You've added information to your signature line. Perfect! That really helps. A few other things to help you out - and please understand that we are all doing our best to give you advice to keep you sane, your cat healthy, and get you headed in the right direction with his numbers.
I absolutely understand the problem with consistency. In the house right now, I have 6 cats we claim as our own. Mala is on potassium and low carb/low phosphate food, Gary is on hyperthyroid medication. We also have Rosie, Castor, Serendipity, and Zadok, who are all young, spry, and utterly fascinated by the food given to the elderly.
Add to that, we have two foster boys who WE HOPE will be eventually homed elsewhere. One of them is on anti-anxiety medication. (Darmok and Jalad)
Then there are the 2 - 3 outdoor kitties, who need regular feeding, heaters warmed up in winter, and tending to the wounds one of them inflicts on himself. Poor Brighton continually has open sores around his neck, which need cleaning, treatment, and care daily.
We work full time, have a son who is in college full time, and lots of other things going on, too.
So here's the advice:
1. Test and shoot at regular 12 hour intervals and don't change the dose for at least 6 cycles UNLESS Mario shows mid-cycle numbers (between +3 and +7) that are under 50. If he does, you need to immediately reduce the dose. If his numbers mid-cycle stay the same as they have been, hold the dose and let the insulin depot fill.
2. No one will be able to advise you until you have at least 6 stable cycles on the same dose with at least 2 tests per cycle. Ideally, that would be pre-shot AM and PM, and one test around nadir. If your kids are at home during the holiday, teach them how to test Mario. My son was getting bg tests for Mala when he was only 9, so it can be done.
3. Consistency is key with lantus. 12 hour cycles are part of how this works. If a 7:30 AM test and feed time works for you, then hold that time for the PM cycle. Most diabetic kitties want mini-meals around mid-cycle, if possible, so you can give small meals to Mario if you can do that separate from the rest of the cats. I know this is hard. We currently have a dog crate in our living room to separate the foster boys at meal time, to make sure one gets medication and the other does not.
4. Please start using the posting protocol when you write on the board. The name of the cat, the date, the AMPS value, then updates as you can get them.
5. Finally, unless the FF with gravy is low in carbs, don't feed that. Gravy = high carb values. Have it on hand if you start to see hypo numbers - under 40 is a grave concern - but feed him something low in carbohydrates. I'm linking Dr. Pierson's food chart to this post. You want to look for carb percentages ideally under 9, but lower is better. I currently give Yemala food with a carb value of 2%; all the gravy food I see on the chart by Fancy Feast are what we would consider medium carb values. Nine Lives, which isn't a high quality food, offers pate with values under the maximum for a diabetic cat, and it's comparatively inexpensive. Mala ate that, until she developed CKD and started needing a food low in phosphates.
https://catinfo.org/docs/CatFoodProteinFatCarbPhosphorusChart.pdf
So the short answer is, with adequate testing, we can start advising within 3 days. We're coming into the holidays, so I'm hoping that you'll be home and can start working regular test and feeding schedules into what I KNOW is a busy and stressful time. I can't tell you how many times I have had to be late to a fun dinner with friends because someone needed to be home to give Mala her insulin dose and feed her. Or how many times my husband has to drop in from work to get a mid-cycle test. But again - put the numbers in the subject line and start a new thread every day, updating it as you go. If you have a question or concern that needs help, use the question mark on the subject line. Link the previous day's thread into the first post of each day.
You've got this. You've found this board, you're managing a household of so many animals, you love your Mario. You can do this.
