4/14 Mego & the 5 Ps & testing ?

[Katie & Mego (GA)]

Hello everyone!

So we have some improvements in Mego's eating habits over the weekend. I've been concerned that he hasn't been getting enough calories but I have changed up his food a bit and given him some different varieties. With that said, he's been getting about 6 oz of food per day since Friday night as opposed to 3-4 oz before. I'm going to try to get him on the scale later today or before breffis tomorrow and see where he is. That should be fun! :lol: Just got him on the scale 11lb 2oz. That's down about a pound from the time of his Dx. Is the weight loss due to the lower carb food and less calories I'm guessing?

Other than that, things are going well. I haven't tested him all weekend since I thought he deserved a break; ok, I needed a break too. Does anyone have any recommendations on how often I should test him at this point. Keep in mind that I am a self proclaimed serial tester. :lol: I was thinking this coming week to get 3-4 days of AM & PM BGs and go from there.

He's got the 5 Ps down pat each day and he's sleeping with me every night again - something he stopped doing while he was getting the insulin. I thought it was because he had perhaps less strength to jump up, but he seems to be doing well on that account again.

I hope you are all doing well and enjoying your weekend. I see a couple of bouncy kitties this weekend and I hope everyone comes down soon. Sending healing vines, poopie vines :lol: , and green surfing vines to everyone today.

 

[Dyana]

I'm sorry I missed your OTJ condo, I'm late and am going to post. Please don't hate me for being so tardy to the party.

I think most people test morning and night for a couple of weeks after going OTJ and then once a day for a couple weeks, and then go to every few days. I may be wrong.

I'm glad he's feeling well, and sleeping with you again. J.D. also eats about 1 and 1/2 to 2 cans of FF a day, so I'm with you on trying to get my cat to eat more food.

 

[Katie & Mego (GA)]

It's ok Dyana! Better late than never as they say. And I'm sure there were others who needed more attention in the last few days then us. Thanks for stopping by and we loved your congrats pic.

 

[carfurby (GA)]

I'm glad Mego is doing well and sleeping with you again. Good luck getting him to eat more food. I think the amount of testing is just what you are comfortable with. Once you see he's still got good numbers, I think you'll eventually get more comfortable with testing less. I think most people keep an eye out for anything that may seem off about their kitties and then test to see if the numbers are still good.

 

[Ann & Tess GA]

I'm late too, sorry! Congratulations

You don't want to go by the weight of the food, but by calories per ounce. Calories per ounce can vary from 23 kcal/oz to 45 kcal/oz. If calories aren't on the can (they often show kcal/can) look on Dr Lisa's list for the kcal/can. Depending on activity level adult cats need 20 to 30 kcal per pound per day.

Congratulations, again!

 

[Katie & Mego (GA)]

Thanks Ann - since I'm still so new to this, I STILL need to do more food/nutrition research. Mego's lost some weight over the last month and he's not the most active 15 year old kitty. He looks much leaner than he did when we started all of this. I was starting to get concerned with him loosing TOO much weight. So I think it's just going to take some time to figure out where he is stable and healthy.

The journey continues... and thanks for the advice.

 

[Sienne and Gabby (GA)]

The low carb, canned food can cause kitties to lose weight. It's like a human going on the Atkins diet. Fundamentally, you need to increase Mego's caloric intake like Ann suggested. You can increase the amount your feeding, use food that's higher in calories, or use a "supplement." I think Marje gives one of her kitties coconut oil as a calorie supplement. I'd check with her.

As for testing, I think it's a matter of your weaning yourself. For most people, the gradually taper back their testing. I'd take a look at Libby's SS for Lucy or Devon's SS for Mocha. Both of their cats have been OTJ for a while so it will give you a sense of the frequency with which they test. The only other thing I'd keep in mind is that if Mego is acting "off," I'd always get a few tests. BG can be an early sign that there's an infection brewing.

 

[Jill & Alex (GA)]

hi katie! sorry i was so late to the party!

initially, we usually recommend bg testing a couple times a week for about a month and then once a week for another month. after that, test monthly so you can "catch it" if his numbers start to climb. we also recommend testing whenever kitty seems "off" for any reason.

congratulations!