3/9 Jenks AMPS 91 +2.5 94 +4 118 PMPS 309 +7 159 +10.5 118

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AZJenks

AZJenks

Member Since 2014
3/8

Super active night for Jenks. Late cycle gravy looks like it was the right decision because that 73 could've easily turned into a 53 in the final 90 minutes or so. Now OH is on duty, with a spot check scheduled in a few hours to make sure Jenks doesn't take an unexpected dive in the first quarter like he sometimes does.
 
Solid first quarter of the day for Jenks. I'm sure the story won't be so pretty once we check him for PMPS in about an hour or so.

We just got home from doing the vetty song & dance so we could get the insulin script renewed. Doc was impressed, as usual, with our level of monitoring and appreciated the year-in-review graphs that provide an at-a-glance summary of all of the data.

Jenks checked out just fine. No abnormalities detected in any of the physical exams.

Of concern, however, is Jenks' weight. 29 pounds, to be exact. Up at least a 1.5 lb from September, and a full 4 pounds from last year's annual exam. Doc wondered if the weight might be contributing to the difficulty in getting Jenks regulated. So the recommendation is to lose weight through low carb food (already doing that) and increased activity. I'm not sure what we're supposed to do for activity. Jenks is the least active cat I've ever seen. He's never liked to play, even when he was a kitten. If I drag a string or shine a laser pointer near him, he intently focuses on it and will take a swipe at it, but that's the most that he'll do. He's not going to get up and run or chase after anything. So if anyone has any suggestions on how we can shake the moss off of this stone and get it rolling, I'd love to hear it!

Honestly, I'm not even sure how we're putting on any weight. Jenks isn't a big eater. If he eats a combined total of one 5.5oz can of food during the entire day, I'd be very surprised.

Then we had a long discussion about strategies to address Jenk's numbers. Aside from trying new insulins, the doc didn't have much in the way of ideas. He was satisfied that we were keeping the numbers mostly under the renal threshold.

Then we had a chat about potential high dose conditions. He's never ordered any tests in his career for acromegaly or IAA, but he said his office was equipped to send blood anywhere that was needed. So I need to provide him with more info on the tests so we can talk procedure and price.

Otherwise, got a renewed insulin script and a script for syringes to keep in reserve just in case I encounter any resistance from my local pharmacies.
 
Here's Jenks chillin' on one of his favorite things in the world - the vet office's portable scale. Shortly after this pic, he put his head down and went to sleep on it haha Should get one for home.

Sorry for the potato quality:
 
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Well, obviously Jenks is not the least embarrassed about being a bit "fluffy", since he looks quite at home on that scale. Love that he fell asleep on it! :joyful:

What are you feeding? You might scan Dr. Lisa's new list and see what low carb foods are lower cal than the ones you're feeding.

Another suggestion is to take him to the far end of the house from where he wants to be repeatedly and make him walk back, possibly at meal time, so he has motivation.
 
It sounds like the vetty visit went well overall. I don't know how you get a cat to move that doesn't want to. Furball doesn't move much either when she's playing.
 
Jenks looks like he owns that scale!

If you are inclined to save money, I might not test for IAA as the antibodies are supposed to be self limiting after around a year and Jenks has been on Lantus for longer than that. The IGF-1 test for acromegaly might be more interesting. If he does have that, then there is excess growth hormone that can contribute to weight gain even if he's eating a regular amount of food. Neko was the first cat my vet ever had tested for high dose conditions. Actually, we see that a lot here.

Have you ever tried putting a harness on Jenks and taking him for a walk?
 
Ugh, that PMPS. Could be a bounce from the late-night 73. Could be vet stress. Could be a little from column A and a little from column B.

@Tricia Cinco(GA) & Harvey - We're using a mix of Friskies and 9 Lives pates. They're the most affordable options that we have available to keep him as close to 5% and under as we can get, while still appealing to the other cats in the house. I'll take a closer look at the new list to see if there are any lower calorie potential substitutes.

I'll definitely try that suggestion to get him to start walking places. My biggest fear is that, since he's the King of Comfort, he'll just lie down wherever I put him and be like, "It's cool, I'm fine right here". :cat:

@Wendy&Neko - Excellent info, thank you. Admittedly, I have a limited understanding of IAA, but he never did strike me as having any of the symptoms. I'd rather save the money on a superfluous test and put it toward the much more revealing acro test or even a comprehensive senior panel. I share your thoughts about the possibility of IGF-1 as a culprit in weight gain.

We have not tried putting him in a harness and trying to make him walk. Step 1 would be trying to find something that fit. Small dog section, maybe?
 
Wow, Jenks shaved his reading in half by the overnight feeding. So happy to be back in the blue.
 
Still descending. Down about 40 points between the overnight feeding and this spot check, with only 90 minutes left until AMPS. This is a number that doesn't need any intervention, so I'm going to let him ride it out. I just hope he doesn't drop much more.
 
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