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Mom came in a bit after midnight and Aurora and I were dancing on the meal shelf. I gave mom a kiss for New Year's and Aurora and I shared some sour cheese.
Aurora's tail is looking better the red area is now drying out. She is getting fed up with people touching her though so left for the closet nest after the gentle re-bandaging.
To make up for all the gory tail photos lately. Here is a sleepy Pua
Aurora got a treat of the newly made sour cheese. It's funny to listen to her eat. She has not mastered the art of fine dinning and is constantly snorting out back out of her nose.
Mom was wondering why my blood sugar was high this morning then she remembered finding me in the fridge last night. She had just made some new sour cheese and she had the weigh in a jug in the fridge. Yeah I poked holes in that. It was yummy. Mom says a no-no cuz all the sugar(lactose) is in the weigh. That's no fun.
Mom: Experimented with leaving Aurora's bandage off at night since the wound is on the top of the tail so not a gripping part but it was a mistake. Bandage back on a freshly cleaned and creamed tail. Guess she'll be sporting that fashion statement on her tail for quite some time to come.
Was hoping by leaving it uncovered it could scab up, which it started too, but she somehow did drag that part against something and irritate it as well.
So slow and steady keeping it moist it is then.
Mom: Aurora given a small cup of buttermilk with one of her appetite stimulants crushed and sprinkled on top as she stopped taking food with the whole tail thing aside from wanting treats of yogurt or buttermilk. Past experience says she will eventually stop taking those too if we don't give her a kick.
Mom: Aurora didn't want to eat her treat while I was looking so I tried to keep Pua busy with her own treat. She may have stole a bit anyway as they both are up now with the munchies and sharing a bowl of food topped with liberal amounts of sour cheese. We'll see how much actual soup gets eaten. Guess I should have waited till later to give it. I didn't remember it kicking in that quick.
Aurora has returned to the washer. I'm happy with the closet nest.
Up for supplements. I heard mom's alarm. I know what's what and yummy.
Our ants arrived. They are the yummy kind. Even Aurora had some.
I have been refusing my supplements since last night. Mum just tried mixing some of them in chia seeds with ants mixed in the chia seeds. This was acceptable. It's like having ant eggs this way.
Sleepy day in the closet nest.
Yeah some gremlin clawed holes. It's almost time for the annual spring patching and repainting.
Yeah some gremlin clawed holes. It's almost time for the annual spring patching and repainting.
Yummy supplements
January 7, 2015
Happy 15th Birthday Hyzzie
0:00
Hyzzie enjoyed her birthday walk in the park.
The ants and chia seed mix did not go as well as we first thought as there was some chemical reaction between the two that turned it into a gel pretty quick. I can't eat that. I was being picky about accepting other mixtures.
So mom ran out and got me one carb ketchup. She added a bit of chia seeds to not have it be too pasty with the supplements. I found this acceptable. I think that nasty cinnamon flavor actually adds to the spicy zest of the ketchup.
Good news. Aurora and I played wildly last night. Then later I had snuggles with mom. Also I have my period so may be part of why I was being more picky about things.
Well the one carb ketchup was brief fun but mom says it raised my glucose too much. Mom has a few new supplements on the way to try. Maybe they will work and not taste as horrible as cinnamon. Keep your claws crossed for me.
Supplement solution found. Mom waited to try this as she thought it wouldn't really work but she just took ants and stirred the supplements around in them.
This worked so well Aurora ate a few of them too but I kept shoving her away so she balled back up with her nose sticking out under her armpit. Me I'm all sprawled out like a lazy closet bum.
Only thing was mom had to use more ants than normal to get all the supplements to stick to them and not sit in the bottom so I left some so mom will offer the rest in 4hrs. She can cut out some of the supplements too that don't seem to be working and maybe get them all to stick to less ants that way.
The supper plus side of ants is no high fat or high carb treats need be use(cheese, ketchup, chia).
Oh by the way mom's lips smelled divine last night. I really loved sniffing them and didn't even want to sniff her breath. Her lips were just so nice. She said it was orange spice organic lip balm. I'm not sure though. She may be hogging some delicious orange treats for herself.
