Jezebel

We are still getting used to Jezebel not being here. I have to stop myself from wondering if I forgot to give her insulin this morning, or wondering if she is okay. It is strange to go from spending so much time thinking of her and caring for her, to not having to worry about her at all. But I still think of her.

Both Jezebel and Farley were very people-centric cats. They loved to be held and cuddled. They would follow you around from room to room. They were determined to be where you were. Fred and Sophie are very sweet too, but they aren't nearly as focused on being with the people. They are content to ignore us until they've decided it is time to be affectionate. So, in that way, we feel a bit more lonely here without Farley or Jezebel. There is less cat cuddling to do...

I wish I'd taken pictures of some of the daily routines Jezebel and I had. One of the things we started doing in the last year was keeping a bowl of water in the bathtub for her. In the mornings and evenings as I'd refresh the water, she'd come walking into the bathroom and watch me. When I'd sit it down in the tub, she was walk over to the side and stand up on her hind legs with her front feet on the side of the tub. Her tail would make a question mark shape as she looked down into the tub to see the bowl. Then, she'd hop up on the side and stand there. Then she'd slowly hop down into the bathtub. First her front feet, with her back legs still on the ledge, and then both back legs together. And then she'd drink. Most of the time, she'd put her face too far down at first and jerk her head back when the water hit her nose. And then she'd lap up the water.

Of course, she was drinking water because of her diabetes, and she probably wasn't feeling 100%, but it was one of the moments she and I shared often. I'd pet her while she drank. When she was done, she'd hop back out and leave little wet paw prints across the tile floor as she wandered over to the back ledge of the couch or up on the head of the bed. Both places had lamps where she'd lie in the light and nap.

Rest In Peace

jezebel
Originally uploaded by farlykat

Jezebel, a devoted companion and friend.

1995-2010.

Another Hypoglycemic Episode

Yesterday around 3pm, Jennifer noticed that Jezebel was acting more groggy and lethargic than usual. She decided to check her blood sugar, and it was 24, which is way, way too low. We gave her some karo syrup and some treats, and rechecked her blood sugar and it was 37. Then about 15 minutes later, it had dropped back down to 27. So we went to the vet.

They gave her some dextrose and force fed her some A/D food. After that, she ate about 1/3-1/2 a can of A/D on her own. So we brought her back home. At 10pm, we checked her blood sugar again, and it was only 172. That is a good number normally, but it seemed too low for a diabetic cat, and we skipped her normal insulin dose.

This morning, we checked again, and her blood glucose was only 212. Again, that is good, but much lower than we'd thought. She also wasn't interested in eating or drinking, and she still seemed to feel out of it. Since 11:30am today, she has had about 1 to 1.5 oz of her "Rad Cat" raw chicken food. That's all she'll really eat, though, and she still hasn't been willing to drink any water.

Since her blood glucose is still in a decent range, her behavior makes us think that she is probably having indigestion. We gave her some Pepcid this morning, and we hope that helps her out a bit. We're about to call the vet again to see what they think we should do about the refusal to drink water. As time passes today, she seems to feel better and she looks a little more alert now than she did a couple of hours ago.

I just wish she could talk sometimes.