2/24 Sly, AMPS 330, +2 227, +3.5 159, +4 143, +5 141, +7 150, +9.5 167, +11 206, PMPS 235, +1 307

https://felinediabetes.com/FDMB/thr...256-8-315-10-386-pmps-308-1-342-3-404.274513/

Good morning!

I'm very curious how carb sensitive Sylvester is, so today I am cutting the Purina DM dry out of his diet.

As it stands, he was getting LESS than 1/8C mixed in his YA, but now he will be getting less food overall, and he's a hungry boy... So we'll see how it goes...

 

@Bandit's Mom

Do you think that 400 spike last night was from being yellow yesterday? I'm perplexed because he shot to high 300s and then dropped to 308 PMPS...

 

Pretty happy we have 227 at +2, maybe we'll see some blues today!

 

Yes, I guess 200s is low for him so he bounced from there.

Nice drop! Hopefully a blue by +4 Looks like no DM is showing in the numbers!

 

I have my fingers and toes crossed.

He enjoys the YA food, my only concern is the qty is less. My hope is that his appetite will level down as his numbers do. I know that's a factor.

 

I didn't understand what you mean by this? You could increase quantity of YA to compensate for the removal of the DM, right? YA is pretty calorie dense as compared to dry foods - not sure how it compares to DM. And yes, their appetites do reduce with improvement in numbers.

 

So, when the Vet and I figured out his calories for the day, the YA has substantially more calories than the DM, allowing for a slight bit more of food. ( this was also calculating in the wet food and snacks he gets).

Don't get me wrong, because I feel blessed he has a good appetite, its so important for a diabetic, I just don't want him to gain weight.

My confusion is the feeding guidelines on the YA food.

Sly 2 months ago at DX weighed in at about 17 lbs, which was a few lbs less than before DX. The bag says feed 1/3 cup for a 15 lb cat, and a heaping 1/3 for a 20 lb cat...

Just trying to determine the "in between", because I'd love to get him to 15 lbs, that would be ideal. But I guess I can give him a little more than the 1/3, until he's less ravenous about eating, and get his weight down from there.

 

I'm going to wing it, Bhooma.

I have noticed that in the last week or so, with his numbers starting to improve, he's much more active and interested in playing with his brother and Cousin,

We have a 14 step stairway, and he's been racing up and down in the evenings, I didn't know he could still move that fast!!

 

Got a 159 at +3 !

I gave him his fishy broth packet, it has a small amount of carbs, but nothing more than his wet food, and he shares it, although I split 2 between the 3 of them just now, he's whiny and hangry... Lol

 

Give him a little YA. Dropping numbers can cause them to search for food. Get a +4

Will read your previous posts and respond in a bit.

 

Ok will do, he went up for a nap, but I'll bring a teaspoon up there for him. He also did leave a few in his dish....

 

I would not worry about what cat food labels say to feed. My cats would be obese if I fed that much. Just go by his ideal weight and whether you need to feed more or less number of calories for him to gain/lose weight. He will be hungrier in higher numbers and when he is dropping, so maybe you want to break up his food into several smaller portions so he has the satisfaction of eating multiple times. And yes, wet food and non-YA dry food has more quantity for the same number of calories so cats feel like they are eating more. Hunger is a strong motivation - so you could offer him wet food then.

Have you seen this page on weight issues in cats from Dr. Lisa Pierson's website? Talks about how much to feed, how to go about weight loss etc.
https://catinfo.org/feline-obesity-an-epidemic-of-fat-cats/

It's really wonderful to see them reclaim "their old selves" when they start feeling better in lower numbers.
All that exercise might also help with weight loss

 

Yes, I'm hoping he keeps active. He has always been "lazy" lol and surprisingly, since I moved him indoors, he gets way more exercise, because he's forced to go up and down the stairs, if he wants to up there, and the food is down here.. Lol

Yes, I am actually a 4 year trolling veteran of Dr. Pierson's website. It helped me alot with my last diabetic kitty.

I don't want to rush too many things on Sly, I can now see the 100 point difference in numbers just removing the DM, I'M SOLD...

I am sort of confident that he will slim down with the carb decrease.

