7/15 Lightning AMPS 122 - Looking good...

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Pamela and Lightning

Pamela and Lightning

Member Since 2010
Well, I guess deciding against giving him some dry food last night was a mistake because it finally caught up with me. At 5AM he woke me up with just the smallest spot of throw up (all water though). So I freaked out like usual and figured "give him food, that will make it all better". So I gave him about 1/16 cup and when I took his shot at 6:30AM he was only at 122! I was shocked!

He's been doing great all day as well. Gave 2 units in the morning and then this is how he's been doing...

+3 119
+6 71

I have no idea what he's going to be at for his PMPS, but I'm hoping it stays in the same range.

I'm taking Thunder and Lightning to my parent's house tonight since I'm off on vacation tomorrow. I'm really freaking out about it because I've gotten so used to taking his BG throughout the day and putting the data in the spreadsheet and trying to figure out what it all means...I think I might go through withdrawals over the weekend!! I also hope it doesn't stress him out and his numbers jump back up.
 
I'm just looking at Lightning's spreadsheet. Will your parents be testing him? If not, you might want to lower his dose while you're gone. He's getting enough low numbers that I would be concerned about leaving him without testing.

The numbers are GREAT, but it's not usually good to run this tight when you can't monitor. Better safe than sorry.
 
Yes, my mom will be testing him 2x at least per day. She's had a diabetic cat herself so she's very familiar with the process (which is the greatest feeling in the world to have considering I feel terrible leaving him).

I reduced his food from 2/3 can to 1/2 can because it was really annoying trying to figure out how to get it exact, but I'm afraid that the smaller amount of food is the reason for the numbers going down....do you think that's an accurate statement? I'm going to have my mom feed him the 1/2 can as well, but then also give him about 1/16 cup of dry food before she leaves for work and again before bed. I figure that will probably drive the numbers up a little, but at least I'll know he's not going to drop too low and he won't throw up in the morning.
 
There is good information here (about 1/2 way down) about how many calories a cat needs in a day. That should give you an idea of how much Lightning should be eating. Also keep in mind that sometimes diabetics need more food than that, because their bodies can't metabolize the food as effectively. Is there a reason you can't leave wet food out when you are gone or sleeping? That's what I do.

I'm glad your mom will be testing, that must make you feel MUCH better.
 
Lightning used to be overweight (like 16 lbs) but over the last year he's lost a ton of weight and is now at 10 lbs. This would normally be an awesome weight for him, but considering he lost it in such a short amount of time was not good. Hence the diabetes diagnosis...So now I'm trying to keep him at this weight and hopefully he doesn't fluctuate too much in either direction.

So it looks like cats should get about 20-30 calories per lb of weight, so that means Lightning needs 200-300 calories. HHHMMM....I just looked up the Hills M/D and it looks like the canned food is only 156 calories per can. Yikes! So I am feeding him almost 1/2 of what he needs???

Libby and Lucy said:
Is there a reason you can't leave wet food out when you are gone or sleeping? That's what I do.
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If I leave food out during the day and I'm not home, I KNOW that his brother, Thunder will eat it. Or Lightning will just eat it up all at once and not ration himself throughout the day. But I guess I have no reason on why I don't give him canned vs the dry in the afternoon/night. I guess its just easier to do the dry (since now I have a whole bag of it). I'm going to eventually give up the dry altogether, would it make sense to do that now instead of later? It just really annoys me to have bought this prescription food (recommended by the Vet of course) and then I find out its a bunch of crap. So I really just want to use it up, but not at the expensive of hurting Lightning. I can always feed it to Thunder though....
 
hey I got stuck with two bags of the vet food last year, at $30-$40 a piece. There was no way I was going to give them that anymore after I learned from this board.

If it's not returnable, you could always donate it to pet shelters or feral organizations. They could use all the donations they can get.

As for when to switch completely? I would suggest do it on a day when you know you will be home to keep an eye on Lightning.
 
Ronnie & Luna said:
hey I got stuck with two bags of the vet food last year, at $30-$40 a piece. There was no way I was going to give them that anymore after I learned from this board.
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I know!!! I can't believe all the things I'm learning about cat food! I've been around cats since I was born and my mom always fed dry and I just figured that's what I would do when I got cats too (which I did!). And now, 7 years into being a pet owner, I find out that the crap I've been feeding him could be a reason why he's sick! It's just crazy!!
 
