Wednesday, June 13, 2007

Early Mornings at the Vet's

As we continue to get the whole diabetes issue figured out for one of our three cats, I've been making bi-weekly treks to the vet. We are trying to figure out the correct amount of insulin to give him, so this requires a glucose curve test, which basically means they take and test his blood over a period of hours (I know, poor baby).

After doing this about five times now, to say that we are both sick and tired of going is an understatement. Because he has to be tested soon after he eats and then throughout the day, we have to get there between 7:30 and 8am. Then I wait for the first test results to see if they'll keep him that day or not. If it's too high or too low, we go back home.

So, this means I'm left sitting in the waiting room with no cat for about 15 to 20 minutes as they give him his first test in the back. I've seen other patients come and go and have learned the main reason why they have us come so early in the morning - these are the problem patients. They all have something majorly wrong with them or worse. They hobble in with little casts on their limbs or cones around their heads or maybe they can't even walk so their owners carry them in.

I've seen people leaving there and crying on their way out. Yesterday morning as I was waiting for Nee-Nee (a nickname of this cat), I saw two people bring in a very old dog. She was thin and had white all around her snoot. I was so tempted to caress her nose, but I held back because it always pisses me off when people approach my own animals there. I'm worried they may stress them out even more and end up getting bitten. I'm not even sure if she could really see me because of the cataracts in her eyes. But, it made me think of all the other old dogs I've cared for over the years.

So, Nee-Nee's glucose was actually low for a change and they were going to feed him some more and keep him for the day because they thought they could complete the test even though he was on the low side. I felt badly that maybe I hadn't given him enough to eat, but like his mother, he tends to be a bottomless pit, so he's never really full. As I left, I saw those same people leaving as well, sans the old dog, and they were crying, and I realized - crap - they just had their dog put down! Maybe I should have touched her old white nose!

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

Hope Nee-nee gets better soon.

fatand40 said...

Thanks. We go in for just one one blood test this week. Fingers crossed we have the right amount of insilin for him now. He's 14 years old but still our "baby."

Anonymous said...

He has enjoyed life to a ripe old age for a cat. What's the update?

fatand40 said...

We are back down to 3 units of insulin and go in every other week lately for just one blood draw in the middle of the day. It still isn't optimal, but he is doing better, not drinking so much or tinkling so much, which are signs of trouble. Thanks for asking, Pauline.