diet. If your friends go that route, they would want to keep a close eye on the cat’s glucose levels when starting out — if his glucose is normal AND he gets insulin, that could cause seizures and even death. The DMF lived for 10 years after her diagnosis, and Morris for five years. Good luck and best wishes!
I had my Josh for 17 years and he was born diabetic. Don’t panic…the shots ARE easy!!! 🙂 I had to give my boy shots twice a day. I, also, took blood for glucose tests myself. All you need is a glucometer (get one at Wal-Mart or such…one that needs as little blood as possible). I got needle caps from my vet…and vaseline. The vaseline allows the blood to bead on the fur and not soak in so it is easy to get the blood drop into the test strip. There is a vein that runs around the outside edge of the ear about a 1/16″ – 1/8″ in from the outter edge. Do not prick straight into the ear, but at a slight upward angle. Then “milk” the ear to get your blood droplet. Anyway, as for food, wet or dry is fine but you want a good quality food where the number one ingredient is chicken. If you are feeding him lots of calories (high cal food) you will be chasing it with insulin. DO KEEP KARO SYRUP ON HAND. If my boy’s insulin dropped too low, his right paw would quiver (he would actually come to me and meow at me…I knew his body language). I would test him and if really low (booger would drop to 39 in an instant), I gave him Karo syrup. Based on his type of diabeties, he would never go into remission no matter what he was fed. Left untreated his glucose levels would be in the 500s. The main problem comes when they age. Most cats will pass of renal failure (standard old age problem in cats). During this time, you have to feed them a low protein (thus high carb) diet for their kidneys, but then chase it with insulin. When I would go on vacation, I would preload the needles/syringes with the insulin to rule out any mistakes. Teach a friend/your pet sitter how to give shots. I had a few friends that did it for me. Also, be sure your cat is micro-chipped. If he ever gets out and if he is missing for a time period, then he may seem sickly and they may think to put him down. I had his name listed as “Josh I’m Diabetic” on his micro-chip and tags. Anyway, I can help you with any question you have.
Anyway, Josh lived a healthy, happy life for 17 years. He was easy to care for even with diabeties…so don’t get overwhelmed. I do remember the first time I gave him a shot under the vet’s supervision, I felt sick to my stomach thinking that I was hurting him…but I was really only helping him. I loved that little man!!! 🙂
Oh, to check his blood levels, sit on your butt with your legs sticking out infront of you. Place your kitty between your legs so that his shoulders are at your knees. Cross your ankles and apply pressure with your knees to his shoulders/sides. Do your test. Give him a treat afterwards. Also, he became very use to his shots and I could just reach down and give him his shot in the scruff without holding him. Try the above way to give him shots, in the beginning, if you have to…as in he won’t hold still or you are just too nervous. 🙂
Also, I found BD brand short needle syringes the best. I tried other brands and the needles were poor quality and tore in where the BD slid in/pierced through like butter. Sort of like these: http://www.bd.com/us/diabetes/page.aspx?cat=7002&id=7407
If I recall correctly I used the 1/2 cc size
Also, I just saw that this is for your friend, not for you.
Just wanted to agree with GD’s comments that diabetes is definitely not a life-shortener for kitties. Mine was diagnosed at 8 years, and lived another 10 with the diabetes. He did just fine. I also got the vet to test his sugar levels, as I was just not good with the whole ear thing. Tell your friend that the vet will become her (and her Tommy’s) best friend, so make sure she has a good rapport with her vet and totally trusts him/her. If not, find another vet who specializes in diabetic kitties. It’s really a team effort with the vet in order to keep the kitty healthy. My vet was wonderful and took it personally when my kitty wasn’t doing well at the beginning. She kept adjusting his dosage and types of insulin and trying different things until he was! And she always kept a close eye on him over the 10 years she treated him.
Totally agree with GD about the Karo Syrup also. There were only 2 times over the 10 years that his sugar went low and you can definitely tell from their actions that that’s what’s happening. My boy got very restless and kept circling around me, like he was trying to tell me he didn’t feel good. It’s easy to give them the syrup – you just put it on your finger and rub it on the inside of his lip between his cheek and gum.
I found that the best time to give him his shots was when I fed him. I would put wet food down and quickly pinch the scruff of his neck, make the “tent” (I’m sure the vet will show your friend how to do that) and give him his injection while he was eating. Trust me, he didn’t even register that he knew he was getting the shot. After awhile, it just became part of the feeding routine. The vet also had me change him to mostly wet with high quality dry. He was a grazer, so I always had food down for him, but it seemed to work for him. Every cat, just like every human, is different to treat, so I’m sure as it goes on, your friend will figure out what works best for her Tommy.
