? 5/26 Tennessee AMPS 392- shooting low numbers question PMPS 309 +2 295 +3.75 283

[Andrea&Tennessee (GA)]

Yesterday's all too exciting green adventure.
And here is the HUGE bounce that I knew would come.

So the million dollar question is- because I know it will eventually happen, how much of a dose do I give if he is in the 100's (or lower) and I will not be around to watch him?

I thought that I read somewhere between 1/2 to 3/4 the normal dose was a good "starting point".

After yesterday, I'm a little concerned about shooting at lower numbers if I am not home to watch him. We are relatively new to green numbers and I just want to keep him safe.

I guess once I have more experience shooting low, I will get a better idea of what his patterns are, but in the mean time I want to have a plan in place when he is lower and I have to shoot and leave the house.

Thanks everyone!

 

[Tina & Sammy]

The idea is to maintain the dose as much as possible, but when you are new to lower PS numbers it is stressful to shot a full dose until you know what Tennessee's tendencies are. It looks like you did okay yesterday shooting the low PS, and Tennessee did earn a reduction. That is what you want to do whenever possible.

Now, if you are not going to be around and that was the first time you had a GREEN PS then you would probably be a little apprehensive on shooting that dose. However since you were around you had an opportunity to see where he would go. The next time you get a GREEN PS you will have to make a determination base on whether you will be able to test or not.

Just remember, tt is always better for the kitty to be a little high for a day then too low for a moment.

 

[Wendy&Neko]

Do you have an autofeeder for Tennie? Is there any way you can arrange your schedule so you can get a +2 or a +1.5 before you head out of the door in the morning. If you can get an idea of what the cycle will look like with an early cycle test, then you can load up the autofeeder with higher carb foods.

Neko's first few reductions were from well north of 400 and she bounced after blue and green preshots, so for me, shooting in the 400's was more nerve wracking than shooting low. Cycles are often much flatter (and predictable) with lower preshots. However, if you are nervous until you gather more data, you can always do a reduced dose. With higher dose cats, they have a good sized depot so the reduced shots or skips aren't noticed as much. Another caveat, due to the depot at play, even if you give a lower dose, the depot and shot from the previous cycle will often affect the next cycle and the reduced dose isn't noticed until later. That's why it's preferable, if possible, to shoot the regular dose and counter act with carbs.

 

[Andrea&Tennessee (GA)]

Do you have an autofeeder for Tennie?

We do have an auto feeder, but sometimes if jams. So I am not 100% confident with it.
I see what you are saying about giving the whole dose and counter act with carbs. It makes sense.

My work schedule will be changing next week to an earlier schedule. So, perhaps I can motivate myself to T/F/S before getting ready for work, so then I can get some +1.5 tests in. The only problem will be on the other side. If I shoot early in the Am, I am not always back from work 12 hrs. later when I work my early shift. So I would need to find a balance there.

I guess this whole thing is about balance- for Tennie AND me.

 

[MollynSkooter]

We do have an auto feeder, but sometimes if jams. So I am not 100% confident with it

One thing I have learned with both of Skooter's is that they sometimes LOOK like they are all the way on, but really aren't....so each morning/evening after I clean them out and put them back on, I advance it once or twice a lot of times I do not have it on all the way and it jams.....

 

[Wendy&Neko]

If you can't always get a +1.5 test, then getting a test as soon as you get up (maybe +11?), will at least tell you if he's on his way up by shot time, and how fast.

I do the same as Molly, I always advance the feeder to test it before loading it.

 

[julie & punkin (ga)]

If you have the PetSafe 5 Compartment autofeeder, the problems usually come up because the food tray isn't fully seated in the base unit. That's why Molly & Wendy are suggesting that after you seat the food tray, use the manual button to advance the food tray. If it doesn't advance, then take it off and reseat it in the base unit - then try the advancing button one more time. If it's fully seated it ought to advance ok.

If you have a different brand, that all probably doesn't help at all!

 

[Andrea&Tennessee (GA)]

I do have the petsafe 5. But when I use the manual advance button it does not advance the tray the whole way to the next compartment. This is the second one that I have tried with the same results.
I'm not sure if I should return again and try a third time.
Right now I re- program it each day and it seems to be working when I do that.

Don't know, could be operator error !

 

[ewalker405]

I have a petsafe 5 and had this same issue. Sometimes I would press the manual advance button and the tray would only move about 1/4 of a turn. It happened once every few days. Even though I thought and it looked like the tray was in, it wasn't completely seated all the way when this happened. If I push the tray in the middle and wiggle it some, it seats down further. Since I started making sure it was down completely, I haven't had the manual advance not work correctly.