Henry in 2010 - blurry but one of my favorite Henry shots. |
Henry in 2011 |
So for the last few weeks, Henry hasn't been acting like himself. He normally sleeps with my dad, curled up on his head - but Henry hasn't been sleeping in their room recently. We noticed him laying around in places he doesn't typically nap. When we ran our hands down his body, we felt his spine more than usual. And to top it off, he has been drinking lots and eating a lot/always seems hungry. We knew we needed to take him to the vet to see what was up.
Monday May 6: Mom and I take Henry to the vet. Henry had gone down from 9.5 pounds to 8.5 pounds in the six weeks it had been since he had gone in for the diarrhea bug. That was concerning. Our vet didn't see anything physically wrong with him, but she had suspicions based on what we had told her about his symptoms.
My dad and Henry on the Feline Diabetes Management Board, learning all about diabetes in cats. |
Tuesday May 7: Blood work comes back. Henry has diabetes! It was a surprise, even though we knew there must have been an underlying issue. But ok, we took a step back and figured out the next step to get him healthy. His blood sugar levels were in the 300s, when a normal range can be anywhere from 70-100/110 ish. We made an appointment for the next day, to learn about how to administer insulin.
Wednesday May 8: Mom, Dad, Henry and I all went to the vet. The vet tech taught us how to draw insulin out of the bottle into a needle syringe. We practiced using sterilized water and actually administering the water to Henry as practice. He didn't seem to mind, or frankly even notice. Though he would've rather been able to get down and explore!
I was amazed when I administered the sterilized water, how easily it felt to push down the needle plunger. I wasn't even sure it went in when I pushed it. It was literally so easy - which I found impossible to believe because I'm horrified of needles. I'm the kid who needs all the nurses and doctors to hold her down while she gets shots! So I was needless to say, skeptical as to whether I was going to be competent enough to administer the insulin to Henry.
Dad's blood sugar testing kit. Henry's levels were very high. |
Wednesday night after Henry (far right) had his first insulin dose. |
My dad came home at 7 pm -- we are administering insulin at 7 am and 7 pm, perfect 12 hours spaced apart -- to feed the cats. We feed them and dad had me give Henry his night time insulin shot! And aside from having to adjust the amount of insulin I put in the syringe, it was easy. I didn't flinch giving Henry the Insulin, and he didn't seem to notice! Win-win!
Friday May 10: It's been a stressful couple of days, with everyone adjusting to closely monitoring Henry. We of course, are all worried about him. I'm not sure if he really knows he has diabetes, but I think he does notice he is getting a lot of attention! I administered his insulin shot again tonight, with no problem. I'm really proud of myself for facing my fear of needles and being able to give shots. If you had told me last week that I would be giving insulin shots, I would have laughed and would have said you were kidding! But now, I have something new to add to my cat ability resume >^..^<
I will definitely continue my feline wellness posts as well as post updates about Henry. I'm sure in the coming weeks I will continue to give insulin and learn more about diabetes in cats!
Friday night, Henry helps me study for finals. |
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