The Sick Ward

Leo is a happy, but sick kitty. Niko and Roxanne have done a very charitable thing in not immediately attacking and killing the weak of their species, apparently deciding they liked Leo.

I am sure they regret that kindness now. Both Niko and Roxanne acquired the upper respiratory infection that Leo has. Poor Niko even had a skid mark on his nose from the constant mucus drip. Roxanne had runny eyes, and blinked a lot. Niko couldn't smell his food and Roxanne just wasn't hungry. Since they were not hungry, I was faced with trying to medicate them in the food that they were not eating, which required trying to get them to eat their food about every two hours. Thank goodness I got laid off or they might never have gotten better!

Wake up, trip over kitties all the way to the kitchen, test Leo.
Give Leo treats, give Roxanne and Niko treats for "helping".
Recover licked and discarded treats and give them to Leo.
Crush L-Lysine for all 3 kitties.
Crush Methyl B12 for Leo.
Pill pocket some pain meds for Leo.
Feed Leo so he won't eat their food.
Diligently work to hide L-Lysine in 1 tablespoon Niko and Roxie's food.
Feed them.
Remove Leo from their food and give Leo more of his own food.
Fetch Lantus from fridge, draw it up, shoot Leo.
Remind Roxie and Niko they have fresh food.
Remove Leo from Roxie and Niko's food and put him back in front of his own dish.
Put Friskies Turkey Cheese and Delicious gravy on my finger to entice Roxie and Niko, but accidentally entice Leo.
Put Leo back in front of his own dish.
Give up feeding Roxanne and Niko, put dishes on counter, just in case they get hungry again in 5 minutes.
Bait Leo with promise of more treats.
Clean Leo's ears with Q-Tips, much to his extreme displeasure.
Put Triotic cream in his ear canal, much to his extreme displeasure.
Rub cream on the outside of his ears to kill whatever parasite is there.
Give the now mortally offended Leo more treats.
Give Roxie and Niko treats for "helping".
Recover licked and discarded treats and give them to Leo.
Wash hands, scrub like a demon has possessed me.
Sit down.
Stand up, back to kitchen, forgot to make the coffee.
Sit down.
Stand up, forgot to freshen the water bowls.
Clean 3 litterboxes.
Wash hands like a doctor prepping for surgery.
Make cup of coffee, sit down.
Spend 30 minutes looking for a job online, tweak resume for 4000th time.
Become aware that I am being watched, look up to see Rox and Niko in their Starvation Pose.
Go to kitchen, give them food from earlier, which they promptly classify as disgusting.
Crush L-Lysine for both kitties.
Feed Leo so he won't eat their food.
Diligently work to hide L-Lysine in 1 tablespoon Niko and Roxie's food.
Feed them.
Remove Leo from their food and give Leo more of his own food.
Remind Roxie and Niko they have fresh food.
Remove Leo from Roxie and Niko's food and put him back in front of his own dish.
Put Friskies Turkey Cheese and Delicious gravy on my finger to entice Roxie and Niko, but accidentally entice Leo.
Put Leo back in front of his own dish.
Give up feeding Roxanne and Niko, put dishes on counter, just in case they get hungry again in 5 minutes.
Sit down.
I look at the clock, I've been up two hours, and I'm completely worn out.

You see the pattern.

This went on ALL DAY for FOUR days!

Last night Niko decided he was hungry again. He ate and ate and ate. At 3am I was sitting on the kitchen floor so he could eat without Leo eating his food. It was slow going because Niko had to delicately reach into his bowl, hook one morsel with a claw and lick it off. And lick, and lick. As tired as I was, I was so relieved to see him eating that I did not care that my butt was numb.

This morning I have two insane maniacs in my house trying to make up for 4 days of lethargy and inactivity. There is racing, crashing, slamming, howling, hissing, spitting, more crashing, and growling going on, with occasional breaks for mutual bathing. Non stop. Leo is laid out in the living room watching them in bemusement, and only the teensiest concern that he might get trampled.

YAY my kitties are back!

What Friends Are For

Ever have a really good friend that you can call any time of the day or night and talk about absolutely nothing with? A friend so good that nothing is too crazy, too gross, too taboo? Mine is Jenn. I met Jenn on FDMB, and we have one of those friendships that you think "When I meet this person, we probably won't have a thing in common" but then you meet and you find out they are as much a whackjob as you are. We are serial friends. Not only are we good friends, but we make friends with people we deem likable. Unfortunately for these people, they are destined to become our friends for life. People like Sandy, Tammy, Dawn, Andrea, the list goes on and on.. they are inescapably caught up in our vortex of friendship.

