I think the time may have arrived for Tessa to leave us.
After my last visit to the vet four weeks ago, Tessa stabilised somewhat with a Diastix reading of just over ‘trace’ on 22 units of insulin. However, in that time she has had three ‘fainting’ spells plus another two today.
When I went out this morning to feed her, she was lying by the side of the house in a sort of half sphinx-like position and was too groggy to get up when I called. I got some honey into her on my finger, then hand-fed her some of her canned food where she lay.
She perked up enough after about five minutes to get up and walk to her bowl, and ate about half of her normal feed. I then gave her 20 units of insulin.
The food was all gone by mid-afternoon, but I can’t tell if it all went into her, or whether some got stolen by the birds who now regularly wait for her feeding time.
At around 5.45 pm this afternoon, (feeding time is usually 6.30) my daughter noticed her staggering and getting confused and trapped behind flower-pots and so on. When I went to her, she was standing as if dumbstruck at the side of the house half way to her kennel, panting heavily.
Again, I gave her some honey. While I was doing this, she sat down and wasn’t able to stand up again for a while. I gave her some toast with a scrape of marg, just to get something into her, where she sat, and then some liver treats. I carried her water bowl to her for her to have a few laps.
She improved to the stage where she could walk slowly back to her bowl, but wasn’t very interested in the food. She has now managed to walk back round to her kennel.
I haven’t yet given her her evening insulin yet, but will do so when she’s eaten a bit more.
It’s getting pitiful to watch her falling over and getting confused, and it is beginning to get unmanageable. She is obviously not going to improve significantly and appears to have begun the inevitable decline. She can hardly see and appears to have lost confidence in getting around.
It’s becoming a bit of a roller-coaster now, and I don’t want to wait until it becomes completely hopeless and put her and us through unnecessary anguish.
I will once again ask the vet’s advice.