5/2 Shen AMPS 217, +2 142, +4 72, +5 77, +6.5 75, +8 91 - Feeding tips?

[Nimi S]

Link to previous condo: https://felinediabetes.com/FDMB/thr...-3-282-5-133-6-5-88-8-71.277076/#post-3068337

What is a safe BG value where I don't have to rush to feed Shen a snack? Right now I panic at the sight of anything below 150 and rush to get him a snack. I worry about his BG dropping suddenly (in an hour or so) by a 100 points when he gets in the blue zone. I know drops are not really predictable (especially in a newly diagnosed unregulated cat ) and something or the other could influence his body's response to insulin on a particular day.

I fed Shen snacks after every reading today, barring the last one.
Shen has been very picky with his food the last couple of days (maybe due to the antibiotics or maybe he's just bored) and doesn't even finish the 1-2 spoons of wet food that I give him as a snack.

I try to feed snacks every 2 hours till +8 in the AM cycle, since he's being picky and won't meet his caloric requirements otherwise. Especially since I'm not able to follow the same pattern in his PM cycle - which will hopefully change in a couple of days once I'm back to a better PM shot timing which'll let me stay up comfortably till +5/+6 to test and feed.

Is it better/recommended to monitor every hour once the BG enters the green zone till it starts increasing again?
I'd prefer to test every 3-4 hours but once I see anything below 100 I feel a compulsion to keep checking even after feeding snacks. The greens are really nice to see but I feel like I'm one nap away from a hypo

 

[tiffmaxee]

When he hits green he seems to be flat. For example yesterday, I would have stopped testing with tge +5 and gotten one more test at +7. I would have called it a night at +4 last night. Do you have an auto feeder? You could set it and go on with your day or night sooner. To see if snacks are needed hourly don’t give them after two green tests and just test and see if surfing or dropping. It’s all trial and error to learn what your cat will do. I always tried to stop feeding by +5 unless Max was getting into low green but I knew from experimenting that I could.

 

[Nimi S]

When he hits green he seems to be flat.

But isn't the flatness in his greens influenced by the frequent snacks? I test and if its a green BG, I feed. I'm still ok to not feed immediately with the 90s but not the 70s yet. I guess I'll just have to test more often to figure out his drops minus the food and adjust accordingly.

Do you have an auto feeder? You could set it and go on with your day or night sooner.

I'd try the auto feeder, it'd make my PMs easier but I've got 3 other cats who're currently more interested in Shen's wet food than he is. Right now I have to follow him around after every meal/snack to force him to finish it. It's rare to see him come around to ask for food these days.

 

[tiffmaxee]

But isn't the flatness in his greens influenced by the frequent snacks?

Maybe. Maybe not. Feeding after nadir can cut duration. I would not have fed part +7 and definitely not after +8. I would have tested and not fed to see what he would do.

I'd try the auto feeder, it'd make my PMs easier but I've got 3 other cats who're currently more interested in Shen's wet food than he is. Right now I have to follow him around after every meal/snack to force him to finish it. It's rare to see him come around to ask for food these days.

If he’s not hungry later in the cycle I would not push food. Just test and see what happens without food. Many cats get really hungry when the bg starts to get too low. Max was one of those.

 

[Nimi S]

Feeding after nadir can cut duration. I would not have fed part +7 and definitely not after +8. I would have tested and not fed to see what he would do.

I've tried not feeding him post +6 (barring low BG (newly green) days) but he invariably came seeking food around +9/+10, so I tried to bring it up to +7/+8.
He's also not meeting his daily caloric requirement and doesn't eat a lot in one go, so trying to get as much food into him as I can. Will try to work this out some other way.

If he’s not hungry later in the cycle I would not push food. Just test and see what happens without food. Many cats get really hungry when the bg starts to get too low. Max was one of those.

I'll try doing this for a few days and see how it goes.

Thanks for the suggestion!

 

[tiffmaxee]

Remember you can always feed him if the bg is dropping. If it’s flat try stopping after nadir. I used to feed three mini meals each cycle unless I needed to feed the curve. Once you know what your cat will do it gets easier to predict. That is until they change the rules.