07/08 Roo BG below 100

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Tracy & Roo

Tracy & Roo

Member Since 2014
I don't know if we fall into "relaxed" or willy-nilly..... was just told to start giving shots with no real guidance except for what I've read and people I've been in contact with here. There is an intro on Roo on the main page if you want some background. My concern is now that he's "in the green," to give him a shot this evening. Haven't done a curve as of yet as he's had tummy issues due to not having had much canned food. I do believe we have everything on track now: eating approx. 1/2 cup Fromm dry, Wellness canned pate' (doesn't eat a full 5.5oz can in a day) and tuna (approx 1/4 can a day). Again, my concern is the low number...... I think I attached his spreadsheet to my signature line....
 
Quick question...are you shooting twice a day and if so is the dose the same a.m. and p.m.? I'm only seeing a dose amount for the p.m. shots on his spreadsheet.

Mel and The Fur Gang
 
Okay that makes a huge difference since insulin in a cat needs to be given every 12 hours. How long ago did he switch over to a canned only diet?

Mel and The Fur Gang
 
Actually I'm seeing by your notes he's still eating dry. What is the dry? Because with the numbers he's showing on an Alphatrak and no more insulin than you're giving if you eliminate the dry altogether you probably have a cat that is in remission and won't need insulin at all.

Mel and The Fur Gang
 
He's not on a canned only diet. I started trying out different canned foods at the beginning of May to see what he liked and switched the dry (prior to all this he was on Science Diet dry only). but started having all the tummy problems so the vet suggested putting the dry back down. I managed to switch him from the Science diet to the Fromm (he is a snacker and free feeding works best for him). I can get him to eat some canned but has a preference for the tuna. The vet was nervous to give him two injections (although that's what the specialist had advised her).

Yes, I was thinking the same thing about the dry but I don't know that I can get him completely away from it..... :YMSIGH:
 
Oh hon I can help you transistion him. I've converted 16 confirmed dry food addicts. Lol

You can free feed canned. Just add water to it or freeze it and put it down frozen so he can nibble at it as it thaws.

As far as right now I wouldnt shoot at all if he's under 150 definitely work on getting him off the dry altogether. Try taking just the juice off the tuna and pouring it on the canned food. Another one that none of mine can resist is Fancy Feast. Turkey and Giblets is my go to flavor if some gets picky here.

Foriflora is another trick to get them to convert. You sprinkle it on the canned food like salting your own food and its the same stuff the coat dry food with to get them to eat it.

Mel and The Fur Gang
 
Oh, tried that with the fortiflora and canned, didn't go for it but..... it was the AD canned food. I can get away with the fortiflora on the tuna (go figure). I'll try freezing the canned. If I leave anything down, even the tuna, he won't touch it (with the exception of dry). Sometimes I have to touch his nose with the food before he realizes "hey, that's tasty." I will try the FF as well (the classics only, right?). I actually would've liked it if he'd taken to the raw but he wasn't having any of that as well.......

Thanks for the advise, seeing his numbers go lower and lower (and not having any tummy issues) just got me wondering if I really should..... Again, thanks!
 
Yep classics only. Mine are a funny bunch they turned their noses up at all the premium brands but go hog wild for Fancy Feast and Friskies go figure? Lol.

Other tricks are catnip sprinkled on top. Parmesan cheese, warming it up in the microwave...yep got dozens of tricks. :-)

Because I really think if you can get him to convert you'll have a diet controlled fellow.

Mel and The Fur Gang
 
done parmesan cheese, warming in micro, even warmed the bowl and let it sit for a bit. but again, this was all in the begginning and he was having the tummy issues. I'll retry and get some fancy feast. His BG tonight was 122. He's eaten some dry but not much. Ate maybe a 1/4 of a 5.5 oz can of canned and then some tuna. Will skip the shot tonight and see what it is in the morning....
 
Hi! If you take a look at my spreadsheet you'll see that my cat also dropped her BG and insulin dose IMMEDIATELY when I switched to wet food. I only did 1/2 and 1/2 for two days before I realized that I needed to just do it and get it over with to really know how she was going to react. She had diarrhea with mucus in it for the 2 days she was getting a mix and for a day after the full switch. Since then her bowel movements have been better (firmer and fewer) than they were on dry food BY FAR. It's clearly better for her gut overall, though it did take a short transition time.

