Betsey, a cat living with seizures

We had a fun time this evening. Reginald and Bobby celebrated their birthday together. Reginald turned 16 and Bobby is now 12. As always, the celebration ended with them play fighting (it’s a tradition for these 2, they do that every time they receive some gifts!)

In honor of yesterday’s National Black Cat Appreciation Day, here are a couple of pictures of my Reginald. He is actually my first ever black cat for the reason that I usually rescue my cats from the streets, so I don’t get to choose what I get.

Happy International Cat Day to all. Betsey and I spent the day at her vet today for her much needed dental. She was finally able to get those teeth cleaned and the bad ones removed. I packed up some lunch, Betsey’s meds and diabetes necessities, lots of magazines and camped out in the waiting room for 7 hours waiting for my girl. Her vet and nurses were absolutely awesome. They regularly came to see me to give me some updates. She was mostly fine except for a seizure when they began to put her under anesthesia. Her blood sugar was steady all day and as soon as she got home she asked for some food. Her dental was something I’ve been dreading for a long time because of her health issues but it really needed to be done. I’m so relieved that it’s over and she’s doing good, except for the fact that she’s not happy with me regarding her kibbles: I’m soaking them in water to soften them and she keeps looking at them in disgust then looking up at me wondering why they’re so mushy and refusing to eat them. That’s my Drama Queen!

It’s time for the latest news from Betseyland. Two weeks ago, Reginald had to have a small part of his tail amputated because of a cyst that kept on coming back and got worse every time it came back. He had his stitches out this morning and his hair is starting to grow back, and better yet, he doesn’t have to wear that annoying, ridiculous cone anymore. Also last week, Bobby went for his big yearly check up for his heart disease ( he was diagnosed with congestive heart failure a year ago and has small checkups every 3-4 months). His results came back so good that his cardiologist said that she would not need to see him for 6 months. Let’s hope he can keep that up. Not much news on Betsey, she is doing well with her lower dose of insulin, yesterday evening she was playing like a crazy kitten, so she’s obviously feeling good. So that’s pretty much it for now.

Thanks for all the prayers for Betsey, she has been doing a lot better. Her vet has lowered her insulin dose, and we haven’t had any more bad low blood sugar issues. I was even able to go to a concert last Saturday feeling confident that if I carefully planned a different schedule for Betsey and Bobby for their meds, they would be fine (I usually don’t go out at night because of their busy medication schedule: insulin for Betsey around 6:30 or 7:00 p.m., 2 pills for Bobby at 7:30, diazepam for Betsey at 8, then 1 pill for Bobby and Betsey at 9). The good news is that I was able to go out and have fun and they were both just fine.

11:35 p.m., it’s going to be a long, stressful night. Betsey has been behaving strangely all evening and my hunch told me to test her blood sugar before going to bed. Blood sugar is 45, definitely hypoglycemia, I got her low blood sugar emergency box and I’m ready to help her through the night.

Sitting on the patio with my little girl this morning while she is talking to the birds. Sorry we haven’t posted in so long but there’s been a lot going on lately, lots of stress ( not cat related). Every day I keep thinking I’m going to post an update but things happen. I will update on Betsey soon.

So many cats who will have never known love and happiness. All of my cats are rescues, either from the streets or the shelter.

PURRLEASE SHARE 💙

Today it was snowing quite a bit so Betsey decided to be lazy and spent her whole day in bed since it was too cold to hang out on the patio. She is finally up and ready to play (and mostly eat).

The warmer weather has arrived. Bobby and Betsey get to spend some time in their patio watching the birds.

I’m now convinced that Betsey is a total mess. Back in March her vet increased her insulin doses because Betsey was still drinking a lot and not very active. Her next appointment was last Wednesday. A few days before her appointment, she was quite active, running all over the place, having a good time. At one point she was chasing after Bobby, tried to follow him up the cat tree and fell hard on her side. After that, she stopped being active. At her appointment, I mentioned it to her vet that she was drinking less and had been active until she fell. She decided to get her checked out by the orthopedic surgeon after she was done with her diabetes tests. Apparently, according to the orthopedic surgeon, Betsey hurt her back when she fell! So she ended up having an awesome diabetes checkup but now her back is hurting. She was sent home with some pain pills and we’re now hoping it will heal on its own. For days she would sit crooked and walk in an abnormal way. I’ve been massaging her back many times a day every day, and it finally seems to be helping, today she has been sitting mostly normally and seems to be walking better. So we waited for months for her insulin to be at the right dose for her to finally be more active and as soon as she becomes active again, she hurt her back! Leave it to Betsey!

So sad…

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So this is the gift we were missing for Betsey’s celebration: some little steps to help her off of the bed. Unfortunately, the steps that were originally ordered scared her so much that she would shake all over so they were sent back and I found those for her which she absolutely loves. She loves to go up and down on them and spends a lot of time playing on them. She loves it when I put her little foam balls on different steps so she can hit them to send them flying. Most importantly, now she doesn’t have to crash to the floor when she jumps from the bed.

I have some awesome news regarding Bobby. As I mentioned, he went for his 3 months check-up for his congestive heart failure and his tests showed that his disease has not progressed at all in the past 3 months. He will not need to go back for 4 months. It’s been almost 8 months since his diagnosis and his cardiologist said he is doing as good as can be expected. I’m so proud of him.