Aurora's tail is looking better. Mom let it breath for the day but it has now been re-bandaged to prepare for Aurora's nightly romping. She's getting used to mom touching her tail. She gave a couple token complaints though.
She might end up with a diamond shaped scar by the current looks of it.
She might end up with a diamond shaped scar by the current looks of it.
Ok ok I'll eat this supplement stuff but quit watching me.
So you may notice I'm not holding a cup of ants in my earlier photo. I got bored of dusty ants pretty quick and so wasn't eating them all aside from the one time so not getting my full doses. Mom also made me a special new food recipe that is higher protein and lower fat. Of course I ate none of it and chowed down on Aurora soup which also has the sour cheese stuff. All that and my glucose was very high today.
Mom has now made soup out of some of the new food.
She also tried to make artificial yogurt/sour cheese out of tofu. I took a few licks then realized I had been tricked. Aurora's nose must be better as she would have none of it.
After lots of tries mom gave in and mixed some sour cheese with the tofu and we took that at about a half and half mixture. Mom is hoping to lower the cheese in there over time.
So that's what I took my treat in. Glycemic index/load carbs are pretty low already so we are working on the fat now. So we are hoping to see better numbers.
PS. I liked this cheese/tofu stuff so much I fell asleep holding the cup with my nose in it. I was also excited when mom opened the washer a bit ago thinking I was getting more but mom just wanted to bandage up Aurora's tail again.
Mom has now made soup out of some of the new food.
She also tried to make artificial yogurt/sour cheese out of tofu. I took a few licks then realized I had been tricked. Aurora's nose must be better as she would have none of it.
After lots of tries mom gave in and mixed some sour cheese with the tofu and we took that at about a half and half mixture. Mom is hoping to lower the cheese in there over time.
So that's what I took my treat in. Glycemic index/load carbs are pretty low already so we are working on the fat now. So we are hoping to see better numbers.
PS. I liked this cheese/tofu stuff so much I fell asleep holding the cup with my nose in it. I was also excited when mom opened the washer a bit ago thinking I was getting more but mom just wanted to bandage up Aurora's tail again.
I sneezed a bit and got up to groom. Mom came to try and help scratch me but I grabbed her hands and sat on them. She wasn't doing it right.
Then she noticed the mole on my knee. She said oh there's your old lady bump and I gave her a sad look, quit grooming and turned my head away. So she said no it's a beauty mark. So I gave her a pleased look and returned to grooming.
Then she noticed the mole on my knee. She said oh there's your old lady bump and I gave her a sad look, quit grooming and turned my head away. So she said no it's a beauty mark. So I gave her a pleased look and returned to grooming.
Mom: Darn it someone has been taking the cap off the grape seed oil and raiding it. I just moved it to a different place the first time not positive it an anteater caused the tipped container removed cap but this time it was found still standing with cap removed. Pua doesn't normally spend much time on the floor so it's normally a safe enough place but considering the two nights this happened have coincided with a massive sugar spike in Pua the next day I'm blaming her. Besides Aurora is too picky to be interested. Time to find somewhere to lock that up. I guess one thing this it does good is prove fats do make her sugar climb. Which is why I was trying to convert them to soy yogurt substitute but it was just theory still at the time.
"Nope that's no good" "Not the right mix" "nope try harder" It took mom awhile to find the right mix to make my supplements taste palatable tonight.
This was Aurora's tail this morning. It looked even better now when mom re-bandaged it. More scab around the edges and dry looking.
Went to give Pua her evening supplements. I let the room get too warm so she was very groggy so I snuggled with her awhile first. She moved her nose from sniffing my breath to sniff a spot on my upper arm, through my thin sweater. Yeah I got a tentnus booster today Pua. That's a mighty powerful nose you have there.
Sleepy Pua
Aurora's tailed looked so nice mom tried leaving it unbandaged last night. Nope, nope. nope. Powdered with antibiotic and rebandaged today. Dry to the touch but got irritated again and there was some blood on the blanket.
I have an appointment to talk with the vet about insulin next Tuesday. My numbers have been continuing to go up since the new year no matter what mom tries.
I will have Aurora along to the appointment so we can get a blood sample from us each. Aurora will get her base labs done that mom's been wanting but she will help me out too.
