Roman June 2020 onwards - updated 15/9/20-28/5/21

Update 30th August
It's not going as well as I or the vet would like. His BG is not going down & he has diarrhoea again which of course means that he's not getting all the nutrients & potentially stopping the Hyperthyroid tablet being properly adsorbed.

The vet is working with me, & after a long phone call yesterday afternoon prescribed antibotics (although it could be a side effect of the HyperT meds) & a paste (nutrabio) that should help with the diarrhoea. He has also asked me to ring him (he's the out of hours vet for the weekend) immediately I get a BG reading & he'll tell me how much insulin to give. As it's every 12 hours I'm definitely going to to (briefly) disturb his long weekend, currently somewhere between 8:45 to 9:15 morning & night, depending on how well I get on with preparing food & getting the BG reading.

I also decided to keep Roman in yesterday & today in order to monitor his diarrhoea & what he's eating. So of course the weather has been dry & today, although chilly outside, is warm indoors especially the conservatory. I've got the fan on in there & he's laying in the shade. I've also pulled the curtains across the patio doors between there & the dining room (the combination being my hospital ward) so that should keep that cooler. The sun will soon go off the conservatory & it will then cool down. I'm also keeping an eye on the temperature & him. Lexie has also taken it upon herself to join him, as she likes the warmth but also in the hope of stealing food when he opens his feeder! I've nicknamed her "Little Miss Thieving paws.

Roman's current regime is:-
twice a day
Take BG (so ear pricked to get blood drop), ring vet to get insulin dose.
Give him 1/2 a pouch in a bowl while I inject the insulin dose.
Give him the rest of the pouch plus another in his feeder
Give him his antibiotic

Morning only
followed by his Metacam which he loves straight from the dosing syringe so is almost like a treat after the small tablet!

during my waking hours
try to have some food available to him so if he's hungry then he can eat to try & recover the weight he's lost. Of course that may not help with getting the BG stable & down via a consistent amount of insulin. but on a body score of 1-2 that is almost as important as the diabetes treatment.

Night time
His HyperT tablet followed by a treat.

I'm still trying to work out when/how to give him the paste as he wasn't having it straight from a bowl or my finger yesterday (as the first day it was 4ml rather than the normal daily dose of 2ml) I put it in a pouch of food but again really wouldn't have much of the pouch, so I added a little chicken to it which he ate & only a little of the pouch but I left it down (in his covered feeder) overnight & it was just about gone this morning Hopefully I'll be able to give the smaller amount in his overnight food from now on. It had better do the job!

Thank goodness for a vet that wants to help like this.   

I wouldn't wish this on any cat but out of the 3 I'm glad its Roman that I have to ear prick, inject & pill!  I'm not sure I'm his favourite person at the moment but he's relatively amenable, the ear prick is the worst for him (& me).

Like scallywag says, you really are doing brilliantly tonib. Thank goodness for your caring vet, they are few and far between, that must give you some security. I would be so worried to have to cope with all you have to do for Roman. Hugs to both you and Roman. I hope that everything settles down with him soon.

I hope that Roman's diarrhoea has gone by now. Do you think it's from having so much wet food?, or the tablets etc? Is he allowed any dried food? Royal Canin Fibre Response is good. I bought it for Kiba-Khan to help with his constipation (recommended by his breeder) but I also find it good for Kai Ruki, who like Roman, often has diarrhoea because he eats so much wet food. I can send you some if he's allowed dry food and if you want to try it and don't want to spend out on a 2kg bag.

Update 12th September
lotsofcats, hopefully not going to jinx it but I think his diarrhoea is slightly improving - sadly not in aroma but at least in times a day! Yesterday was wheelie bin refuse collection, I found the bin heavy to move from the back to the front, once it was moving it wasn't too bad so long as I kept it on the path! Hope the binmen didn't mind the quantity of used litter in it, not sure if the wagon shreds up what they load into it or that's done when its unloaded but not sure I'd like to be with a gas mask when my waste was dealt with Not a job I'd want to do!