Jenn is the nice one. I am the not quite as nice one. We patrol the board looking for people who've been ignored, or who are in trouble. If I have to leave, Jenn is in charge. If Jenn has to leave, I am in charge. We will get on the phone and call each other from wherever we are.

"Did you check on Sue and Fluffy on Health? Last I saw she hadn't said if she was ketone testing."
"Yeah she came back, I taught her how to ketone test, she's at the pharmacy buying ketostix right now"
"Good job Crusader"

Our friendship is so ridiculously funny that we often read each other our posts before posting them, and if we don't have the time to get the other one's opinion, we will harangue the crap out of each other after putting them up.
"Did you check my post to whatsherface about ketones yet??"
"No I had to pee"
"WELL FOR CRYING OUT LOUD"
"I'm sorry, I didn't want to wet my pants..."

Jenn has the cat from hell, Sabrina. Sabrina isn't really from hell, of course. She's a beautiful collage of soft multicolored fur and preciousness, with a tiny attitude. Not a deal-breaker attitude, just a fine sense of herself, as all cats should have. Sabrina doesn't do anything Jenn wants her to do and will notify Jenn of her displeasure by whining. Sabrina refuses to eat wet food, so Jenn is forced to feed the lowest carb dry food she can find, Evo. This causes the worst smell imaginable in the litter box. Evo poop is renowned as the worst smell in history. Jenn not only has learned to live with this, but cherishes every moment with Sabrina, except for the whining. Jenn doesn't cherish that. Sabrina is truly the love of Jenn's life, and a better cat for Jenn, I can't imagine. A better human for Sabrina - there isn't one. Sabrina has been diabetic for over two years, and is a DKA survivor. She hasn't done anything normal since diagnosis. She's been a tough case and Jenn has busted her butt for Sabrina, which is just as it should be in Sabrina's mind. Jenn is always singing my praises when it comes to treating diabetics, but I am certain I would not be able to do the things I do if I had a Sabrina. Jenn is a superb caregiver.

This morning Jenn called me and warned me about the weather. Jenn, being such a good friend to me, lives in New Jersey, but checks my weather before I go outside. Some people might think this is stalker-ish behavior. I think it's very caring of her. Well, maybe slightly stalker-ish, but still genuinely caring. This morning's phone call went like this:
"I was thinking about you when I went outside this morning, it's quite nipply outside"
"Oh you think of me when you think of nipples?"
"Yes"

Our phone conversation trailed on until I heard "Sabrina did you do something bad in your litterbox?". Of course she did. It's 7 degrees in New Jersey, and now Jenn is trapped in her house with a smirking cat and a steaming pile in the litterbox.

HAHAHAHAHAHAHA Now that's friendship.

Finished My Resume!!

Ok I know I've been gone all week, but I've been real busy working on my resume. I haven't done one of these in a long time, so I had to brush up on some of my skills and achievements. Please review this and please be gentle!

Carolyn E Sturgill
3 Kitty Way Virginia Beach VA 12345
(757) 867-5309
mycatzrule@gmail.com

As a devoted hard working professional, I will treat all employees and business associates with equality and deference, as learned from my cats.

Work History

Some Company
Chesapeake VA
Through 12/2008

Worked my ass off, got nothing other than a vacation denial and laid off. Never requested a raise, always showed up for work, often at the expense of my kitties and their love for me.

Leo
November 2008 - Present

Balanced testing and shooting Leo with feeding Leo, petting Leo, carrying Leo back and forth to the vet, scratching Leo, treating Leo for several ailments and parasites, running to the petstore for yet more food for Leo, and cuddling Leo. During this time, I balanced my work for Leo with a full time job at some company doing stuff that really was pretty boring, but I still did it.

Roxanne
February 2008 - Present

Spend much of my time with Roxanne attempting to cajole her hunger genes and lessen her starvation. My job includes not touching her feet, her ears or anything she doesn't want touched, while simultaneously rubbing her belly, scritching in front of her tail, rubbing her ears and scratching her lips. I have gained advanced pain skills while in the employ of Roxanne which have allowed me to be bitten and scratched while showing no outward appearance of noticing any infliction of pain. During Roxanne's employ, I have maintained employment with Niko, Leo and some company doing stuff that was really boring, but I still did it.

Niko
December 2007 - Present

Sacrificed a $3.99 betta fish, many plants and indoor trees, and countless floral arrangements for the enjoyment of Niko. Subcontracted with animal communicators to work with Niko and his small temperament issues with the other cats. During employment with Niko, I have maintained employment with Roxanne, Leo, Oscar, Spot, the aforementioned deceased betta fish and some company doing stuff that was really boring, but I still did it.

References and further employment history available upon request.

Contemplation - Bugs vs Money

I couldn't type this weekend.