We will use a few drops from each of us with the meters too so we can check the results against the lab glucose. This will help mom to more accurately estimate my numbers at home which will let her know when it's safe for her to give me a shot.
I don't like the idea of more poking and didn't want my cinnamon today but mom said it's the one she knows for sure helps bring my number down some and I needed to eat it so my numbers go down. She said if my glucose doesn't go down my organs will rot. I didn't like the sound of that so I took my supplement.
I have an appointment to talk with the vet about insulin next Tuesday. My numbers have been continuing to go up since the new year no matter what mom tries.
I will have Aurora along to the appointment so we can get a blood sample from us each. Aurora will get her base labs done that mom's been wanting but she will help me out too.
We will use a few drops from each of us with the meters too so we can check the results against the lab glucose. This will help mom to more accurately estimate my numbers at home which will let her know when it's safe for her to give me a shot.
I don't like the idea of more poking and didn't want my cinnamon today but mom said it's the one she knows for sure helps bring my number down some and I needed to eat it so my numbers go down. She said if my glucose doesn't go down my organs will rot. I didn't like the sound of that so I took my supplement.
Aurora managed to mess up her bandage last night and think when she pulled it down some of the adhesive bandaging got on what was the small tail wound and then puled some skin off as it's bigger today. On the pus side it looked healthy so maybe she just pulled some dead skin off. But yeah you would have had that bandage off soon but now you're going to have to ware it a lot longer. The one that was the big one is now just a little spot.
Mom came to poke me and the first strip was a dud so she had to go get another and then poke me again. I was so mad I curled up and ignored her after but she kept petting me so I forgave her and hugged her tight. Then I wouldn't let go till I fell a sleep and she was able to slowly slip away. She really should just sleep in the closet nest with me all day.
On the plus side my glucose was the second lowest it's been all year 218. Now if we can get that under 200 that would be better.(oops this was around 2pm seems I forgot to hit post, oh well I'll just stick the post I was going to make now on to it too)
Mom came to give me my evening supplements. I sniffed and started to curl back up then mom says "I wont poke you if you eat it, promise) so I took the cup and ate my supplement treat.
On the plus side my glucose was the second lowest it's been all year 218. Now if we can get that under 200 that would be better.(oops this was around 2pm seems I forgot to hit post, oh well I'll just stick the post I was going to make now on to it too)
Mom came to give me my evening supplements. I sniffed and started to curl back up then mom says "I wont poke you if you eat it, promise) so I took the cup and ate my supplement treat.
Aurora and I are sleeping in the washer. Mom came to say high so I was kissing her hands. Then someone poked my hand so I got mad and attacked Aurora. There was lots of growling. Mom tried to cover for Aurora by saying she was trying to get a blood sugar reading. That's nice of her but it was obviously Aurora attacking me for no reason.
I decided I didn't want to sleep with such a meany and have moved to the closet nest. Mom gave me some ants and poked my foot I barely noticed due to the yummy ants. Results still saying my Diabetes is no longer controlled with my supplements :( See the vet Tuesday.
Aurora's tail freshly uncovered. The little one is what used to be the big one. The big one used to be the small notch in the side but it's got skin starting to grow over it so doing pretty good. It is rebandaged now.
Oh yeah so mom came to trim my toe nails in the closet nest which lead to lots of play and snuggles.
Mom stuck us in one big crate for the ride to the vet. When Aurora was first put in with me she was growling and hissing complaints so I stood up with my hands in front of me pulled back against the wall, in that classic whoa-hey-chill position.
She calmed down shortly since we were together. She wasn't even as picky about the music which was good as for some reason no country music stations were coming in.
Blood draws went smoothly. We were both too sleepy to fight much. I think it was less scary for both of us being together. We will discus more what to do after we get the labs back.
She calmed down shortly since we were together. She wasn't even as picky about the music which was good as for some reason no country music stations were coming in.
Blood draws went smoothly. We were both too sleepy to fight much. I think it was less scary for both of us being together. We will discus more what to do after we get the labs back.
Grumpy Aurora
At the vet, prior to blood draws
Pua clinging to Aurora, after blood draws
Aurora is tired of this
Two peas in a pod
Have a good sleep ladies. See you at home.
