1/12: Nova--to increase or not + food question

LindyNova

LindyNova

Member Since 2019
last post

Hi all, and Happy New year! First and foremost I wish to express my heartfelt condolences to @Erin and Moe (GA) & @Colio for the loss of their beloved furbabies, and to anyone else I may have missed who lost their sweet babies this, and at the end of last, year. To those who are struggling with additional problems, I am keeping you all in my thoughts.

I haven't posted in a while, (I'm an admitted lurker)but Nova has been doing pretty good, and there are more pressing issues for those with problems and our newer members need help more than me, so.....Sorry for the length of this post.

Anyway, Nova has been on 2.25u for quite a while, and the last time time I raised her .25 (28 Dec) she quickly went to visit the sharkies, and scared the crap outta me because it was the lowest I'd seen her (I didn't record it, but her first test was 28!!). She did not have any other symptoms except for being ravenous and bit out of it. So we were lucky.

If we see a green in a cycle, does the time reset for when we possibly increase? Seems to me Noves might need a boost now (a + on a quarter is so very hard to measure), and am considering raising tonight, but I have seen greens in the past few days that have stopped me from a real .25 increase. (it also looks like she might be bouncing from those greens even tho she was on a streak last week.

Also, for those of you who feed multiple times per day, about how often and how much do you feed? If I stick to my calories per day to keep her weight steady, it comes out to about 1.25 cans of Friskies per day, and if feeding every 3 hours, it would mean about 2 teaspoons (measured) at every feeding. Does that sound right? I've just about got the OK to get an auto feeder--well, not an OK exactly, more of an acceptance without any negative feedback....which is a good thing....but the amount seems SO tiny! I know it would help in the long & short run, so I'm kinda pushing it and getting the reluctant DH used to the idea.

For those of you who don't know the sitch here, my DH is not on board with the whole treatment/testing idea, and doesn't help, nor really hinder (except to complain) the process. But it does make it hard to having an agreeable living and traveling life. I have son at home, but he is only willing to feed if I'm late or not home.

But I digress...all thoughts are welcome. :)
 
I can't speak to dosing but I do love my auto-feeder - I use it in the AM and PM cycle. If the cycle is active, I turn it off and I feed - but if Jax is flat or rising, the auto-feeder does the work.

As for feeding, I take Jax's food for each cycle (he gets the same amount each cycle) and I divide it in half. I feed half at AMPS/PMPS and then the rest in equal parts throughout the day (you can peek at my SS remarks for how I feed but ECID). If possible, try not to feed after nadir as it can shorten the insulin duration. This post talks about starting with snacks at +1/+2/+3 and then adjusting. Just food for thought ;)
 
LindyNova said:
Also, for those of you who feed multiple times per day, about how often and how much do you feed? If I stick to my calories per day to keep her weight steady, it comes out to about 1.25 cans of Friskies per day, and if feeding every 3 hours, it would mean about 2 teaspoons (measured) at every feeding. Does that sound right? I've just about got the OK to get an auto feeder--well, not an OK exactly, more of an acceptance without any negative feedback....which is a good thing....but the amount seems SO tiny! I know it would help in the long & short run, so I'm kinda pushing it and getting the reluctant DH used to the idea.
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Happy New Year:bighug:
I feed Butters approximately 4oz per day, split into eight equal portions. She gets 1/2 oz every three hours when she isn't having an active cycle. She often has a late nadir, but the reason I feed her consistently around the clock is because of the chronic pancreatitis. She needs small, frequent meals.

The way I measure it out, 1 tsp is to equal about 1/4 oz.

When her cycles are active, I'll feed less at one time and spread it out, so she is maybe getting 1 tsp at a time. I mix a little water into it and then it looks like more:).

Love my auto feeder. I hope you can get one! It has made life a lot easier. And as long as Nova will eat from it, if you need to go out and she's lower it's great because you can fill it up with higher carb foods and not worry as much.
 
JaxBenji said:
I can't speak to dosing but I do love my auto-feeder - I use it in the AM and PM cycle. If the cycle is active, I turn it off and I feed - but if Jax is flat or rising, the auto-feeder does the work.

As for feeding, I take Jax's food for each cycle (he gets the same amount each cycle) and I divide it in half. I feed half at AMPS/PMPS and then the rest in equal parts throughout the day (you can peek at my SS remarks for how I feed but ECID). If possible, try not to feed after nadir as it can shorten the insulin duration. This post talks about starting with snacks at +1/+2/+3 and then adjusting. Just food for thought ;)
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Thanks Susanne. Whatever I've tried really doesn't help with her food spikes, nor staving off a sharkie visit. I'm at a loss. I'll take a look and see what you've got goin on. :)
 
Butters & Lyla said:
Happy New Year:bighug:
I feed Butters approximately 4oz per day, split into eight equal portions. She gets 1/2 oz every three hours when she isn't having an active cycle. She often has a late nadir, but the reason I feed her consistently around the clock is because of the chronic pancreatitis. She needs small, frequent meals.

