3/16 Max AMPS 308

[Mindy & Max]

DH had to give last night's shot, so I have no ps test. I haven't been able to get DH to learn to test him yet. Max is getting better about testing, tho. I've discovered that he needs to be on the half-wall by the kitchen, actually right near where we put the kitty food. He's finally started to just lay down there when he sees the meter and supplies, which is awesome. That's only been for the last day or so, tho, so who knows if it'll stick, but it's been nice to not have him try to walk away from me while I'm testing, and to not have to hold him down so much.

Last night was busy and chaotic (didn't get the human kids to bed until almost 9), so no extra tests. I'll try to get better numbers this week.

We've been feeding Friskies canned, but I bought two flavors of low-carb 9-Lives last night to try out. The fat is higher, but they aren't fish flavors, so we'll see how the boys like them (the store I was at, oddly enough, carries NO flavors of Friskies that are low carb). I think next week I might talk to the local butcher and see if I can get him to just grind up a whole chicken, bones and all, for me and then I'll find the nutritional suppliments for a raw diet. I know Max will eat raw chicken...just not sure if Truman will. I priced commercial fresh/raw dog food last night at the grocery store, and well, it's just not affordable, at least not for my 90-lb dog. Haven't found anyone local that sells commercial fresh/raw cat food.

Oh, and we just decided last night to throw out the throw rugs that Max has been peeing on. At this point, the smell must not be coming out even with detergent and bleach. And there was no pee on the floor outside the litter box last night.

Yesterday's condo: viewtopic.php?f=9&t=9219

 

[Kelly & Logan]

Good morning, Mindy! Not too bad of an AMPS this morning. Probably a good idea to toss the rugs! That smell is difficult to get out completely. I'm sure Max will get better with testing. Maybe once DH sees how good he is, he'll be willing to give it a try. Have you gotten Max some treats for the testing? They really help! We buy the HALO freezed dried chicken or salmon treats. They're a little expensive, but you can get them on Amazon fairly cheap...cheaper than buying them at a store. They can be hard to find.

Hope you and Max have a great day! It will get easier once you get a routine down. We have 3 dogs and 2 cats at our house and we both work a lot of hours so I can understand how busy you are - prob a lot busier than our household. I'm very lucky my DH2B (Matt) is willing to pitch in and help. He's a lot more helpful and supportive now than 6 months ago when we started out!

 

[Mindy & Max]

Kelly--Yes, I have some freeze-dried salmon, tho I'm starting to run out. I will be boiling and freezing some chicken for treats tonight. Both cats love the salmon, but I can't afford it at $6.50 a tub that lasts only about a week or two. I will look online for the treats you mentioned. We don't have access to a whole lot in the way of "healthy" or low-carb cat treats where we live, and Petsmart is 40 minutes away and a total PITA to get to. These days, just about anything I can order online is a preferred choice for me!

And yes, my DH is open to helping, but he's also not as good with the multi-tasking, so it's still a challenge for him to get both kids fed and handled in the evening when I'm not there, let alone testing/feeding/shooting the cat. I'm just happy he's willing to handle the shots at the moment--it'll be icing on the cake when I can get him to test him too!

 

[Sienne and Gabby (GA)]

I grind my own chicken -- although without the bones. There are commercially available pre-mixes that contain all of the nutrients. The brand I use is from Feline Futures. It contains the calcium that's needed if you don't grind the bones.

It so good to hear that Max is getting used to the testing and, hopefully, he's turned the corner with peeing.

If there's any way you can squeeze in a before bed test every night that will help a great deal to know what's going on with Max's numbers at night.

If you haven't found the site yet, PetFood Direct carries a broad range of food, treats, etc. They are always running sales so it's helpful to get on their electronic mailing list. The downside is that if you want to sample a new food, they only ship in case amounts. I've generally found their prices are better than Petco or Petsmart.

 

[Pat+Raja+Shadow (GA)]

The Felines Future that Sienne mentioned sends trial packages as a free sample...really a great deal!

My two are not quite sure if they like it yet. I bought bags of the complete chicken mix with liver included and have mixed it with both turkey and chicken. I also mix it in with their regular canned food ....go slow at first so they can adjust. I am not sure about it yet.
I really, really believe it is the best food for them....I just would like it if THEY really really believed it too! :lol:

 

[Kelly & Logan]

Kelly--Yes, I have some freeze-dried salmon, tho I'm starting to run out. I will be boiling and freezing some chicken for treats tonight. Both cats love the salmon, but I can't afford it at $6.50 a tub that lasts only about a week or two. I will look online for the treats you mentioned. We don't have access to a whole lot in the way of "healthy" or low-carb cat treats where we live, and Petsmart is 40 minutes away and a total PITA to get to. These days, just about anything I can order online is a preferred choice for me!

And yes, my DH is open to helping, but he's also not as good with the multi-tasking, so it's still a challenge for him to get both kids fed and handled in the evening when I'm not there, let alone testing/feeding/shooting the cat. I'm just happy he's willing to handle the shots at the moment--it'll be icing on the cake when I can get him to test him too!

Most men are not good with multi-tasking! I know Matt is awful at it - he gets very stressed with our feeding routine at night, but he does try to help! I work a second job during tax season, so he's on his own at least one night a week and one day over the weekend. He's so happy to see me on those days/nights. :mrgreen: He travels quite a bit for work so I'm on my own a lot, but he doesn't think it's as bad for me as for him! MEN! :mrgreen: On-line shopping is the best. It's just a huge time saver for anyone who works and/or has a family. I order a lot from petfood direct - once you order from them once, they'll email you coupon codes for $20 off, 15% off, etc.

 

[Mindy & Max]

Oh how I need to actually get some work done...but instead I'm reading about cat food. Again. LOL!

The Feline Futures is intriguing to me. We have a bunch of ground venison in our freezer--DH hunts and has friends who hunt, so we usually end up with a decent supply of venison for pretty darn cheap, and as I'd never eaten it before meeting DH, I still don't cook a whole lot of it. I'll have to order some of that and give it a try with the venison. Do they really only need to eat 1/2 cup of prepared food a day? Seems like mine are eating more than that in the canned food...but maybe my cats are big? Max should be about 11-12lbs and Truman is about 10-11lbs.

Pat--LOL about the cats believing it is the best food for them! Max will eat pretty much anything I give him at this point. Truman seems to be a little more picky, but he made the switch from dry to canned with no problems other than that he clearly wants to free-feed, but they inhale the canned food so fast that there's nothing left to graze from. They do seem to be slowing down with that tho.

Sienne--Sadly, usually the +3 test I'm posting in the evening IS right before bed. PMPS usually happens between 6 and 6:30. Lately I've been going to bed as early as 8:45 in the attempt to try to actually get some sleep. My daughter has been waking up a lot recently (this, from the child that was sleeping through the night at only 7 weeks old!), and my son wakes around 4:30 to nurse. I don't test when I'm up at night with the kids because that requires me to wake up too much, and then I can't get back to sleep. I'm up at 5:45 for the day, and AMPS is usually around 6:25.