And as far as his feedings, I do break it down for him, because if I let him, he'd eat 75% in the morning and have nothing for evening !

 

Weight loss/gain is from increasing/decreasing calories and not carbs. But as he sees lower numbers his appetite will come down.

My civvie is like that. Bottomless pit of a stomach.

 

He loves to eat, so that was one of the indicators for the Vet visit in January, along with the constipation ( because even though he and his brother were outdoors, they weren't free roaming, I had a catio attached to my garage, so I saw his bathroom habits in their litter trays, and monitored them).

He was 141 just now at +5, are we good to skip +6 and catch a +7 when I take lunch?
I noticed when he's feeling good, he hates his ears poked!! Lol

 

Sure. He seems to have flattened out.

 

Thanks Bhooma,

I'm ok with flats in the blues, its his lowest day since last Saturday, so I'm feeling a bit better!

I appreciate your support and advice, more than you know!

* sends virtual flowers*

 

Not sure if anyone is around, but just need a confidence boost in case he drops a little at PMPS...
@Wendy&Neko @Suzanne & Darcy @Bandit's Mom

I cut out the DM dry today, and he had a nice blue streak. I expect a bounce, but in case he remains at the +11 number or is lower, do you think I should just push through?

I really don't want to reduce the dose, I'll stall if I feel like I should... Just unsure of myself.

I will be home all night to monitor.

Thanks!
Deb

 

235 @ PMPS

I went ahead, fed and shot the 5 units.

I'll check him in an hour!

 

Hi there. I just saw this. You are doing great. Do you think he’s starting a bounce?

 

Those nice blues today should make you happy, too.

 

I think it's possible, between his yellow streak yesterday and his blues today. I'll check him at about +3 /+4 ( in checking on my rescues here in a minute).

I don't think he's going to dive, he ate enough at insulin time.

 

You sound like me. Full of cats. I have four fosters here now. I had six, but two were adopted. And I have my ferals to take care of. I’ve been very busy yesterday and today helping my friend who has a mom cat that gave birth yesterday. She has never done this before. Oh, I was up so late with her last night! And today she’s calling me every few minutes. But that’s what friends are for!

 

Anyway, just do another check before bed to make sure you know the way things are trending. You know what you are doing since this isn’t your first rodeo!

 

I'm curious to see how he does the next couple days. It can take a few to get the full effect of higher carbs out of his system.

Do you have a pet or baby scale to measure kitty? That was my go-to to tell me if I was feeding the right amount of food. Neko would have easily eaten more calories than I gave her.

 

He put his helmet on and took off in a rocket! 376 @+3!!

 

I helped a hoarding situation in late 2016, the shelter never came back for 5 cats out of 70 that they took... So I built a 10x20 catio and attached it to my shed. Insulated and heated the shed, and then trapped them and brought them home.. that was in July 2017..

 

I'm curious too, I noticed when I stopped the regular Purina food, it took time for it make a difference.

I don't have a baby scale. I was thinking of weighing myself and then trying to get on the scale with him, at least for reference. But he hates getting picked up. I'm already dreading his Vet follow up on March 10th. Thank goodness for Gabapentin... Lol

 

70! Wow. I can’t fathom it. In a house?

 

This is the scale I have.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B00QHK99CC?psc=1&ref=ppx_pop_mob_b_asin_title

 

These people basically left their back door open, and the cats could roam in and out as they pleased. It was atrocious!

They ended up being evicted, and abandoned the whole situation by force, I felt so bad for the cats, so we and another neighbor stepped up to do something.

What bugs me, is that we even helped this guy with TNR, etc. And he just let them keep breeding. It was a terrible situation.

 

How are those newborn kitties doing?
Sly was 3 or 4 weeks old when his Mama brought him to me. His half brother, Keebler was born in my backyard. Sometimes I miss the kitty days!

 

Well… as we say here in the South, “You can’t fix stupid!”

 

Exactly!!! Then! After we erected the cage, etc, and brought them home, the guy who got evicted actually had the gall to ask if he could come visit them, because one of them was his favorite.

Listen, I'm not cold hearted, so I allowed it once, and then, no more. They're MINE now.. Lol

 

Thanks for the link, I'll grab one next paycheck!!