my sweet kitty

[verbicide]

Hobbsie's vet visit went pretty well. He doesn't really mind trips to the vet as so many cats do. He never pees in his carrier. He doesn't hiss. I don't have to chase him to put him in the carrier. It's, over all, a pretty good deal. For some bizarre reason I always think it's going to take me 30min to get to Greenwood. Which is ten minutes away.

So we always get there like 20min early and they're always running just a few minutes late. Argh. And Hobbsie is okay with car travel and everything, but he hates being stuck in a box in the waiting room (hidden from potential admirers!). So I sat in the car with him this time, and he was very happy. Purring and fascinated by all the people who would walk by with pets, babies, etc. So I think that was a good call. We went inside about 5min to our appointment and it worked out much better. Also, I can open the top of his box while we're inside and he can peer at Jennifer and Jessica.

Phinney Ridge Animal Hospital has the best staff in the universe. They always remember us and are particularly sweet to Hobbes and make a genuine fuss over him each time. And Dr. Henkle is just awesome.

But, it's still somewhat un-fun. As Hobbsie is getting older, I feel more panicked about his conditions, the diabetes, the asthma, and the less-than-optimal kidney function. Sometimes I feel like the worst pet owner ever, because his conditions require such fine balance and are so complicated, and I find it frustrating. We did a spot glucose check today and it was high (traditionally he represents low on these spot checks). And it may be okay, because cats tend to give higher results at the vet offices because they're freaked out. So it may be closer to target than last time where his low result means he's probably even lower than he's showing. Anyhow, so we're going to try to keep him on the lower dose of insulin I started today (1 unit) along with a low dose of Prednisone (.1mL) daily and see how it goes. She recommends I hold off on the glucose curve until we move and get settled in, so I won't have to deal with that until January. Also, he has a lot of tartar. But fucking hell, dental work for cats is so damn pricey. Also, since he's older and diabetic, there is a higher risk he'd die on the table. Not a high risk, but just a higher one. But it's probably also a contributing factor to his over all health because it keeps bacteria in the system, it may have him running a low grade infection. He may have some minor discomfort, but masks it.

Dr. Henkle says he's in really good shape. So while obviously she can't offer guarantees, she says that he does not currently look like a cat who is in an advanced state of design who's going to drop dead any second. So that's good. But there is a lot of monitoring and watching him and adjusting things and it's stressful.

But we're home and he's really excited to lick the plastic bag the bubble wrap is in, so that's good.

Comments

[archaica.livejournal.com]

My Sally had a lot of problems with kidney stones, and blood. She was not happy in that department for much of the time. But she was a happy dog otherwise. I always felt that somehow we'd failed as pet owners since we had a fat dog who had kidney problems. Surely there was something we could have done, I'd think. Well, that's not entirely true, but it's still something which haunts.

[verbicide.livejournal.com]

I'm so sorry again about Sally. When Hobbsie's brother Calvin died, it was practically overnight with some weird liver dysfunction, probably a tumor. So I never had to go through this before.

It's just so hard, huh?

[archaica.livejournal.com]

It's not fun, no. Although I find myself oddly numbed to the process. I'm sad she's gone, but, maybe because she's a dog, I'm able to oddly abstract it, as though I can cast her life into sharp relief of processes and periods in a way I don't think I could do with a human. I don't know what that says about me.

[verbicide.livejournal.com]

I don't think it says anything bad about you at all. I think it sounds like a fairly normal way of dealing with death/loss.

[rimrunner.livejournal.com]

I've been kicking myself since yesterday for not catching Gwydion's problem before it became serious. Thing is, he's always been vocal and had a tender stomach, so I didn't catch the increase in both.

The tender stomach is making giving him his meds less than fun. So far he's taken his pill like a champ, but then an hour or so later he throws up.

At least he'll have a better diet from now on. He's almost ten, as near as we can figure out. Time to start paying closer attention to his health.

Mr. Darcy says I should stop blaming myself, but he knows I'm going to anyway.

[verbicide.livejournal.com]

I'm so sorry to hear that Gwydion is having problems... I hope you're able to better regulate it soon.

And Mr. Darcy is quite right, but I know it's hard advice to follow.

[lietya.livejournal.com]

All you can do is the best you can, and you're clearly not doing *that* badly, as he's still pretty much OK within the parameters of his diabetes and other issues. (And don't feel guilty about finding it frustrating and perhaps even annoying; that's not only natural, it's something people with sick *kids* usually admit to.) I'm glad his results were generally good, and I wish him many more years of relatively good health.

[verbicide.livejournal.com]

Thanks so much :) And you're right, but it's such a weird mixture of feelings. Guilt, sadness, fear, frustration and as much as I can't bear to think of him gone, part of me wants it over so I can just stop being so anxious.