Peeks 9/2 diet change

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Peter (Boo) (Peeka GA)

Peter (Boo) (Peeka GA)

Member Since 2020
Good morning,

This morning we started Peeka on her new food, I gave her about 75% old food and 25% new Dr. Elseys. There probably won’t be a problem in getting her to switch as she ate just about everything in the bowl, and I even gave her a little snack just now and she is loving it. I even gave Boo a couple of bites to try it out and he seems to be enjoying it as well!

This morning we got a 351 AMPS. I lowered her dosage to 1.75u as a precaution and got a +2 at 227. I’m not exactly sure what, if anything, I’m hoping for regarding BG, or if it’s as it was explained to me yesterday, just looking at trends. I hope with that information, I should have some peace of mind about leaving her today. My sister will be over later to pick up some stuff, so I can have her check in on Peeka, but I think(?) we should be ok.

I think we are going to try and change her diet over the course of the week instead of over a month as she seems to be enjoying this new food, unless anyone has any other suggestions or recommendations.

Anyways, there’s the morning update, Peekas walk has improved slightly the last few days. It’s still not pretty, but I do see small improvements.
 
Morning, Peter. :)

Well done stepping the dose down today at the start of the food transition. The key thing here is to make sure that whatever insulin dose you give is safe. Even if by the time the transition is complete the dose turns out to be a little lower than Peeka's requirements, you can always adjust it upwards if necessary. Safety first is the motto of the day. :)

Peter Ramos said:
This morning we got a 351 AMPS. I lowered her dosage to 1.75u as a precaution and got a +2 at 227. I’m not exactly sure what, if anything, I’m hoping for regarding BG, or if it’s as it was explained to me yesterday, just looking at trends.
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While it is true that we look to the data to give us the 'big picture' on dose effectiveness and overall progress, when doing a transition to a lower carb diet dose safety is the most critical thing to monitor. Therefore this is a time when you need to look specifically at individual BG readings on every cycle because you need to make sure that reductions in dose keep pace with the reduction in the carb load.

You very much need to get PS and also a check as close to nadir as possible on EVERY CYCLE. It's great that you're getting the +2 tests in. If there's a big drop there then you need to proceed with caution for the rest of the cycle, and make sure that you leave food out for Peeka when no-one's there to supervise her.

I recommend that you don't t rush the food change, Peter. Changing to a diet very often triggers GI upsets and that can make a cat not want to eat properly. Then it becomes very difficult to administer insulin.

It probably won't take 4 weeks to do the change provided you can manage to keep up the testing necessary to keep Peeka safe. I'd recommend waiting at least 3 days before altering the proportions of old to new food. The first stage can be easier because the bulk of the diet is still the old food. When proportion gets to 50:50 old:new then risk of GI upset increases. If there is a GI upset then you need to step back a little with the proportions and proceed more slowly. Essentially, you need to follow Peeka's digestive system on this one! :)


Mogs
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Critter Mom said:
I'd recommend waiting at least 3 days before altering the proportions of old to new food
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This is what we were thinking as well, it would take around a week to get her fully integrated with her new food. I was explaining to the wife last night why keeping the same dose was dangerous as her carb intake was going down, we run less of a risk by decreasing her dosage as well. And hopefully by doing this diet change, it will also decrease her normal BG, leading to more improvements with her neuropathy. It's incredible how much I'm learning, and at the same time, able to teach.

Critter Mom said:
You very much need to get PS and also a check as close to nadir as possible on EVERY CYCLE. It's great that you're getting the +2 tests in. If there's a big drop there then you need to proceed with caution for the rest of the cycle, and make sure that you leave food out for Peeka when no-one's there to supervise her
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My only concern here is that I don't know that Peeka can make the jump up to her chair to get to the food bowl. She has been meowing at us to let her up on the table where her food is. Leaving her food on the floor is out of the question as our dog would be able to get to it and he has had pancreatitis multiple times (we have a house full of medically needy babies, I know). Hopefully as her neuropathy gets better, she will be able to get to her food bowl easier. Either that, or she is just playing us :facepalm:
 
Critter Mom said:
Is there a room where you could sequester her on her own and leave food down for the times you're away? Not ideal, I know, but safe.


Mogs
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Probably not, the water bowl is in the kitchen which is for everyone, and she lounges anywhere from the kitchen to the living room for the most part. I can try and see if there are spots she could reach that our dog wouldn't necessarily be able to get into. He is just a nosy guy and will get into anything that smells. I always feel bad for people that come to stay with us because there is a laundry list of things that need to get done before leaving the house if my wife and I are not home.
 
jt and trouble (GA) said:
Think I did it every 2 days but Trouble was one tough kitty. If your cats have ANY digestive issues, the slower you go the better. Trouble was an eating machine. :rolleyes:
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Seems like Peeka and Trouble are similar in that regard. There's very few things Peeka won't go out of her way to eat. She's been known to paw some of the lettuce off of our burritos if left unattended for longer than a few seconds. My wife and I joke that when someone leaves the table, the other needs to stay on Peeka Patrol. Even with her neuropathy, if she hears something being opened, she makes a beeline to investigate.

Just this morning, she was in the hallway near her food bowl, and when she heard me opening the bag of cheerios for my wife, she somehow made her way into the kitchen by the time I had opened the bag and gotten a ziploc. Under normal circumstances, this may be uneventful, however, she was hustling trying to make sure she wasn't missing out on any treats.
 
Peter Ramos said:
Seems like Peeka and Trouble are similar in that regard. There's very few things Peeka won't go out of her way to eat. She's been known to paw some of the lettuce off of our burritos if left unattended for longer than a few seconds. My wife and I joke that when someone leaves the table, the other needs to stay on Peeka Patrol. Even with her neuropathy, if she hears something being opened, she makes a beeline to investigate.

Just this morning, she was in the hallway near her food bowl, and when she heard me opening the bag of cheerios for my wife, she somehow made her way into the kitchen by the time I had opened the bag and gotten a ziploc. Under normal circumstances, this may be uneventful, however, she was hustling trying to make sure she wasn't missing out on any treats.
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Awwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww:bighug::kiss: Peeka
 
Quick pretest update: I spoke with our vet who took a good deal of interest in my testing with Peeka, and asked if I wouldn’t mind sharing it with him. He said he would love to review and discuss it. He also said he has Prozinc at his office and had started trying to learn more about it. When I asked him about conversion of dosage, he told me he admittedly didn’t know much, but he was learning more about it and would let me know what he found out. Positive baby steps!

Peekas PS was 395, not sure if that’s due to less insulin this morning, I’m sure this was to be expected though. Rather to be a little higher than too low as we go through this diet change. I’ll give a +3 update later, but feeling good about this new information.
 
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Peekas new bed next to her water bowl, baby Boo got jealous and wanted me to snap a picture of him as well.
 

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Last update of the night, she came in at +3 233. She’s currently snacking again, a mix of both foods. Suppose I should be good for the evening. Tomorrow I won’t be able to get the PMPS, based on the numbers today.

Edit: Her neuropathy is definitely looking worse tonight. Hind legs wobbling out side to side as she walks, heartbreaking to watch. Boo never had neuropathy this bad, she’s barely able to make it more than a few steps.
 
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