And please tell your friend that all of us with diabetic kitties were TOTALLY overwhelmed at the beginning, and felt like we had to neurotically watch our kitties 24/7, but as you do it and take care of them and give them shots, you relax and it just becomes second nature and part of the routine. It’s just part of loving them and taking good care of them.
I have a wonderful pet sitter who was also an R.N. (who still takes care of my kitties) and she took very good care of him if I had to go out of town. I never worried about him while he was in her care. There are pet sitters who specialize in giving shots.
LOL…my friends/pet sitters were nurses, also, except for one. I even had one guy who use to work on a farm. That helped as he gave shot to cattle! 🙂
“tent”…that made me smile! Yep, I would call it a “fur tent”! 🙂
I had to testmy kitty’s blood because he would get so stressed at the vet’s office that his glucose would shoot up (very common in all cats that stress at the vet’s) and the reading would be invalid. Also, he hated the vet (I have a wonderful vet), but he didn’t like being poked at prodded by strangers. I could do ANYTHING to him as he was a big ol’ baby with his mama! 🙂 Josh would “assume the positiion” when I tented his scruff. His position was front end down, booty in the air. Inject and he was off to play! 🙂
It is amazing how they come and tell you that they feel bad. I would stick my finger in his mouth and use his tiny, front, bottom teeth to scrape the Karo syrup off. 🙂 Hey, anyway that works!
Yep, Cheech is right….tell your friend to just breath!!! It will all become very easy soon and she has all of us here to help her!
These two sites have good information about feline diabetes.
http://www.vet.cornell.edu/FHC/health_resources/brochure_diabetes.cfm
http://pets.webmd.com/cats/diabetes-treatment-in-cats
Urine strips are very difficult to use when trying to test glucose. Just say’n.
Also, dilution of the insulin is not the best. My first vet did that and it ended up a nightmare. Also, you have to be very careful mixing it. My cat actually needed a lot of insulin twice a day. 7am and 7 pm was my schedule as it works whether it is a weekday or weekend.
I like this site the best of the two: http://www.vet.cornell.edu/fhc/brochures/diabetes.html
I will say that mine boy was a free feeder. He would take one bite or two and walk away. He never would eat his meal…he was a nibbler. However, since he was consistant, it worked for us. That is the thing I like about this site is that they started off with each cat is an individual… So true.
Thanks, you guys, for your helpful comments! I had no good advice on the topic, but I’m glad you guys do – have I ever mentioned that you guys are AAAAAWESOME? 🙂
*taking a bow*
Thank you…thank you very much… (sounding like Elvis)
I’ve also had a cat with diabetes (Snack passed away a couple of years ago from cancer rather than the diabetes) and I second — or third, or fourth — a lot of what’s been said here. It is NOT a death sentence and is very treatable. Insulin isn’t cheap, but we didn’t need a ton of it to treat Snack, so a small vial lasted a good amount of time.
I always gave Snack her insulin injections while she was eating (it’s super-easy, although I will admit I did a shot of whiskey before I did it for the first time), and she ate only wet food (high protein, low carbohydrate worked best for her). I also left testing her glucose levels to our vet during our monthly visits. It was just too difficult for me to do it at home, but it sounds like it’s not too tricky if you practice.
I know I’m not adding anything new to the conversation, but I just wanted to add my voice to the chorus. Good luck!
You were lucky, my little monkey became insulin resistant (at age 10) to human insulin which is bovine based. I had to switch to a different kind (can’t remember the name)…use to use Lilly. He used a lot (13 ticks on the 1/2 cc syringe) twice a day. The special insulin was $82 per bottle and I had to buy a new one every 20 days. I use to tell my boy that he “pooped gold”. I am sure his situation is more rare than not. I can easily say that the love and enjoyment was worth far more than he cost me! He passed Chrismas of 2006. I still miss him and his big sister (Kitters) who passed October 2003. She was 3 years older than him. 17 is “the” magic number in my house, so it seems.
P.S. “Snack” – what an adorable name!!!
I’m a little late to this party 🙂 sorry about that – I do hope you see this though.
I had a diabetic of my own “Em” who was diagnosed at 9 and lived to 17 when she died of cancer. I fostered a handful of other diabetic kitties from the shelter afterwards, most I got into remission.
