Chubby had to go to the vet last week.  This was his first visit to the new vet, and he was going to get new medicine.  We had to change his vet because the old vet was 40 minutes away, and one of the most expensive in the county, that’s not to say I didn’t love the old vet, just couldn’t afford to keep going anymore.  The new vet is 5 miles away, and very reasonably priced.

We got good news and bad news.  The good news is that there is no problem switching his insulin to Vetsulin.  We used to use PZIVet, and it is the most expensive stuff out there for diabetic pets, and the company is planning on shutting down production, so really no choice.  We also found out that we can lower his dosage, so he won’t have to have as much medicine.  As long as he gets his “special” medicine (treats) with it, he wants to keep getting his shots.  I was thrilled with the results of Chubby’s visit, well that part anyway.

The bad news is Chubby has to have dental work done.  He is losing his teeth, and he will only be 9 in March.  The vet actually turned one of his teeth on it’s side to show me how bad they are.  I thought it was his gum, then I saw it was his tooth.  Really bad.

I am not sure if the dental problem has to do with the diabetes or not, but we have another appointment in a couple of weeks to make sure the new insulin & new dosage are working well, and I will ask.  In the meantime I will be doing some research on how to take care of their teeth.  I will put the information I find on here.

Thanks for all the good wishes.

Your cat can get bladder stones just like you and I can.  They are extremely painful and, if not taken care of, they can kill your cat.

Cats have a very narrow urethra, even for their size.  So any kind of blockage can be harmful.  Bladder stones are basically small rocks.  They are rough and uneven in size.  Your cat can have these for any amount of time.  It isn’t until they get stuck in the urinary tract that they become a problem.

If your cat starts urinating in strange and new places, there could be any number of reasons.  They could be getting older.  Their litter box may not be clean enough for them.  They could be mad at you.  Some people will tell you that cats don’t do things to spite you, but I can tell you that they most certainly do.

Another thing to look for is blood in their urine.  If they keep trying to go, and can’t.  Both of these are signs of bladder stones or another illness your cat may have, so take them to the vet immediately.  If it isn’t bladder stones, you will just be out the cost of the visit, but if it is, you have just saved your cat’s life.

At the vet, they will get a urine sample, and do tests.  If they discover stones, there are options.  Some stones can be dissolved with medication.  Some can only be removed with surgery.  Most cats only have one or two stones, but some can have more.  The more stones, the more room they take up in the bladder, and the less room for urine, so they will be trying to go more often.  And if one of the stones is in the tract, then they can’t do anything except fill up behind it.  Sometimes they can pass the stones, but more often they can’t because their urethra is so tiny.

Bladder stones are caused by a pH imbalance.  Their pH can be either too high, or too low.  There are medications to help balance the pH in your cat so you can avoid having a repeat experience.  If your cat’s pH is too high, there is too much alkali in your cat’s system.  If it is too low, there is too much acid.  There are special foods to give your cat to help keep their pH in balance.

Talk to your vetrinarian to see if you can use the food or if you need medications.  Also, if you need medications, ask your vet about liquid.  I don’t know if you have ever tried to give a cat a pill twice a day every day, but it isn’t fun.  Liquids are so much easier, especially since they are flavored.

Keep an eye on your cat, and they will be there with you for a long time.

Your cat can get into so much trouble this time of year it can be overwhelming.  I know you want to enjoy the Christmas season, so here are some tips on keeping away from the veterinarian.

Holiday plants.  Many plants are toxic to cats, and most holiday favorites are in this list. Holly, lilies, poinsettia, and mistletoe are the major culprits.  Keeping things up high doesn’t really work for cats since they like to jump everywhere you don’t want them to go.  Shooting your cat with water usually works, but you can’t be there all the time, plus there are a few cats that actually enjoy being shot.  Placing a zapmat around the plant may help.  Unfortunately, keeping these plants out of the house completely, or inside a glass cabinet seems to be the only way to keep kitty healthy.

