Feeding questions and advice

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kanirniq

kanirniq

Member Since 2023
I got a relion meter a few days ago and now I want to start feeding a midmeal snack. I'm testing every meal time until Little Man and I get the hang of it and a new routine is established. Right now we're still hit and miss on getting a good blood sample and for right now I'm only poking him twice so he doesn't get too stressed with it. His numbers before eating (1 can ff and 1/8 cup proplan) are in the low 100's, so I feel like it's time to add a snack in the middle of his daytime meals.

My question is if I should save half of the can of ff from breakfast for a snack or should I give him a half a can extra, or should I give him the dry kibble for the snack.
 
@kanirniq
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https://felinediabetes.com/FDMB/threads/new-member-kanirniq-and-little-man.284435/#post-3131436
Hi there since you are not getting tests in after AMPS or PMPS I would feed LM about a teaspoon maybe a little bit more of the Fancy Feast Pate @+2 since Vetsulin hits hard and fast , and then another snack @+4
It would really be great if you can start getting some tests in @+2 and @+4 during both cycles , You don't know how low LM is dropping
Any time he drops under 90 you need to decrease by 0.25 units
Also they say for new members any AMPS or PMPS test is under 200 post and ask for help
I'm not experienced giving dosing advice but 2 units might be too high of a dose
I'm going to tag Suzanne for you see if she's around
@Suzanne & Darcy
Also will try
@Wendy&Neko
@Bandit's Mom

Is this the kibble you are feeding
If you are talking about the kibble it's 18% carbs which is too high but I would not take it away since this is what's keeping LM from going hypo. Please add dry after Pro Plan in your signature

To do this tap in your name up top then tap on signature and add it then tap save
Is this what you are talking about
257225_MAIN._AC_SL600_V1602613275_.jpg



So this is what you're feeding the Weight Management not the DM ,



Purina Pro Plan Adult Weight Management Chicken & Rice Formula Dry Cat Food
Images may be subject to copyright.

Purina-Pro-Plan-Weight-Management-Dry-Cat-Food-Chicken-Rice-16-lb-Bag_9a1f972e-46fd-448c-a12f-fbcf85911f12.0d838cece5837dff44a902c5a5e875a8.jpeg
 
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kanirniq said:
I got a relion meter a few days ago and now I want to start feeding a midmeal snack. I'm testing every meal time until Little Man and I get the hang of it and a new routine is established. Right now we're still hit and miss on getting a good blood sample and for right now I'm only poking him twice so he doesn't get too stressed with it. His numbers before eating (1 can ff and 1/8 cup proplan) are in the low 100's, so I feel like it's time to add a snack in the middle of his daytime meals.

My question is if I should save half of the can of ff from breakfast for a snack or should I give him a half a can extra, or should I give him the dry kibble for the snack.
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@Suzanne & Darcy
Morning Suzanne I gave her some info above can you please check and see if the info I gave is correct :bighug::cat:
 
LM's ears are having a tough time bleeding, so I'm testing more then I'm logging, I'll be testing more and at the +2 and +4 plus a curve when I can get more blood. I'm thinking my vet doesn't have a lot of experience or knowledge with feline diabetes cause they have made a few mistakes that you guys have made known to me.

The Pro Plan is weight management dry, I'm going to start weaning him off of it when I can get more BG tests and a curve done and try to get him on a wet only diet.

Thank you for the advice I'll save a half can of the ff from breakfast and give it to him at the +2 and +4.

I just did a +2 and was able to get enough blood and it was 83. I also gave him a teaspoon of ff

The +4 was 62 and gave him a teaspoon of ff should I give him a little kibble?
 
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Sounds like you're making progress on testing. I'm not experienced enough to give dosing advice or anything like that, but 83 is a good number. And so is 62 as long as it doesn't drop too much lower. Maybe just keep an eye on him and give him a little food to keep his numbers up and steady. Perhaps someone else will pop in with more advice..:)
 
kanirniq said:
thanks I think I just got lucky getting the last two tests.
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The tests get easier the more you do them. With Vetsulin you really want to make sure he's not dropping too low and decrease if he does, in addition to giving some food. If he's 62 @ +4 he could still be dropping. Maybe you could try your luck with one more test tonight and see?

