? Kitten AMPS=356 +3=401; +7=544 +10=353 Still on dry food - switching to wet food question

[KittenTheCat]

I am trying to switch Kitten off of her dry food (Royal Canin) to wet food (PC Brand - I attached info on it in my spreadsheet) but I have read that her insulin needs to be adjusted accordingly or she can be hypoglycemic. She is receiving 1.00 unit of Lantus twice daily, should I reduce this and switch her quicker?

She currently has high BG (see spreadsheet). I am hesitant to switch completely over to wet food because I am confused on how often I should be feeding her wet food (besides insulin time) - I can't seem to find anything concrete on the forums in regards to snacks (are these above her recommended calorie intake or within it?)

Right now, I am working from home due to COVID and this will be continuing until at least May 12 ish so my hope is I get Kitten to a stable blood sugar and routine set up as I will be unable to continue checking in on her this regularly.

To me, her spreadsheet shows in late February/early March her numbers were better - I could tell too because she was playful and more like herself (as an FYI - the vet was happy with her Feb 17 BG curve). I started ramping up my research around mid March (also had more time on my hands, thanks COVID) when I noticed her BG numbers were creeping up and she seemed less playful and more sleepy.

Can someone please offer advice on if I should be lowering her insulin to less than 1.00 unit when I completely transition her to wet food? Or should I continue at 1.00 unit and start providing snacks - how do I know when to provide snacks of wet food and how much? Are snacks necessary? Or can I just feed Kitten twice daily at insulin time (5 a/p) as per vet instructions?

Some FYIs, I have ordered an automatic feeder (waiting on its arrival) so I will have it available (I also hope my other cat doesn't steal from it). I've also just received my Bravo meter so I am currently testing out comparisons to the AlphaTrak2 which can be seen on the spreadsheet.

Any general advice or direction would be great at this point. She seems to be sleeping her days away and I am concerned about her health if her numbers don't start coming down.

 

[Chris & China (GA)]

Can someone please offer advice on if I should be lowering her insulin to less than 1.00 unit when I completely transition her to wet food?

As high as she's running, I'd just transition as quickly as possible (without causing tummy troubles). She's running way too high right now.

When China was diagnosed, I actually threw the kibble I had been feeding all my cats in the trash and put down canned food so there wasn't a "slow transition" at all....didn't cause any trouble, but every cat is different. If you want to, there's no reason you can't try to just stop the kibble completely now....if kitty ends up with bad diarrhea, you may have to go back and do it slower though.

Or can I just feed Kitten twice daily at insulin time (5 a/p) as per vet instructions?

You can, but we've found it's actually better to feed multiple small meals instead of 2 big ones. With the older, harsher insulins, it was important that the cat have a good sized meal before giving the insulin, but with Lantus being a much gentler insulin, it's really not important that Kitten eat a specific amount before shooting. As long as she's willing to eat, that's what's important. Each shot doesn't usually start to "kick in" for 2-3 hours, so she has that time to finish her meal.

how do I know when to provide snacks of wet food and how much? Are snacks necessary?

Again, multiple small meals instead of 2 big ones are easier on the pancreas so it's fine to take a day's worth of food and break it into more frequent, smaller meals. Kitten will be a lot happier too!

Some cats do better if they get the majority of their food in the first half of the cycle, but some cats do just fine snacking all the way up to +10. Testing will answer the question of which type of cat Kitten will be!

Just an FYI...it's a lot better for everybody for you to choose just 1 meter and use it consistently. Save the other one for a backup in case something happens to your main meter. I know the Bravo is a lot cheaper to use, so that would be my first pick. Trying to use 2 different meters and make any sense out of them will just give you a heck of a headache. Most of us use human meters so we're very comfortable using those numbers.

 

[KittenTheCat]

As high as she's running, I'd just transition as quickly as possible (without causing tummy troubles). She's running way too high right now.

When China was diagnosed, I actually threw the kibble I had been feeding all my cats in the trash and put down canned food so there wasn't a "slow transition" at all....didn't cause any trouble, but every cat is different. If you want to, there's no reason you can't try to just stop the kibble completely now....if kitty ends up with bad diarrhea, you may have to go back and do it slower though.



You can, but we've found it's actually better to feed multiple small meals instead of 2 big ones. With the older, harsher insulins, it was important that the cat have a good sized meal before giving the insulin, but with Lantus being a much gentler insulin, it's really not important that Kitten eat a specific amount before shooting. As long as she's willing to eat, that's what's important. Each shot doesn't usually start to "kick in" for 2-3 hours, so she has that time to finish her meal.



Again, multiple small meals instead of 2 big ones are easier on the pancreas so it's fine to take a day's worth of food and break it into more frequent, smaller meals. Kitten will be a lot happier too!

Some cats do better if they get the majority of their food in the first half of the cycle, but some cats do just fine snacking all the way up to +10. Testing will answer the question of which type of cat Kitten will be!

Just an FYI...it's a lot better for everybody for you to choose just 1 meter and use it consistently. Save the other one for a backup in case something happens to your main meter. I know the Bravo is a lot cheaper to use, so that would be my first pick. Trying to use 2 different meters and make any sense out of them will just give you a heck of a headache. Most of us use human meters so we're very comfortable using those numbers.

Thank you so much. This is very helpful and the direction I was looking for! Kitten, I will transition her to wet food completely tomorrow and will use the Bravo meter only.

I’ll look to feed her more frequently too. I was thinking every 4 hours? So 5 am meal/insulin - 9am snack - 1pm snack - 5pm meal/insulin - 9pm snack and then start over the next day? I’ll continue to test her over to see what her numbers show. I do hope the transition to wet food and snacks will bring her numbers down.

Thanks again for the helpful advice!

 

[Chris & China (GA)]

Looks like a good plan to me. You might want to look into an auto-feeder like the PetSafe 5 too....then you could program it to open overnight so she could have midnight (and later) snacks and then you can program it to move to an empty spot 2 hours before Pre-Shot times so you'd know she didn't have access to food for at least 2 hours before the morning AMPS

 

[KittenTheCat]

Looks like a good plan to me. You might want to look into an auto-feeder like the PetSafe 5 too....then you could program it to open overnight so she could have midnight (and later) snacks and then you can program it to move to an empty spot 2 hours before Pre-Shot times so you'd know she didn't have access to food for at least 2 hours before the morning AMPS

Perfect! That’s the auto feeder I had ordered. It should arrive Sunday. I’ll post updates once things are moving along. Thanks again!