2nd day of wet food & Lantus

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shanchamp

Member Since 2013
Hi All, Today is Pluto's 2nd day of Purina DM wet food (he likes it!) and 1.5 units 2x's a day of Lantus. Everything seems good except for he is having much softer poopies & I don't know if this from the change to wet food or the insulin or both? Any feedback would be appreciated ! Thanks
 
The soft stool is very very likely doe tho the change in food. It takes awhile for the bacteria in the intestines to adjust to the food change. It is not due to the insulin
 
You may aid the adjustment to new food with a teaspoon or two of plain yogurt with active cultures, or by giving a probiotic such as Forti Flora.
 
Are you planning to home test? I would strongly recommend it since a change of food can bring blood glucose levels down fast - and the insulin dose may be too much.

We have tips and a shopping list if you need?

Wendy
 
Forti Flora - planning on getting out to p/u today. Home testing - We are planning on that also. It took me a minute to get my reluctant husband on board for this & after bombarding his email with websites, lists, info, & etc he realized that I was doing some serious researching.
 
ok cool! Now wait till you ask your husband to test ;) Took me a few weeks of nagging before my husband would do it , and he hates the sight of blood.
 
Thanks everyone ! Now my big concern is that we have changed the food AND started the insulin nailbite_smile so I have printed the list & am heading out.
 
Sent a PM to Shannon today and got this response

Thank you checking on us
Pluto burnt out on the novelty of the wet food pretty fast & quit eating so we went back to the Purina DM suggested by the vet (if you have any suggestions on dry please let me know!). He has to eat !! We got the meter & when his pet-dad (my husband) is home between the 2 of us we can get a curve done weekly, but just me alone = both of us crying & Pluto very a unhappy . His numbers for a few weeks were pretty good 140's - 170's and then last week 350's - 400's and he was at the water bowl ALOT again so he went back to the vet & is being treated for another UTI and his insulin was upped from 2units 2x's a day to 3units 2x's a day. So we will start the testing again (husband's home) & see where we are at in a few days.
I just hate to think that my sugarbaby is not feeling well - makes me feel bad for him, you know the deal. Pluto grew up & lived in the country until last year & we moved back to the city where he can't roam & hunt anymore in a residential neighborhood. I have seriously considered buying mice at PetSmart & confining them somehow out in the yard for him to "hunt" - does that sound crazy? Well its not a lie - I have thought about it. Surely between the 6 other cats I have none of the mice would have a chance if they made for the house !
Again any suggestions - I am ALL OPEN !!
Thanks, Shannon & Pluto
Click to expand...
 
I am totally not surprised he got sick of the wet food. Its liver and a lot of cats get sick of it real quick. Thats why we use Fancy feast classic pates, friskies pates or wellness grain free canned here. I would advise you try those first and if you cant find some flavours of those he likes, we can recommend a low carb dry. But start with wet because its better for him

The UTI is probably spiking his BG. If we can get his BG under control then hopefully there wont be as much sugar in his pee for the bacteria to grow on and so no more UTIs. Instead of doing a curve once a week and testing him all day long which they dont love, can I suggest a few tests a day instead? It gives us a much bette rpicture of whats going on and is less frequent so doesnt bother them as much

- before every shot - always!
- mid day every few days (thats 5-7 hours after morning shot if you can do it) alternated every other day with a before bed test (2-3 hours after PM shot).. before bed is important especially when his preshot test is yellow or blue

Also a spreadsheet would be very handy for us to see - heres what we use - let me know and we can help set it up: http://www.felinediabetes.com/FDMB/viewtopic.php?f=6&t=18207

The mice sounds fun for HIM but I think it might stress YOU out watching them trapped and being hunted. But you could try to attract wild ones to your yard..create a mini woodpile in a hedged area or something - and maybe put out a bird feeder and seed scattered below it that he can sit near and watch. Plus you are helping the environment! Do you have vegetation in your yard? We have hedges along the fence and Tiggy sits for hours staring at them in case a mouse appears!