I see that @Diane Tyler's Mom gave you some good advice before. She said: "I would feed LM about a teaspoon maybe a little bit more of the Fancy Feast Pate @+2 since Vetsulin hits hard and fast , and then another snack @+4."

And a little further down in the same post said: "If you are talking about the kibble it's 18% carbs which is too high but I would not take it away since this is what's keeping LM from going hypo."

In other words, if they are dropping too low them it's ok to give them some kibble so they don't go hypo. I would follow Diane's advice, she's very knowledgeable. I hope that helps a little :)
 
kanirniq said:
I ordered them but they not here yet.
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@kanirniq
OK :cat:
Next time you're at the store you can pick up some of these also for your hypo kit
For your Hypo kit
Med and High Carb food and some honey/karo



Fancy Feast Gravy Lovers Gourmet Beef Feast in Gravy 20% High Carbs

Fancy Feast Gravy Lovers Gourmet Chicken Feast in Gravy 15% Med Carbs

Fancy Feast Gravy Lovers Turkey Feast in Gravy 15% Med Carbs

Fancy Feast Gravy Lovers Chicken and Beef in Gravy 15% Med Carbs

Good idea to mark the cans with magic marker how many carbs

Or any on the food chart. Doesn't have to be Fancy Feast just an example about the med and high carb foods


https://felinediabetes.com/FDMB/threads/dr-pierson-new-food-

10% and under is low carb
11% -15 is medium carbs.

16- 24 is high carb.

Keep the kibble also
This recipe contains approximately 28.50% carbohydrates on an as-fed basis.
 
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Diane Tyler's Mom said:
@kanirniq
OK :cat:
Next time you're at the store you can pick up some of these also for your hypo kit
For your Hypo kit
Med and High Carb food and some honey/karo



Fancy Feast Gravy Lovers Gourmet Beef Feast in Gravy 20% High Carbs

Fancy Feast Gravy Lovers Gourmet Chicken Feast in Gravy 15% Med Carbs

Fancy Feast Gravy Lovers Turkey Feast in Gravy 15% Med Carbs

Fancy Feast Gravy Lovers Chicken and Beef in Gravy 15% Med Carbs

Good idea to mark the cans with magic marker how many carbs

Or any on the food chart. Doesn't have to be Fancy Feast just an example about the med and high carb foods


https://felinediabetes.com/FDMB/threads/dr-pierson-new-food-

10% and under is low carb
11% -15 is medium carbs.

16- 24 is high carb.

Keep the kibble also
This recipe contains approximately 28.50% carbohydrates on an as-fed basis.
Click to expand...

I have some corn syrup and I picked up a few cans of higher carb FF and have that in the pantry next to the syrup! I already learned that lesson the hard way. Vet never mentioned it :(
 
@kanirniq I am not sure what dose you gave this morning since that information is missing from your spreadsheet, but I believe Sienne mentioned that the 2u should be reduced to 1.75u for pm cycle last night given the 83 and 62 you saw yesterday in the am cycle, it it looks like you gave 2u?. Please continue to try and test following that +4 of 53. With Vetsulin you may still continue to have dropping BG carrying on for another few hours yet. Seeing that you are getting under 90 BG values today, based on the data you do have, and that you are not able to test frequently enough I would suggest you reduce to 1u. Better a day too high than an hour too low.
 
I forgot to put that in the SS. I lowered it to 1.75 both last night and this morning. I put the wrong number last night don't know why, default I guess. Thank you
 
Thank you, that’s a relief :). Please do try and test again to make sure numbers aren’t continuing to drop. I may be a bit conservative in suggesting dropping the dose earlier, but certainly you should reduce next dose to 1.5u since you’ve seen another reduction with BG under 90. My primary concern was that testing is difficult and we don’t have much data to go off of at the moment and what data you do have seems to call for some caution.
 