I wouldn't be surprised if the amount of wet food isn't helping but the vet arranged a fecal sample test & the results came back negative for anything so it looks like it is due to the metabolic issues with both the HyperT & the diabetes.

scallywag I also think that we are beginning to get somewhere with the blood glucose levels although I had a scare last week when his blood glucose dropped dramatically & I had to rub glucose syrup on his gums & feed him more food and keep an eye on him for the rest of the day.

The regime is still:-

Aiming to prepare all the cats'food ready for blood glucose testing of Roman around 8:45, followed by phone call to vet for insulin levels so can give him the injection around 9 with his food, both morning & evening, followed by my breakfast or dinner depending on the hour
HyperT tablet twice a day & Metacam once a day - I use it to wash down one of the tablets
Plus topping up his water bowl & clearing his litter trays a few times during the day.

Lexie is keeping him company although I think that's partly motivated by the fact he's where she likes to snooze the day away & she can also try & sneak some of his food as he's getting more during the day. I have to stop her shoving her paw alongside his head into the feeder to drag some out! Osiris is thankful for that as she used to try it with his feeder but he'd tell her off! Osiris is also worried a bit by it all & he's decided that bedtime is his time with me

I'm really grateful for my vet working with me in such a way & Roman for being such an obliging cat in taking his meds letting me do the blood testing although he isn't so keen on the injections! I wouldn't wish this on any cat but if it had to be one of mine thank goodness it was Roman. He's also being good about being kept in & that will be until we've stabilised his blood glucose levels as we need all factors (including activity) to stay relatively constant.

Sounds like you are doing just fine tonib and glad Roman is doing ok .
Little Freddy goes in for his dental on Wednesday so starting to get a bit anxious but he will be much better once it has been done 😀

15/9/20 as still having diarrhoea stopped Metacam as that could cause this. Poor boy no meds for his arthritis other than the Nutraquin supplement.
24/9/20 vet review, still not stable diabetes & some occasional diarrhoea. As no goitre felt vet suggested stopping HyperT meds to concentrate on the diabetes stabilisation as that is the more deadly. Also change the the type of insulin to a PZI – need to order in.
27/9/20 Vet thinks I can do insulin dosage decisions on my own now but will still be available for any queries – of course there was something in the 1st day or 2 but OK since bar the odd call.
28/9/20 started the new insulin (Prozinc)

29/9/20 Late morning early afternoon he did a very solid poo & then had pain weeing & only small wees at a time so got an appointment with vets for 4:20pm. Roman had a large bladder & obvious pain when manipulated (growling etc but still calm) Could be a UTI. Kept in at vets for a catheter to be fitted & advised could be in for a few days. 18:50 vet rang & Roman was OK & in recovery. Apparently it was difficult to initially express urine but then it gushed. No sign of crystals or stones. Could be an infection but urine had no blood in it & wasn’t cloudy. Possibly an urethra spasm. Would do in-house urine test for glucose levels & also send off for a culture test to check for infection. He was kept in overnight
30/9/20 He was fine with a good BG level Was given an antibiotic injection & tablets to take home that afternoon. The catheter was removed & he didn’t need stitches so no special treatment when home & he’d eaten & wee’d fine.
Culture test was clear.

1/2/21 Vet review, still unstable blood glucose levels. No goitre felt so advised to continue as we are but to add an extra BG test at 3pm (half way between the 2 insulin injections) for 2 weeks
17/2/21 vet reviewed results – doing fine

9/4/21 Review at vets booked for a blood test for T4 level (hyperT)
12/4/21 T4 level very high although no goitre felt. Vet said he hadn’t seen a cat have that level without being emaciated! I don’t give Roman a chance to be in that state on 7 pouches of food a day!! Will start him on a thyroid medicine again but this time a liquid one, Thyronorm.
7/5/21 T4 blood test still very high so increase dose of thyronorm review in 3 weeks
28/5/21 T4 blood test down but still high but leave Thyronorm at same dose as increasing could be too much & make him crash badly. BG results reviewed – not too bad, I’m doing OK