Tesco have them on offer at the moment - would those be the ones in jelly?Fingers and paws crossed for a successful session with the glucometer, Looby. Great to be getting updates on how Smiffy and yourself are getting on. You're doing great!
Sheba Fine Flakes Poultry Selection pouches are low carb (less than 2% kcal from carbs, though not great for phosphorus). Morrison's and Sainsbury's carry the Sheba range so I think Tesco's probably do as well. Very simple ingredients (meat, minerals & vitamins, plus a little bit of fibre).
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Yes, indeed! Good spot, Looby.
My bad for not putting the full name. 
They're Sheba Fine Flakes in Jelly - Poultry Selection.
@Critter Mom would one sachet be enough for her to eat before I give her her shot - preferably like to shoot her half way through?
OK I will wait until I am home checking before I try to change her food ...... I was just going to get one sachet to see if she likes it at all .... it is not possible for me to inject her half an hour after feeding as I wouldn't be able to get hold of her and that would stress her out more and she is stressed enough with me doing it whilst she is eating ... I was instructed to inject her whilst she is eating .... about half to three quarters way through her eating ....... she runs upstairs as soon as she has finished eating or outside - always has done ...
Looby, it seemed like the insulin shots were starting to go well. Can you think of anything that's changed over the past couple of days?
Not really .. she is just a clever cat - always has been and she is down that there is something else associated with her eating .. she is fed up with not eating as much as she used to ..... To begin with she just stares at the bowl from a distance and I have to act indifferent and then move it closer to her and pet her neck so that she starts to eat (prepare the needle) let her eat, pet her head, move the bowl, let her eat, ingore her, and when it is in a good position for me to put the needle in I go to her in the same was and saying the same thing to her and pet her in the same way and just gently lift her furr up and put the needle in .... she got away from me this morning just as I had the needle in and hissed and lashed out at me at bit and my and was a bit wet so I am assuming that the needle didn't go in properly ...... if I got her in the muscle by mistake - would it have hurt her?
I was just going to get some to see if she liked them first - if I can get Malcolm to just buy just one sachet .....
Yes, it may well have nipped her a bit, and maybe that's why she's a little wary now (in case it happens again).
As long as Smiffy has her high carb on board then I don't think there'd be any harm in giving her a small snack of the Sheba food mid-cycle to see if she likes the flavour.
I do that with Thrive dried chicken and she understands the word 'treat' .. hopefully it will go better tonight ... the Thrive treats are 100% protein ...
I agree.
Spooky how selective a cat's comprehension can be ...
I will try that ... Smiffy is 5.7 kilos so she has plenty to get hold of .... by the way I have just got out the AccuChek Aviva glucometer and my brain has drawn a blank with the instruction and it seems a bit cumbersome ... nosiey click so I am going to ask my Vet to show me how to use it .... I have also just looked at the scrappy notes that I took on our last visit to the Vet and he said that what we want is a "Stable Diabetic" but I want her to go into remission if possible ..... he also said that fat hinders insulin production which is why we have to stick to her slimming diet and he said that cats don't have spikes like humans when they eat .... he said that if she is not better when I take her in Friday 6th then we will do a curve so he will have to teach me how to use the meter ..... I am going to get Malcolm to get some Sheba fine flakes chicken selection pouches to try a bit on her to see if she likes them for future use as she the carb level is low and she has got used to the taste of Thrive chicken treats now .... one of the problems with changing to wet food (which I wouldn't do unless under supervision from the Vet I think or unitil I am competent with the home testing) is that she has grown up understanding the word biscuits - I will have to call out treats for her food if and when we change to wet so that she understands that I am calling her for something that she is going to enjoy ... I think she might be too long in the tooth to learn a new vocabulary but I might be wrong .......Yes, it may well have nipped her a bit, and maybe that's why she's a little wary now (in case it happens again).
But she will get over this once you've clocked up a few 'normal' insulin shots. Cats are very forgiving.
