A funny turn

 

A funny turn

I'm ready - let's go!

On Thursday morning Jellicoe was on top of one of the kitchen cupboards and didn’t want to come down. Normally he is vociferously harassing me for breakfast. Alarm bells rang. Barry lifted him down and we offered him food and although he did eat, he was twitching and unsteady on his paws. I thought he was going to have a seizure. Having lived with Frodo the Faller for many years I was well aware of the signs.

Knowing how quickly cats deteriorate when unwell, we called our vets and although they didn’t have any appointment slots free, they agreed to do a blood test since we all felt Jellicoe’s glucose levels were low. It proved to be the case and then he went back at the end of the day to be checked again when it was decided that he should spend Friday there for the whole day to have his glucose curve checked. That meant that he was to have no breakfast on Friday morning. By then, Jellicoe was feeling quite chipper again and couldn’t understand why his food was being withheld.

Where's my breakfast?

We had been doing blood tests at home to check his levels but it was causing him distress which we thought might be worse than persevering with them. We decided that we should begin testing again rather than the more stressful, for Jellicoe, twice-daily trip to the vet, or not test at all, and run the risk of another downward spiral. It transpired that the entire testing kit we had was out of date so we bought another one which arrived very promptly.

It looks very straightforward in the videos. A quick prick in the ear flap should produce enough blood to smear the blood glucose test strips. It’s not quite so easy in practice! Jellicoe is a very good-tempered cat but his ears are sensitive - and very hairy. 

We’re told the little prick doesn’t hurt, but it’s not our ears that are being punctured. Ensuring that enough blood appears sometimes means squeezing the ear flap to produce a bubble, again, not something Jellicoe enjoys.

We managed it yesterday evening after he came home and again this morning. We will have to brace ourselves to repeat it this evening. I’m sure (I wish!) that we will get better at it! We don’t like testing his patience and causing him stress but it is in his best interests.

A good wash is required after a meal, starting with the left paw . . .

 . . . and continuing with the right

We changed Jellicoe’s feeding and insulin injection routine. I had been jabbing him while he ate but the problem with continuing that is that if he does not eat all his food, he will have too much insulin in his body. That is serious and can cause seizures and even death. Usually he finishes everything he’s given and immediately looks around for more, but that cannot be guaranteed. So now I hover over him, hypodermic syringe in hand, ready to jab him as the last morsels disappear.

He’s worth it, though. He’s such an affectionate boy – to everyone, apart from his brother!