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Hi , I'm James DVM MRCVS and would like to help you with your problem
could you please make you question clearer as I don't understand the problem . is there a wound on the leg ? what are you tried to prevent by placing the collar on?
Hi James,
My cat had her leg shaved for a glucose curve last Thursday
she keeps licking it and now it is red raw and looks very sore
we have placed the collar on her now but she does not like it and is very disorientated
it is quite swollen and she is limping slightly
we have a vet appointment tomorrow for a check up of her glucose levels
Hi again. not it is all clear .
Firstly Sudocrem is a very good way to start
yes we have put some on but she licked it off
It might be that she has developed a rash in the area which causes her to irritate it or even a mild skin infection . this is rare but could happen after we shave a limb.
do you have and cortisol cream at home?
I don't think I do, what does this do?
it can calm the skin reaction .
Ok - this is what I want you to do :
a. place the collar back on - i rather she be somewhat sad then for her to lick he leg till the point of infection
the collar is on. she's slightly limping
b. place the sudocrem on - as it will provide relief from the irritation (as long as she keeps on licking it will bother her more - lick a vicious cycle)
ok, what else?
As tomorrow you are to see your vet - he will examine the leg and decided if an antibiotic/steriod cream is in need .
what about when she has to eat? she is hungry all the time at the moment because of the diabetes
Does she get insulin or not yet
yes two units once a day
can she sleep ok in that cone?
she can sleep well - I promise you
Can she not eat at all in the cone ?
she can just about drink
but food I don't think she can reach
and if you take the cone off ?
I've not taken it off yet but she'll be able to eat with it off
the only issue is she will lick as soon as the cone comes off especially after eating
why does the leg need to be shaved for a glucose curve ca
can the vet not take pricks from the ear? I think I will ask this at tomorrow's appointment, as I am on vacation at present but when I go to work she will be on her own from 6:30am-6:30pm. I've just given her some extremely small pieces of salmon will that cuase any harm?
is the salmon bad? I've put more sudocrem on her leg and it does hurt her
Hi again. sorry the system went down and shout me off
I shall answer you questions .
You are right you don't need necessarily to shave the leg to take a blood sample - the ear pricking is a method widely used as well or even obtaining from a jugular vein if needed - especially if it causes Ozzy grief like that to have her leg shaved off
I thank you should tell your vet the problem you face at home with Ozzy and let him try different method.
In regards XXXXX XXXXX - The golden rule say better over feeding then under feeding a diabetic animal , even more when regarding cats so worry not .
I don't know the protocol you vet has given you in regards XXXXX XXXXX ratio but that is not the issue now and sould be resolved with you vets( some vets persist on constant grazing others on organized feeding times - has as well to do with the cat's character) .
I suggest the following
1. keep the Collar on - otherwise the damage would be worse the the issue of only dealing with the bothering collar
2. feed her according to what your vet instructed you
3. continue applying sudocrem as it will only do good
4. pay a visit to your vet as soon as possible to resolve these issues
I hope this helps
if you have further question please let me know and I shall do my best to be back ASAP
All the best to you two
Dr.J
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The vet looked at her leg when he was checking her glucose. He gave an antibiotics injection and siad to wash with salt water. She was very sensitive about her leg.
The next day she was in for her glucose curve, she went from 30 in the morning down to 8.5, so she's on the same dosage of 2 units but it's now twice a day. They gave some manuuka honey cream for it.
We put the cream on but it became matted with her fur so we stopped using it and just washed it the other day with salt water. It scabbed and now the scab is off we're hoping to be ablw to take the collar off on Saturday.
The vet told us to bring her in for a fructosamine in three weeks but as it's still early days I booked an appointment in Saturday just to test her glucose levels and just give another look at her leg.
Hi,
The leg is healed just a small scab now which has dried out so the collar is off now and she seems happier now, as she couldn't wash her self and food and water was getting caught in it.
The only concern I have now is her diabetes. She is on 2 units twice a day but she is still drinking a lot and her litter tray is full every morning. We started her on specific (dechra) vetinarian diets as recommended by the vet it is weight reduction even though she has to gain a bit of weight so the vet said to feed the amount for a 4 kilo cat as she is 3 kilos at the moment. We're combining this with her current diet of biscuits, she likes the wet pate food of this specialist food but will not touch the biscuits so she is still on her purina one biscuits. How long does it take for the insulin to take effect and for the excess drinking and urinating to tone down a bit. Her last curve did show the units were working as she dropped from 30 to 8.5 during the day.
She is seeing the vet tomorrow not because the vet has asked but because I just wanted an all clear on her leg and for them to test her glucose. They had said they did not need to see her for another 3 weeks after last weeks curve but as it's still early days I want to make sure the hyperglycema is not constant so as not to cause any long standing damage to her.