Oh got to give the vet tech credit. Mom clicks at us to calm us down. The vet tech started clicking at us too! It's a soothing noise for us. I used to quietly click at mom when young.
So mom has mentioned how Aurora has always had a kink in her tail. Well, mom was just rebandaging her tail. The side wound needed some antibiotic cream the other seems to have closed up. Anyway mom had her hand on the area above the wounds and boy is that kinked, it's outright broken/dislocated. Don't think she aggravated reinjured that when she caught her tail since she's continued using it the whole time. But then who knows. Aurora is made of supper tuff stuff. Wouldn't put it past her to keep using a broken tail. Still it's more likely mom just never felt how bad it was before since she doesn't get that intimate with Aurora. Either way she's using it fine and good circulation so nothing to do but let her keep living with her kinked tail.
So we did get our blood test results back my glucose was 234. We have
decided to try natural a little longer. My new supplement is supposed
to help grow new cells and lower glucose and even though mom thinks it
is vile I think it tastes delicious so I'm even taking more cinnamon
since I can't taste it under the new supplements powerful overtones.
Cinnamon helps me most to get my sugar down so far so this is good.
But Aurora well her glucose was 28. It has always been 40s before and her potassium level was elevated. Combine this with her other issues, intermittent loss of appetite, hair falling out. It points to Addison's or adrenal insufficiency. This can not however be diagnosed for sure since we do not have the info needed on what tamandua adrenal levels should be. So natural for her to. And to start grapefruit juice is supposed to help raise cortisol levels quite well. So she is going to get some daily grapefruit juice with yogurt mixed in it. At the very least it wont hurt.
But Aurora well her glucose was 28. It has always been 40s before and her potassium level was elevated. Combine this with her other issues, intermittent loss of appetite, hair falling out. It points to Addison's or adrenal insufficiency. This can not however be diagnosed for sure since we do not have the info needed on what tamandua adrenal levels should be. So natural for her to. And to start grapefruit juice is supposed to help raise cortisol levels quite well. So she is going to get some daily grapefruit juice with yogurt mixed in it. At the very least it wont hurt.
Gah! Aurora got her tail bandage off sometime after 4am as it was gone when mom went to change it. It was almost healed now it's almost back to square one. How do you mangle something so much so quickly?
Culprit found: The washing machine. The lid closes behind them as they go in. It's no issue for healthy tails. The bandaging was protecting it till now. I just put some tubing on the lower edge of the lid and tapped a sock to the corner so it wont close all the way and her tail can slide in safely.
After Aurora's tail was bandaged mom brought her afternoon grapefruit-buttermilk cocktail but then when mom came to remove the empty bowl she got offended at all the intrusions and come to join me in the closet.
Dito the last post from yesterday. Well except that for awhile rather than join me we switched places but then I came back to the closet later.
Aurora's tail. I filliped it up side down so the wounds are in the same places as last photo so it's less confusing to compare. She scrapped off almost all the nice new skin on the one nearest the base but the other one isn't as bad as it looks 'cuz she scrapped off the scab that had formed but there still seems to be a decent amount of new skin there. The washer has a sock tapped to one corner so it can't close all the way now so wont be irritating her tail any more and if the bandage does come off again it wont scrape it again.
Oh yeah I'm in the washer with Aurora today. When mom unwrapped Aurora's tail I licked at her wounds gently. Kisses make it better, right?
I got up early and snuggled and played with mom. She snuck Aurora her grapefruit-yogurt while I was out. Aurora has per period. This puts her on edge due to hormones. It puts mm on edge cuz of the blood. Mom prefers my nice light periods. We're running around all over just cuz.
Mom came to give me ants and poked me. The ants were nice but I didn't let her get away without a snuggle. That's the price you pay for poking me. I was 164. Best Blood Glucose of the year. YAY!
I think Aurora's grapefruit yogurt cocktails are helping her too. Her appetite has been picking back up.
Snug in the closet nest
Get up here and give me treats
Mom brought me ants in the closet and poked me again. Then after Aurora was peeking out of the washer wondering where her cocktail was. Now that she finished she came to join me in the closet.
Starting to really heal
Skin's still to fragile to leave unbandaged yet but nearly there.
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