6-11 Pepper PMPS/123, +2/67, +4/102, +5/134, +9/239

Still doing good this morning.

I noticed that Sophisticat has a lot of 0 and 1 carb foods but they seem to be awful high in fat to me. Are they any good to feed? All the time or just once in a while?

Also, could someone click on my yesterday link and make sure it works right? If not, could someone tell me what I'm suppose to use there as I was told it didn't work yesterday like this. It works when I click on it like this.



Yesterday

Re: 6-11 Pepper AMPS/197, FOOD QUESTION

Hi, your link is working okay! Yes, I've used Sophisticat in the past, as there are some that are very low in carbs. Maggie didn't gain any weight from it! She used to love the Chopped Grill, but they changed some ingredients not that long ago, and she stopped eating it. I was feeding FF Seafood Feast, and now she loves a brand called Special Kitty Chunky Chicken & Tuna. It's a challenge with Maggie finding something she likes. Have a nice day.

Re: 6-11 Pepper AMPS/197, FOOD QUESTION

Thanks Ann.

I don't have a problem with Pepper eating anything. If I put it down, he eats it, including anything I drop during cooking my own meals(except onions) I just want to find the better food for him.

Re: 6-11 Pepper AMPS/197, +2/165 FOOD QUESTION

Hi Pepper's Mom, a lot of them use the Wellness brand - chicken and turkey. It's a very good quality food (which Maggie won't eat). You're so lucky Pepper will eat anything. Maggie does love potato chips (could not believe it when one fell on the floor).

Re: 6-11 Pepper AMPS/197, +2/165 FOOD QUESTION

Pepper eats olives, also found out when 1 dropped to the floor.

The ones you just mentioned have 4% carbs, the ones I was looking at had only 0-1 in them. I guess I am just not understanding how the carbs work and why I need to avoid them (or I'm just being thick headed about it). Are they forms of sugar? That I know I shouldn't be giving him. Is there any reason he should have any at all?

And what about the fat content of the food? What should I be looking for there?

Re: 6-11 Pepper AMPS/197, +2/165, +3/151 FOOD QUESTION

Pepper has again left about a tablespoon of food on his plate after this feeding. He seems to be getting his belly full even tho he acts like he's starved when I put it down for him...lol

Re: 6-11 Pepper AMPS/197, +2/165, +3/151, +6/156, FOOD QUES

Pepper just threw up everything he ate at +4, and I do mean everything. Yuck! Could I be feeding him too much? His next feed is in 1 hr. and there was a lot of it still not digested.

Re: 6-11 Pepper AMPS/197, +2/165, +3/151, +6/156,

How much are you feeding? Your signature says you're feeding 6, 3oz meals. Do you really mean you're feeding 18 oz of food? (An average male cat is 12 lbs. At that weight, the average calorie need is around 230 per day. Fancy Feast chicken is about 80 cal. per 3 oz. can. So, if you're feeding 6 cans, you're feeding Pepper 480 calories. That's way too much food.) The formula on Dr. Lisa's site for calculating calories per day is: 13.6 x optimal body weight + 70 = calories/day

Carbohydrates are a complex form of sugar. Basically, as any carb is metabolized, the body breaks it down into glucose. That's why we feed low carb.

Some cats are exquisitely carb sensitive. Jill's Alex is one of those cats who you could feed plain chicken breast and her numbers would bump up by 30 points. Other cats are nowhere near that sensitive. At one point, I was feeding Gabby raw -- it's about 1% carb. I ended up feeding Wellness for a week and there was no difference in Gabby's numbers. She's probably in the average range when it comes to carbs so not having to go to the time and trouble to feed raw worked for me!

Re: 6-11 Pepper AMPS/197, +2/165, +3/151, +6/156,

I've been feeding him 3- 5.5oz cans for the last 2 days. Someone had told me they were feeding their cat 3 cans a day and I now think they were talking about 3 oz cans not the 5.5 oz cans I'm feeding. And his numbers were looking so good...

OK...That means 1 1/2 cans of the food I have. So that means half what I've been feeding him...Does that mean he's going to be getting too much insulin now at 1U a shot? He's been in the blue ever since I've been over feeding him.

