? 2/15 - Gen, AMPS 345, PMPS 206 - dosing advice?

Allie & Gen

Allie & Gen

Member Since 2025
Yesterday

Morning, friends - hope it's a nice calm one for you & your kitties!

I'm contemplating transitioning Gen to an autofeeder. I could use some relatively budget-friendly recommendations, if anyone has some to share?

Wendy&Neko said:
Grazers are a bit trickier when trying to manipulate the cycle to slow down fast drops. The question is whether you can get his preshots lower so his drops aren't as extreme. How would he feel about you lifting food in the last part of the cycle so he has to eat earlier? Or even switching it out to something like zero carb snacks? I'm wondering if the carbs later in the cycle are causing the Lantus to lose duration in Gen which can lead to higher preshots.
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When you say "the last part", around when do you mean?

I think he would adjust, but it would be hard (honestly, probably impossible) for me to be consistently available to do something like that. I probably will need to switch him to an autofeeder to make it work.

I'm still not sure about the whole bouncing thing or when to do an increase based on what you said before. Can you clarify? I held the dose this morning.

Thanks so much for your help. I'm feeling worried about my capacity to manage all of this; I have significant executive function issues, especially around time, and trying to keep to a strict schedule for anything is really difficult for me. 😮‍💨
 
How many compartments are you looking for?

I like the PetSafe 5 compartment feeder. I bought it years ago for like $50. I don't know what the current cost is. I don't freeze food or put an ice pack in the bottom of the feeder but you could if you wanted to. One of those small lunch box gel-type packs would fit. There's a sound the feeder makes when food is ready but it can be turned off. It's no where in the instructions but you hold one of the buttons down until the crossed out 🔊 icon is displayed. The sound of the tray rotating is enough to have any cat associate it with food.
 
Hey Allie, it is a calm one this morning for Pookey and I, so I can comment on the auto feeder. Cat Mate C500 and Petlibro and probably the two I’ve seen the most. The C500 uses ice packs and a digital timer where the Petlibro uses a built in cooling system and phone app. I’ve never personally had the Cat Mate, but if you can work with the simpler functionality, it does look like it’s like 1/3 the price…
 
Hi Allie, you’re doing an incredible job with Gen, so please don’t feel you can’t manage all of this.
You’re doing a remarkable job!
He’s so lucky you’re his person 💓😻💕❤️‍🩹🫂

I use the cat mate auto feeder and I like it. It has 5 slots (but 4 are available/hidden slots).
It comes with those freezer gel packs that fit in the bottom of the unit.
You program that time you want it to open.
(I have 2, one for am and one for pm). Not necessary, just makes my life easier so I don’t have to remember to change the times 2 times a day which would drive me bonkers.
Maybe look on eBay for a used model at a less expensive cost.

We hope you both have a relaxing day 🌊🏄‍♂️🥰😻
 
Thank you for the recommendations so far, folks! 💕

@Tim & Pookey I find myself really tempted by the PetLibro except for the fact that it only appears to come with a 3-meal option. I'm not really sure how many meals would be ideal for Gen per cycle, but having the option of more seems like a good idea, and with the cost of the PetLibro I don't think I'd want to find out belatedly that it wasn't enough. I'm not missing anything re: options there, am I?

For anyone who wants to chime in - was it hard to adapt your cat to the autofeeder? Any tips about how to do that? I feel like a learning curve where Gen doesn't get all his food because he doesn't understand about the time limits could be problematic. Also, thoughts on schedules? Gen's currently entirely in charge of his (getting up for a few bites whenever he feels hungry enough, as far as I can tell), and it's pretty variable.

@Staci & Ivy Any thoughts on the lifespan of the ice packs? If I go with the CatMate, would it make sense to buy spares? (I mean, I assume that if I went your route and got two, I'd just keep alternating two ice packs in the freezer/two in the active feeder; if I just got one I'd probably have to have spare packs to swap in and out for alternate cycles.)
 
Yep... Petlibro should make a bigger one with more slots. I have two of them side by side to get up to 6 feedings per cycle and I refill them twice a day.

Another thing to consider if Gen is grazing right now is that if you wanted the Petlibro to be open at 10AM and at 11AM for example, it would need to be closed from 10:30AM to 11AM for the cooling feature. Basically there's 30 minutes between feedings where it has to be closed that you have to work around. Pookey was a grazer though and we make it work. Most of the time he's camped out at it and has learned the schedule.
 
