VWL Lovers & Groupies thread: It all started with a Moose

[Inkmahm]

I make the same confession

Me, too!

I'm still unemployed and probably spend WAY too much time here, but it keeps my spirits up. It will be 9 months at the end of July since I had a job. I"m actually getting WAY too used to being retired. I figure the good thing that has come out of this unemployment is all the time I've been able to spend with my husband and the critters at home. We really do well together and I know we won't have any trouble being together so much when I actually can retire!

Our dog is 15+ years old and is actually doing pretty well these days. I know she is here on borrowed time so I enjoy spending time with her while I can. My oldest cat is 11 and we just found out she is diabetic. Gave her her first shot of insulin at home this morning so now I'm able to watch her and see that she is okay. Anyone else have diabetic pets? I'm wondering if there is anything ahead of me with this that I should know about now. So far, so good. She sits really well for getting her shot. MUCH better than she does with pills (which usually get spit back at me 3 or 4 times before I get them down her throat!) The only reall issue I can think of so far (besides the additional expense of having a diabetic cat needing treatment) is that it won't be as easy to leave her for our traveling trips No more letting the cats home for a long weekend with extra food and water. Now someone has to be here twice each day to give the cat her insulin shot.

 

[Muushka]

My condolences on the diabetic cat. My Loretta (who is 10 now, but has had it for 4 years) is a diabetic. Like your kitty, she is terrible with pills, wonderful with insulin. Right now I have another cat with diabetes who I am taking care of for a friend who returned to Taiwan for 2 months. So lucky me, I have 2 very sweet kitties to take care of (pun intended). Brandon (the guest) is TERRIBLE about the insulin shots. I keep telling him to watch to see what Loretta does, but he refuses to act like a girl.

Like you, I used to leave my cats on auto-pilot when we went away. My neighbor could come over, but it wasn't necessary. Now that Loretta needs insulin, she comes every day. My vet (who is not a militant medical care type-in other words, he lets you know when you can break the rules) said that if it is not for extended periods (like a month), cats who are usually getting 2 shots a day will do all right with 1 shot a day. We have pushed this to 2 week periods and she has been fine. But it will depend on what type of insulin your cat receives. My cats are on Vetsulin (which will be pulled off the market one of these days because of expiration problems, but so far so good).

My only caution is to watch for hypoglycemia. Loretta has had about 5 incidents so far and the first one was very scary. Now that I know what to look for and how to treat, it is no big deal. She typically lets out a very loud MEOW. Then she bobs her head up and down and sniffs a lot. My vet is a mobile one, so to get treatment stat is difficult, so I treated her myself. I shot some maple syrup into her mouth, confined her (I actually put her in the bath tub, it is safer for her there), fed her normal food and let her rest. She does fine now. I usually withhold her next shot. Your vet probably would require a visit, which would be great and much easier on you, but probably costly.

Good luck!

PS as I re-read my post I must correct something. About the 1 shot a day for prolonged periods. My vet said it was all right to do it for several days, not a month. I think I pushed it to 2 weeks and not sure if that is a bad thing or not. I know my cat functions fine with high blood sugar (humans not quite as good). When she was initially diagnosed it was 580. I am probably pushing my luck having her go for 2 weeks (this is rare) with 1 shot a day. But my neighbor is so busy I hate making her give her 2 shots a day. In other words, I may be considered a bad cat-mom.

 

[Muushka]

Birthday Alert!! Birthday Alert!! deebits !!!!

Tomorrow is Deebits' birthday!

Happy Birthday deebits AKA Deirdre!!!!​

​

 

[wildernessDad]

DLI, sorry to hear about the passing of your DH's cousin.

franandaj, glad your DP's knee surgery went well.

 

[Granny]

HA! Where is the Tag Fairy when you need him/her???????????

Granny snorts Moose Dust!!!

AND he is an ugly couch defender!!!!

PS Everyone knows I'm joking

I think the Tag Fairy has done plenty already...I like my tag a lot but most of all let's not forget that the Tag Fairy was the one who designed our Groupie logo and got all the other resort owners jealous to get their own.

Ugly couch defender? Never! Haven't seen an ugly couch that I needed to defend. I was glad to see the black & white checked chair go but the couch has always been just lovely.

 

[Muushka]

I think the Tag Fairy has done plenty already...I like my tag a lot but most of all let's not forget that the Tag Fairy was the one who designed our Groupie logo and got all the other resort owners jealous to get their own.

Ugly couch defender? Never! Haven't seen an ugly couch that I needed to defend. I was glad to see the black & white checked chair go but the couch has always been just lovely.