I HIGHLY HIGHLY recommend the forums over at felinediabetes.com as there is almost always someone online to hold your hand if you ever freak out about something.
Food.. high in animal based protein, low in plant matter, high moisture. Look for “Janet & Binky’s Food charts” for lists of carb counts in different brands of food. Some cats are more sensitive to carbs than others. I found Em did really well on Fancy Feast Turkey and Giblets Classic..
http://www.felinediabetes.com/diabetic-cat-diets.htm
there are several different types of insulin, I’m not all that familiar with the newer longer lasting insulins, I’ve given them, but I have yet to get a kitty regulated on them… I much prefer the PZI as I understand it, so I’m only a resource on that one 🙂 hence I’m not really gonna touch on insulin except to say.. it is far far better to leave a kitty with high glucose levels for long periods of time than it is for the glucose levels to get too low for even a second.. so if you are ever in doubt as to what to do, skip the injection.
I am a STRONG supporter of home testing. It is so very hard to get over the fact that you are letting blood out on purpose, but it will give you such a stronger sense of control over this disease. You can test before giving a shot (HIGHLY recommended especially if you are changing foods) and make sure nothing strange is going on with the glucose levels (see above) and during the middle of the day to make sure they aren’t going too low.. and you can do your own ‘curves’ (testing every two hours to see how the insulin responds in the body) and save yourself a TON of money and stress on you and your kitty. Please know that a lot of cats have a stress response to the vet and will have higher glucose levels while there.
I’m loving the new glucometers that take less and less blood. I just bought a new meter that takes 0.03 microns of blood.. it is freakin awesome.. especially to me who cut my teeth on a meter that took 3 microns of blood (or something insanely large) on a cat who wasn’t a bleeder. Getting blood out of Em was not easy.. Walmart has a meter that is $14! strips aren’t all that cheap, but that is how they make their money. You can find cheap name brand strips on ebay because human diabetics are given so many strips per month on many health plans and many do not use them all. there are also wonderful videos on youtube about home testing that will walk you through it. Most vets will as well – which isn’t a bad thing as you can make sure the meter you bought has the same general range as their tester. DO NOT let your vet convince you that you need a animal glucometer. They are expensive and do not give better results. Know that all glucometers will give you a range. You can test the same drop of blood with the same meter and get two different results, but they will be close enough..
my biggest tip if you are going to home test is to place a folded up tissue on the underside of the ear when you poke with a lancet. That way you will not be afraid of poking yourself. You not being afraid is key.. the more timid you are the harder it is, and the less likely your kitty will be to stand still while you do it. distract with food if you need to.
giving insulin – I do want to say NEVER give insulin until you know your kitty will eat. Many people say it is easier to give insulin while the cat is eating, and it is. Some do it before feeding simply because having the meter and the insulin all in one place is easy. If the cat does not eat you can fun into issues with the kitty going too low..
I love talking FD.. so if you ever want someone to talk to I’m here..
Oh, nos! Hissy, SPITTY kittens are skeery! Weren’t you terrified? 🙂
SO scared that I had to kiss them on top of their little heads immediately. 🙂
<3
Jake toes!!!!
Love hissy kittens “I R SCARY!!” snort….
How were you not cowed by the kitten’s ferociousness?
Thank you for the hissy kitties video! Can’t wait til we can hear their little voices to go with the hissy faces! And Miss Leia, well that pic just kills me dead I tell you…that should definitely be in a calender!
Those kittens are SOOOO adorable! Leia seems to be the bravest. It was great to see Jake and also I’ve been clicking the link back to 2012 every day. Your first love always stays in your heart. I <3 Newberry, Darwin, and all the other Noms.
Those hissing kittens are just TOO funny!! At first, they seemed quite intent on it, and then it was like “Oh gawd, we have to hiss again cuz that lady’s in our faces again” –ho-hum, hiss hiss…. It was so half-hearted and obligatory-seeming. Cracked me up.
And the one who spit! I didn’t even know kittens could do that! And your indignant response, Robyn! That was pretty funny too. I watched the video three times and literally LOL-ed every time.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yswOxvb_Qy4
Another spittin’ kitten…
That is ADORABLE!
DEAR LORD, THAT KITTEN IS CUTE!!!
It always surprises me when they spit at me. The hissing I’ve come to expect, but the spitting takes me by surprise every time.
I think I laughed as much at Robyn’s reaction as I did at the hissy/spitty kittens, too.
Loving the Jakey-leg picture, too.