The way I measure it out, 1 tsp is to equal about 1/4 oz.

When her cycles are active, I'll feed less at one time and spread it out, so she is maybe getting 1 tsp at a time. I mix a little water into it and then it looks like more:).

Love my auto feeder. I hope you can get one! It has made life a lot easier. And as long as Nova will eat from it, if you need to go out and she's lower it's great because you can fill it up with higher carb foods and not worry as much.
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I'm so happy that Butters is feeling better. Thanks for your reply. I never know when Nova is going to have an active cycle... she food spikes every single day, and nadirs range from +5-11.5 (!!) She gets a total of 6.875 oz per day, and I have been breaking it into equal portions 4x/day. If I think she may drop early (not so much of a spike, or close to PS at +2.5-3), she gets fed half a portion in between brekkies/lunch or before/between midnight/amps). Maybe feeding 6x/day would be better? My hope is to keep her steady, but she's a cat and doesn't follow the rules. :rolleyes:
 
LindyNova said:
Thanks Susanne. Whatever I've tried really doesn't help with her food spikes, nor staving off a sharkie visit. I'm at a loss. I'll take a look and see what you've got goin on. :)
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So Jax has always been a relatively flat cat...I know I got lucky here...he also does fine on little to no carbs (his current food is <1%) and he responds pretty good to gravy when needed. Just keep that in mind when you check out our SS.

Maybe try splitting your noon/midnight meals into two snacks? maybe +3 and +6 and see if that helps? Perhaps once you get an auto-feeder this will be more doable. Just throwing out an idea (I am no expert here by any means :)). Hang in there - you'll figure it out.

Butters & Lyla said:
I feed Butters approximately 4oz per day,
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oh sweet lil Butters. 4oz for the whole day...or a cycle? Lazy, big Jax (~14lbs) eats about three-fourths of 5.5 oz can...per cycle...lol :p which is a little more than 4 ozs...per cycle. Oy :p
 
JaxBenji said:
So Jax has always been a relatively flat cat...I know I got lucky here...he also does fine on little to no carbs (his current food is <1%) and he responds pretty good to gravy when needed. Just keep that in mind when you check out our SS.

Maybe try splitting your noon/midnight meals into two snacks? maybe +3 and +6 and see if that helps? Perhaps once you get an auto-feeder this will be more doable. Just throwing out an idea (I am no expert here by any means :)). Hang in there - you'll figure it out.


oh sweet lil Butters. 4oz for the whole day...or a cycle? Lazy, big Jax (~14lbs) eats about three-fourths of 5.5 oz can...per cycle...lol :p which is a little more than 4 ozs...per cycle. Oy :p
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Lol! Yes she gets around 4oz per day:p not cycle:eek:.
It is less because she is raw fed...but that doesn’t entirely explain the difference with Jax’s portions:)..
I actually feed by calories...145ish per day.
 
So, just the mention of an increase seems to have done the trick. I am not ruling it out in the near future, but a 68 @ pmps gives me pause
 
sorry, no, I gave the fat 2.25 tonight--sorry I forgot the + in her spreadsheet....it's updated now. Very hard to get a fat @ a quarter, but I do my best. :)
I guess it's more of a skinny 2.5
 
I would hold this F 2.25/S 2.5 for a few days and see. She was seeing good numbers on 2.25U. Fattening it might be just the little "extra" that she needs. :-)
 
Bandit's Mom said:
I would hold this F 2.25/S 2.5 for a few days and see. She was seeing good numbers on 2.25U. Fattening it might be just the little "extra" that she needs. :)
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I held the "fat" 2.25 ( as well as can be expected without a caliper) ...her #s are so darn frustrating....she showed a normal # at pmps, so..........I dunno..going with my gut and no increase in the very near future
 
LindyNova said:
I held the "fat" 2.25 ( as well as can be expected without a caliper) ...her #s are so darn frustrating....she showed a normal # at pmps, so..........I dunno..going with my gut and no increase in the very near future
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She is as bouncy as my Bandit. More than a year on insulin and refuses to get off the trampoline!
 
LindyNova said:
I'm so happy that Butters is feeling better. Thanks for your reply. I never know when Nova is going to have an active cycle... she food spikes every single day, and nadirs range from +5-11.5 (!!) She gets a total of 6.875 oz per day, and I have been breaking it into equal portions 4x/day. If I think she may drop early (not so much of a spike, or close to PS at +2.5-3), she gets fed half a portion in between brekkies/lunch or before/between midnight/amps). Maybe feeding 6x/day would be better? My hope is to keep her steady, but she's a cat and doesn't follow the rules. :rolleyes:
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I think 6x a day might be worth a try. Why not? Butters' nadir can vary quite a bit. She sometimes has several cycles of a +5 - +7 nadir, and then more like a +12 nadir or somewhere in between. It can be difficult to manage. I don't necessarily know when Butters' cycles will be super active either. It's all trial and error for me(a lot of error!).
 
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