I actually have a different shot technique to many people, and I wonder if it might work for you.
I pull up some loose skin between my fingers and thumb (rather as is shown in the photo below (but not so much skin as this!))
And then (unlike the photo below) I inject almost directly downwards into the skin that I'm holding, midway between my fingers and thumb.
I never set out to give shots like this, it just sort of evolved over the years. But I have found that by using this method it's nigh impossible to accidentally jab the muscle, because the skin you're holding between fingers and thumb is 'deeper' than the depth of the needle. ...Just wondering if something like this might work for you..?
I have already said that I have put the Sheba on the shopping list so that I can give her some to see if she likes it and call it a 'treat' ... she only understands "biscuits" when I call her for food and she will come running so there is a vocabulary thing to get over too ..
I think I will stick with the Thrive now that she associates them with the word "treat" now and has grown to enjoy them xxxxSpooky how selective a cat's comprehension can be ...
I've tried both the Thrive and the Cosma Snackies freeze-dried chicken treats with Saoirse and my civvie, Lúnasa. To us it might not seem that there's much between the two but both of my girls show a marked preference for the Snackies. If you do order anything from Zooplus it might be worth your giving the Cosma Snackies a whirl. The XXL Snackies are a fair bit cheaper than the regular ones. The chunks are bigger but it's easy to break them into smaller pieces. They're also crumblier than the regular Snackies so it's really easy to add a sprinkle over wet food to make it more enticing.
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See one of my posts ... I couldn't get to grips with the instructions so I am going to take it to the Vets on Friday 6th to get him to show me how to use it ... it is the AccuChek Avviva and seems a bit loud and harsh just messing with it but I have not set it up as my Therapist had to go ...husband will not have the patience ... best I get the Vet to show me how to use it or I will watch the video that I found on Youtube .. might watch that with Kim next week .... Need to master the injections once and for all first!!!
The first aim, really, is to try to get the cat into a better blood glucose range on a regular basis ('regulated'), so that they can begin to feel better, and to stop any further damage from the high blood glucose levels.
The sound of the meter may not be a bad thing. Cats quickly learn to respond to sounds (the owner's key in the door, the sound of the tin opener...). So, you could get Smiffy to associate the sound of the meter with Thrive treats, ahead of actually testing her...?
Fingers and paws crossed for a successful session with the glucometer, Looby. Great to be getting updates on how Smiffy and yourself are getting on. You're doing great!
Sheba Fine Flakes Poultry Selection pouches are low carb (less than 2% kcal from carbs, though not great for phosphorus). Morrison's and Sainsbury's carry the Sheba range so I think Tesco's probably do as well. Very simple ingredients (meat, minerals & vitamins, plus a little bit of fibre).
Mogs
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Does Rosie have kidney disease, Carol? And if so, what stage is the disease?
I was worried about that with the Snackies but I was reassured when I saw mention on Tanya's support group that they're OK to give in moderation. Just as well because Snackie sprinkles is one of the most valuable things in my toolkit for encouraging Saoirse to eat when she's having difficulties in that department.
I'd have to dig it out, Eliz, and I'm not so hectic today. (Sorry.) Essentially it works similarly to the Alphatrak:
Smiffy will not hold still when I scruff her ... I try to be a bit more gentle than that ... the first time I did it to her just over two weeks ago she hardly noticed that I was touching her .... now I am beginning to wonder if she really does feel worse on the Caninsulin as he is fine ish today after not having it for nearly two days (got a bit inside her) but I know that is not going to last long - she needs the insulin ... going to see how I get on tonight .... gave her a treat this afternoon and stroked her neck as she ate with no fear on my part and she didn't growl of hiss at me ... am going to watch the video again ....
You can be very gentle. You're only pulling up a little bit of skin, just enough to give the shot into.
OK I will try fussing her more gently ..... will try that ... how many shots can she miss without her getting sick again ...she is with me now lyiing next to meYou can be very gentle. You're only pulling up a little bit of skin, just enough to give the shot into.
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