The tree can be a danger to you and your cat.  Cats like to climb trees.  Christmas trees are no exception.  Even when covered in decorations and lights they are a temptation.  You don’t want to go without a tree, and you don’t want to lock your cat out of the room, so what to do?  Tie the tree to the wall, preferably 2 walls in a corner.  It doesn’t have to be obvious, just make it secure.

Lights are beautiful, but tempting.  Cats love to chew, and a light cord is exactly what they like.  Long and skinny, sometimes moving around, just like a snake.  They revert to hunter mode when they see cords.  They will stalk them, pounce, then chew.  Then get electrocuted.  Make sure to keep cords covered, if they can’t see them, they won’t try to play with them.

Tinsel sets off the tree to perfection.  Cats love to eat tinsel.  Unfortunately, tinsel doesn’t agree with them.  It doesn’t just go in and then out, it stays.  It wraps around your cats organs, and will need to be removed surgically.  If you see some hanging out of their mouth, gently tug.  If it doesn’t come out easily, DON’T YANK, go immediately to your veterinarian.  Yanking can cause permanent damage.  To avoid this, put tinsel only on the top of the tree, or don’t use any at all.

Ornaments are fun to bat.  They swing around, making tempting targets, and easily get knocked off the tree and broken.  Use twist-ties to attach your ornaments, or only use non-breakable ornaments on the bottom branches.  Put your precious and most delicate ornaments higher on the tree.

We love to wrap gifts.  Ok, we love to look at wrapped gifts, sometimes the wrapping part is a little too much for us.  Cats love to look at the gifts, too, but their focus is on the ribbons.  Ribbons are tons of fun to play with.  It bounces around, flies through the air when batted and is just a whole day of playing by itself.  Fun to eat, too, but just like tinsel, very dangerous.  Eating ribbon can get your cat’s organs tied in knots, literally.  If you see ribbon in your cat’s mouth, gently tug, if it doesn’t come out, call your veterinarian immediately.  DO NOT YANK the ribbon, you can cause serious harm.

As long as we pay attention, and look at the holiday from a cat’s perspective, we can make it happy and safe holiday for all of us.

As your cats get older, they start to slow down. They don’t run around like they used to. They sleep even more, which doesn’t seem possible. They don’t jump as high either. They don’t necessarily understand these changes. Here are some ideas to help them.

Put some steps to the higher places they like to sleep. Adding steps will help them get to their special spots, reducing their stress. It also keeps you from having to lift them up and down.

Put a heating pad in their bed. Since cats also get arthritis, a small heating pad in their favorite napping place will help keep their joints from stiffening up.

They will also most likely have incontinence problems. When they pee in places they never had before, they just couldn’t hold it anymore. They may pee while they are sitting with you. Don’t get mad at them, they really couldn’t help it. They may not even realize they did.

Most of all patience and understanding. When your cat doesn’t move fast enough, they aren’t doing it to annoy you, they just can’t move quickly anymore. Be patient, help them along gently. They are just like humans, they get more fragile as they get older.

Make sure you still hold your cat, and sit with your cat. Since they don’t realize they are doing these things, or having these problems, they won’t understand your change in attitude toward them. If you push them away when you were always inviting before, they have no idea why you don’t want them anymore. Keep an extra towel around, add the steps, give them extra heat. Do whatever you can to help them out in their time of need. They were always there for you.

Hopefully you will be understanding about the problems they are having. Just remember, they aren’t doing any of this to hurt you, or to spite you. They are just getting older. Love them and care for them as much as you always did. They may not be with you much longer.

If you have hobbies, whether they are needlecrafts, woodworking, leatherworking, model-building, or many others, they can affect the health and well-being of your cat. Here are some cat safety tips to be aware of while working on your hobbies.