I was laid off. Me. Seems strange still to say it even though I've had since Friday to let it sink in. I wasn't the only one, wasn't the first one, and probably won't be the last one.

Now I'm left to decide a lot of things. Mostly if I want to work at Hardee's because they are hiring. I really don't. I'm not one for smelling a lot of grease, and I can't stand bugs. ugh I guess I could get a can of Raid.

I have three starving little kitties to feed. Two of them have perfected the Guilt Trip to a World Class level. One of them can tell time, and the other can knock every item off every surface in the house, timed every 5 minutes until I suddenly remember that it's time to feed them.

I have to find a job, though there's nothing better I can imagine than hanging out on the couch surrounded by my little starving children. Nothing at all.

Just had a great thought - If I go work at Hardee's, my kittehs can has cheezburgerz!

The Goose is Getting Fat

Christmas is coming, the goose is getting fat
Please to put a penny in the old man's hat,
If you haven't got a penny, a ha'penny will do,
If you haven't got a ha'penny, then God Bless You!




One of my earliest memorized songs from Christmas, don't even remember where I learned that one. My co-mingling memories of childhood Christmas' center around recorder versions of Jingle Bells, Frosty melting and the Muppets arguing their way through the holidays. Ever eaten goose? Me either. I'm cool with that.

The other day, Roxanne's foster mom, Connie, put up a post about her Christmas tree. Last year I didn't even put a tree up, Oscar and Spot were sick and I just didn't have the energy with all the pee-mopping and floor scrubbing to put together a tree. This year I'd *like* to put a tree up but UGH. Everything is in the outside closet, with everything else stacked on top of it. I have literally hundreds of carefully collected ornaments, each special, each hand-chosen. Lots of sparkly, bright, beautiful reminders of the years Jesica and I shopped for them. If I had not bought the tree that already had lights on it, it would take me two days to fully dress my tree. Now it only takes one day.. only.

Then, Connie posted her fabulous idea - cat toys! At first I was like.. yeah, right. Then I saw the tree.

Isn't that the coolest? It looks pretty, AND it's cat-proof! And who doesn't have 30,435,017 cat toys covering every flat surface in their home? Note the "Christmas decor box" that stores all the toys perched on the chair. What a wonderfully warm holiday scene, with the cats celebrating Christmas by helping to (un)decorate the tree. Great family Connie, and great tree!

I'll keep y'all up to date if I decide to go this route. I ran it past Ronnie. He just blinked.. Y'all know he's a blinker, right?

Clear! Heart Failure by Cat(s)

Remember the other day when I said kitties do all kinds of wacky stuff on the full moon? Today is the day of the night of the full moon. The moon is currently 98% of full. My cats know this and they started telling me about it at 3am, but I did not start listening until 5am when my alarm went off. My alarm is a 10 pound ball of black fur with razor sharp teeth, bad breath and 10 claws on every foot. I call my alarm "Roxanne".

Roxanne, not the most cuddly creature in the world, is nonetheless guided by extreme starvation genes which sometimes encourage cuddly behavior as a means to an end. I, the designated feeder, am notified instantly when one of those genes pops up in her brain. I am cuddled with, breathed on, bitten, kneaded, nose-picked, and have my windpipe crushed while attempting to remain in REM sleep. Sadly, Roxanne can tell time and she knows 5am means EAT FUD!, her most favorite thing. This morning was no exception to Roxanne's skills as a time-knower, except that the persistence level was cranked up to max. I now sport a 2 inch long scratch on my ear, and a puncture wound on my nose as memories of when I did not get up fast enough. I also have fur in my contacts as reminders of her aborted attempts to cuddle her sleeping provider.

I get up and stumble and fall over the starving kitties into the kitchen. I know in my haze that Niko has set Roxanne up to be extra diligent in waking me up, no matter how innocent he may look. I also know Roxanne does not need any encouragement in that arena. I start the coffee, and trip over the starving kitties all the way to their food container. Feeding the kitties is a trial of patience and balance, but I manage to get it accomplished with no significant injuries to them and only a twisted knee on my part. Off to fetch Leo, who's waiting impatiently on the other side of Jesica's door, where he's been indulged in an ultra-humidified sleeping chamber. Leo, poor baby, has a cold.

I yell to wake Jesica up, and notice Ronnie stumbling to the bathroom. The time is now 5:18. What happened to the time?! Leo's cold does not prevent him from inhaling 3 medallions of raw food in 21 seconds, so I frantically prepare his rice sock for ear warming and meter for testing before he can finish and raid Roxanne and Niko's now-abandoned dishes. I grab the new meter (it's sparkly!) and the new strips (how do you get a single strip out of that canister without playing 98 pick up?) and the ever-present delicious treats (fabulous bribery).

