7/27 Mr. Howell AMPS 460

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Emily & Mr. Howell

Emily & Mr. Howell

Member Since 2011
Good morning world.
For those who don't know me I'm a brand new newbie trying to get my 10-yr old manx back on track, he's had diabetes aout 2.5 years.
Mr. Howell is soaring high in the 460's this morning. Ever since I started him on wet food, though, he does have a completely new enthusiasm towards mealtime. He hasn't had dry food since yesterday morning and that was about 1/8c with his wet. I have also noticed he is urinating a LOT less than he has been over the past two days, I might attribute that to the extra moisture in his food helping him retain water.
Not much else to say, other than I'll keep posting as I can.
Have a great day.
 
Hi Emily! I was reading a bit of Mr H's condo yesterday, but with so much going on there I didn't want to jump into the middle of it. Welcome to LantusLand!

It's very exciting that Mr Howell is loving his new food...no doubt that will be a big help! It sounds like he's starting to feel better. Looking forward to hearing more from you guys!

Amy (& Trixie)
 
Hi Emily!! You'll notice that a lot of us feed our kitties mini meals instead of one large meal with their shot. My cat was always a grazer and always cries for food so I feed him every hour for the first four hours (approx. 1 oz at shot time, 0.5 oz at +1, +2, and +3) and then he gets 0.5 oz raw or boiled chicken breast around +9 (for Champ, this seems to keep his sugars lower for his next shot time). If you find Mr. Howell wants food throughout the day, this might work for you, too. Also, it is best for diabetics (human and kitties) to eat frequent small meals throughout the day to keep their sugars level and reduce the chance of wild swings up and down. Champ is a very large cat at 18 pounds. Even though I only feed him 5 oz of wet a day, I'm still having a very hard time getting any weight off him because he's not very active. It's a good idea to weigh Mr. Howell every once in a while to make sure the amount of food you're feeding him is not too much or too little. The last thing you want is for him to gain weight since that will only make controlling his diabetes harder. I don't have a pet or baby scale so I just weigh myself holding Champ and then weigh myself again without him and subtract the number. Maybe not an ideal way to do it, but it works!!

Hope you have a great day!!
 
Hello to you both!
Mr. Howell is definitely a grazer... he ate about 1/2 of his wet for bfast, I imagine he'll nibble off of the rest of it throughout the afternoon. I noticed ever since I got him that he much prefers to have his food left out, and if I feed him on his 12/12 he doesn't go crazy and eat it all at one time.
He is sitting here on my laptop, guess he wants his after-breakfast petting! So spoiled.
I actually don''t own a scale (too depressing!), although I know I should have one for his sake.
 
This is too much!! He is at 592 +1... I don't think it could have been a fur shot... this is when I begin to think I am doing something seriously wrong!
 
Have you gotten any other tests since that +1? That is quite a jump, but at the same time, it's not uncommon for numbers to be higher at +1 and even +2, because the new insulin hasn't quite kicked in yet, plus the cat has eaten. It's also not a bad idea to retest when you do get a number that stands out to you, just to be sure it was an accurate test. Every once in a while there's a bad test strip in the batch. And yep, we all know that confused feeling you've got going on right now, too!

I hope Mr H has come down for you!

Amy
 
Hi Emily,

What food are you feeding? Keep in mind that of the Fancy Feast foods, only the "Classic", pate-like varieties are low carb. Also, I see on your spreadsheet that you reduced Mr. Howell's dose last night to 3.0 units (from 3.5). It takes a few cycles for a new dose to settle in. Let's see what happens during the rest of this cycle and then one of the experienced people may be able to help determine the best dose for now.
Hang in there, Don't panic. We've all been through what you are experiencing. You haven't done any harm to Mr. H.

