7/25 Ruby AMPS 222/+4 216/+9 240/PMPS 199/+3 240

[Katherine&Ruby]

Yesterday on Are You There God? It's Me, Ruby

Another bounce this morning. Did a blood test for ketones yesterday as well as with Ketodiastix and everything was normal except for glucose in the urine. Otherwise doing really well: eating, running around, spending time purring on laps.

She seems to be going lower at night with this 1.5, did you manage to find some patterns in relation to pred?

Nice to see you Marina! Yes, she does seem to be going lower at night with 1.5 and with a slightly lowered dose of the pred back to the original dose of 5 mgs. Although Ruby threw up twice last week (I think it was the food), she seems to be doing very well symptoms wise. I'm quite happy with the pattern of higher in the day and lower at night. I wish I could get those morning numbers lower but I'm a little worried about taking her dose too high and causing crashes at night as she has been dropping dramatically from PMPS to +2. If her numbers at night start to float up again then I will increase but for now I think we are on a good run. Thank you for checking on us, Marina!

 

[carfurby (GA)]

Nice update for Ruby. I hope she slides down today.

 

[JOJI and Kit]

keep up the good work team ruby

 

[Our Dolly Girl (GA)]

Hi Katherine, Sounds like Ruby is doing well. Hope Olive is doing well also. Hope you are all enjoying your Sunday. I love my ketone meter, I totally failed at the Ketone sticks ( or whatever they are called ). Take care

 

[Katherine&Ruby]

I totally failed at the Ketone sticks

When Ruby was diagnosed with diabetes her vet wanted me to test her pee with Ketodiastix for glucose and ketones, so I researched and found the Smart Cat litter box that uses aquaphobic pellets. The pee goes through the litter and through slats cut into the litter tray and is funneled into a drawer so it's easy to dip the stick to test. It's the best litterbox I've ever had because the pellets last three weeks and there's no dust and no tracking. Since I was home yesterday I kept the drawer clean and when I saw Ruby in the litterbox I tested right afterward. Having both the ketone meter and the sticks as options is helpful as the meter strips are $$$.

 

[Katherine&Ruby]

PMPS = 199. Put a smidge of MC in her meal to stave off the steep drops so that she doesn't bounce into yellow in the morning. Would rather Ruby stayed low blue all night than ride in yellows in the day as I'm worried about that glucose in her urine and what it might be doing to her kidneys.

 

[Our Dolly Girl (GA)]

When Ruby was diagnosed with diabetes her vet wanted me to test her pee with Ketodiastix for glucose and ketones, so I researched and found the Smart Cat litter box that uses aquaphobic pellets. The pee goes through the litter and through slats cut into the litter tray and is funneled into a drawer so it's easy to dip the stick to test. It's the best litterbox I've ever had because the pellets last three weeks and there's no dust and no tracking. Since I was home yesterday I kept the drawer clean and when I saw Ruby in the litterbox I tested right afterward. Having both the ketone meter and the sticks as options is helpful as the meter strips are $$$.

Hi Katherine, just curious what the pellets look like. We have been on a litter journey for years. Especially because of Dolly’s sinus condition we use dust free but the 100% dust free clumping litters are not 100%. We tried the clear pellets, can’t remember what it was called but Dolly was having none of it . We have tried so many through the years. Thanks.

 

[Our Dolly Girl (GA)]

Hi Katherine, just curious what the pellets look like. We have been on a litter journey for years. Especially because of Dolly’s sinus condition we use dust free but the 100% dust free clumping litters are not 100%. We tried the clear pellets, can’t remember what it was called but Dolly was having none of it . We have tried so many through the years. Thanks.

http://www.smartcatbox.com/smartcatboxseedtecsafflowerseedlitter-2.aspx
Is this the one you use? Thanks

 

[Katherine&Ruby]

Yes, that's the one. Amazon has it with cheaper shipping. The safflower seeds were too hard for me to source as litter (though I like that they are biodegradable and all natural), so I use these instead: https://www.petsmart.com/cat/litter...breeze-cat-litter-pellets-refill-5211285.html. They are made for the Tidy Cat Breeze litter system that also works in the same way but the urine tray takes wee-wee pads. I was going to use it without the pads but the tray is big and emptying it would have been messy. The urine tray that comes with the Smart Cat box is small and has a lid so it makes it much easier to empty and clean out. The poops sit on top of the pellets so I pick them up with a doggy poop bag every day. No more bending down and scooping, and I change out the pellets and clean off the box every three weeks. The box itself is pricey but I've saved loads of money on clumping litter so it's worked out well.

It took the cats quite a while to get used to the pellets. I used World's Best for a really long time so it was a big change. They got the hang of it eventually but at first it was like .

 

[Our Dolly Girl (GA)]

Yes, that's the one. Amazon has it with cheaper shipping. The safflower seeds were too hard for me to source as litter (though I like that they are biodegradable and all natural), so I use these instead: https://www.petsmart.com/cat/litter...breeze-cat-litter-pellets-refill-5211285.html. They are made for the Tidy Cat Breeze litter system that also works in the same way but the urine tray takes wee-wee pads. I was going to use it without the pads but the tray is big and emptying it would have been messy. The urine tray that comes with the Smart Cat box is small and has a lid so it makes it much easier to empty and clean out. The poops sit on top of the pellets so I pick them up with a doggy poop bag every day. No more bending down and scooping, and I change out the pellets and clean off the box every three weeks. The box itself is pricey but I've saved loads of money on clumping litter so it's worked out well.

It took the cats quite a while to get used to the pellets. I used World's Best for a really long time so it was a big change. They got the hang of it eventually but at first it was like .

Thanks Katherine. Curious, how did you get them used to it? If what did they do? Did you keep the old box out as well?

 

[Katherine&Ruby]

Thanks Katherine. Curious, how did you get them used to it? If what did they do? Did you keep the old box out as well?

Initially I took away the old box and only had the Smart Cat box out and there was a bit of peeing outside of it. Then I brought back the old box and put it next to the new one, mixed pellets into the World's Best for a bit and then eventually took away the old box again. Olive was the most resistant. She would straddle edges of the box without stepping on the pellets and pee and poop into it (mostly). It took a few weeks but eventually they accepted it.

 

[Our Dolly Girl (GA)]

Initially I took away the old box and only had the Smart Cat box out and there was a bit of peeing outside of it. Then I brought back the old box and put it next to the new one, mixed pellets into the World's Best for a bit and then eventually took away the old box again. Olive was the most resistant. She would straddle edges of the box without stepping on the pellets and pee and poop into it (mostly). It took a few weeks but eventually they accepted it.

Thank you.

 

[Katherine&Ruby]

+3 = 240. So much for my theory that the pred keeps her high only during the day. Ruby still has not pooped and it's been 5 days and I suspect this is the reason why her BGs are high. Still putting ⅛ tsp Miralax in her food twice a day and she's eating like there's no tomorrow. Hope she decides to do the deed tonight.

 

[Our Dolly Girl (GA)]

+3 = 240. So much for my theory that the pred keeps her high only during the day. Ruby still has not pooped and it's been 5 days and I suspect this is the reason why her BGs are high. Still putting ⅛ tsp Miralax in her food twice a day and she's eating like there's no tomorrow. Hope she decides to do the deed tonight.

I will send Dolly’s tummy/ poop prayers That’s a long time.

 

[Diane Tyler's Mom GA]

Hi Katherine checking in very late, Ruby is still doing good even though of that yellow tonight, come on Ruby I'm still waiting for that good poop.
Have a good day tomorrow at work ♥