I test Leo. 493. Uh..? No way, he's too happy to be 493, I'll retest. Jesica comes out to the kitchen, still asleep, and tries to help. She wants to recalibrate the meter. I say "give me the meter, the cat's bleeding!" Things tend to become frantic when your squirming cat is not interested waiting more than 0.0008 seconds for treats, and blood is tickling his ear. She stalks off to get ready and we test Leo again. 528. O h. M y. G o d. I broke my cat again! I give him his insulin, feed him again and head to the refrigerator to get his antibiotic.

Ronnie exits the bathroom, Jesica runs into the bathroom to grab a hair band and says "hey what happened to the fish?". Oh no. Not again. In our home, "what happened to the fish?" means Niko did something to the fish. The fish is my work fish that I brought home so he wouldn't die at work while I was on vacation. Fitting that he should die at home, where I brought him for his safety. Neon fish stones coat the floor, the bathtub, the toilet and the sink. Fortunately fish was safely ensconced in the 3/4" water that remained in the tank so I cleaned up the bathroom as best as I could and made quick plans to transport him back to the office as soon as I finished getting ready for work.

The time is now 5:48. What happened to the time?! Ronnie heads out the door, followed closely by Jesica.

I run back out of the bathroom, clean 3 litterboxes and spend several minutes trying to figure out the automatic feeder so Leo doesn't starve to death today. I'm struck by the thought that it's a very bad idea to try to figure out anything more complicated than a flat iron at this hour of the morning, and scoop 6 oz of Wellness into a bowl, saying a quick prayer that this holds him for a few hours. I decide to test him again with the old meter just in case. 467. I'm not sure why I'm relieved by 467, but I don't have time to think about it. I now feel like I'm forgetting something but the time is 6:14. What happened to the time?!

I jump in the shower, jump back out of the shower and get dressed. The time is now 6:19. Now that's more like it. I still feel like I'm forgetting something but I'm on a roll. I grab the fish and head out to the kitchen to make my to-go coffee. I run back into the bathroom to brush my teeth. I grab my phone, my bluetooth, my vitamin water, a bag of Cheez-Its, my keys, my fish, my fish supplies, the catnip banana I'm sending Jenn, my purse, my phone charger and notice I'm being followed by all 3 cats. What did I forget? Quick check of the water bowl, everything's good. I say bye to the babies and run out the door, down three flights of stairs and to my truck, jump in and see the time is now 6:32. Only 5 minutes late, but now it's raining and Virginians can not drive in the rain.

I'm passing my first accident when I remember what I forgot: Leo's antibiotic, thanks to Niko's fish homicide attempt.

And so it continues.. diabetic cat mom with half a brain cell on full alert and the other half asleep at the wheel. I'm not sure I'm qualified to handle another 18 hours of the Full Moon Day.

Death.

I don't talk about this much. I really can't. I'm overly-empathetic, much like many of our board members. Lately there's been a flurry of GA's on FDMB. It does seem to happen in cycles there. Weeks will go by and then suddenly five or six cats die in two days. It's so hard because you want to give each Cat Mama or Cat Daddy a unique and personal message of hope and consolation, but to have so many die at the same time takes a lot out of a person. As a person who has lost three cats in two years, and two within two months, I should be capable of sending a strong message: Life will restart, I promise.

I just can't.

I disappear for weeks because it blows me away. Guilt for the people I have not posted to, I try to make it up to them, but I can't. Every time I look at the board and see a cat has passed, it brings it all back. I am not "over" the deaths of my boys, and I'm barely able to think about Sammie, now two years gone. I have new cats now, beautiful souls, and I love them very much. As much as Sammie, Spot and Oscar? Not yet, but my heart is trying to heal.

The fact that I love them at all says something about the resiliency of the human heart. Many people have wondered how I could stand to take in more cats after the deaths of my beloveds. To be brutally honest, I have always known that my cats would live less than 20 years and that knowledge, combined with the knowledge that many more cats are in need of a loving home, allows me to stumble past my loss and not be crippled by it. That knowledge does not prevent my being prone to waves of grief when I think about my lost babies.

I have awful sorrow. Guilt, as all diabetic cat moms are prone. Pain, sometimes terrible pain. I want to hold my lost babies one more time and tell them I really tried and I really miss them and I'm really sorry their lives were marred by diabetes, cancer, heart issues, ear pain, and spondylosis. I'm so sorry, my babies, that I was stupid. I'm so sorry I contributed to your pain.

Never again. I will do everything I can to improve the lives of other cats in Your Names. Sammie, Spot, Oscar.. Niko, Roxanne and Leo will all live better loves because of you and what you meant to me.