Tim & Pookey said:
Yep... Petlibro should make a bigger one with more slots. I have two of them side by side to get up to 6 feedings per cycle and I refill them twice a day.

Another thing to consider if Gen is grazing right now is that if you wanted the Petlibro to be open at 10AM and at 11AM for example, it would need to be closed from 10:30AM to 11AM for the cooling feature. Basically there's 30 minutes between feedings where it has to be closed that you have to work around. Pookey was a grazer though and we make it work. Most of the time he's camped out at it and has learned the schedule.
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Hmm. Good to know, but also two of the more expensive feeder is definitely outside a sensible price range for me right now. Sounds like I'm probably going with the CatMate.

(The PetSafe feeder doesn't look like it will work so well for a wet food diet, even with ice packs? It says it's designed for dry.)
 
No training with Leroy. He took to the feeder right away. He just camps out by the feeder all day so he can just stick his head in while the tray is rotating 😝

The Petsafe works fine with canned food. I don't use ice packs at all, not even in the summer.
 
squeem3 said:
No training with Leroy. He took to the feeder right away. He just camps out by the feeder all day so he can just stick his head in while the tray is rotating 😝

The Petsafe works fine with canned food. I don't use ice packs at all, not even in the summer.
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I suspect Leroy migh tbe a little more food-motivated than Gen, but noted! 😅 Is this the one you have?

Staci & Ivy said:
I use the cat mate auto feeder and I like it. It has 5 slots (but 4 are available/hidden slots).
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So with 5 slots but 4 programmable meal times, does that mean that the first meal is served when you fill the feeder?

How long does each meal stay available? Is it basically open until the next mealtime? (Unlike the PetLibro, which only keeps each meal available for 30 minutes, it sounds like?)
 
I used to use the iPetite (not sure if it's available in the US), but it seems similar to the freezer pack Pet Safe option. I switched to the Petlibro some time ago, mostly for the app functions and removing the need for the ice packs, but honestly, the lower cost options works pretty dang well. The iPetite actually also has an app system now too (for $10 more or something), so I wonder if Pet Safe does too. For me, I need 6 programmed meals and it only allowed 5, so I was having the manually switch the time on the device every day and it was annoying... so the app I think would help if you need more than the allowable programmed times.

Also, the ice packs say they get you between 6-8 hours, so almost a full cycle and if you're feeding just during the first half, you're set! I too had extra ice packs and just rotated them out, so there was always freshly frozen ones.

Good luck with the choice! Either way, I don't think you can go wrong because the auto wet food feeders are a game changer!
 
Allie & Gen said:
Thank you for the recommendations so far, folks! 💕

@Tim & Pookey I find myself really tempted by the PetLibro except for the fact that it only appears to come with a 3-meal option. I'm not really sure how many meals would be ideal for Gen per cycle, but having the option of more seems like a good idea, and with the cost of the PetLibro I don't think I'd want to find out belatedly that it wasn't enough. I'm not missing anything re: options there, am I?

For anyone who wants to chime in - was it hard to adapt your cat to the autofeeder? Any tips about how to do that? I feel like a learning curve where Gen doesn't get all his food because he doesn't understand about the time limits could be problematic. Also, thoughts on schedules? Gen's currently entirely in charge of his (getting up for a few bites whenever he feels hungry enough, as far as I can tell), and it's pretty variable.

@Staci & Ivy Any thoughts on the lifespan of the ice packs? If I go with the CatMate, would it make sense to buy spares? (I mean, I assume that if I went your route and got two, I'd just keep alternating two ice packs in the freezer/two in the active feeder; if I just got one I'd probably have to have spare packs to swap in and out for alternate cycles.)
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With the cat mate, you can trade out the ice packs if working with 2 feeders as you suspected correctly.
But yes, if you get one and had extra ice packs, a set is always freezing for the next use.

I use the auto feeder for Ivy’s snacks even when I am here, so she is just used to hearing it open and faithfully (until recently) she heard it open and popped up to go get her snack.

If she decided not to get her snack (at +1, +2 and +3) I get up and go tell her to eat or show her it’s open. If she’s lazy or uninterested, I manually feed the stinker.

