Pumpkin

It’s been a long hard night. One of many these days, with more to come. Will he live through them? I don’t know, being paralyzed is hard enough on a cat, but being diabetic and having bouts of pancreatitis? When is it all too much for either Pumpkin…or myself?

Pumpkin was a kitten once, raised with love and kindness- of that I am certain. When he was 4 or 5 though, something went wrong and he was left to fend for himself. He can not tell me if he simply went outside for the first time and got lost, or if his family had to move away and left him behind, or some other of the many tragedies that befall cats and dogs.

Without people, Pumpkin wandered and found the front porch of a kind man who fed him, took him in and let Pumpkin live with his other cats. It was a quiet residential street, with new homes and friendly people. Pumpkin lived inside, allowed out only to play in the grass, and to perch on the fence. Pumpkin, being a large docile orange cat, often lay in the sun on his backyard fence, always in view, just watching life.

He had a good life. An owner who loves him, friends to play with, a big house, and a quiet yard.


Dad went away to vacation with his fiancé, leaving his cats in care of a kind neighbor. All was well, Pumpkin doing his daily routine of waking up, stretching, eating, laying in the sun, eating some more and going back to sleep, as most cats enjoy.

The neighbor heard voices. She heard a gunshot. Just one- in a neighbor hood where gunshots are non-existent.

She went into the backyard to check on her kids and see if she could tell where the gunshot came from, and saw Pumpkin laying at the edge of her pool, which was odd as he never hopped the fence. Calling his name she went up to him.

Pumpkin was lying in a pool of blood, gasping in pain and shock. More blood trailed down the fence and across the dirt where he had rolled, coming to rest inches from the edge of the pool. 4 more inches and Pumpkin would have drowned, struggling to swim with a body that was…paralyzed.

Of course the next hours became a blur. The kind neighbor immediately took Pumpkin to veterinary emergency, all the while on her cell phone talking to his dad in Mexico. His dad got an emergency flight back to the states, and Pumpkin went into surgery with a top neurosurgeon to remove the pellets and bone fragments imbedded in his spine.

I have photos of Pumpkin laying on the surgery table. I did not know Pumpkin yet, nor his dad. The grief and horror in his peoples eyes comes from the photos like a down pour.


Pumpkin woke up, unable to walk, unable to urinate on his own, unable to do anything other than to lie and lap baby food from his dad’s fingers. Pumpkin woke up broken. The vet gave him a small chance of recovering the ability to sit up, walk and have a comfortable life. Euthanasia was recommended as a kind alternative for both Pumpkin’s family, and Pumpkin.

But Pumpkin’s dad didn’t want to give up on Pumpkin. Love is a powerful thing. Pumpkin came home to a padded crib, pain meds, diapers, walking slings, urinary catheters and a dad who researched any possible way to help Pumpkin do the impossible, to lead a normal comfortable cat life.

Pumpkin’s dad found the story of Boogar, my cat who was paralyzed at 4 weeks old and has lived his entire adult life thinking he is a perfectly normal cat, and living as if he is. Boogar does not walk, his hind legs are moistly useless. He can not urinate on his own…but he is happy, healthy and strong.

Through Boogar’s story, through the trials of attempting to track down someone like myself- living small and quiet- Pumpkin’s dad found me.

I worked with the top veterinary neuro surgeon in California. I’ve spent 30 years working specialty veterinary and emergency work.

So, time progressed and Pumpkin visited me every night for bladder care and other mobility needs. Dad has big huge strong hands, but he can’t feel everything with them, so he was not able to learn to express Pumpkin’s bladder. But he faithfully sling walked him, bathed him, took care of him, and drove him 20 miles every night to see me, for more than a year.

Pumpkin played with Boogar, sometimes spending the night. Pumpkin learned to stand, to walk. It took 3 years, but Pumpkin walks now, beyond all expectation.

Eventually, Pumpkin began to stay with me for several days at a time- allowing his dad to work long shifts and keep up on medical bills.

The economy took a header….

And Pumpkin’s dad was out of work. We worked out a trade- Pumpkin lives with me and I provide his medical care. Pumpkin’s dad helps me with things I can not do…

But…

This year Pumpkin came up diabetic. And sadly, we are unable to control his diabetes. I test his blood, his urine, monitor him closely at home, and at work…but sometimes he is low and sometimes he is high, and we worry that I’ll fail and fall asleep one night when he needs help…and he’ll die. He’s that kind of unstable.

Pumpkin has chronic pancreatitis, which also affects his insulin requirements. It is also brutally painful when he gets a bout of it, and the liquid diarrhea is horrible. I am grateful I work at a vet hospital. Pumpkin and Boogar come to work with me every day, and have the care of the staff.

I am grateful I am still working. I love Pumpkin’s dad, he’s become my adopted big brother. I care for Pumpkin, and Boogar loves him. But I can not provide what Pumpkin needs.


last month the outgoing vet bills for Pumpkin equaled my incoming paycheck.
Food, insulin, test strips, medications, and it is all I can do to keep him comfortable clean, and safe while he goes through this temporary bad time. Pancreatitis is treatable. Diabetes is treatable- although for 6 months we have not found true ‘control’ for Pumpkin.

Pumpkin needs a continuous blood glucose monitoring system. This is one where his blood sugar is sent to a scanner or computer every 5 to 10 minutes, so that I can track his ups and downs close enough to adjust his insulin like a person can. Blood tests every few hours on Pumpkin are not possible on a daily basis. His body is too small and he can not bear the constant needle stick in his veins & ears.

What he needs is a Guardian RT blood glucose monitoring system and supplies. I can get one… but I can not.
The unit is my monthly paycheck. The supplies are my monthly food bill. Insurance pays for this unit and supplies for human diabetics… but Pumpkin is a cat. A sweet, orange paralyzed cat….. who has learned to walk, to cope, to play again. Who is loved, well cared for…and enjoys his life.

A Guardian RT & supplies means I can control his blood sugar like a humans, with a long acting insulin at a low dose, and short acting insulin to knock down his blood sugar when it needs it.

So what is a Guardian RT? It’s a unit about the size of an egg that would ride on Pumpkin’s back or side, where he can not feel it. It has an implant into the skin. It samples blood sugar from body fluids- not blood- and sends a signal to a nearby computer every 5 to 10 minutes, depending on how you program it. It also sends alert signals- too low or too high.

Links

http://www.minimed.com/products/guardian/benefits.html

http://www.minimed.com/products/guardian/index.html

here’s the model he needs…Model number CSS72KNSM, which we can script out for him…if I can raise the finances for him.

http://www.minimed.com/products/guardian/pediatric.html



This is used by human kids and athletes for tight blood sugar control.
It could grant Pumpkin healing.
Some cats, well controlled revert to non-diabetic states. Well controlled, we might be able to control his pancreatitis…so it’s healed and done.

Is there anyone out there who can help?

Kadeth