And now you know. I grieve, but I love. I am smiling through my tears.

The Joy That is Leo

We took Leo to the vet last night, and bad, good, great and wonderful things happened. It was a very relieving, yet worrisome visit.



I made an appointment with my very favorite vet, Dr. T, and was anxious to find out how he was doing after one week with me. I was also really worried, Leo's been coughing and doing this air-gasp thing so I was hoping and praying it wasn't anything serious, but as a pet lover with a past, was absolutely certain it meant he was dying.

So we test and shoot him before we leave, and pulled out the cat carrier. Leo took one look and walked away as quickly as he could hobble, Niko climbed in it and Roxanne decided to nap on it. This is a common practice in our household. If there is a box shaped object, Niko must be in it, and Roxanne is always aiming to be on top. (She is a bit of a tramp.)

We evicted Niko and Roxie from their new toy and tried to coax Leo into the carrier. No go. I tried to direct him into the carrier using my hands. No go. I picked him up and tried to place him in the carrier. His panic was pretty clear - he's terrified of the carrier. So we got a harness with a leash and carried him to the car. He was happy as a clam in the backseat - until I hit a pothole and woke him up. The further I drove, the more I worried. This practice sees dogs and cats, and there's always a bunch of dogs in the waiting room. I consider putting him in the transport crate that is STILL in my car from 9 months ago. We decided to play it by ear. No reason to worry - Leo spent the whole time waiting to be called back laid out on the admission counter sucking up lovin's and attention from the admitting girls. He was well on his way to being stolen by them.

We went back to see Dr. T and she learned his story, listened attentively (this is why I love Dr. T) and suggested an xray. She weighed him and found him up to 10.5 lbs. And he's so bony it hurts your eyes.. imagine what he's supposed to weigh! We decided we would go back in a couple weeks to follow-up with a second round of bloodwork. There was a scary moment for the vet tech when Leo panicked during xray, but all went really well. Dr. T examined the xray and pronounced him clear of asthma, masses or fluid where it shouldn't be. She thought his heart was slightly enlarged, and said there was a mild murmur, so now we have a heart kitty. I was not thrilled about that, but it's still early days for our young Leo.. who she thinks is 10 or 11 years old. She decided he might well have a respiratory virus and gave us some things to do for him. All in all, I am very relieved, and I'm sure there are a bunch of Leo followers who feel the same way.

Niko.. not so happy. When we came home, his facial expression very clearly said, "Why did you bring him back?!" And life goes on..

The Full Moon, and What It Can Do For You

You may have noticed I keep a full moon gadget on my blog. I do this because I now track the full moon very closely. Why? Because the Full Moon is just another thing that drives us diabetic cat moms crazy, of course! Leo threw a really high number this morning, and looked so sad. I hope it's just temporary, and pray it's not the full moon, which is still 4 days away. What does the full moon do?

If you have a cat in your home, you've probably already noticed without realizing it. Cats seem very sensitive to the lunar cycles, and behavioral changes are rampant. One vet tech told me that it seems most prevalent in white or light color cats, but any cat can be affected. For those of us with diabetic cats, we can see many changes generally beginning 1-2 or more days before the Full Moon. Some cats numbers track up, some jump up. Some cats suddenly start having good numbers, only to climb steeply on the day after the Full Moon. Some cats climb the drapes and only come down if you walk by and they feel inclined to scalp you. Other cats hover at the door howling until your neighbors threaten to kill you and your foghorn.

I have compiled a list of tips to help you and your precious diabetic babies through the Full Moon in one piece.

1. Remove all glass articles from the testing area so when you throw your meter, nothing breaks. Also remove knives, guns and pins you might be prompted to stab your eyes out with.

2. Pick up your straight jacket from the cleaners and leave it on the couch for any emergency usage that might transpire. Try it on when you get home to make sure the cleaners didn't shrink it. (Lesson learned the hard way.)

3. Velcro any dogs in your home to the ceiling and duct tape their lips shut. To create a quick but genius toy for the cats, simply tie a string around the dog's tail and affix feathers to the end of it.

4. Have your neighbor come over and draw up insulin so when you see that 987 you are *not* inclined to shoot 70 units.

5. Place a courtesy call to the neighborhood police or sheriff's office and let them know some loud or strange noises might be coming from your home and that it would be nice if they placed a funny-farm ambulance on standby for you. Have a neighbor on alert to pet-sit, just in case.

6. Have a talk with your cats. Discuss evening rules, and how the neighbors will *not* be impressed with howling and screeching. Discuss with them possible ramifications of trying to trip (or in Dan's case, bodyslam) the human will result in an unfortunate trip to the hospital whereupon the cats might starve to death in the 5 hour interim before your return.