OK, I agree (NOT about the couch, believe me) the TF has been very kind to us. And notice, our tag is the only one (well, the one he/she bestowed on us originally) that says Groupies!

 

[Gowahoowa]

For sure....

VWL is not a place, it's a state of mind.

 

[Disney loving Iowan]

Me, too!


Our dog is 15+ years old and is actually doing pretty well these days. I know she is here on borrowed time so I enjoy spending time with her while I can. My oldest cat is 11 and we just found out she is diabetic. Gave her her first shot of insulin at home this morning so now I'm able to watch her and see that she is okay. Anyone else have diabetic pets? I'm wondering if there is anything ahead of me with this that I should know about now. So far, so good. She sits really well for getting her shot. MUCH better than she does with pills (which usually get spit back at me 3 or 4 times before I get them down her throat!) The only reall issue I can think of so far (besides the additional expense of having a diabetic cat needing treatment) is that it won't be as easy to leave her for our traveling trips No more letting the cats home for a long weekend with extra food and water. Now someone has to be here twice each day to give the cat her insulin shot.

Hope everything will be okay with your furbabies!!!!


Happy birthday Deebits!!!!

 

[horselover]

Just wanted to say ala WD - I'll be at Disney in 27 days!!! I so wish it was at the Lodge, but you can't have everything. On the plus side after this trip I'll be close to my goal of trying all the WDW DVCs. The only one left will be BLT. Still longing for our Lodge though.

 

[franandaj]

DP? Dear partner?

My mom had her right knee replaced several years ago and it made a huge difference for her in pain level. The surgery itself isn't the hard part, it is the rehab that comes after the surgery. Mom needs her left knee replaced, too, but keeps putting it off as now she knows what is coming.

Disney Partner, just like Disney Wife or Disney Husband.

We're planning for November for the left knee, save on paying the deductable if we did it in 2011.

 

[twinklebug]

To everyone: I apologize for the delayed pics. The card I chose to use for my camera hadn't been formatted and required the camera's software & cable to retrieve it.

So we got some sad news today. I had told you guys before about DH's cousin having cancer. Unfortunately he died this morning. He had lung cancer and was down to 75 pounds. Poor guy. Just glad he went pretty quickly and didn't have to suffer for too long.

I'm so sorry. Dedicated to your husband's cousin, and to all loved ones of the VWL groupies who have passed:

​

Our dog is 15+ years old and is actually doing pretty well these days. I know she is here on borrowed time so I enjoy spending time with her while I can. My oldest cat is 11 and we just found out she is diabetic. Gave her her first shot of insulin at home this morning so now I'm able to watch her and see that she is okay. Anyone else have diabetic pets? I'm wondering if there is anything ahead of me with this that I should know about now. So far, so good. She sits really well for getting her shot. MUCH better than she does with pills (which usually get spit back at me 3 or 4 times before I get them down her throat!) The only real issue I can think of so far (besides the additional expense of having a diabetic cat needing treatment) is that it won't be as easy to leave her for our traveling trips No more letting the cats home for a long weekend with extra food and water. Now someone has to be here twice each day to give the cat her insulin shot.

My pet sitter checks on many pets that require medicines and shots. She's pretty reasonable too. I'm sure you have great folk in the area who will do the same if you must get away

BTW - I had a collie as a child who had perfected peeling the cheese off of a pill, eating the cheese and spitting out the pill. Simply amazing as he just swallowed everything else whole.

 

[twinklebug]

I don't want to inundate everyone with a ton of pics, so just a few more for tonight:

I call this "Backside of Mickey", or, "The Path Home" (we were just inside the side door here: very convenient!)​

More of the same:​

And again: (the kids were SO excited to pose, hehe)​

Seems to go with the above, and who doesn't like heading off to the parks :​

​

 

[twinklebug]

Quick question groupies:

As we were waiting for Magical Express to pick us up, I noticed a Lynx bus loop through the bus stops. They've very hard to mistake for anything else with the bright colors and Lynx written on it. Have they picked up a stop at WL?

 

[jimmytammy]

twinklebug

Thanks for sharing the pics!!

 

[stopher1]

Happy Birthday deebits!


AND


Happy 55th Disneyland!!

 

[eliza61]

Happy birthday deebits

Have a magical day.


Add me to the Chondroitin-Glucosamine chapter of the groupies. Had orthoscopic surgery on the knee in '08 so I'm popping that and calcium like mad trying to keep arthritis at bay.