Needleworkers, there are many different types of needlework crafts out there, some don’t even have needles, but are still in the same basic category. If your type of craft has needles, always know where your needles are. Your cat can swallow them and cause serious harm. It can get caught in their throat, or if it manages to get into the stomach, it can get caught there, too. Your yarn, thread or floss can be dangerous if they eat it also. These types of things can get caught up in their system, and get wrapped around their organs. If any of these things happens, it will take surgery to fix. Don’t forget when you put your scissors down to put the tip away from anywhere your cat might jump, inside something safe is best.

Working with wood has it’s hazards, too. Watch out for the woodshavings, they can get into your cat’s eyes, and into their lungs. Either way it is dangerous for them to be around while working with wood. I don’t know of any cat that will wear the googles and face mask necessary to be around woodworking. This goes for wood burning as well, cats love heat, and will come close to be near it, and just to see what you are doing. Any power tool is dangerous around cats, they can come out of nowhere and get seriously injured in seconds.

Building any kind of models has it’s share of danger for your cats. Small parts that are tempting to bat around and play with are sure to be swallowed as well. Don’t forget your glue, they are sure to get into it and either get glued to themselves or something else. Your knives have very sharp edges that your cat can easily cut themselves on.

There is a huge list of dangerous plants for your cats, so gardeners need to be aware, too. Lilies, chrysanthemums, potatoes, ferns, baby’s breath, tomatoes, and daffodils are just a small portion of the commonly grown house and garden plants that are extremely dangerous to cats. Make sure you check out a list of dangerous plants before you plant your indoor or outdoor garden. If you are going to grow plants not healthy for cats, make sure you keep them away from your cats.

Glass working of any kind has multiple hazards for you and your cats. Working with stained glass and breaking your own glass for mosaics can produce shards that are easily picked up in kitty paws, that are then licked and swallowed. Sharp edges are also easy for your cat to get into since they jump on everything, and everywhere they are not wanted. Blowing glass has hazards, too. Since cats love heat, they will do everything they can to get near your furnace, and they can get badly burned.

Metal working has similar hazards to the glass. Splinters of metal are like the shards of glass, your cat can pick them up in it’s paws while walking through the room, then lick them off their feet and swallow. Metal shavings can get into their eyes and into their lungs. Sharp edges can easily be jumped onto since cats can jump very high, and from far away.

Painting has numerous chemicals that your cat can get into. If you work in oils, the turpentine or other chemicals needed to clean your brushes can make your cat very sick if he gets into them. Always check into the composition of your supplies to make sure they are safe. Creosote that is sometimes used for cleaning can be dangerous. Make sure you pack these things away, and keep kitty out.

Basically any hobby can be dangerous for your cat, they can swallow jigsaw puzzle pieces, too. I only covered a few here, but each had it’s own hazards. There are a few guidelines to keep in mind for keeping kitty safe. Make sure your cat is not in the room at all when working with powertools. Keep all your supplies safely away where your cat can’t get to them. If working on something that can possibly become airborne, like wood, glass, metal, etc, keep your cat away, and if you plan on letting the cat into the room at another time, find all missing pieces. All sharp edges should be turned in toward a corner of a drawer, if at all possible, keep your supplies enclosed when not actually using them, even if you only put them down for a few seconds.

Of course you know that you have to feed and water your cat. But how much? How often? What kind of food? We are going to explore your options.

I am going to tell you what I have found out with my own cats. I currently have seven, six indoor, and one that is working on becoming an indoor cat. I have lost nine. I have a bit of experience in these matters.

They tell you to feed them one cup of dry food per day. That’s fine. I do that. Cats will eat as much or as little as they want to. At one point I had nine indoor cats. I fed them all the exact same. One cup of dried food daily. I ended up with two cats that were about five pounds, three that were ten pounds, one that weighed fifteen pounds, and three that were around twenty. One of the ten pound cats was the mother of the fifteen and twenty pound cats. They choose how much they like to eat, some will eat less, some more.