7. Take a handful of Tylenol around 5PM. Not alot, maybe 9 or 10. If no Tylenol is available, 9 or 10 Paxil will work slow the onset of any headaches occurring from the CAT-erwauling and BG chaos.

8. As midnight approaches, lock yourself in your bedroom. This is NOT a good time to test BG!! If necessary, use duct tape around the edges of the door to seal out the sounds of your meter calling your name.

I hope these tips will help you survive the full moon tonight. If any other members have handy tips, please affix them to this post so we may collect them for future generations.

Leo's progression so far

Fud!

In my house, food is dispensed freely. My little piglets eat three times a day and are very clock-oriented. Food begging begins approximately 1 hour and 56 minutes before the designated food times. If I am to get up to do anything in my house, my furry magnets are racing behind me, meowing happily. This dramatic display of starvation is only outdone by the tragic expressions on their faces when they realize that I have deemed it Not Time To Eat.

This food requires a bit of work because we do not feed dry cat food. My cats work very hard to make sure that I spend the majority of my life thinking about cat food. One favorite tactic my cats employ is This Food That I Used To Love Now Sucks. Of course I have fostered this behavior by immediately running to the nearest pet store to get them something they might like better.

To date, I have a very lengthy and comprehensive list of things my cats don't like, which has caused quite a problem now that we have Leo in the house. As a rule, my cats don't like healthy food. The fewer additives, the less they like it. This makes my life fairly easy between mind-changes about what food they like, because all premium brands have been ruled out by The Picky Ones. That means anything else that costs more than $0.50 a can is off the shopping list. If it has gravy in it, they love it even more.

Enter Leo. Leo likes everything. He will eat any food they hate, he will eat things that are not food, and he will eat their food. Leo's primary diet consists of Wellness grain-free ($2) and Evo ($2). These two brands are at the top of the Hate That Food List, but Niko and Roxanne are now concerned. Leo gets to eat more than they do, and he does so with gusto. He is an eating machine. Even though Rox and Niko still have food on their plates, it does not seem fair to them that Leo gets More Food Than They Do.

It started with Niko.. he would wait until Leo was almost done with his food and then go over and sniff the remnants. Then he'd daintily lick it, before shaking his head and walking away. "Disgusting!", he'd pronounce to Roxanne. Roxanne did not view this attempt to fall on the sword of disgusting food as anything heroic and would go over to investigate herself. She'd settle in, wrap her tail around her legs and commence licking all the little flecks of food off Leo's plate. Periodically she'd shake her head, letting Niko know he was right, it was disgusting. In due time, Rox and Niko started trying to convince me that they too loved Wellness and Evo. Their beloved Friskies Turkey and Cheese with Gravy sat untouched as they stared Leo down until they could get his Wellness crumbs.

Leo eats around 2.5 large cans a day because he is literally starving. With this diet and quantity of food comes an equal quantity of the previously-discussed poops. These poops are pretty uncomfortable for him, he grunts and groans in the litterbox and he's going 3 times a day. This is a vast number of visits to the litterbox for a cat on wet food. I decided it was time to switch Leo to an even higher-protein food that might possibly lessen the strain of his overworked digestive tract. Raw food is that food. To Niko and Roxanne, raw food is the work of the devil himself. They were mortally offended the day I tried to feed it to them and no amount of speeches about how they would eat it in the wild would sway them. I thought maybe this was the food that would convince them to stop staring down Leo.

Wrong again. Fortunately Leo has no idea he's being stared-down because he never lifts his head to even breathe while he's eating. As soon as I post this, I'll be off to the pet store to spend another $50 buying food my 3 cats may or may not like, and stocking up on raw food, just in case Rox and Niko decide they like that better than Turkey and Cheese with Delicious Gravy.

Leo - Not so good with the flashy thingy

Test Feed Shoot Feed Test Feed Shoot Feed..

Leo may be my fourth diabetic cat, but I had completely gotten out of the groove of Diabetic Cat Management. Some things I had inadvertently blocked from memory:

1. The lines on U-100 syringes are ridiculously close together. Rather like reading a SKU - but the lines are smaller, closer together and make less sense.

2. Diabetic cats can not stop eating. They will eat anything, even if it is not actually food. Last night, Leo ate a bag of catnip after refusing to believe it did not contain Temptations or some other delicious treat.

3. 28 lbs of used cat litter weighs about 0.75 ton.

4. Whatever unused container you have carefully selected for insulin storage instantly becomes the one container you need for everything you do in the kitchen.

5. A 31 gauge insulin syringe can go right through the plastic cap that protects it, which is why we are all taught not to recap - a lesson we all ignore. Incidentally, that now-dulled and bent syringe that just went through the cap can now also go right through a human finger - like buttah.

