Sweet As Sugar

Here's a lesson I learned rather late in life: When your vet sternly warns you that your overweight cat is in danger of becoming diabetic, listen to him.

As a result of my not listening to him my cat keeps trying to die on me.

She's 14 and has diabetus, mostly as a result of 12+ years of scarfing down endless bowls of her favorite corn-based chow. I currently control her condition with twice daily injections of insulin and limit her diet to meat-based substances but, as it turns out, pumping additional insulin under the skin of a creature that doesn't consume carbohydrates can sometimes result in sudden, unpredictable bouts of hypoglycemia. Which is exactly what keeps occurring.

She's smart enough to understand something's wrong when her blood sugar drops. When this occurs her usual method of getting my attention is to void her bowels in my immediate vicinity, followed by a few unhappy yowls. A subsequently prompt and liberal application of pancake syrup down her gullet always brings her up and around before any of her nine lives are wasted.

Yesterday, though, she had another attack but was too far away to alert me. I found her on the living room floor, convulsing. It was a terrifying sight. I really thought I was looking at death throes. The pancake syrup trick wasn't working so we were off on a frantic trip to the vet for an overnight stay and a glucose drip. Her blood sugar was at 18 at admittance, normal is about 150. She's back home now and except for a bit of unsteadiness she's apparently on the mend.

She's been tested enough to verify that she's truly diabetic and not simply hyperthyroid but my vet tells me that a diabetic cat's pancreas can suddenly resume functioning normally. That's good news if should it happen but really hard to check unless your cat starts keeling over. With that in mind we're taking a week off on the insulin regimen and then doing some new baselines.

I love this little beast even if she's an imperious monster. She taught me that I wasn't as allergic to cats as I thought and has intertwined herself into my life in ways I took for granted. For a brief moment on Monday I got a quick glimpse of life without her will feel like and I didn't enjoy it. But it's been 14 good years, so far, and I'm hoping for a lot more. Vet, don't fail me now.

=Lefty=