7/13 Khloe | AMPS 236, +2 111, +3 77

[Sara & Khloe]

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Another bounce, I don’t think she handled that 51 yesterday well. But her +2 today is almost 53% variance from PS so looks like she’s already breaking the bounce. Time will tell.

A few questions today!
1. I know that @Dyana mentioned something about Jackson having a fat lump in between his shoulder blades and I was hoping we could circle back to that conversation as I’ve noticed Khloe has started to get one too. It’s pretty small right now but any thoughts on this? When we first started insulin, her hip area was super sore and she’d ‘yelp’ if I gave the shot back there so I’ve been rotating left & right shoulder scruff and rotating the direction of the syringe (so one injection pointed towards tail, one pointed towards her left side, one towards right side, and one point towards her head. Like a clock if you were looking at her from above, If that makes sense). I tried last night to give it in her hip area and she doesn’t seem sore anymore so I’ll start rotating to the hips as well as the shoulders now.

2. My dog spilled his kibble this morning and Khloe managed to get a single piece of kibble in her mouth and eat it before I could wrangle it out her mouth. I’ve worked so hard to keep her on LC I know that dry food stays in their system longer, so how concerned should I be about 1 piece of dog kibble? I’m so disappointed tbh… she ate it right before the +2 test

Hope everyone has a great day and paws crossed for nice, easy surfs!

 

[Connie & Parker & Moonie]

Sorry to hear about Khloe’s successful kibble heist Sara

None of what I’m about to say is scientific but I imagine that the impact of a single kibble can’t be too significant and likely will exit her system by the end of the day. Hypothetically if his kibble is 50 percent carbs and a single kibble weighs 0.5g, that’s 0.25g of carbs she just ate. A regular wet food can is 2.8 oz or 79g. If your normal wet food is 3% carb, it would have contained 2.4g of carbs so it’s like she got a teensy 10 percent boost to her breakfast. I don’t know if this helps.

And for whatever it’s worth, Moonie had a similar issue where she had scar tissue develop between her shoulders / scruff area. It ended up causing inconsistent absorption of insulin so we had to avoid it for future injections. We now rotate along her flanks. Her scar tissue has gotten better but hasn’t fully gone away. It’s ok though honestly as long as we don’t keep using the scruff.

 

[Sara & Khloe]

Sorry to hear about Khloe’s successful kibble heist Sara

None of what I’m about to say is scientific but I imagine that the impact of a single kibble can’t be too significant and likely will exit her system by the end of the day. Hypothetically if his kibble is 50 percent carbs and a single kibble weighs 0.5g, that’s 0.25g of carbs she just ate. A regular wet food can is 2.8 oz or 79g. If your normal wet food is 3% carb, it would have contained 2.4g of carbs so it’s like she got a teensy 10 percent boost to her breakfast. I don’t know if this helps.

And for whatever it’s worth, Moonie had a similar issue where she had scar tissue develop between her shoulders / scruff area. It ended up causing inconsistent absorption of insulin so we had to avoid it for future injections. We now rotate along her flanks. Her scar tissue has gotten better but hasn’t fully gone away. It’s ok though honestly as long as we don’t keep using the scruff.

That actually does help alot. And with the way she’s dropping today, I don’t think it will be too much of a concern? Hopefully?

Can you tell me what Moonie’s scar tissue feels like? On Khloe it feels like fat, it’s squishy. I’ve only dealt with scar tissue from piercings on me where it feels hard as a rock but no clue what under skin injection scar tissue is like.
And can you explain more on what you mean about rotating on her flank? Like what your system is for rotating? The only thing my vet told me was rotate left shoulder, right shoulder, left hip, right hip.

 

[Elizabeth & Mister]

No help on the scar tissue, I’m hoping others will join in because I’ve been curious about this since Dyana’s first post too. But Mister is a Roomba, if a piece of anything falls to the floor, he’s on it. On two or three occasions now I’ve wrested a piece of dog kibble and also our eldery cat’s prescription HC wet food from his mouth to no avail, and thankfully each time it wasn’t worth noting because his numbers still came down like usual. Not that it’s a good thing, and other factors like metabolism and dose and all the other individual things about our cats aside, I agree that I don’t think one piece will hurt her or set her back.
They can be so sneaky!

I hope she continues to break her bounce and give you nice greens today

 

[Connie & Parker & Moonie]

That actually does help alot. And with the way she’s dropping today, I don’t think it will be too much of a concern? Hopefully?

Can you tell me what Moonie’s scar tissue feels like? On Khloe it feels like fat, it’s squishy. I’ve only dealt with scar tissue from piercings on me where it feels hard as a rock but no clue what under skin injection scar tissue is like.
And can you explain more on what you mean about rotating on her flank? Like what your system is for rotating? The only thing my vet told me was rotate left shoulder, right shoulder, left hip, right hip.

I hope so! And I think so honestly .

So Moonie's scar tissue feels different - more thick and rubbery vs. the rest of her skin? So maybe it's not the same thing? I try to go clockwise on her flank - upper left, upper right, lower right, lower left. So basically the same system your vet is saying. I don't think you have to massively vary it to avoid scar tissue? I think it's just you can't keep using the exact same spot. And Moonie like Khloe hates it if you go too close to her hip so we don't even go that far down. But so far that's been enough to prevent any additional scar tissue.