6. As painful as a 31 gauge syringe is once embedded in a human finger, it has nothing on a 29 gauge lancet embedded in a human finger.

7. Time spent watching tv with the family, doing laundry or cleaning the house, could be better spent testing your cat's blood glucose. Regardless of what hour it is, you will discover, in hindsight, it is invariably the one time of day that you really needed to know what that number was.

8. You learn to work with percents:
Once experienced, blood glucose testing yields a good blood drop 87% of the time. 11% of the time, you will get no blood when you know there was blood there 2 hours ago. 2% of the time the Sweet Spot will yield a blood bath that would delight the most inefficient crime lab.

9. A diabetic cat's paws are never clean, yet a diabetic yearns for nothing more than to sit on your lap and paw your face with his or her litter-caked foot - in such an adorable manner that you are stuck between running screaming to the bathroom to scrub your face with Clorox and being so overwhelmed with the cuteness that you are paralyzed.

10. The non-diabetic cats in the house can and will become ragingly jealous of the diabetic cat who is "lucky" enough to be getting two shots a day and stabbed in the ear 5 times a day.

Feel free to comment on your own "discoveries" in treating a diabetic cat!

Leo the Little Lion and his fan club

Leo, the big boned, large framed, 7 lb cat has had a hard life. Someone put him outside after declawing him, where he begged for food and probably warm laps too. At some point, Leo got sick, developed diabetes and was turned in to a kill shelter. He was a very sick boy. He'd lost probably half of his body weight or more from the ravages of this illness. Diabetes is no easy thing for a cat, and especially not for an outdoor, un-homed cat. Once in the shelter, Leo faced certain death, were it not for a lady who contacted one of FDMB's board members, Ken (and Sneakers). Ken was so keen to get Leo off death row that he actually was seriously considering giving up one of his own precious babies to save Leo. Thinking that his baby girl kitten, Tabitha, could be adopted easily, he was willing to lose her to save Leo. He posted on the FDMB.. could anyone save this sweet boy? Kind people who could not take him in had pledged money to the adopter for medical costs. Every member who saw the post had their heart broken with worry. All members have full or overfull homes.

Jennifer (tuckersmom), another member of FDMB, was thinking of how to take him into her already overcrowded home of specially abled kitties. I saw the post, after having missed the first post, and responded immediately. I knew the cat was meant to be mine. Sometimes you just know those things. Jennifer and I talked in PM, and I told her I wasn't sure if I could get Leo past Ronnie, who has many allergies, chief among them - cats. I sent an email to my good friend Jenn (and Sabrina). "Please help me, I'm about to adopt that cat on Community." When stuff happens so fast, you start to feel impulsive and reckless. The last thing you want to do is take a cat in a bad situation and somehow make it worse. Jenn sent an email back. I can't remember her exact wording, but basically she told me I was too far gone to stop. She was right of course.

At lunch, I called Ronnie, and the planets shifted and my wonderful man said "Yes". I was ecstatic, I couldn't believe I was so hooked on this cat already. Then the love really started. I was contacted by a money donor. She really wanted to help the cat, but she already had too many. Another money donor. And another. Syringe donors, meter donors, and people just sending good wishes. The board really comes together for these babies. God bless every one of you. I happened to have room in my home for Leo, and am glad I could help him, but I could not do it without your support, and cheering me on.

People clamored for updates, wanted pictures, wanted to know how he was. Ken picked Leo up for the week before bringing him to me and did his best to stabilize our young lion. He fed and fed (and fed!) the cat with no bottom. He monitored him, worried about him, fussed over him, and most importantly let Leo know he was loved. He provided updates for all of us, took pictures, and kept us all up to date on his day to day life with poignant stories of Leo greeting him at the door, or laying with his head in Ken's lap.

I could not imagine a more loving group of people than the FDMB, and that makes YOU the best Fan Club ever. For you guys, who cheer like proud parents over every single out of focus picture I upload, thank you. I will try to do you justice.

Here's Leo, a mere 3 weeks after that shelter picture was taken, after stealing my seat to bathe himself.

*gack*

Gack. An interesting word, isn't it? It's one of those words that sounds like what it is, like puncture or titillate. I digress. Gack actually references what happens when you do bad "crank" (some kind of Methamphetamine drug or something) when the idiot's "gag reflex is triggered by the extreme burning sensation of the nasal passages when the drug is snorted, and the very bitter taste as it drains down the back of the throat" as per the Urban Dictionary. I digress again.

