Sassy cats – Good news for Sasha

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Sasha, laying next to the cat bed! “I’m perfect!”

When Sasha had her dental procedure in November, she had a blood panel done. It showed high glucose levels. She doesn’t have any other signs of diabetes (excessive thirst and peeing), but it was something to (worry about) keep an eye on. Since it could have been stress (being smashed in a carrier, singing Carmen on the way to the vet, getting sniffed by Henry the office cat who did not offer flowers and a date first, and touched by strange people in some questionably inappropriate places), I waited several weeks to test. (That was a combination of dread and procrastination on my part.)

I’m experienced in treating diabetes. I’ve had three diabetic cats. Jake lived with it for nine years and did well. Magic had it for five years. This was back in the 90s when the treatments weren’t as good. She suffered some of the side effects from diabetes like frequent UTIs and neuropathy on her back legs. Mollie died within weeks of getting diagnosed. I was not looking forward to a positive diagnosis. Two shots a day equally spaced adjusts your life.

I pulled out my glucometers last weekend. All were discontinued and the test strips were out of date by years. My neighbor has a diabetic cat, so I borrowed her glucometer. I would test three times over a 24-to-30-hour period and that should tell me if I needed to buy a new one to do further testing.

All three readings were within the normal range so no, Sasha is not diabetic. (Insert Snoopy dance here!)

Sasha was so good about it all. I got the blood from a capillary that runs along the ear edge. It’s a quick jab and catch the blood with the glucometer. Other than a yelp on the first one, she was perfect. I had to do multiple stabs for one of the tests, but she didn’t react at all. She is an easy cat to medicate and an easy cat to handle. She just doesn’t like strangers.

Everyone has recuperated and life is back to normal. Sort of.

This was my Christmas present. Now I’m hoping we can get through the holidays without anyone (furry or otherwise) getting sick. We have a history of emergency medical runs on weekends and holidays. Fingers crossed.

58 thoughts on “Sassy cats – Good news for Sasha”

  16. That’s fantastic that Sasha isn’t a diabetic – woo hoo!! You deserve to have some just plain non-medical, quiet time with the kitties and no vet appointments or worries. That’s my Christmas wish for you!

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  20. Very good news on Miss Stasha. I never learned how to do a blood test on Charlie the first, they weren’t even recommending them back then. Charlie bounced up and down from over 400 to almost 0 multiple times per day at the vet for testing and never stabilized. The best thing about his diabetes was it taught us all the signs and symptoms and my mom’s cat got treated right away and lived a long, happy life.

    I am very happy for Stasha!

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    • We were having trouble stabilizing Mollie and it may have contributed to her fast decline. The vet said that if caught early enough, they have a pill now, once a day. So much easier than a twice a day ritual.

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        • Charlie was actually really good about taking his shot because it meant he got to eat, which he was usually very enthusiastic about. It was a different time, however. Nice that we have more treatment options and that pet parents are taught how to test.

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    • Right now there is nothing pending for the cats. The vet wanted to see her in 6 months but we’ll see. She was going to check her glucose again but I didn’t want to wait that long. I’ll decide then if she needs another check.

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