The skeery little meatball snake? Now my favorite 🙂 Of course, I don’t know who that is, but my favorite never-the-less.
LOL! “Meatball snake”!
That makes my brain go completely the wrong direction.
Me, too! *snicker*
I dropped our 16th feral for TNRing at SPCA this am. We trap at night, so we never get a good look until the next morning at the Vet. This cat looks like Robyn’s Miss Poo. That’s a tortoiseshell, right? And he’s big, at least 18lbs. I hopped over to Wiki; it says most tortoiseshell are female & the males are usually sterile because a chrome something. Well crud! Did we just TNR a cat that was born sterile? Really?!
Maybe. You never know with genetics! Let’s just say tri-color males are usually sterile but:
1.) Exceptions always exist.
2.) You did the right thing anyway
Keep up the good work! 🙂
You definitely did the right thing!!! 🙂
Hear hear
Well, Mr. Tortie is a Girl, after all. I chatted up the Vet for a minute. Yup, males are sterile & she’s only seen 3 in 20yrs at that clinic. Oh dear, Miss Tortie was ‘big’ for different reason but she’s out of the baby biz now. She is resting comfortable in a cage & will go home (released) tomorrow night, after a 2 day stay at the All-You-Can-Eat spa that is our garage. And a plug for TNR: Anyone with a bit of time might want to give it a try. True, sitting in the car at 10pm watching a trap is a drag but the results are so satisfying! And unlike fostering, it just a tiny bit of time & space. The wild ones can always use the help.
Jakey, I think I would have to tickle those toes!
And I’m pretty sure Princess Leia is going to be the brave explorer of this bunch.
Robyn – did you see Sue’s post over at “Pitter Pats” about the Goat House Rescue in NC? Didn’t you link to a story about her one time? I really hope it’s not true that she is euthanizing all of her charges because she has cancer!! 🙁
The news came to Sue from Goat House Refuge. The woman in question is NOT the woman who heads Goat House Refuge.
GHR is a 501(c)3 non-profit which has staff. It’s not a one-woman operation. Plus, they have way over 200 cats.
http://www.goathouserefuge.org/
Doodle Bean is right – the Goathouse Refuge was helping to spread the word, trying to find help from rescues in the area. According to their FB page (here), a number of rescues, including Alley Cat Allies, is getting involved.
Oh… I totally misread Sue’s post. But glad people are helping!
Hey Robyn, I have pretty good pitch and I think Jake’s loons are in tune!
Plus, Jake my love, my love!
😀
I can’t believe I’m posting a link about male duck…bits…to a cat blog, but this made me think of your 4 ducks:
http://www.slate.com/articles/health_and_science/science/2013/04/duck_penis_controversy_nsf_is_right_to_fund_basic_research_that_conservatives.html
The overall point of the piece is to defend federal-funding of basic scientific research, but the fun point is that male ducks have corkscrew members!
I am sad to report that I already knew about the corkscrew members, but NOT (thankfully!) because I’ve viewed them myself, but because I read about it. 🙂
Can you prove that??? Hmmmmm…..? LOL
Aww, lovely picture of my favorite loony, Mr Jake. I think his loons are perfectly in tune!
I know I’m a day late… but spitting kittens AND Looney Jake! Be still my heart!!! How can you resist kissing Jake’s adorable face? I wouldn’t be able to..
a few tips.
get a vet that is an authority on diabetes. it will affect the treatment options you have.
use the purina weight management food instead of the diabetes stuff. its actually even better.
stay away from vetsulin. while human insulins like lantus are more expensive by a long shot, they work A LOT better and the remission rate is dramatic comparatively. plus there is a known issue of quality control with vetsulin.
ROUTINE ROUTINE ROUTINE. stay on a strict schedule of test, shot, and food. invest in the human test kit and dont give a shot before testing. buy your strips on ebay from reputable dealers to save a small fortune. within a couple months the kitty will stop resisting so much.
find some healthy nommy people food treats if your kitty likes people food. my kitty LOVED lettuce and cheese so every now and then hed get a few pieces of shredded lettuce.
the more water the kitty drinks, the better.
monitor your kitty for any respiratory and litterbox changes. URI’s and UTI’s are extremely common in diabetic kitties and infections are extremely difficult to fight and will also affect blood sugar levels. a sudden unexplicable spike may be your first warning of infection too.
if you need any help or advice email me. my whole mission in life after my Nimbus’ passing is to help other diabetic kitties.