4/8 Bananas AMPS 351 +3 222 +5 111

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Nanaskitty

Nanaskitty

Member Since 2015
Good Morning~ Trying the 0.5 unit dose again. I thought her numbers were ok yesterday, not nearly as high as they have been in the past according to the vet, but I get excited at every decrease in the numbers. High this AM since we decided not to shoot last night. I tested at +11 PMPS and was at 309 (she does get about 1/4 can of FF at about 3 AM when she feels I need to get up for the day to tide her over until we all actually get up and this was before the 309 result). Gave her breakfast and she went up to the 351 before insulin at 8 AM. I will try every three hours today to check BG. Still haven't heard from the vet after cancelling her in office curve today.

~ A question... How much canned food do you all feed for the entire day for one cat? I know every cat is different, but I'm just trying to get an idea. We are trying to get her weight back up, as she did loose some before insulin started. She has gained almost 1/2 lb. since starting insulin, but I don't want her to get too heavy. She is at 11.2 lbs. now and is a large bodied cat. Before and when first starting insulin she was hungry all the time. She is a grazer though and never will eat a full serving at once. I've been breaking her daily intake up into little meals throughout the day because of the grazing and she hates when her canned food gets dry. I've been adding a little warm water to it so it last longer and it tricks her into thinking its gravy, which she used to love. She has slowed on the "I need food now" attitude and does not seem to want as much as before, but her weight is still going up (she sometimes leaves some). She loves having her weight checked. I'll have to get a pic of her during our routine. She is a doof.

Thanks and have a great day!
 
Dr. Lisa has written about How Much Should I Feed My Cat. When you talk to your vet today, you might want to ask what they think Bananas ideal weight is. As she spends more time in better numbers she'll be less hungry. Neko is on raw food, and gets about 1/8th of a pound a day. But it doesn't easily translate to canned food which has more fillers so is a larger volume of food than raw.
 
Thanks for the link. Off to read. I will ask about ideal weight when she calls. Recommended intake was 3 - 3 1/2 cans FF daily based on amount she was eating prior, but she is not eating that much at this point since she is not starving all the time. Almost time for a 3hr check.
 
This is a question that I have had for a long time. I want to feed Sammy enough food, but not too much food. When I was getting Sammy regulated I was feeding about 1 oz - 4x a during a cycle with a little more if he seemed hungry. So about 8 oz a day. The can states to feed 1 -5.5 oz can a day for each 6-8 pounds. Sammy is a larger cat so I would assume that approximately 2 - 5.5 oz cans would be the right diet. Now that Sammy is off insulin I am leaving our more food and letting him graze I open 2 - 5.5 oz cans of food in the morning and at night for two cats. I do end up throwing out some food, but I would rather do that then have the cats go hungry.
 
I have been keeping with the amount vet said, but she is also a grazer and a picky eater, so it gets past her standards at times. I started offering her smaller little meals to try to reduce the waste and she seems to be fine with it. I'm also keeping up with weighing and making sure she is getting enough. Sometimes she eats it all up after a bit and other times she walks and leaves it. I'm thinking I'm going to need to try some other acceptable brands to mix in, since she bores easily with the same choices even though we are rotating the FF classics Chicken, Turkey, Beef and Grill options. Its funny though, when she ate the Friskies pates she loved the fish. FF she hates the fish, which is ok I guess since I have now learned fish is a sometimes food. I just feel bad for not offering her more of a selection when she looks at me like "really, this again?". Does anyone have an opinion about the FF classics with cheese? I have not seen these on any "ok" list. I think they have the same ingredients as the regular classics, but with the addition of cheese, but I'm going to look at there website. At 222 +3
 
Don't go by what the cans say, they are over generous as they want you to use lots of their product. Try to estimate how many calories you'd like her to eat per day. Then use the calories listed on the Food Chart to determine how many cans. Then weigh once every one or two weeks and see if kitty's weight is doing what you want it to do. You want slow weight loss, so I'd weigh more frequently if you are trying to get a cat to lose weight.

Sorry, no idea on the cheese - it's not something an obligate carnivore would normally eat.
 
Thanks for more information! I'll find something else than w/cheese. I know it wouldn't be a carnivore choice, just wondering if anyone had used it. She is so fussy, I'm just looking at the options. The list we received from vet had some very bad options based on what I have read here. Thanks again!
 
Vets get maybe a half a day of formal education on nutrition while they're in school....after that, the vast majority of their "nutritional education" is from Hills salesmen coming in to promote their latest garbage.