Re: 6-11 Pepper AMPS/197, +2/165, +3/151, +6/156,

that was me, and yes, punkin is getting 3 cans of 3 oz fancy feast a day and he weighs 14.3 lbs and seems to be steady at it. he has a big frame, so it's not too much for him.

some of his cans are fish and they have fewer calories than the poultry ones, which are mostly what he eats. according to the calorie/weight charts he should be getting 4 cans per day at that weight, but he does finish up anya's plate as well.

could pepper have a hairball?

Re: 6-11 Pepper AMPS/197, +2/165, +3/151, +6/156, +11/89

All I know is he will certainly go hypo on me now if I shoot him and don't feed him 3 oz in an hour.

Don't shoot?

Re: 6-11 Pepper AMPS/197, +2/165, +3/151, +6/156, +11/89

I think you may need to see what the +12 looks like.

I'd also not abruptly cut Pepper's food in half. Taper it back over a few days otherwise, you may have a rather ticked off kitty.

Could you remove the "911" -- this isn't an emergency. You can change your subject line to indicate you have a question.

You can always spread food out over several hours. Most of us feed several small meals. Gabby gets 1.5 cans of food per day. Half of that amount is spread out at pre-shot, +1, +2, and +3 of each cycle. I feed this way because Gabby is prone to having her numbers drop early and quickly. Many others spread food out over the first half of the cycle (i.e., before their cat's nadir).

I do agree that if numbers continue to drop, you'll want to stall giving a shot. If you do need to stall, do NOT feed. Take a look at this post from Libby about handling low pre-shot numbers.

Re: 6-11 Pepper +6/156, +11/89, PMPS/123, +2/67,

Deb, did you feed at that +2? I just saw this, so it's too late for a +2.5, but I would get a test as soon as you see this, and please post it. Whenever you see a big drop like this, particularly early in the cycle, please post and ask for help.

Re: 6-11 Pepper +6/156, +11/89, PMPS/123, +2/67, +4/102

I did ask for help. Read the post above you. I put it up as a 911 because I was worried I'd hypo him with a full shot. I halved the shot and fed him. Then fed half his usual food at +2 and the rest just now at his usual +4 feeding. He will get another feeding at +8 like usual unless his numbers don't go up enough before that.

Oh, by usual food amount I mean the new 2oz size I just started feeding him today.

Re: 6-11 Pepper +6/156, +11/89, PMPS/123, +2/67, +4/102

Deb, that was before PMPS, and Sienne gave you good info....

She didn't say not to ask for help when you got your +12, she said you would want to see what it was.

The 911 icon is used for emergencies, urgent situations that need IMMEDIATE attention....for example, when your cat is very low, exhibiting hypo symptoms, seizing, etc...not when you think he might be too low to shoot in an hour. Whenever you have a non-urgent question, if you put something in your subject line (HELP, ???, something to indicate you need help) and use the ? icon, that will draw attention to your condo. Also, you will want to bump your condo to bring it to the top by adding a new post...it makes it more visible. I didn't notice your PMPS and +2 right away because it was pretty far down the list.

Just so you are aware....whenever you shoot your lowest ever PS, please start out with a +1 and +2. When either test (or both) is significantly lower than the PS number, that may indicate a busy cycle ahead, so you should test sooner, rather than later...at +2.5 or +3, depending on how big of a drop it was...this drop was quite large, so a +2.5 would have been good. I know he came up, but he easily could have continued to go down and been quite low (or hypo) by +4. I'm not being critical, just trying to explain so you can keep Pepper safe.

The post that Sienne linked for you is good info, and I would print it out and keep it handy. However, the first few times you have a low preshot, it's really helpful to have someone walk you through it....so please don't hesitate to post and ask for help, ok?

I know you shot a reduced dose, but as you can see, that does not always mean that Pepper will not go low. Lantus is a depot insulin, so when you shoot a reduced dose, the shed may "make up" for the missing part of the dose, so the cycle could still be quite active. Often you won't see the full effect of a reduced dose until the following cycle(s).

ETA: I'm glad you fed at +2, good job with that...just test again sooner next time, ok?