Ella & Rusty
 
Thank you guys so much, it is just so reassuring to know that I am not crazy and there are other people out there who understand what I am going through -exactly-.
I am feeding him ONLY the Classic Fancy Feasts, and only the non-gravy ones (he had turkey&giblets today, maybe it was higher than the chicken he had yesterday). I reduced his unit from 3.5 to 3 because it was the first time I gave him an all-wet meal, usually I was adding in his dry purina DM. I knew I might fall asleep (which I did) so I wanted to make sure he didn't get TOO low. I just get so nervous, but when I thought about giving him 3.5 with the wet, I started dreading he would go too low and I wouldn't be awake to help him. :(
Just tested at +4.5 359, I know it's not an ideal time but I got stranded without my car at the shop and had to walk home when I wanted to do it at +3. I just had to know he was below 500.
I'll test again in probably another 90 minutes.
You guys have really been a life saver, before I came here I cried every day thinking I was slowly killing him, not doing everything in my power, at least I know there are people who know what I'm going through. It is tough but nobody said life was easy.
 
Welcome Emily and Mr Howell!!! I kept up on your condo yesterday but didn't want to interject since you were being given so much information. At this point, I am sure it feels like overload to you, but it will all begin to make sense eventually.

Fancy Feast classic is all we feed as well. The chicken seems to be the best for my kitty, with his BGs going a little higher with the turkey or beef. One thing you have to remember through all of this is ECIS (every cat is different). However, we are all here to help you and answer any questions you might have. Thank heavens there are no stupid questions or I would have been kicked out long ago!! :lol:

Hope you have a great afternoon and evening. Welcome again and we look forward to getting to know you and your kitty!
 
Thanks, Melissa! Yes, it is a lot to take in, I feel like I'm relearning everything.
+5.5 328... doing better! I wanted to get him at +6 but I'm running late already, baaaah.
He did a lousy job of grazing today, and has eaten all of his food. I only gave him one 3oz can for breakfast, I'm beginning to think he should get 1.5 cans per meal (he is around 14 lbs). Didn't think about it this morning when I decided to only give him wet food.
He is in good spirits, but it's a loong way until dinner and he's already started giving me his 'feed me' whines.
 
Hello Emily and Mr. Howell!
Welcome!

dasypus said:
+9 509... I hate these high numbers...
Click to expand...
It will get better.

Glad you switched to wet lo-carb food. It will make a positive difference.

My $0.02 on feeding is that we found many small meals per day works well. BK looks to be at a perfect weight (for him) at 11.2 lbs. He gets 2 3oz can of FF per day: 1/2can at AM, 1/4can at +4 and 1/4 can at +8. same for the PM (so, he eats around the clock). That seems to work for us so I'm sticking with it. It would not be possible though without a timed feeder -which was a life saver for us.

You came to the right place.

Don't forget to breathe... ;-)
 
Hi Sandy,
Thanks so much for your advice. I am thinking that is going to be a good idea for Mr. Howell; I found that 1 3oz. can was in a way too much at one time and not enough for him to have anything to 'graze off of later, so I gave him 1/4can at +4.5- almost the same schedule you suggested! Right at +8 he was whining for another snack, but I'm going to wait. Problem is going to be snacks during the night.
As I'm trying to look for a fulltime job, I'm not going to be able to check him all of the time, thus my urgency to get him on a schedule ASAP. I know consistency is key to his health and if I can't be here 24/7, one of the things I might have to 'splurge' on is an automatic feeder. I feel his eating 2 times daily is creating huge surges in his BG.
 
It is pretty loud when it opens. It startled Trixie at first, but now she doesn't even look at it. I was hoping the sound would work to our advantage - that she'd hear it open and associate the sound with food. So far, no-go on that.
 
PMPS, another HI (HIGH) reading. So stressed. I gave him 3u on the heavy side because I'm scared! He definitely knew it was time to eat. He got 3/4can of Tuna and Whitefish Classic FF... should I give him another 1/4 can at +4? He hasn't had that much to eat but his levels are off the charts.
:sad: :sad:
 
Hi again,
It may take a while for Mr. Howell's dose to settle in. Lantus likes consistency, so try not to fiddle with doses. Give him a few days at the present 3-unit dose (read the "Sticky" that describes the Tight Regulation Protocol) and see what happens. I would not worry about trying to "control" his numbers with food at this point. He is too new with all of this. Just be confident that you are providing nice, low carb food at appropriate times and try not to panic. It will be OK.

Hang in there!

Ella & Rusty
 
Hi Ella,
Thanks for your words of encouragement. I tested at +3 and he's down to 463.
I'll be back tomorrow with more updates! Goodnight everyone.
 
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