We've been gacking in our house. Leo farts. Can you believe that? A farting cat! Roxanne and Niko are mortified, and want to move out. Niko put his own harness on all by himself last night. When all the gas runs out of him and Leo leaves that dog-size poo we were talking about the other day, and doesn't bury it... *gack*

Last night, Ronnie was minding his own business, as he tends to do when he's watching House, Leo hopped up on the couch next to him and let one rip. Then he turned around and looked at Ronnie innocently just before Ronnie dove under the backrest pillow for relief. That hurt Leo's feelings. I think I will create some anti-poot devices so that Leo can be more comfortable in our home and less insecure. Now, it's KNIT ONE PURL TWO right?

Leo Stalks Innocent Prey

We're home! Gosh it was so much fun. Here's a brief rundown of what happened in Atlantic City so we can get to the Leo story:

Wednesday: We (me, Ronnie, Mike and Kathy) leave Virginia Beach at 8:30am, spend 5 hours driving and 3 hours sitting in traffic before arriving in Atlantic City. We check into Bally's (comp'd room) and promptly get lost. We finally locate our hotel room and promptly get lost again. Fortunately we are able to find a doorway out to the boardwalk and find ourselves playing poker at Caesars. We drink. We get hit up by bums. No one remembers anything else.

Thursday: Apparently we found our way back to our hotel room because we all wake up the next morning in the correct beds. I find a Starbucks, we meet up, we get lost, we find poker, play more poker, get lost trying to find food, drink more. There are a lot of bums here! We eat Thanksgiving dinner at a burger joint at 2am. We all agree it's the best Thanksgiving dinner we've ever eaten. No one remembers anything else.

Friday: We find ourselves back in our beds in our hotel room, and make arrangements to check out and go check into our new cat-friendly hotel room where we are to meet up later. We nap. We leave and go to The Borgata. Ahhh The Borgata is beautiful. Then Carolyn finds the Keno game on the video poker machine. Jackpot! We "play" more poker at Borgata (players have more money than brains), drink more, lose more, drink more and back to video Keno to make up what we lost. We notice we never get lost in the Borgata and there are no bums here.

Leo-day: We get up, shower, and Andrea calls. She's on her way! Yay! No one is sure where Jenn is, but we know she's coming too. We pick Andrea up and head for the Borgata. We teach her how to play Keno, we eat, drink, play a poker tournament badly, and wait for Jenn. YAY! Jenn makes it to the Borgata and we all head back to the hotel room and meet Ken, who has driven at the speed of sound to get to AC with Leo. Andrea has a Lantus emergency and has to head home early, so she doesn't get to meet Ken and Leo. Leo makes himself right at home in the hotel room. He discovers Ronnie and decides that Ronnie would make a nice human. Ronnie pretends to be horrified, but secretly he is probably flattered. We leave Leo to relax for a few hours and head back to Harrah's to meet up with Kathy and Mike. Ahhhhhhh finally we find people who know how to play good poker! Ronnie and I make up what we've lost and teach Jenn how to play poker and order drinks. She shows definite talent in that department! We leave poker and go to see a band at a bar. We close that bar out and leave for the hotel room where we proceed to stay up til 6am with a bottle of Jack Daniels and Leo, who's perfectly happy with that decision.

Sunday: Uh-oh. 3 hours sleep and a long drive home facing us. Jenn takes me to a diner. New Jersey has a redeeming quality! If you have never been to a diner in NJ, you must go. I had the best french toast I have ever had and I'm from Connecticut, a state that has perfected french toast. Jenn leaves to go home, Ronnie and I nap and at 5:30pm we hit the road for Virginia Beach in the rain. Leo takes up residence on the well covered backseat, with a litter pan on the floor for a portable restroom.

About 2 hours later, Leo is hungry. We stop, feed Leo and clean his box. This becomes a pattern, where every two hours we have to stop and feed Leo and clean his box. It's raining and traffic is barely moving. Leo's a very hungry boy, eating about 18oz of canned food a day. We seem to be making almost no progress due to the rain several hours later, when a smell begins to permeate the Rodeo. O. M. G. Eye bleedingly bad.

Naturally, by now it's 10pm, I'm on the Eastern shore and nothing is open on my side of the road. It's raining and I don't feel like I really want to stand in the rain to clean out his box, but I'm game since the smell is horrendous. An HOUR later I find a Royal station open. I am so overcome by the fumes at this point that I may never sleep again and I am sure my nostrils have burn marks inside them. I open the back door, and in the litter box is the biggest cat poop I have ever seen. I am immediately reminded of the Newfoundland poops I saw growing up. Those are large black dogs, the size of Saint Bernards. This is a 7lb cat. I have never cleaned a cat box so fast in my life. Ronnie wakes up and says, "what's that smell?" I glare at him and we hit the road again.

Next post: And then there were three. Again.