HI Pamela and welcome to lantus!

Diabetes is a starving disease where the cells of the body do not get enough nutrition. So as much as you would like for Lightning not to gain all his weight back, I don't think it's best thing to monitor his food closely while his diabetes is not under control, and by under control I mean regulated in the normal range.

I'm also one of those people who leave wet food out all day and all night. I serve too much and some gets wasted, however, the alternative would require me to get up and serve portions all the time and I'm not doing that.

Consider this alternative. If you get a timed feeder (check amazon or petsmart) - I have one of those and it allows you to serve portions at set times so it's perfect for when you are not there. I make frozen catsicles and put them in the machine. By the time the time is up, the portion is nice and fresh.

Another alternative which I use in combination with the feeder is to feed the one cat a regular portion of food and the diabetic cat, a little less. So, when the time feeder opens for a snack... guess who runs 1st to the bowl... the hungry one.

This is a lot of information for you, but I hope you find it useful.
 
Thanks Helene! So basically it would be better to overfeed than underfeed right? Forgive me, I just really am struggling with the whole food thing so I do appreciate any and all comments! But if I increase the amount of food, then I also need to increase the amount of insulin right?

I have feeders, but they are just for dry food....or at least I'm assuming they are. Do you use yours for wet food as well? I LOVED the feeders when I fed my cats only dry food because they usually try to wake me up at like 5AM and I'm really not cool with that! It was great having them get fed on their own (except Thunder learned how to stick his paw up the part where the food came out and used to just eat whenever he felt like it!). But now that I'm feeding wet food primarily I don't even set my alarm anymore because I know Lightning is going to get me up and its usually before 6AM (ugh).
 
I think you are thinking about a different feeder

http://www.amazon.com/gp/search/ref=sr_ ... d=15899471

there are the ones I'm talking about. I have the c20.
Probably intended for dry food, but I put wet food and water mixed in.

and yes at this point, over feeding is better than underfeeding. Yes you will need to have 'some' idea of how much you feed, but you will also let the cats learn to self feed and Lighting will (or should) learn to feed his curve. Pat/Shadow I believe have a feeder too... and lots of other people... I can't think anymore.
 
Pamela and Lightning said:
.... But if I increase the amount of food, then I also need to increase the amount of insulin right? .
Click to expand...

hmm, feed as much as they ask for, however, spread out thru the day/cycle is useful and gentle on them.

As you collect data, thou, you will see Lightning's own patterns of how food, how much food, helps his numbers and curves.

I was feeding as much as 2 cans (5.5oz) a day on Luna for the first 3 months. He gradually learned to graze on snacks left out for him and slimmed down nicely when he came down to 1 can a day. Plus he and I adjusted to his feed schedule without a timed feeder.
But I do wish I had one thou :lol: I hear they are awesome!
 
Ronnie & Luna said:
Plus he and I adjusted to his feed schedule without a timed feeder.
But I do wish I had one thou :lol: I hear they are awesome!
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So you know... Ronnie never sleeps! :lol: She surfs the board and makes people test every 15 minutes..... I'm kidding, we luv Ronnie! Point is, it's not totally necessary, but it's very handy to have.
 
Kazi eats roughly 3/4 a 5.5oz can in the AM and PM. Many days she only finishes around 1/2 a can per meal, but I figure she is maintaining a good weight so I try not to worry! She NEVER had the ravenous appetite people talk about, I had a hard time just getting her to eat enough for her shot for the longest time.

(I fed the dry food from the Vet to my other 2 cats...figured I could at least use it that way and the $40 wasn't a total wash)
 
Well, Thunder and Lightning are off to Grandma's house for the weekend and I'm off to Havasu. We took his BG when we got to my mom's and he was only at 127 so that's good. I know he's in good hands but I miss him already :( Once I get back I'm going to try a new feeding technique (with the switch to a new food) so hopefully I can figure out what works for him!

Night everyone and thanks for all the help this week. Talk to you again Sunday/Monday.
 
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