Wendy
 
Okay ! I will make a run tomorrow for FF cans if Pluto won't eat it the other fuzzies will ! I will print out the suggested schedule for testing & get started on that & go to the link to get the spreadsheet set up, I will let you know if I need help with that. We have bird & squirrel feeders filled - always - & scatter on the ground, my other cats appreciate it too ;-) No hedges though - that would just give them climbing stuff & the 1st over the fence will send me into cardiac arrest trying to bolt over & get them back.
 
Speaking of testing ...

Here are some glucose reference ranges used for decision making using glucometers. Human glucometer numbers are given first (mg/dL). Numbers in parentheses are for non-US meters (mmol/L). Numbers in curly braces are estimates for an AlphaTrak.

< 40 mg/dL (2.2 mmol/L) {< 70 mg/dL for an AlphaTrak}
- Treat as if HYPO if on insulin
- At nadir (lowest point between shots) in a long term diabetic (more than a year), may earn a reduction.

< 50 mg/dL (2.8 mmol/L) {< 80 mg/dL for an AlphaTrak}
- If before nadir, steer with food, ie, give modest amounts of medium carb food to keep from going below 50 (2.8).
- At nadir, often indicates dose reduction is earned.

50 - 130 mg/dL (2.8 - 7.2 mmol/L) {80 - 160 mg/dL for an AlphaTrak}
- On insulin - great control when following a tight regulation protocol.
- Off insulin - normal numbers. (May even go as low as the upper 30s (1.7 mmol/L){60s for an AlphaTrak}; if not on insulin, this can be safe.

> 150 mg/dL (8.3 mmol/L) {> 180 mg/dL for an AlphaTrak}
- At nadir, indicates a dose increase may be needed when following a tight regulation protocol.

200 mg/dL (11.1 mmol/L) {230 mg/dL for an AlphaTrak}
- no shot level for beginners; may slowly reduce to 150 mg/dL (8.3 mmol/L) {180 mg/dL} for long-acting insulins (Lantus, Levemir, and ProZinc) as data collection shows it is safe

180 - 280 mg/dL (10 - 15.6 mmol/L) {may be 210 - 310 mg/dL for an AlphaTrak}
- Any time - The renal threshold (depending on data source and cat's renal function) where glucose spills into the urine.
- Test for ketones, glucose is too high.

>= 280 mg/dL (15.6 mmol/L) {may be >=310 mf/dL for an AlphaTrak}, if for most of the cycle between shots
- Uncontrolled diabetes and thus at risk for diabetic ketoacidosis and hepatic lipidosis
- Follow your insulin protocol for dose adjustments
- Test for ketones; if more than a trace level of ketones, go to vet ASAP.
 
Great - remember its the classic pates you want - but heres a list below you can choose from.

Maybe instead of a hedge, a few low bushes close together? I am thinking small wildlife area.. We have some hostas in one corner of our yard and Tiggy likes to sit and stare at them in case a chipmunk pops out..


all values are from Dr. Pierson's updated list

carbs in % . . last number is phosphorus ( FKD cats need under 250 phosphorus)
4% - fancy feast CLASSICS chicken feast- 546 - beware of those that are not classics ...
4%- fancy feast chopped grilled feast pate -569
2%- fancy feast cod, sole & shrimp feast pate – 787
4%- fancy feast Ocean Whitefish and tuna pate 823
1% -fancy feast Savory Salmon feast pate – 369
5% -fancy feast Tender beef feast pate -637
5% -fancy feast Tender beef and chicken feast pate -502
5% - fancy feast Tender beef and liver feast pate – 525
4% -fancy feast Tender liver and chicken feast pate -598
3% - fancy feast Turkey & giblets feast pate – 355
5% -fancy feast salmon and shrimp feast -550
4% -fancy feast kitten tender turkey feast -474
5% - fancy feast kitten tender ocean whitefish feast - 689
5% -fancy feast chunky chicken feast -637
7% - fancy feast chunky turkey feast -624
7% -fancy feast chunky chopped grill feast - 454
8% - fancy feast Flaked chicken and tuna feast - 434
0% - fancy feast Flaked fish and shrimp feast - 701
8% - fancy feast Flaked Salmon and whitefish feast - 458
7% - fancy feast Flaked Trout feast-395
 
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