So last Wednesday was Betsey’s follow up. Overall it went well but her vet increased her insulin dose because she is still higher than we would like her to be. This past week I’ve been learning how to figure out the carbs in wet cat food to try to find other foods that she can have because she hasn’t been very happy with her wet food (she does love her prescription dry food though). So she’s been able to eat some of the food she used to have, which she enjoys. I just don’t want for her to eat only dry food, so I spent a whole afternoon calculating carbs in the can food that I have and made a list of the foods she can have. I’m hoping that with the new insulin dose, her blood sugar will finally be closer to what it should be. Tomorrow is Bobby’s appointment with his cardiologist, he hasn’t been in over 3 months so I’m definitely worried about what his test results will be. Again, I’m praying for the best.

We’re celebrating a very special day today. Nine years ago today, the day started just like any other work day, but that day I instead of driving home alone, I came home with Betsey. I had no idea how much my life would change with her, I’ve learned a lot of things with her. I’m so thankful to have that special little girl in my life. We did a little celebration tonight, unfortunately one of her gifts hasn’t arrived yet so for now she got a new lightweight blanket and some snacks that her vet has allowed her to have. I tried to take some pictures of her but she had her insulin about an hour before and just really wanted to eat some more, so we tried it again after she ate and she was finally ready to see her gifts. Tomorrow she will be going for her next follow up, so I’m praying that all will be well.

We had a bad week last week with Betsey’s diabetes. I didn’t know I was handling her insulin wrong, causing it to expire sooner than it should have. Her blood glucose kept going a little bit higher every day, so I called the emergency vet clinic and they confirmed her insulin must be expired and to open a new pen. Meanwhile she wasn’t feeling very good, not really wanting to eat, and no energy. As soon as I started her on her new insulin, her glucose went down but she was still sick for another 3 days, but luckily he didn’t have to go to the vet and is now totally better. She is now eating all the time and more active. I hate so bad that I caused her to be sick, unfortunately I’m still learning how to deal with this but luckily anytime I have a question or concern, I can call or email the emergency vet clinic and get some help or advice.

It was a month ago that I was finally able to go to the pet hospital in Salt Lake City to pick up Betsey at the time a supposedly dangerous snowstorm was getting to the area. I had about 10 minutes to learn how to give Betsey her insulin, test her blood glucose, and learn how to take care of her. I was so happy to bring her home but also terrified and overwhelmed. I’m getting better at the new routine between weighing her food, insulin twice daily, checking blood glucose, testing her urine for ketones, making sure she has food low in carbohydrates that she’ll eat once she has her insulin. It’s not easy but she’s so worth it.

Betsey had her follow up 2 days ago and her vet said she’s doing really good. She’s put on 1/2 lbs since coming home 3 weeks ago, she’s eating well, getting back to her normal self while adjusting to a new way of life. She doesn’t have to have her blood glucose tested every day anymore, just once in a while, so that’s a relief since it’s not easy to do and very stressful for her. Here are 2 pictures of her shortly after we got home from her appointment, she doesn’t seem to be too affected by her visit to the vet. I pray she’s going to keep doing well.

Time for some Betsey updates: she seems to be doing well, but then again cats can be very good at hiding health issues. She’s been eating well and getting her energy back. It is a struggle to test her blood glucose though, that girl won’t bleed. I had to increase her insulin because her glucose was too high, she’s always in a good mood when we’re done with all that, I guess she’s relieved it’s over with, then she gets to go eat. She is going for a follow up on Wednesday, I hope and pray all will go well. It’s stressful but we’re getting through it one day at a time. Here are some of her Christmas pictures that I never got to post.

Sorry I haven’t posted in a while but we’ve had a busy month. The Monday before Thanksgiving, Betsey wasn’t feeling too well but because she was eating fine, I didn’t worry too much. The day before Thanksgiving, Bobby had a follow up with his cardiologist in Salt Lake City. We came home late and by then Betsey was very grumpy, she was growling at everyone. She next day(Thanksgiving day) she wasn’t grumpy anymore but I noticed that one side of her face was swollen and her mouth was bleeding, but again she was eating fine. I debated all day whether I should take her to the emergency vet in Salt Lake City where Bobby goes, I talked to a vet and because they were quite busy and because Betsey was breathing fine and eating, some other patients(more critical) would likely go ahead of her so we could be there for some time, which would stress her out. So I decided to wait for the next day to go to the emergency vet close by. They found out she had a bleeding abscess in her mouth where one of her teeth broke. They were very surprised to hear that her eating wasn’t affected considering how painful it must have been. They did a blood test, give her pain pills and antibiotics and we went home. I thought the worst was behind us but when they called with her test results, they said her blood glucose was very high and is likely diabetic. I have changed her diet, been monitoring how much she drinks, her bathroom habits, any change in behavior, her weight. She is going for a test in 2 weeks, I’m praying that she isn’t diabetic. She will also get the broken teeth removed. So it’s been very stressful, at least we got some good news on Bobby who is doing awesome. I’ve included some pictures from their visits to their vets. Bobby likes to ride in the wagon, it keeps him calm ( he goes crazy when I take him out of the wagon) and Betsey likes to go with a bed, stuffed animal, and her blanket, she just rests in her bed under her blanket. The vet couldn’t believe how peaceful she was! Hopefully in a few weeks I’ll have some better news , please pray for Betsey that she isn’t diabetic and for Bobby to keep doing well.