But hopefully Gen will learn the drill that an open feeder means it’s time to graze. They are smart and learn the sound of it opening and if motivated for a snack, will go eat.

I’ve been happy with the Cat Mates.

I even have a third one for my 2:30 am feeding (it only has 3 openings, a smaller one I found in a thrift store, new in a sealed box. That was a score for about $10)

Looks like you are getting lots of good feedback, Allie! You and Gen have got this! :bighug::bighug:
 
Allie & Gen said:
When you say "the last part", around when do you mean?
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After nadir, which is when the insulin effect is slowing down. If you move to an autofeeder, you don't need a really complicated one or many compartments if he's a grazer. Basically one slot open most of the time, then a few hours before PS it rotates to an empty bowl.

Neko was not a good example for how easy/hard it is to get them used to a feeder. She lived for food, after I fed her once in the autofeeder bowl, she figured it out. She would come running from anywhere in the house when she heard the sound of the feeder. When it was close to time, she was mostly there and waiting. She and Otto(feeder) were best friends.
Allie & Gen said:
I'm still not sure about the whole bouncing thing or when to do an increase based on what you said before. Can you clarify?
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You want to try to avoid increasing on the cycle they will be going lower. Which means you have to predict when that might be. Look at blood sugar values over several cycles to see if you can figure out patterns. Counting the number of cycles between greens, and if it's repeated, is one such pattern.
 
Yes, that's the one I have. The food is available until the tray rotates for the next meal. Leroy inhales the food in seconds so I'm not worried about uneaten or leftover food. I do clean the tray daily.

The first meal is at +4 so when I put the filled tray into the feeder, I have an empty compartment into the feeding window. I only put 3 meals in for the day.
 
Wendy&Neko said:
After nadir, which is when the insulin effect is slowing down. If you move to an autofeeder, you don't need a really complicated one or many compartments if he's a grazer. Basically one slot open most of the time, then a few hours before PS it rotates to an empty bowl.
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That does make it a lot simpler. thank you!

Wendy&Neko said:
You want to try to avoid increasing on the cycle they will be going lower. Which means you have to predict when that might be. Look at blood sugar values over several cycles to see if you can figure out patterns. Counting the number of cycles between greens, and if it's repeated, is one such pattern.
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That makes sense - but I'm struggling to find usable patterns. His nadirs seem to be pretty inconsistent, and I don't think we've seen enough greens to establish a pattern? These are his nadirs from his last two doses (not including today, because I think he's past it but I'm not completely sure):

nadirs.png


I guess his nadirs tend to fall around 5 +/-1 ... or so ... but there are quite a few outliers. And I have 8 cycles between greens, then 4. (Before that there were 6; before that, 12; before that, 10. Of course, there were a number of variables in there, like missed/reduced doses and inappetence, and we were following SLGS until a couple of weeks ago.)

If his data gets a bit more consistent, I don't think I'll be as uncertain! But right now, I guess my best guess would be to take the food away around +6 or +7? (This will definitely require an autofeeder, which is fine.) And I'm really just not sure about how to time the increase. He's certainly not touching green this cycle, which will be the 5th from his last one. If you're willing to offer specific advice/input, I'd be grateful for it. Apologies for being a bit needy, here!
 
Cycles where they are breaking the bounce can have later nadirs, 2/10 AM as one example. I'd look at cycles where he starts low yellow or lower to get a better idea where his typical nadir lies.

If I look at today, an all cycle slide, that can be an indicator he might break the bounce tonight. It's not required to miss a bounce breaking cycle to be an increase cycle, but it can reduce the "drama" involved.
 
Wendy&Neko said:
Cycles where they are breaking the bounce can have later nadirs, 2/10 AM as one example. I'd look at cycles where he starts low yellow or lower to get a better idea where his typical nadir lies.

If I look at today, an all cycle slide, that can be an indicator he might break the bounce tonight. It's not required to miss a bounce breaking cycle to be an increase cycle, but it can reduce the "drama" involved.
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Low yellow starts have been rather rare so far (and lower than that, twice ever, I think). Not a whole lot to go on?

Oh, he seems to be breaking the bounce all right. Another active PM cycle, wheeeee.
 
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