 

[Sara & Khloe]

I hope so! And I think so honestly .

So Moonie's scar tissue feels different - more thick and rubbery vs. the rest of her skin? So maybe it's not the same thing? I try to go clockwise on her flank - upper left, upper right, lower right, lower left. So basically the same system your vet is saying. I don't think you have to massively vary it to avoid scar tissue? I think it's just you can't keep using the exact same spot. And Moonie like Khloe hates it if you go too close to her hip so we don't even go that far down. But so far that's been enough to prevent any additional scar tissue.

Hmm based off what you’re saying, I don’t think it’s scar tissue as I have been rotating all around her shoulders and try to never do the same exact spot. And it’s not her skin that feels weird, it’s a lump under the skin that goes from shoulder to shoulder. It starts at the nape of her neck and goes to below the shoulder blades on her back.
Here’s an old pic I have of Khloe showing the area.

 

[Connie & Parker & Moonie]

Hmm based off what you’re saying, I don’t think it’s scar tissue as I have been rotating all around her shoulders and try to never do the same exact spot. And it’s not her skin that feels weird, it’s a lump under the skin that goes from shoulder to shoulder. It starts at the nape of her neck and goes to below the shoulder blades on her back.
Here’s an old pic I have of Khloe showing the area.

I don't think so either based on the photo especially since I don't think Moonie's scar tissue is visible (it's only when you touch it that it feels a little off) - definitely curious to hear what others think!

 

[Staci & Ivy]

Hi Sara, I am sure one piece of kibble will be fine, try not to stress too much over it.
By her next cycle it will be gone and not have any lingering effects

Ivy has scar tissue on her shoulder/back area where I give her shots. I try to rotate as much as I can (morning one side, evening other side) and try to vary exact spots....but after almost 4 years of shots, there's scar tissue (kind of hard when I inject the needle in some areas).

Ivy doesn't tolerate shots in abdomen sides or along her rear area, so I am kind of stuck.
We do the best we can given each cat's toleration.

 

[Dyana]

My previous diabetic J.D. was a sugar kitty for 9 years, and his scar tissue in his scruff felt kind of crunchy when the needle went in.

I've always done "Right at Night" and "Left in the Morning". That's how I remember it.

Jackson's fat is soft and squishy almost like I gave him fluids but I did not.
I don't know if it's the Cabergoline or the switching to his sides (about half the way down his body) that has caused his better numbers recently, but I will keep it up.

Jackson's fat on his scruff between his shoulders is not noticable when you look at him or when you pet him (his back feels flat), it's just if you take a handful of his skin and fur between the shoulders (he loves a massage there) I imagine a vet tech holding my cat still would like that big hunk of handle to hold onto. Although, my cats always go to vet appointments wearing a harness and leash, so the vet or vet techs get an extra handle to hold onto besides the "scruff".

 

[Mary & Jude]

Jude has a fat, squishy area in the scruff, too, but remember Jude is a large boy (18 lbs). I try to avoid shooting in the scruff directly, and go a bit further down on his back and lower down below the scruff area on his flank (but not too low or he yelps). I avoid his scruff because I wonder if it is fat, and if so, I wonder could the fat have any affect on the insulin absorption.

 

[Sara & Khloe]

I've always done "Right at Night" and "Left in the Morning". That's how I remember it.

First thing, I’m stealing this. That’s a genius way to remember!

Jackson's fat is soft and squishy almost like I gave him fluids but I did not.

Yes! This is exactly how Khloe’s is too. It feels like fluids under the skin. And squishy. The skin isn’t hard or crunchy at all, syringe goes in just fine with no force. But I am able to feel it when I pet her back, it’s softer/squishy-er and slightly raised more than the rest of her back. You can’t see it on her though, that pic above was just me circling the area where I feel it.

Jude has a fat, squishy area in the scruff, too, but remember Jude is a large boy (18 lbs). I try to avoid shooting in the scruff directly, and go a bit further down on his back and lower down below the scruff area on his flank (but not too low or he yelps). I avoid his scruff because I wonder if it is fat, and if so, I wonder could the fat have any affect on the insulin absorption.

Has he always had the fat squishy area? Or only after being diabetic? The area on Khloe just started showing up maybe 2-ish weeks ago but I noticed it’s slowly getting bigger. I was curious about the absorption too because last night she didn’t dive nearly as fast when I gave insulin in the hip area but that could have been a normal bounce happening. Hmm.. maybe I’ll experiment and avoid the scruff area and see how she reacts.

 

[Christie & Maverick]

Some cats can develop injection site lipomas, Maverick was a cat that was prone to them, so I tended to try and avoid those areas and shoot elsewhere. Alternate left, right, scruff, sides, etc. Over time, the lipoma will get reabsorbed.

Looks like Khloe is doing very nicely, glad to see some nice greens in the mix now

 

[Sara & Khloe]

Some cats can develop injection site lipomas, Maverick was a cat that was prone to them, so I tended to try and avoid those areas and shoot elsewhere. Alternate left, right, scruff, sides, etc. Over time, the lipoma will get reabsorbed.

Looks like Khloe is doing very nicely, glad to see some nice greens in the mix now

Oh I had no idea that was even a thing! Thanks Christie!! I’ve missed seeing you around here! hope all has been good with you!