Diabetic Sausage

My old boy cat, Sausage, is diabetic. Has been for years. He's in remission, knock on wood. Cats can do that sometimes, and he's one of the lucky ones that can control his diabetes with the proper diet. There was a point where we had to monitor his glucose level every day and give him insulin shots sometimes more than once a day. But we managed to get it under control.

Now, Sausage is on a steroid medication for his stomach/intestine/liver issue and, unfortunately, it can cause problems with a cat's glucose levels. So I have to prick his ear and feed his blood to the glucose meter every so often in order to make sure that he's still in remission.

There's a trick to getting blood from a diabetic cat. You wet a washcloth, put the washcloth in the microwave for about 20 seconds to get it warm, then hold the warm washcloth on the cat's ear for a few seconds. The warmth brings the blood vessels to the surface and helps the blood flow out of the puncture more easily. Then you poke the cat's little ear with a lancet, near the edge where there are visible blood vessels. A drop of blood forms, you put it on the test strip, and the glucose meter gives you the result.

Sausage is amazingly cool with the whole process. Ear poke and all. He was even good when we had to give him insulin shots. Either it really doesn't hurt him or he somehow knows that it's for his own good... or maybe he likes all of the kisses and cuddles I give him afterward as a reward for his bravery. Anyhow, he doesn't even flinch.

I checked Sausage's glucose level this morning and it was well within normal. Yay, kitty! Keep up the good work. Insulin (without insurance to cover it) is expensive.