Since vets have little time for research on their own, it's easier (and more profitable since they sell the stuff) to just believe what the Hills people tell them
 
Her name was originally Banas. We got her as an unwanted free cat that was at a place where a friend took her for another friend that had moved and then they no longer wanted her. We picked her up at the home that ended up being a puppy mill type situation with bunches of dogs, cats and other animals, not to mention filth! She was very thin and infested with fleas. This is where her fear of dogs and travel were born. So vet trips are always terrible, that is why we are so glad to find this board. We actually picked up two cats that day, the other one was a beautiful brown tiger with long hair and the fleas had taken their toll on her much worse. She had bad anemia along with other issues. She passed a few months after we got her in her sleep. We tried to do everything we could for the old girl. Anyways, my daughter was very young at the time we got her and she was never able to pronounce her name. She has always been Bananas to her and it stuck. She is a bit bananas when she feels well.
I tested her again at 3 PM and she was down to 70. I had to leave, so I left her with DH and gravy food just in case. I just got back and need to test again.
I did hear from the vet, who was very adamant that we were not supposed to be using a human meter on her and was quite upset with me. I stood my ground and told her it was acceptable to use our meter that we researched and it is readily available information on many websites. She said she would call me back after doing some research, and she did and was then ok with our meter. She just wants us to come in and compare our meter to theirs. I'm going to copy that page I saw on here with the human meter vs the AT2 info and bring that with us. I did share my curve from yesterday with her using my meter and she did agree to the dose decrease. So she will be on 0.5 unit 2 x daily. We are still sticking to our guns and will continue on with our home testing plan no matter what.
 
GREAT way to stand up to your vet!! ...and even nicer that she actually backed down enough to agree to research it for herself!!

So many of them just say "do it my way or the highway", so you're blessed that yours is at least willing to listen!
 
My vet uses the OneTouch meter in her practice and has compared it favorably with the results she gets from the labs. After telling me that, and also that I should just get a meter that takes the smallest blood drop (I was the first client to home test), she asked if I wanted to use the AlphaTrak, but didn't really push it. I've also tested Neko right before and after she's gone in for blood tests and found her lab results to be pretty close to what I get on the Confirm in lower numbers where it counts.

Nice cycle today. :D
 
If your kitty is being fussy about food, especially fish, you may want to read the ingredients carefully. Several of the FF non-fish flavors actually contain fish. I'd also keep in mind that fish is a common allergy for cats. As for the FF with cheese, cats are lactose intolerant. You might want to avoid the cheese flavors in case it causes litter box issues.
 
Thanks so much for the replies. She is at 158 PMPS. I'm going to check our FF cans. Ack... Never thought of the cheese issue that way. I did question the vet as to why when we bring her food for curves, that it is never used. As for the last in office curve, she said she dropped so much they fed her some baby food to bring her numbers up instead. Not sure if she meant real human baby or kitten. Flustered about the meter issue and forgot to ask her to clarify. All I know is I told her that what ever they fed she had the runs the next day. She hates salmon and I know most of the FF ones are salmon or are a mix of salmon. I think I'm going to let her skip again tonight. She is having an issue with her cauliflower ear today. I've tried to clean it good for her, but she is still bothered by it and mad at me for poking her other one so much. I bought the neosporin with the pain relief as mentioned on here somewhere and put that on her good testing ear. She will most likely be up again in the AM and we will start all over. I have to work tomorrow AM 1/2 day, but will do her morning readings and will update when I get home from subbing for 5th grade!
 
Thanks for the story about her name. I use the turkey and giblets and the liver and chicken classics that don't have fish in them. I do sometimes use the chicken but it dose contain salmon.

I bet your vet meant human baby food. Max gets a spoonful every morning to wash down his gelcap with his bp med in it. The kind that is all meat either chicken, turkey, or ham works well most of the time when the appetite is off or when he turns down all cat food due to a pancreatitis episode. Max prefers Gerbers 2nds but Beechnut is sometimes okay and it is missing the cornstarch that Gerbers has so less carbs. Neither is high carb though.
 
It was probably human baby food. Most cats love (really love) the stuff. It's good to keep a jar or two around in case your kitty is having tummy troubles or is refusing to eat or just to have as a treat. You want either Gerber or Beechnut Stage 2. They contain a protein and broth -- no veggies. Gerber is a little higher in carbs (about 7%) since it contains cornstarch.
 
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