I have never seen much difference between the various cat foods. My cats like some, and don’t like others. I have never bought food from the vetrinarian, I just can’t see why I should put out that much money when there are tons of varieties in the store. I am not saying don’t get the special foods from your vet, especially if your vet has determined it is really best for your cat, not just their pocketbook. Just get the food that your cat likes and will eat.

I always thought it was strange that my cats that had come from the outdoors don’t like moist food. The inside ones go absolutely nuts, but the ones that had lived outdoors before deciding they liked the inside just ignored canned food. Try it on your cats, and if they like it, feed it to them. If they don’t, well you’ve saved yourself some money.

I know everyone has heard that you give cats milk to drink. Not true. Most cats are lactose intolerant. You give them milk, you will be cleaning it up. It is fine for a kitten, but after they are grown, it isn’t that great. If your cat can tolerate it, that’s great, but you still shouldn’t give it to them all the time. And most importantly, don’t give it to them as their sole liquid. They need water.

One of the most important things we as cat owners (or caretakers) can do is make sure your cat always has a supply of clean, fresh water. All animals need water, and it needs to be available to them at any and all times. Some cats like running water, one of mine drinks from the leaky faucet I haven’t gotten around to fixing. I can’t stress enough to make sure there is water out all the time.

Make sure your cat is eating, whether dry or moist. From the store or the vetrinarian. And most of all, make sure they always have water.

Yes, cats can get diabetes, too. They are just like us in that respect. They can’t take care of this themselves, so we get to do the hard part. Unfortunately they don’t quite understand that it is for their own good.

If your cat has started drinking a whole lot of water, is losing a lot of weight, but is still eating, there is a possibility he has diabetes. In any case he needs to go to the vet. There are any number of reasons this could be happening, and you want to find out what you need to do. If you do get a diagnosis of diabetes, read on.

Yes, cats can get diabetes, too. They are just like us in that respect. They can’t take care of this themselves, so we get to do the hard part. Unfortunately they don’t quite understand that it is for their own good.

Once you find out your cat has feline diabetes, you will be spending a lot of time with your veterinarian, so make sure he or she is someone you trust completely. Some vets will take all the time you need to tell you everything you want to know about the disease, and some don’t like to explain anything. So choose wisely.

You can choose to try and change his diet to lower his glucose, and possibly eliminate the problem, but he will have to be watched for any changes. In a multi-cat household that may not be possible. Any specialized food for cats is very expensive, and depending how many cats you have, it may not be feasible for you. If changing the food doesn’t work, then he will have to go on insulin.

Your cat will have to spend a week or 2 with the vet after the diagnosis. He can be boarded the whole time, or you can drop him off in the morning, and pick him back up at night. They will be giving him small doses of insulin twice a day to lower his glucose levels. They check these at least 3 times daily to check his reaction. This can get very expensive, and usually isn’t covered by pet insurance. Once the correct insulin dosage has been established, your cat can start spending the days (and nights if he was boarded) at home.

Now it is up to you to take care of the insulin. Your vet will tell you how much to give, and how often. Usually twice daily so that it isn’t too much at one time and send your poor cat into insulin shock. You will get a small vial of insulin, and syringes.

Make sure you keep it refrigerated. If it gets too warm, it can kill the insulin, and you might as well be injecting water for all the good it does. Don’t shake it hard. Just roll it gently around till the whole vial is cloudy. Now put the needle in the soft rubber top of the vial, and hold the vial above the needle, and bring back the plunger and draw out more than the dosage. Then push the plunger back in to the correct dosage. This gets rid of air bubbles which can be very bad. You might want to roll the syringe between your fingers a bit to warm it up slightly. Make sure the insulin is the part between your fingers. It isn’t absolutely necessary, but taking the chill off it before injecting it into your cat will probably be appreciated.

Now, pull up a swatch of hair, and clear it to see skin (if he will let you) and stick the needle in. Try not to go through both sides of the fold of skin, which is easy to do. You are trying to get the insulin in the area between the skin and muscles, so make sure you pull the skin up. You might also want to rub the area a little to take away the sting.