I agree, it's been difficult to get enough blood for the testing and I don't want to stick him more the 2 or 3 times so he doesn't get to stressed but we keep trying. I'll test again in hour and give him a bit of food which will be two hours, and I'll down his dose to 1 1/2 tonight.
 
I wouldn’t ask for another pokie if it wasn’t necessary :), but since he’s close to 50 at the +4, better to be safe. How is he acting? Hopefully next test will show BG rising, but if after the next test you need help perhaps change your title, since it’s currently about feeding questions, not lower BG value and I just happened along and saw your post of BG of 53.
 
He's sleeping now and acting ok and ate all of his last snack and he's responding to me when I talk to him. If it's still low I will change the post name.
 
@kanirniq
Hi can you please update your SS ,there is nothing filled in for this mornings AMPS and the dose you gave. Did you happen to get any tests in last night after the PMPS dose
Maybe this will help with testings

Always aim for the sweet spot warm the ears up first, you can put rice in a sock and put it in the microwave, test it on the inside of your wrist to be sure it's not to hot, like you would test a babies bottle. You can fill a pill bottle with warm water and roll it on the ears also.Just keep rubbing the ears with your fingers to warm them up
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6. As the ears get used to bleeding and grow more capilares, it gets easier to get the amount of blood you need on the first try. If he won’t stand still, you can get the blood onto a clean finger nail and test from there.
When you do get some blood you can try milking the ear.
Get you finger and gently push up toward the blood , more will appear
You will put the cotton round behind his ear in case you poke your finger, after you are done testing you will fold the cotton round over his ear to stop the bleeding , press gently for about 10 or 20 seconds until it stops
Get 26 or 28 gauge lancets
A lot of us use the lancets to test freehand not the lancing device
I find it better to see where I'm aiming
Look at the lancet under a light and you will see one side is curved upward, that's the side you want to poke with
 
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I wasn't able to get any more last night, I did try but I think that I'm finding his sweet spot. I just tested him again and it was up to 88 and I gave him 1 tsp dry kibble.
 
He only really minds because I'm holding him still and interfering with his eating! That and having sore ears =:(=
 
kanirniq said:
He only really minds because I'm holding him still and interfering with his eating! That and having sore ears =:(=
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If it helps at all, I worry about Snickers' ears getting sore too, but I have found I'm more worried about it than she is, haha. She doesn't like me tugging on her ears all the time, but that's about the tugging/touching less than it is the poke.

I do think it helps to give treats with each test. I can't remember if I or anyone else mentioned it, but if you can apply some pressure to the poke area after you poke, it'll help with the bruising. For example, use a cotton ball or paper towel folded over the poke area, applying light pressure, just for a few seconds. You can also add a dab of coconut oil. It acts kinda like an ointment and helps the blood bead up a bit better too. That might have already been mentioned, but I figure it doesn't hurt to reiterate :)
 
Thank you, he gives a little cry when I poke him so I worry about it, but you're probably right about it being more about me messing with his ears then the poke. His ears are pretty bruised and I try to use the cotton ball but he doesn't like it. I'll get some coconut oil, he liked it the last time I had some in the house!
 
kanirniq said:
Thank you, he gives a little cry when I poke him so I worry about it, but you're probably right about it being more about me messing with his ears then the poke. His ears are pretty bruised and I try to use the cotton ball but he doesn't like it. I'll get some coconut oil, he liked it the last time I had some in the house!
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I find it easier to use a folded over paper towel rather than a cotton ball. I don't like the cotton sticking together. That's just personal preference though. I don't use a whole paper towel, I just cut out little squares and fold them over into smaller squares. I don't know if you're kitty would care much about the difference, but you never know. Cats are weird (in a good way) :)
 
kanirniq said:
Thank you, he gives a little cry when I poke him so I worry about it, but you're probably right about it being more about me messing with his ears then the poke. His ears are pretty bruised and I try to use the cotton ball but he doesn't like it. I'll get some coconut oil, he liked it the last time I had some in the house!
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Also, as kitty's ears "learn to bleed" you can transition to thinner lancets. I use the 30 gauge. Maybe that will make it easier on the both of you. Though thicker lancets are definitely the right call to begin with.
 
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