Franadj, good wishes for a succesful surgery

Twinklebug, love, love the pictures

 

[Inkmahm]

My condolences on the diabetic cat. My Loretta (who is 10 now, but has had it for 4 years) is a diabetic. Like your kitty, she is terrible with pills, wonderful with insulin. Right now I have another cat with diabetes who I am taking care of for a friend who returned to Taiwan for 2 months. So lucky me, I have 2 very sweet kitties to take care of (pun intended). Brandon (the guest) is TERRIBLE about the insulin shots. I keep telling him to watch to see what Loretta does, but he refuses to act like a girl.

Like you, I used to leave my cats on auto-pilot when we went away. My neighbor could come over, but it wasn't necessary. Now that Loretta needs insulin, she comes every day. My vet (who is not a militant medical care type-in other words, he lets you know when you can break the rules) said that if it is not for extended periods (like a month), cats who are usually getting 2 shots a day will do all right with 1 shot a day. We have pushed this to 2 week periods and she has been fine. But it will depend on what type of insulin your cat receives. My cats are on Vetsulin (which will be pulled off the market one of these days because of expiration problems, but so far so good).

My only caution is to watch for hypoglycemia. Loretta has had about 5 incidents so far and the first one was very scary. Now that I know what to look for and how to treat, it is no big deal. She typically lets out a very loud MEOW. Then she bobs her head up and down and sniffs a lot. My vet is a mobile one, so to get treatment stat is difficult, so I treated her myself. I shot some maple syrup into her mouth, confined her (I actually put her in the bath tub, it is safer for her there), fed her normal food and let her rest. She does fine now. I usually withhold her next shot. Your vet probably would require a visit, which would be great and much easier on you, but probably costly.

Good luck!

PS as I re-read my post I must correct something. About the 1 shot a day for prolonged periods. My vet said it was all right to do it for several days, not a month. I think I pushed it to 2 weeks and not sure if that is a bad thing or not. I know my cat functions fine with high blood sugar (humans not quite as good). When she was initially diagnosed it was 580. I am probably pushing my luck having her go for 2 weeks (this is rare) with 1 shot a day. But my neighbor is so busy I hate making her give her 2 shots a day. In other words, I may be considered a bad cat-mom.

Thank you!!! Cheyenne was 593. She is doing very well with the insulin shots. Doesn't make a peep so I don't think they hurt her at all. I'm very grateful for that.

My vet is much like yours. He told me high sugar won't kill her but really low sugar will. So I"m being good and watching her closely while we figure out her dosage. She is also on Vetsilun so I'd like to hear more about expiration problems...??? Anyway, I'll have to ask him about the weekends. Maybe I can let the cats at home and only have Cheyenne get one shot each day if she is only home alone for really 2 days. I generally leave Sat morning and I"m home Monday mid day so she'd only miss 2 shots, maybe 3.

I"m familiar with low blood sugar in humans because we have a relative who is a brittle diabetic. We fish with him and it is very scary to be in a boat with him driving when he has an episode. All of us carry sugar tablets to give him when he has an episode of low sugar. The vet told me to get corn syrup to keep at home for cheyenne to put on her tongue if she does have an episode. I also have the number for a 24 hour vet service (about a 15 minute drive from my home) where I am supposed to take her if it happens. I probably would take her the first time at least until I better know how to deal with it. Thank you for letting me know your cat's symptoms! I was expecting to watch for Cheyenne just being unresponsive.

Time to go fight her to get her antibiotic pill in. Last night I got her to take it with one try. Yay!

 

[Inkmahm]

Disney Partner, just like Disney Wife or Disney Husband.

We're planning for November for the left knee, save on paying the deductable if we did it in 2011.

Smart approach! Last year my DH hit the max out of pocket for the year after being in the hospital in April. For the rest of the year I kept reminding him that he should go to the doctor when he was sick because it was free to us in any case, so he had no excuse not to go!

 

[KeepSwimmingDory]

Just wanted to say Happy Saturday groupies. Haven't been able to visit here the last few weeks. Will try to catch back up tomorrow.

Today is the big day! My son will be married at 2:00 and tomorrow he'll be checking into the Boardwalk Villas! I'm so excited!!! And relieved that the rehearsal dinner was a big success and is finished!

Have a great weekend.

Hugs to all!

 

[Disney loving Iowan]

I don't want to inundate everyone with a ton of pics, so just a few more for tonight:

Please inundate us!!!!! Love the pics!!! Thanks TB!!!

Just wanted to say Happy Saturday groupies. Haven't been able to visit here the last few weeks. Will try to catch back up tomorrow.

Today is the big day! My son will be married at 2:00 and tomorrow he'll be checking into the Boardwalk Villas! I'm so excited!!! And relieved that the rehearsal dinner was a big success and is finished!

Have a great weekend.

Hugs to all!

Woo Hoo Dory!!!! Hope you have a wonderful day! Congrats to you, your son and DIL!!!!!