If you miss, or think you missed, you can give your cat an additional injection, but be sure. If you give them more, and you didn’t miss, you can send them into shock from overdosing them. It would be better not to give it at all than to give too much. Make sure you get it close to 12 hours apart if you are dosing twice a day. You don’t want to give them a full dose, then give them another too soon, before they have metabolized the first. An hour on either side of the 12 hour mark will be fine. You may want to give your cat a treat for being so good about the injection. Make sure it is a regular thing, because that can throw off their system if it is a hit or miss deal.

Your vet will probably not want you to order the meds online, but it is perfectly acceptable. The vet will tell you that you will get bad meds, expired, shaken in the mail, etc. They get theirs in the mail, too. They have the same chance of getting expired, shaken medicine. You will have to pay for shipping, even on the free shipping sites. Insulin has to be refrigerated, and that means overnight shipping. Check the cost at your vet, then check the online with shipping, then decide. If you decide to go online, you will have to have a prescription from the vet. If your vet won’t deal with online sites, get a written prescription and fax it. The vet will have to verify it is a real prescription, but they usually don’t have a problem with that.

I hope you have a better idea of what it takes to keep your diabetic cat comfortable. If you follow these guidelines, your cat can live a long and happy life.

Your cat can get into so much trouble this time of year it can be overwhelming. I know you want to enjoy the Christmas season, so here are some tips on keeping away from the veterinarian.

Holiday plants. Many plants are toxic to cats, and most holiday favorites are in this list. Holly, lilies, poinsettia, and mistletoe are the major culprits. Keeping things up high doesn’t really work for cats since they like to jump everywhere you don’t want them to go. Shooting your cat with water usually works, but you can’t be there all the time, plus there are a few cats that actually enjoy being shot. Placing a zapmat around the plant may help. Unfortunately, keeping these plants out of the house completely, or inside a glass cabinet seems to be the only way to keep kitty healthy.

The tree can be a danger to you and your cat. Cats like to climb trees. Christmas trees are no exception. Even when covered in decorations and lights they are a temptation. You don’t want to go without a tree, and you don’t want to lock your cat out of the room, so what to do? Tie the tree to the wall, preferably 2 walls in a corner. It doesn’t have to be obvious, just make it secure.

Lights are beautiful, but tempting. Cats love to chew, and a light cord is exactly what they like. Long and skinny, sometimes moving around, just like a snake. They revert to hunter mode when they see cords. They will stalk them, pounce, then chew. Then get electrocuted. Make sure to keep cords covered, if they can’t see them, they won’t try to play with them.

Tinsel sets off the tree to perfection. Cats love to eat tinsel. Unfortunately, tinsel doesn’t agree with them. It doesn’t just go in and then out, it stays. It wraps around your cats organs, and will need to be removed surgically. If you see some hanging out of their mouth, gently tug. If it doesn’t come out easily, DON’T YANK, go immediately to your veterinarian. Yanking can cause permanent damage. To avoid this, put tinsel only on the top of the tree, or don’t use any at all.

Ornaments are fun to bat. They swing around, making tempting targets, and easily get knocked off the tree and broken. Use twist-ties to attach your ornaments, or only use non-breakable ornaments on the bottom branches. Put your precious and most delicate ornaments higher on the tree.

We love to wrap gifts. Ok, we love to look at wrapped gifts, sometimes the wrapping part is a little too much for us. Cats love to look at the gifts, too, but their focus is on the ribbons. Ribbons are tons of fun to play with. It bounces around, flies through the air when batted and is just a whole day of playing by itself. Fun to eat, too, but just like tinsel, very dangerous. Eating ribbon can get your cat’s organs tied in knots, literally. If you see ribbon in your cat’s mouth, gently tug, if it doesn’t come out, call your veterinarian immediately. DO NOT YANK the ribbon, you can cause serious harm.

As long as we pay attention, and look at the holiday from a cat’s perspective, we can make it happy and safe holiday for all of us.