Those numbers are so low! I totally agree that if you can get the dry food gone, you'll almost certainly have a cat in complete remission. Then you won't need to worry about timing the shots at all. :)
 
Yeah, I tried taking the dry food completely away and he got diarrhea, even vomited once and then refused to eat or drink (that's when he spent the night at the vet's for fluids). He got another bout after that but we were still trying to figure out what he liked but I had the fortiflora to help him too (and it did). I think we will need to take it slow but it's good to know that we could possibly get there.
 
Obviously he's not one to just pull the dry food away from, but I would definitely try to focus most of the effort to convince him to eat it, since I think that'll be a lot easier (and happier) for both of you in the long run. Good luck!
 
Well, we are still struggling with the canned. I gradually got him off the Fromm and now I've got him on Orijen Cat & Kitten dry as I know it's much better (no grain, potato or those other bad carbs). If I figured it right, about 8% carb? He's a snacker as well. I've tried so many different cans of food and thought we had finally found Wellness to be what he liked. Now he's refusing that, no Friskies, no Fancy Feast..... AHHHHHHHH!!!! I have more of his history posted on the main post page. Tried different tricks and he's not buying any of them. If I leave the canned out, he refuses to touch it but will holler at me to give him some tuna (yes, I believe he's an addict and he is even finicky about what kind of tuna-I have made this error). But I have noticed, since going 100% on the Orijen, that he doesn't seem to ask for the tuna as much. Could this be because of the higher protein in the Orijen and maybe staying full? His numbers have been consistently under 150 and we haven't given him a shot since the 9th of July. Could it be that we are OTJ? The vet was concerned about me taking food away as we needed him to eat when getting shots. But now that we aren't shooting, I wondering if I may be able to try and get him more on a regular feeding schedule by either taking dry away or maybe a timed feeder?.......
 
He's darn close to remission and technically I suppose he could be considered in remission since he is staying in the high end of normal numbers. Usually we like them down in the double digits most of the day.

He is definitely a puzzle. If he'd switch completely off the dry I think he'd drop the rest of the way down. You could try hunger to motivate him completely coming of the dry since he's not on insulin he can't hypo. He can however get fatty liver if he gets stubborn and hunger strikes. So if you try cold turkey on the dry he must at least be nibbling the wet or you're gonna have to give in on the dry every 48 hours.

Mel and The Fur Gang
 
I feel for you with your dry food addict. It took me almost two years to get one of my cats off dry. He would literally starve himself to death when I took it away. I tried every single brand of premium cat food (I have other cats with allergies and issues) to no avail. When I took in my second diabetic, he was eating Fancy Feast and Charlie went crazy for it. So now those two eat it (in a segregated room) and Charlie is totally off of dry food. It can be a long, painful, expensive process while you are finding the right food.
 
He completely turns his nose up at Fancy Feast and Friskies. Guess it's off to the pet store tomorrow to see if I can find something he will like........ He can be so stubborn, I'm afraid he would starve himself in protest... The vet was shocked with his numbers, that he would already be showing signs of remission. Told me that he would most certainly go back up and have to go back on insulin. I'm not giving up on trying to get him on more canned than dry......
 
Charlie will on occasion eat Castor & Pollux Ultramix Turkey and Vegetable. All of the cats were dying for a taste of Sunshine's Weruva shredded chicken which is only 1 or 2% carbs.

Fresh Pet makes a semi-moist 5 or 6% food. Charlie did like that very, very much as did all of the cats but it wasn't financially feasible for me to feed that to all cats every day.

I am feeding my foster great dane Country Pet Venison and Vital Essentials Rabbit and the kitties are VERY interested in that.
 
I tried freeze-dried and frozen raw and he wasn't in the least bit interested. When I did it, he was having some tummy issues, in the beginning of all this and have wondered about trying it again. I believe we tried Weruva. He's definitely a pate' kitty. Shredded or chunks, he just licks the juice up and barely touches the rest (which kills me cause he'll eat the tuna!!!)
 
That is a possibility..... I thought this morning I would take some of the Wellness (that he was liking) and add some water to it and freeze it as was one suggestion to me. He came out to see what I was doing so I put it in front of him and I'll be darn if he ate it!!!! Maybe the Wellness is just a bit too thick (he does tend to lick more than take bites). We'll see if this works for dinner....
 
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